Chapter Eighteen: Consequences
The wedding was set to start in just a little over an hour's time and the little bridal party was finishing up. Clara had put flowers in her hair with Kitty's help - a task that Kitty turned out to be pretty good at, though Clara didn't see her phasing parts of the flowers to make them stay perfectly in place.
With the dresses and location in mind, K had pulled her long brown hair up into a Scandinavian-style milkmaid braid and was pinning it into place as Clara smiled at her - head in her hand as she watched.
"I haven't seen anyone wear that style in decades," Clara said suddenly with a faraway look on her face.
K paused and turned her way, her hands frozen into place. "I can do something else," she offered, but Clara quickly and lightly shook her head.
"No, I like it." She turned to Kitty with a curious look on her face. "Do you think you can wear yours that way too?"
Kitty glanced over to K with her eyebrows raised high and shrugged. "If K can help me, I think it's long enough."
The three women finished their work a little early and quietly made their way to the little white church where the ceremony was to be held as the light began to warm into rich pinks and oranges with the setting sun. The groom, Graham, Liam, and the preacher were at the front of the church waiting for the women to arrive. A friend of Bill's family walked with Clara down the aisle, past the little group of ranch hands on the grooms' side and to Clara's surprise, Logan, Abbey, Jean, and the students taking up the bride's side. The ceremony went quickly, and most filed out, except for everyone that had to sign the papers and Logan, who was anxious to get K to himself again.
With a sly smile, Clara took a minute to lean in close and whisper to K that she'd like to talk to her after she returned from her honeymoon. K smiled tightly and nodded before Clara gave her a squeeze in a gentle, almost sisterly way. "Be careful, OK?" Clara said, squeezing K's hand and fixing her with a more somber expression.
"You too. Congratulations," K replied as Logan and Bill shook hands.
Logan smoothly slipped his arms around K as the couples parted company. The ranch hands, students, and staff were already at the party the rodeo crew was throwing, and having a hell of a time from the sounds of it.
"You mind if I get changed first?" K asked her husband as they walked out of the church. "I'd like to be a little more comfortable." He shook his head, and leaned in to kiss the side of her face as he walked with her to the cabin. K stole a glance at him and frowned his way as if he'd lost his mind as he followed her, though the smile on his face as he reached up to run a finger along the braid on her head got a dry look from her. "I know, it's old fashioned. Shut up."
He only smiled a little more crookedly though as she balanced herself with one hand on his shoulder, ready to remove her heels. "No, I like it," he growled, already thinking of what he'd like to do to her.
She sighed suddenly, looking half worn out as her hands fell to her side. "You really don't give a damn what I look like at all do you?" she asked.
He shook his head lightly as he put his hands at her sides and pulled her closer for a quick kiss. "That's not really the point, darlin'. It's that you're mine," he replied, before he started nipping at her.
K couldn't stop the smile - or the light blush that was lost in the warm reddish light before she leaned in for a quick kiss that very quickly turned into something much more rushed and almost feverish - and delayed them from the party considerably.
The cabin was a mess by the time they finally broke apart, and Logan actually looked somewhat apologetic. "Got a little carried away -" he started to say before K cut him off, pointing a finger his way.
"Don't apologize – you just took me by surprise, that's all. A little warning next time. This was not the best time for that," she said, looking at him meaningfully.
"Yeah, I know. Wrecked things around here a little bit," he said, though he still couldn't stop the corner of his mouth tugging upward as she turned her back to him and shook her head, eyes closed while she unpinned and undid her braids.
"No. Well ... yeah. That too. I mean your timing is very bad. As in … you are in trouble big trouble, mister, if you just got me pregnant bad." She turned to make sure he saw how serious she was. "I'm really not ready for number two just yet."
He couldn't help but smile and check how up for a tease she was. "But that's not a no on a number two ..." she covered his mouth with her hand, looking him in the eyes as she gave him a low growl.
"Don't. Do. That. I'm glad you're not getting all … Canadian on me now with an apology, but that doesn't mean you have to rile me either." She let out a sigh and removed her hand, still closer enough for him to lean forward and kiss. "I think we're okay but for Christ's sake … don't make me doubt your motives." Again she shook her head. "It'll be fine, Logan. One way or another, it will be fine." He looked honestly apologetic at that, and she kissed him again with a little smile, then got up to pull on a pair of low slung blue jeans that earned her a growl.
"You lookin' for a repeat performance, wearin' jeans like that?" he asked, only half joking.
She smiled as she pulled on a white tank top. "Is that a trick question?" K asked, tipping her head to the side. "Come on, stud. Our little girl is probably getting tired of Jean and Kitty. She bit Bobby today too." She pulling one of his flannel shirts on over her tank top before they made their way to the party, his arm around her waist, and stealing kisses all along the dusty path.
The flight back to Westchester was uneventful. Every student on board had enjoyed themselves at the party. Those that had done the horse drive were still tired, and they slept on the way back.
Even K and Abbey found a quiet spot removed from the rest of the group while Logan and Jean piloted. When they landed, the students quietly disembarked as Logan found his girls curled up asleep. Jean offered to carry Abbey, who did not stir once she'd snuggled into the mass of red hair while Logan gingerly lifted K, who looked around herself drowsily before simply leaning into him as he carried her bridal style behind Jean to the boathouse. She woke up a little more fully when he laid her on the bed, but gave up on that when Jean handed Abbey to her and mother and daughter curled in right there on the big bed.
The next day, K had to laugh at the kids from the drive, still obviously saddle sore, and most leaning against the wall rather than sitting in the hard chairs. She took Abbey from Logan and the two spent their day together as usual, which since it had been some time, the festivities included Scott getting mauled by Abbey - and both the ferals and Jean simply watched the interaction go down.
They hadn't expected Scott to go so entirely soft like that, but as soon as Abbey saw him, she squealed delightedly and wouldn't back off until he'd picked her up. He hadn't even opened his mouth- sure that the little girl would start shouting over him, but his reluctance melted away when Abbey put her pudgy little hands on either side of his face and then gave him a sloppy baby kiss before she snuggled into a little ball under his chin, half melted into his shoulder.
"Looks like you have a friend," K said, tipping her chin his way as she curled into Logan's side.
"I guess so," Scott replied, smiling crookedly though he was obviously trying not to smile too hard over it. It was hard for him to deny though as he'd leaned his head to her and looked ready to just … disappear with her.
And while they were enjoying their little reunion, K finally took a moment to give Logan a long kiss and slip away from the group. She'd asked Hank months ago - before Abbey was born - to find a way to help her slow down when it came to kids since it was so clear that Logan would roll with it as it came. Especially considering his poor level of control while they were in Colorado.
But so far, his prototypes weren't holding up to lab testing, let alone anything she might be able to try out herself. She'd barely gotten into the lab when Hank looked up at her - and though he'd started to smile, the look on her face had him right down to business. "There has to be some way that you can live as any other modern woman," he said, looking incredibly determined.
"I appreciate that, Henry. Really I do. Though I take it you haven't had much luck," K said, trying not to sound too discouraged.
"My dear, luck has nothing to do with it," Hank replied over the top of his glasses as she perched on the tall stool nearby, her hands on her knees.
She took in the state of disarray in the usually neat lab and frowned to herself. "Why don't you join us for lunch?" K asked, though she knew it was a waste of breath as soon as the words left her lips.
"No, I'm afraid I have too much to do. You're not my only lady friend looking for assistance," he replied, which only got a frown from her.
"Anything I can do there?" she asked.
Hank smirked and shrugged one shoulder. "Perhaps. Perhaps not," he said. "I'm afraid I'm simply in the middle of testing right now. One step at a time."
K frowned at that and stared at the door for a few minutes, wondering to herself who and what were the center of that experiment, but she pushed down the compulsion to snoop with a little sniffing around and instead slipped off of the stool. "Well … if you need anything …"
"I'll be sure to let you know," Hank promised, then smiled in a more troublemaking manner. "And K … I believe all five of those students will be sitting crooked for at least a week."
K nodded at that and gave him a little smirk. "More like two, but who's counting?" She winked at him as he started to chuckle and then she headed upstairs to touch base with the others.
When she returned to the kitchen, Abbey was still with Scott, frustrating him in the sweetest way possible. Jean would ask him a question - worded so that it was clear who she intended to answer, and as soon as Scott opened his mouth to reply, Abby would lean forward and cover his mouth with one hand, eyes wide as she covered her own with her free hand and tried to shush him around her fingers.
K leaned in the doorway to watch - finally chuckling out loud when Jean leaned in closer to Scott and tried to talk - only to get the same response from Abbey - one hand over her mouth and a shush, though the little girl curled in on herself giggling the next time she did it to Scott and he covered her hand with his and kissed her palm.
From there Abbey just melted into his shoulder, patting his mouth with one hand as she settled down. "I take it you two are okay with her for a little while?"
"Just fine," Scott said around Abbey's fingers, though the little girl picked up her head and then leaned forward to press her forehead to his mouth until he conceded to her. "Okay, no talking."
The first day of school after the trip seemed to be more or less the same as any other. Early morning started off with a run between K and Scott since he'd offered to help her get her stamina up again. K had jumped on the opportunity, too, knowing full well how much Jean loved to help feed Abbey first thing, and how much the little girl adored the smile she got from Jean.
And after that, the two of them parted company to clean up and then join their spouses for coffee and breakfast of their own before classes started. But K was the only one out of the four that didn't have an early morning class, so she simply played with Abbey until lunchtime - and Ororo's free class period.
Abbey loved lunchtime with Ororo best of all since instead of something boring like a bath, the weather Goddess tended to give the little one a tiny microburst that made her belly laugh until tears were coming out of her eyes. K took a moment to give both of them a quick kiss on the cheek before she headed out to take care of business.
She was pulling on her dusty boots as Logan came toward her fresh off of one of his combat classes.
"Where ya headed, sweetheart?" he said, as he joined her and pulled her over for a kiss.
"Class, of course," she replied, pulling the jeans back down over the top of the boots.
He frowned and watched her for a moment. "Didn't think you'd have class today."
"Why not? No one else cancelled class," she replied looking totally perplexed as to why he might even ask that, reaching for an flannel shirt.
"Yeah, but the better part of your class can't sit down. You gonna make 'em ride like that?"
She just stared at him in response, as if he was crazy, nodding her head before she grabbed her hat. "The other half of class is fine. Part of the challenge of that trip was they had to finish out the classes for the rest of the year. Time for them to cowboy up – or something. Not … okay. So we're doing mostly dressage today, but my point is valid."
But by then, Logan was smiling crookedly at her before he had to steal another, longer kiss. "You are mean. They're gonna think I put you up to it," he said, nibbling on her neck as she tried to pry his hands off her.
"Hey now," she said with a little chuckle, managing a little distance, though he didn't let her go. "The kids I asked to go were the ones that are always pushing the horses to run. I thought this might get them to take it easy. So you better cool it before I get mean."
Logan grinned in response. "Whatcha gonna do when you get mean?" he asked before he pulled her close and knocked her hat off of her head.
She put her hands on his chest, trying to regain her space and failing miserably. "I don't know yet, but I suppose I'm feeling a little creative – have to adjust for your healing, so it would need to be memorable," she said before she gave him another kiss. "So watch it." He grinned and finally let her go, though he did pick up her hat for her and put it on her head crooked before she headed out.
Life had more or less gotten back to normal quickly, but it really had been long over due for some major calamity, so no one was surprised when the team got called in to make a run. Charles had gathered up a team to head out to find some trouble makers that had broken off from Magneto's group, and several heavy hitters were left behind - K and Jean included.
Whoever it was that was being a problem gone far enough off the rails that Erik had kicked them out then told Charles about them, so the team that headed out to handle it was a substantial force. The only trouble was that they couldn't find them.
A few days turned into a week, and those left behind took turns listening in for the trouble that they most definitely were having.
It was K's turn in the War Room - which wasn't terribly bad for her since she just let Abbey play there while she worked over Logan's classes assignments - half listening as she graded for him. The bickering between Scott and Logan was reaching some fairly entertaining heights when K started to feel incredibly dizzy.
It wasn't much, except for the fact that her mutation should have killed whatever it was that was bothering her. But … Abbey was pulling herself up and dancing as she tried to go from one chair to the next, and though she hadn't quite gotten brave enough to take those first steps to cruise, and spent her time bouncing instead.
She pushed the history tests away from her and turned to watch Abbey closer, wondering to herself what the deal was with the dizziness, and biting her lip as she counted back to the trip to Colorado … her eyes narrowed as she did the math.
And on adding it up … she wasn't sure how to handle it. She supposed that the smart thing to do would be to go to Hank and have him give her a once over, but seeing as Hank was with the team …
K took a deep breath and smiled as Abbey grinned up at her. "Here we go, I guess," she said in a sigh, though when Jean came into the room not twenty minutes later all K could think to herself was It's just not right.
"Any word from the team yet?" Jean asked, and K put on a neutral look and shook her head. "No - just … yours and mine are having a little pissing contest. I swear to you, neither one of them can hear that the other is trying to help and they're just … misinterpreting it as the whole alpha dog crap."
"Honey, you have no idea," Jean said as she took a seat, and put her arms out for Abbey to grab onto since the little girl was outright squealing at seeing her friend.
K smiled sadly as she watched Jean tickle Abbey then give the girl a kiss. "Do you want me to take her upstairs?" Jean offered, looking at the papers still on the table.
"If you wouldn't mind too much," K agreed, though she was sure that most of the reason she hadn't flipped out yet was because Abbey was there. "I can come get her in a while. You're not missing much with the boys. They're really just arguing. They haven't found the guys yet, and I'm sure Scott will check in soon."
"He already did," she admitted before she tapped her temple. "They're putting some kids back where they belong and then resuming the search. "Those idiots are giving them a run for their money and neither of the guys are happy about it."
"Well … they did leave a lot here," K said, gesturing between them - and that at least got a grin from Jean.
"Yes, yes they did." With that, she got up and left K to listen for the team - and at least the argument between Logan and Scott had seemed to settle down a bit.
K tried to focus on what was going on, or on the history tests, but it was plainly clear that she was distracted. Her thoughts were no longer on World War One as she counted again in her head and then ended up swearing under her breath. She kept trying to reason her way into being wrong …
She shook her head and picked up her phone and texted for Remy to take over for her. When he showed up, she gestured to the radio. "They've been fighting. They're idiots - but I can't … concentrate when they're being stupid."
Remy chuckled at that and simply took a seat - both of this feet kicked up on the desk where Scott usually sat as he settled in. "You been down here a whole lot longer 'den you shoulda been, petit," he said. "G'on. Get you somet'in to eat. Miss Jeannie got dat jolie petit fille of yours all dressed up already - still tryin' ta get de bows on her head."
"Well that's a losing battle," K remarked as she gathered up the tests and gave Remy a quick squeeze on his arm as she passed him. "Thanks, Rem."
She headed out at a brisk pace, but she didn't rush for the elevator, instead veering off to pop into the lab while it was still mercifully empty. She dug around until she found the right drawer and pocketed several tests to deal with in the boathouse … but not here. She'd wait until Abbey was asleep and then do it. Not before when she had to keep herself together. Not when she had no idea how she would react if her math was right.
By the time she got upstairs, she'd managed to rearrange her thoughts so that a simple brush from Jean or Charles wouldn't give her away - or her concerns. She just didn't want to do that until it was unavoidable. Not while knowing how clearly Jean was longing.
Jean was having a ball when K got up to the kitchen. The quest to put bows in Abbey's hair had been abandoned in favor of a little light dinner time, and the two of them were grinning at each other and having a blast over the chicken soup that Jean had whipped up.
K could feel herself going a bit pale when the scent of it hit her and her stomach flipped, though she put all her efforts into controlling her reaction and not thinking about the why, or even trying to convince herself that she was imagining the symptoms.
Night came, and as predicted, the team's mission still looked as if there was no end in sight, so once Abbey was asleep, K slipped into the bathroom to take her test. When it came up positive, she stared at it for a long while, slightly numb, and then made her way to the bedroom and simply watched Abbey sleeping in her crib.
But she couldn't sleep that night. And by the time morning came, she was having trouble keeping out of her own thoughts, knowing full well that Jean was going to be crushed when it came out.
She must have been taking longer than she thought to get up to the kitchen at the house too, because it wasn't long before Jean came down to the boathouse looking for her.
"Is Abbey feeling okay?" Jean asked as she stepped inside, and K let out a little sigh as she watched her crouch down next to Abbey where she was happily playing on the floor with some blocks.
"She's fine-"
"Then what's the story?" Jean asked. "I mean … I know you like to run with Scott, but there's no reason to stop doing that for the entire time the team is gone, and you know I'll handle her while you're out."
"I know … I just…" K pinched the bridge of her nose and doubled down on her efforts to maintain her boundaries. "I just really didn't sleep well last night." K let out a breath and ran her hand through her hair. "A lot on my mind."
"Anything I can help with?" Jean said brightly.
"Not really," K said half under her breath before she forced a smile. "Do you want some coffee while you're here? Abbey isn't quite ready to go anywhere yet - she has trouble falling asleep without her father here."
At that, Jean couldn't help but smile warmly. "She's been so good for both of you."
K met Jean's gaze and gave her a little smirk. "She's been good for everyone." But Jean just agreed readily with her as she poured herself a cup of coffee and made her way over to sit next to K as she watched over Abbey.
It was clear though that K both wanted to say something, and had no idea what to say to her - all things considered, but the two of them were mercifully spared when the sound of the jet flying low overhead as it came in for a landing filled the boathouse.
Jean smiled her way. "I guess they did what they set out for," she said, though she looked a little more subdued herself, though K couldn't venture a guess as to the reason why - and she really didn't want to if the telepath had managed to glean what was on her mind.
"I guess it's time to head up then," K said, lifting Abbey to her hip.
Jean smiled and the two of them headed up to the house in silence - silence that K was very sure meant that Jean knew.
The pair of them met the guys after they went into the War Room to fill out their debriefs with the rest of the team, and K's suspicions on what Jean knew were all but confirmed when Scott pulled her in for a long, tight hug that seemed to just keep going.
K paused before Logan could get to her, and did her best to put on a bit of a smile when he reached her and gave her a kiss.
"I'm gonna clean up," Logan said. "Got nothin' but scorched plastic in my nose right now."
That explains that, she thought to herself before she let him go and then gave Jean and Scott a quick glance. It was clear that the two of them were conversing through their psychic rapport, and K simply wanted to get away from the two of them as quickly as possible, all things considered.
She didn't wait for Logan to clean up before she headed back to the boathouse, not in any mood to be social, all things considered. Abbey seemed to pick up that something was off, and instead of squirming or fighting her mother like she normally would when her schedule was messed with, she snuggled in.
Which was exactly what K needed as she waited for Logan to show up. When he finally walked through the door, K didn't wait for him to get close. "I should hit you," she said, shaking her head.
"What for?" he asked, still not close enough to catch her scent right, and looking almost bewildered over it.
K frowned his way, set Abbey down with her toys and made her way over to him to let him pull her closer - at which point his entire face shifted into one of slight surprise. "Oh …"
"I thought you were keeping track of the scent," K said, looking completely upset as she put her arms around his neck.
"I was," he insisted, frowning to himself, trying to figure out when …. "Oh, crap. The drive. All the dirt and dust …"
"Yeah, no kidding," K said, frowning. "I thought your nose was reliable." It was clear she was trying to tease, even though he could tell she was upset.
"It is," he defended.
"Clearly not as much as we need it to be," she said, shaking her head. "But Jean."
Logan frowned at that. "They're working on it," he said, shaking his head lightly.
"Yeah, but they've been working on it for a while, and so far …" she shook her head. "I can't watch her force herself to be happy for us again."
Logan nodded at that and frowned deeper as he thought about it, the wheels turning already. "Does she know?"
"About this? I think so," K said. "I didn't tell her but … this isn't something that's easy to not think about." She shook her head again. "But I don't want to bring any attention to it. Not … not for a while. I'd rather wait as long as possible before they're all whipped into the baby frenzy again."
Logan gave her a look and nodded his agreement, though if she'd been paying attention at all, she'd have seen how thoughtful he was as he weighed it all out. "You know she'll be upset if you wait too long to tell her."
"Yeah, but she's going to be upset anyhow," K pointed out. "If we get a chance to be alone and talk, I'll tell her sooner than later. But only if I catch that she's overly anxious without some other reason backing it up."
Logan nodded his agreement to that - he couldn't argue it, and he knew how much the Summers were looking forward to a little one of their own. "You sure you're alright?"
K shrugged, even though she didn't look overly enthusiastic at all. "I mean … the timing sucks? But … I guess I'm okay. Not like I have a lot going on right now, what with all the baby snuggles."
He gave her a slightly crooked smirk and pulled her into a long kiss. "I blew it."
"Yeah, but … I can't really put it all on you," she said. "Even if I would like to."
Abbey's squeal caught their attention and the two of them turned to watch as she grinned up at them - her teddy bear clutched tightly in one hand as she held onto the coffee table with her fingertips, wobbling for an instant as she let go - and stood freely for a moment before she lost her balance and fell onto her backside with a giggle.