Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution, or Friends, which this chapter and the last take their roots from. This is because I feel a large dose of angst coming up and I wanted to inject some humour into the situation.

Chapter Eight – Goodbye

January 2000

The next morning, the mansion awoke to a state of tension, everyone dreading what was to happen. Two people, however, were slightly more upbeat.

And they had a right to be, because they hadn't been woken up once during the night, which meant they were both wide awake for once.

Well, Lance was.

"You need coffee so badly right now." Lance chuckled affectionately.

Kitty gave him a dirty look. "Yeah, well, unless you want to take over feeding duties, that's not gonna happen for another couple of months."

"You are really not a morning person." Lance commented.

"You'd think you'd know that by now." Kitty shot back.

"I do." Lance kissed her softly. "And I love you anyway."

"Well, aren't you romantic?" Any other woman would have made it sound like a warning, but her smile never wavered.

"When I want to be." Lance slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, but before he could kiss her, a throat cleared in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt," Alex said, leaning against the doorframe, with no hint of remorse in his eyes, "but have you seen Lorna?"

Kitty glanced up. "No, I haven't seen her since last night. I think she's still asleep."

Lance turned her attention back to him and kissed her anyway. "You want some coffee?"

"Yes please." Alex looked around. "It's strangely quiet in here today."

"That's because it's a strange day." Kitty sighed sadly. "I still can't believe Lorna's leaving."

"Hey, how'd it go last night?" Lance asked. "She seemed pretty mad at you when she asked if I'd seen you."

Alex shrugged. "Well, we … we worked things out."

"What's with the smile?" Kitty asked suspiciously. "Did something happen between you two?"

"Hey, I'm not one to kiss and tell!" Alex protested, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. "But I'm also not one to have sex and shut up about it."

Kitty gasped. "Get out! You're kidding! You and Lorna?"

Alex grinned. "Yeah, I know; I can hardly believe it myself."

Lance handed him a mug of coffee. "So does this mean that you two are together now?"

"Thanks." Alex took a sip, contemplating his answer. "I don't know." He admitted finally. "We didn't really get a chance to talk about it."

"Do you want to get together?" Kitty asked.

"I don't know." Alex repeated. "I … Last night was incredible, it just felt so right … and when I was holding her, I never wanted to let her go, you know?"

Lance nodded, wrapping an arm around Kitty's waist, remembering the first morning he'd woken with her in his arms.

Alex's mind seemed to catch up with him. "You know what? Yes. Yeah, I wanna be with her."

"Yay!" Kitty cried.

Both men hushed her frantically.

"Yay!" Kitty repeated in a whisper.

Lance chuckled fondly and kissed her forehead, before turning back to Alex. "So is she still going to Paris?"

Alex looked like he'd been punched in the gut. "Oh God … I hadn't even thought of that … I hope not!"

Kitty grinned. "Oh, this is turning out to be the best day ever! You and Lorna might be getting together; Amara and John are coming home; Liam slept all through the night last night … I feel like I'm in a musical!" Putting on another pot of coffee, she began to sing. "I … feel … like … today could be a very good day! I … feel …"

"Morning!" Lorna greeted breezily.

Kitty shrugged. "Guess you'll never know how the song ends."

"Hey." Alex greeted. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good." Lorna replied calmly. "You?"

"Good." Alex nodded.

"I bet you did." Lance muttered with a smirk, causing Kitty to elbow him lightly.

Lorna turned to them. "Would you mind giving us a minute?"

"Of course." Kitty told her. "We've got to get Liam anyway. Coffee should be ready in a few minutes." She linked her arm through Lance's and steered him out of the kitchen.

Lance glanced over his shoulder. "Do you think she'll stay?"

"She has to!" Kitty answered. "Alex is crazy about her; he's loved her since he met her. It'd just be cruel if she left after this!"

Lance shuddered, pulling her closer. "I don't know what I'd do if you moved to Paris."

"Come with me?" Kitty suggested innocently, reaching up to kiss him. "That's alright. I'm not moving to Paris."

Later that day …

"And then she said it was the perfect way to say goodbye."

Lorna was leaving in five minutes, John and Amara were on their way back from the airport and Alex's heart was scattered on the rec room floor in several thousand tiny pieces.

Kitty winced at Lorna's repeated words. "Ouch."

"What did you say?" Lance asked.

"Nothing." Alex sighed heavily. "What do you say to that?"

"You have to tell her how you feel!" Kitty told him. "She doesn't know that you want to be with her; if she did, she might feel differently; she might even stay!"

"Even if I do decide to tell her, I don't have to tell her today!" Alex protested. "I'll see her again; there'll be plenty of opportunities!"

Kitty laughed, though not unkindly. "Alex, she's going to Paris! Do you have any idea how many hot guys there are in Paris?"

Lance cleared his throat. "I'm right here."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously there are hot guys here as well. But Paris is … well, it's Paris!"

She knew the argument was weak, but she was saved from dealing with that by Amara and John's return with baby Eloise.

"We're back!" Amara called. "And your cab's outside, Lorna."

"Oh, it's time for me to go." Lorna sighed.

Wanda gave her a hug. "Call us when you get there, okay?"

"I will." Lorna promised, turning to embrace Pietro.

"You sure you don't want us to come with you?" Pietro asked, kissing his half-sister's forehead.

"Thanks, but no. I don't want to drag this out." Lorna stooped to kiss Eloise in Amara's arms. "Okay, I can't say goodbye to everyone again. I love you all so much. Au revoir!" She picked her bags up and grimaced. "Oh, they're gonna hate me over there."

With that, the door had closed and she was gone, leaving the team in a heavy silence.

"You just let her go." Kitty sighed.

"Maybe it's for the best." Lance said quietly, seeing the pain in Alex's eyes. "Maybe you've just got to think of last night the way she does. Maybe sleeping together really was the perfect way to say goodbye."

Although the three were oblivious to it – Alex because he was staring at the spot Lorna had previously occupied, Lance and Kitty because they were focussing on him – there was a sharp intake of breath throughout the room and Lexa and Wanda both automatically grabbed hold of Pietro to stop him from reacting.

Amara's mouth fell open. "They slept together?" She asked her husband.

"I was with you." John reminded her.

"But now she'll never know how he feels!" Kitty protested, ignoring the by-play.

"Maybe that's okay." Lance refuted, everyone else watching as though they were a particularly interesting tennis match. "Now he can move on, he can finally get over her."

"Yeah, that's true." Alex agreed quietly. "Except … I don't wanna get over her."

"What?" Lance asked.

"I don't!" Alex told him, his voice getting stronger. "I wanna be with her! I'm gonna go after her."

Lance laughed. "Yeah, you are!"

"This is so cool!" Bobby yelled.

John turned to Amara. "I have no idea what's going on, but I am excited!"

"I'll give you a lift to the airport!" Kitty said, following Alex out to the garage. A flurry of shouts followed them, as the shock wore off, and her parting words were lost in the chaos.

"Wait a minute!" Lance's voice cut through the noise. "Did she just say she was taking my jeep?"

His concern was well-founded – while Lance wasn't quite as protective of his car as Kitty was with the Comet, everyone knew that Kitty's driving was a little … erratic. Fine for a bike, not so much for a car.

"She can't." Jean frowned. "She hasn't got the keys, for a start."

Lance checked his back pocket, finding it empty. "Oh, dammit!"

Out in the garage, Kitty phased into the driver's seat of Lance's car and slipped the key into the ignition. "Comet's having engine trouble; we'll have to take this."

"But Lance …" Alex protested.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "I'll tell him it's my fault; he can't stay mad at me."

Alex sighed and got in. "There's no seatbelt."

"Yeah, the paramedics had to cut through it." Kitty told him matter-of-factly.

Alex stared at her. "What?"

"It's okay." Kitty assured him. "If we hit something, the engine will explode, so it's better if you're thrown from the car."

"What?"

Kitty smirked. "I'm kidding, Alex, chill out! There's never been a seatbelt that side. Now let's go."

Lorna was just about to board the plane when she heard someone calling her name. The note of desperation in the voice caused her to double back, hurrying back into the departure lounge, where she was stunned to find Alex and Kitty standing there, both slightly out of breath. "What … What are you doing here?"

Kitty squeezed Alex's shoulder. "Alright, Summers, you're up."

"Alex, what are you doing here?" Lorna repeated.

Alex took her hands and pulled her out of the crowd. "I need to talk to you."

"Alex, I'm supposed to be getting on a plane." Lorna reminded him. "What is so important that you couldn't wait until I landed?"

"Okay, the thing is …" Alex took a deep breath. "Don't go."

Lorna stared at him for a few seconds. "What?"

"Don't go." Alex responded, dropping one of her hands to cup her face. "Please don't go, Lorna. I love you."

Lorna opened her mouth, but no sound escaped her. The noise of the terminal seemed to fade around them, leaving the two in a kind of bubble, cut off from everyone around her.

"I know I shouldn't have waited." Alex admitted. "But I'm telling you now, Lorna. I love you. Stay with me."

"Miss?" The gate attendant called. "The plane is about to leave. If you're boarding, we need you to come now."

"Lorna." Alex recaptured her attention. "I know you love me. I can feel it."

And he could. Now he admitted how much he loved her, he could identify the glint in her eye that appeared every time she looked at him.

His voice dropped to a pleading whisper. "Stay. Please."

"I …" Lorna swallowed, taking a step back. "I have to go."

"Lorna …" Alex felt his heart stop, shaking his head in denial.

"They're waiting for me, Alex." Lorna whispered. "I'm sorry." She handed her boarding pass to the gate attendant once more. "I'm so sorry."

AN: If you watch Friends, you saw that one coming. If not, *ducks* Review please!