Storm was patrolling the halls when she noticed Kurt and Kitty standing with their ears pressed to the door to Charles's office but before she can open her mouth to say anything the door swings open causing the two teenagers to fall into the room.

"Elf… Half-pint… don't you have a place to be, like… I don't know…BED!" Logan growled.

At seeing that Logan had the situation in hand Storm went on to check on other students.

"We were like totally worried about the professor." Kitty protested.

"I'm glad yer so concerned but ya seem to forget you two still have school in the morning." Logan pointed out.

Eli grinned slightly at the interaction between Logan and the students who now sulked away to their bedrooms.

"I must admit, Charles I'm rather impressed with how loyal your students are to you" Eli sighed as he leaned on Charles' desk. "So loyal that they were worried enough to point all of this out to me, someone they have barely met. They were also loyal enough to listen out in case you needed protection from me."

Charles leaned forward resting his elbows on the arms of his chair with a tired expression.

"Now I've got another question." Eli added. "You said Jawn is your nephew, but Megan wasn't too clear when she told me about him, am I to assume he is Kane's son?"

"Yes, Eli, unfortunately he is." Charles sighed "Kane is, as of now, unaware of that fact for the simple reason that any time he has left prison he has had the singular goal of killing me and has not been open to discuss anything else."

Eli nodded silently.

"Does Jawn know who his father is?"

"Yes, Jawn does know"

"How does he feel about his father not knowing."

"As far as I can tell he understands that his father is dangerous and has been okay with the family he has but to be honest I'm not so sure about that."

Eli stood and walked over to Charles.

"Now that we have that settled your students had an idea." Eli smiled.

"What kind of idea?" Charles asked dubiously.

"They think it would be best if you and Kathy got away for a few days."

"Are you sure this is a good time for that?" Charles looked at Eli in confusion.

"There's nothin' more we can do right now; Jawn is in the infirmary and Lucas is in the wind... best thing we can do right now is focus on Kathy… well scratch that, you can focus on Kathy." Logan chimed in.

"What about the school?" Charles asked.

"You have plenty of teachers here, Beast, Logan, Ororo and now me… I think we can take care of things for a few days while you focus on taking care of your daughter." Eli pointed out.

"Yes, you are right, but where can we go?" Charles asked.

"Don't worry about it, I have already made the arrangements."

"Why do I get the feeling you did that before you came to confront me?" Charles mused.

"Well quite frankly because if I did otherwise you would have vehemently refused."

Charles glared at him silently as he felt Eli was more than likely right, but he wasn't ready to admit it.

"So where are we going?" Charles asked.

"A cabin of mine."

Charles gave him a look that clearly read "That didn't answer my question" but said nothing.

"When are we leaving out?" Charles asked.

"First thing in the morning, because you Logan and Kathy have a long trip ahead of you."

"Hold up… since when was I goin on this little excursion?" Logan asked.

"Well that's what I needed to talk to you about." Eli replied turning his attention to Logan.

"Thanks for the heads up slick" Logan said sarcastically.

"You're welcome" Eli smirked which earned a glare from Logan.

Beast entered the office.

"Excuse me, gentlemen I hope I am not interrupting anything important." He said.

"No, just finishing a little argument."

"Okay… well I found something that you might be interested in, Eli." Beast said not asking about why they were having an argument.

"Really?"

"Follow me, it would be easier to show you rather than attempt to explain it." Beast said as he started back out of the office.

They followed him and Logan noticed Kathy coming down the stairs and cursed inwardly as he had been afraid this would happen.

"Is everything okay, Uncle Logan?" she asked rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, munchkin, go back to sleep."

Eli visibly stiffened at Kathy referring to Logan as 'Uncle' but reminded himself she didn't know who he was.

They got downstairs and Jean picked up on the tension instantly.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, the munchkin just called me uncle in front of Eli." Logan commented

"Hasn't she always done that?" Beast asked.

"Well isn't that just neat…" Eli said through gritted teeth glaring at Charles.

"I shouldn't have said that… I should not have said that." Beast said half under his breath

"Regardless… what did you need to show us, Beast…" Charles asked.

Eli gave Charles a glare that clearly said, "How dare you ignore me," before turning his attention to Beast.

Beast looked between Charles and Eli before clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Okay… while I was analyzing the bullet I found some strange marks and when I put it under the microscope well… Eli it would be easier for you to see for yourself than for me to possibly explain it." Beast said indicating the microscope.

Eli walked over and looked into the microscope and his posture instantly changed as his entire body went rigid.

"What is it, Eli?" Charles asked.

Eli stepped aside indicating that Charles should look for himself. Charles did and saw a black bird that looked equal parts falcon and bat.

"No…" Charles whispered.

"What is it Chuck?" Logan asked.

"Barrett" Eli muttered

"Ya sayin yer pops is in on this?" Logan demanded.

"I am afraid he is." Charles sighed.

"Hang on… why would Eli's father want to kill Jawn?" Jean asked.

"I don't think he did, I think he was trying to send a message to me" Eli paused.

"What was that stuff I smelled on that bullet?" Logan asked.

"It was some sort of serum that is only harmful to mutants." Beast replied.

"Is… is Jawn going to die." A tiny voice peeped from behind a shelf.

Everyone turned to see Kathy come into view.

Eli looked between Kathy and Beast who seemed at a loss for words.

"How long will it take to make an antidote?" Eli asked.

"It shouldn't take me too long to make an antidote." Beast said as Charles reached to invite Kathy into his arms.

"Ya hear that, munchkin, yer cousin's going to be okay?"

Eli looked to Beast "Is there anything else you needed me for?" he asked.

"No, that seems to wrap it up… now I believe it is best we all try to get some rest." Beast replied.

"Well then Charles, I will be seeing you in the morning." Eli said then started out of the room.

"Hey, don't ya need to tell the kid about somethin?" Logan asked.

Eli stopped and looked at Kathy.

"I think Charles should explain that one." Eli replied.

Charles glared at Eli but said nothing as Eli backed slowly out of the room with a cheshire cat grin on his face.

Charles sighed "Let's go back to your room Kathy and I'll explain what Logan and Eli were talking about."

"Okay, dad," Kathy sighed and followed him into the elevator.

They got to the correct floor and Kathy walked over and sat on her bed looking tired.

"Look Kathy, Eli has made arrangements for you, me and Logan to spend a few days on holiday at his cabin, to reconnect and just relax together." Charles explained.

"Are we sure this is a good idea with everything that is happening?" Kathy asked.

"As it stands there is little we can do but worry until Barrett or Lucas show up again so yes, I believe this is as good a time as any for this." He replied.

Kathy looked down still unsure about this timing but not willing to argue with her father.

"So when are we leaving?" she asked looking up at him again.

"In the morning." Charles replied. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart, we will discuss more in the morning."

Charles guided Kathy to lean down so he could place a kiss on her forehead before she laid down to sleep again. He stayed in her room until he was certain she was asleep before going to his own room to go to bed.

The next morning came, and everyone started to gather at the breakfast table. Jean could feel the tension between Charles and Eli, and she knew things weren't going too well.

"So… what was go…"

"Hey Kurt, do you want some more bacon?" Jean asked

"Uh… yeah sure…" Kurt replied uncertain of why Jean picked now to ask.

"Yeah, like we were so curious what…"

"Kitty… what do you think of the juice, it's fresh?" Jean once again interrupted.

"Um… yeah it's really good, Jean." Kitty replied as it began to dawn on her what the older girl was doing.

Eli stood up after finishing his plate then looked over at Logan.

"I'll see you in the jet." He said then made his exit.

Soon Kathy, Logan and Charles all follow him.

-Thanks for playing interference- Charles said telepathically to Jean as he left the room.

-No problem, Professor, is everything okay?- she asked.

-It will be, it will just take time.- he replied.

As soon as they were out of earshot Kitty and Kurt turned on Jean

"Jean, like what was that all about?" Kitty demanded.

"Oh dear, look at the time, you two need to get your things for school." Jean replied completely ignoring Kitty's outburst.

"B… But Jean…" Kurt stuttered.

"Like don't worry about it, we'll so totally find out sooner or later." Kitty told him as they left the dining room.

It didn't take long for those that were to leave to pack and gather in the jet for the trip.

"Where are we going?" Kathy asked no one in particular.

"A cabin of mine…" Eli replied

"Where is this cabin?" she asked.

"In the mountains."

"That's absolutely zero help, there are lots of mountains." Kathy replied, imitating one of Logan's glares.

"If you're that curious you can feel free to look out the window." He suggested.

Kathy just puffed her cheeks in frustration but didn't continue the conversation any further.

Eli looked at her with an amused smile thinking back to all the times Megan wore that expression.

Takeoff went without a hitch and soon they were on auto pilot on their way to the cabin.

"Eli, I have some questions." Kathy said coming to sit beside him.

Eli looked around for several seconds then, once he realized there was no getting out of this he shrugged.

"Welp, since I don't have any escape routes, go ahead."

"What is it between you and my dad? C'mon I may be a kid, but even I can feel that the tension is so thick you'd need an adamantium blade to cut it." She sighed.

"I was really hoping your dad would have explained this to you by now." Eli sighed.

"Explained what… does it have anything to do with why you stiffened up when I called Logan, 'uncle' last night?"

Before Eli could respond Charles joined them.

"Is everything okay back here?" he asked.

"Yeah everything is fine, I just think it's time for some introductions." Eli replied.

Charles raised an eyebrow not exactly sure where Eli was going with this then after a second he realized what Eli meant and gave a heavy sigh.

"Kathy, Eli and I… we have been friends for years but… he has a deeper tie to our family… your mother was his younger sister."

Kathy's eyes went wide as what her father had just said sunk in.

"So… you… you're my uncle… my real uncle?" Kathy asked looking at Eli.

Eli nodded silently.

"Why didn't I know before now?" she asked.

"That's a very good question." Eli replied turning to Charles expectantly.

Charles sighed and looked away.

"Truth is with everything that has happened I could never seem to find the right time to bring you or many of the other remaining members of the family into conversation. That is no excuse for her ignorance of her mother's family it is just the best I can give you."

Eli looked at Kathy "You see there… you see I just wasn't relevant enough."

Kathy shrugged, this conversation was getting awkward, and she didn't know how to say that to the men around her.

"I'm sure your father can tell you all about me when we get to the cabin."

"So just tell me why you haven't been around." Kathy prompted.

Eli looked at her "Let's just say my father isn't a very nice man."

"So… he's trying to hurt you?" she asked, "He also tried to kill Jawn."

Eli nodded "yes… that is why I've been in hiding up till now."

Kathy let out a long breath as Charles excused himself to return to the front of the jet.

"Why would he do that to you?" she asked Eli.

"Because the moment I turned eighteen was the first time I defied him."

"What did he want you to do?" she asked.

He looked at the front of the jet.

"He wanted me to get rid of the first friend I ever had."

"You mean my dad, don't you?"

Eli nodded "Yes."

"Why?"

"That I'm not sure of." Eli replied turning to her.

Eli examined Kathy's expression as she staired at the floor of the jet silently for several minutes. Then he realized that she wasn't really paying attention to what she was looking at she was too lost in her thoughts.

"Earth to Kathryn…" Eli said, and she jumped a good two feet straight up.

"Oh geeze uncle, don't scare me like that!" she admonished and Eli's heart skipped a beat at finally being called 'uncle' before he quickly recovered to further analyze the situation.

"I see your father isn't the only one holding back."

"What… what are you talking about I'm… I'm not holding back… everything's fine." Kathy stuttered her voice going up in pitch.

"Right… cause your tone totally says it all." Eli said holding out the right an extra beat to emphasize he wasn't buying her lie for a second. "Look I'm not going to ask you any questions about what is going on, but I will say this, you need to be completely honest with your father. He isn't going to like what you have to say but it needs to be said."

"Okay, Uncle Eli… I… I'll try" she said looking down at her hands the 'Uncle Eli' sounding a bit awkward.

Eli smiled to her. "I have something for you."

"For me?" she asked in curiosity.

He nodded then pulled a small box out of his bag and handed it to her.

"What is this?" she asked then opened it up to see a charm-bracelet. "You got this for me?" she asked in surprise.

"I originally got it for your mom" he said pointing to the magenta gems "Each one represents a first, the magenta ones are your mom's the green ones are yours."

Kathy began looking through the charms noticing hers commemorated things like, first step, first word, first gymnastics competition, first championship win.

"Uncle Eli how did you know about my gymnastics?" she asked.

"Well let's just say it wasn't a complete coincidence that you and I ended up in the same theater."

"You were watching over me…" Kathy said but it came out as more of a question than a statement.

Eli nodded "Yes, your father asked me to."

"But yet he couldn't tell me about you." She said still not quite understanding this whole situation.

"Don't ask me why, that's something only he can answer." Eli shrugged.

"Okay, can you help me put this on?" she asked indicating the bracelet.

Eli smiled then took the bracelet and fastened it on her wrist.

"Thank you, I'm going to go back to my seat and see if I can't squeeze in a nap… I didn't sleep very well." she admitted.

"Okay…" he sighed fuming inwardly at the fact that it seemed Charles had once again forgotten to do things his daughter needed him to do.

Meanwhile: Logan and Charles were at the controls of the X-Jet.

"Look, Chuck I can tell ya right now that girl has a lot goin on in that head o' hers." Logan sighed "Ya need to listen to her, really listen. I can almost guarantee yer not gonna like what she's got on her mind, but she needs to say her peace and she needs you to listen no matter how bad it hurts."

Charles sighed looking at the controls of the jet. He knew Logan was right.

"I… I know Logan… I have made a lot of mistakes over the past few years. It is beyond time that I start to try to make amends for those mistakes."

"Ya say that now, Charles but talk's cheap, you gotta show her with yer actions you want to change for her."

"I am aware and I'm ready to face what is to come." Charles sighed

They went silent as Kathy returned to her seat and drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued…