Breathe Again

"Are you gonna go to jail?" Bobby asked fearfully after taking a long moment to digest this news. "I can't believe this…that's…wow!" They had reached home in the time it took him to form a coherent thought on the shocking turn of events.

"Your dad's partner promised to keep the truth about what happened quiet," said Katie doubtfully. "But jail is a definite possibility. I can handle anything, knowing it protects you, okay? Don't worry about me." She moved from the entrance towards the living room and found Melissa sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. "I'm more worried about your mom right now. I think she's in shock."

"No kidding." Bobby glanced at his aunt in awed disbelief, then climbed onto Melissa's lap. "Mom? Are you okay?"

"I don't know," his mother whispered. "Oh, who am I kidding? This is beyond not okay! What are we going to do now?"

"You're a lot tougher than Dad let you believe," said Bobby fiercely before Katie could chime in with more encouragement. "We're gonna be okay, I promise."

"If you weren't just a kid, that would be highly encouraging," his mother told him faintly. "I love you."

"I may be just a kid, but he was a problem for my whole life," Bobby pointed out. "Things can only get better now." Before he could formulate another thought, Melissa shoved him unceremoniously from her lap and ran for the toilet. When they heard Melissa retching, Katie sat beside her nephew and drew him close at the worried expression on his face.

"It's the stress," said Katie softly. "Don't worry, she'll be alright. You both will because now there's nobody here to chase me away anymore. Not ever again!"

By late March, Quinn couldn't blame the pangs of nausea on fear for Logan's life anymore. They persisted with a scary and familiar routine, and one day, she called Haley, unable to stand it any longer. "Hales, do you have time to come over? I think I need to take a pregnancy test."

Her sister was on the beach house doorstep in fifteen minutes with Lydia in her arms. "Say that again," Haley urged. "And try to sound less freaked out this time. It's a great thing, honey."

"I can't help it," said Quinn faintly. "It's probably early days, and everything came crashing down the last time I let myself start dreaming. I'm totally freaked out!" Her gaze flitted to the bathroom door and back to Haley's sympathetic expression. "I did the test but left it in the bathroom. I couldn't look," she murmured. "I tried to convince myself it was just anxiety over Logan's injuries, but he's doing much better now. And I'm late; it couldn't be anything else."

"Have some snuggles while I go get that test," said Haley decisively, handing Lydia into Quinn's trembling hands. Her sister squeezed her fingers before marching into the bathroom to retrieve the stick that held the answer to Quinn's dream. The minutes it took Haley to return felt like the longest of Quinn's life. But when her sister marched back over to the couch, she was grinning from ear to ear. "It's positive," she squealed. "I knew it; I just knew it!" She sat beside her when Quinn buried her face in Lydia's curls, overcome with emotion. "Do you have any idea how far along you are?"

"I'd guess about five or six weeks?" Quinn ventured. "The last time we…you know, it was Clay's birthday last month. It took a while to get back in the mood emotionally, with everything that happened over Christmas break."

"I've heard that not waiting too long after a miscarriage to try again can help. Sounds like you weren't even trying," Haley mused. "Not to think about your sex life too much, because eww! But I have a good feeling, Quinnie."

"That makes one of us," sighed Quinn. "I want to be excited, but I'm so scared. Losing the last one almost destroyed me, Hales. I can't bear to go through that again!"

"Think positive," Haley advised. "There's no reason to believe something necessarily has to go wrong again." She sidled closer to her sister when Lydia reached for her and leaned towards the little girl. "I love you, Q. This is awesome. Believe that for me, okay?"

"This is awesome!" Lydia echoed like her mother's little parrot, and Quinn finally allowed herself to laugh and hug her niece more tightly. Then she closed her eyes and prayed for the strength to hang on to that optimism and hope for a new beginning.

November 2018 – Five Months Earlier

Clay placed the final wrapped gift at the top of the small pile on the living room floor. It would be the first thing Logan saw when he descended the stairs on this birthday morning. "All done?" Quinn asked, moving around the kitchen counter to join him. "They look great, honey."

"I always liked wrapping gifts," Clay shrugged. "Lily taught me when I was pretty young. She used to get annoyed because Petunia's favorite part of the process was ripping the paper like a monster. We were united in the slow and steady approach. How those girls are twins, I don't know," he laughed. "Did I miss anything, do you think?"

Quinn stared at the pile critically for a moment, then smiled and reached into her back pocket. "Maybe one thing," she said mysteriously, reminding him of decorating Logan's new bedroom when the then six-year-old moved in with them two years earlier. "I have something for you, too. Do you want it now or later when we give Logan his gifts?"

"Intriguing," Clay grinned. "Now is good!" He curiously took the little box she had been holding behind her back and peeled off the ribbon that tied it shut. The long and narrow box contained what looked like a thermometer. Clay tilted his head in confusion. "A thermometer?" he guessed. "Are you sick or something?"

"It's not a thermometer, you goof," Quinn giggled. "Look closer."

"Wait," said Clay slowly, and she could practically see the delight dawning in his eyes. "Is this a…? Are you…?"

"Somebody's forgotten how to form complete sentences," his wife teased, but when she nodded, there were tears in her eyes. "We're having a baby!" She could barely get the words out before his kiss stole all the air from her lungs. "I love you, Clay Evans."

A commotion at the foot of the stairs made Clay look up before he could reply. Logan stood there, staring at his parents with a strange look of betrayal. "You're having a baby?" he asked, giving Quinn an accusing glance. "You're replacing me!" Swiping at his eyes, the birthday boy bolted out the front door before his father could move.

"How is that the gut reaction?" Clay sank onto the couch, his happiness from a moment ago deflated. "Shit!"

"It's gonna be okay," Quinn soothed, stroking his hair gently. "He probably went to Nathan and Haley's. Logan's not the type to just run off. Call them."

"Yeah," said Clay softly, reaching for his phone already. Before dialing, he looked up at Quinn again. "I'm so happy," he reinforced. "Even if he's not. It's scary sometimes how much I love you."

"Well, that feeling is totally mutual." Quinn was still smiling, but she suddenly looked faintly green. "Be right back!" she gasped and ran to the bathroom. Clay stared after her, worry at war with the biggest joy he could remember feeling in years. It was a brand-new chapter, and he couldn't wait to watch it unfold.

"I was slightly further along when I told Clay the last time," Quinn mused out loud. "By Logan's birthday last year, I was about eight or nine weeks. When do you think I should tell him? I don't want to put us both through hell again for no reason."

"You're doing the pessimism thing again, honey," Haley pointed out. "This isn't like you. You're the one who keeps everyone hopeful when things get rough. I repeat, everything is going to go smoothly this time. Call your doctor, okay? Knowing more will make you feel better. And tell Clay, obviously!" She gripped Quinn's shaking fingers, smiling when Lydia did the same. "Why don't we put on a movie? A little Disney magic could cheer anyone up, right Lyddie Bug?"

"Magic," Lydia grinned. "Underwater magic! Her hair is pretty."

"Little Mermaid it is then," Haley nodded and popped in the movie. Then she settled Lydia on a pile of cushions on the floor, arranged like a throne, and plopped back onto the couch. Quinn rested her head on Haley's shoulder with a sigh and tried to let the magic of her childhood cheer her up.

Once the shock of Kevin's death wore off, Melissa found herself job-searching for the first time in her life. When Bobby mentioned the school librarian was retiring, she jumped at the chance and requested a meeting with Principal Rimkus. To her amazement as much as anyone's, she got the job and was immediately put to work. It all happened so suddenly that she was able to surprise her son when the second-graders arrived for a study session one afternoon.

She saw his eyes widen in amazement when the class trooped in and settled down with their storybooks. Shooting him a smile, she returned to her filing job until one of the young readers needed her input. The murmurs of the working students washed over her as she began to figure out a cataloging system for herself. It was the most productive day she'd had in ages, like coming up for air after years of being suffocated without even knowing it.

Bobby was staring blankly at one of the illustrations in his book when there was the scraping noise of a chair being moved closer to where he sat. He looked up reluctantly to see Logan watching him intently. "What do you want, Evans?"

"To say I'm sorry about your dad," said Logan softly, glancing up at Melissa's desk to make sure he was being quiet enough. "That's your mom, right? My Aunt Haley used to be a teacher here before I was around. Must be nice."

"She needed this," said Bobby. "My dad was…a monster. So there's no need to be sorry because I'm not. He's even the reason you got shot! Why would you be sorry he's gone?"

"Because losing a parent sucks," said Logan simply. "I've been there." He paused for a moment, giving Bobby a minute to act like he wasn't about to crack. "Thank you for the action figures," he added then. "This wasn't your fault, you know. Your aunt was the one who shot my dad once; she really freaks my parents out now. Is she still around?"

"She is." Bobby nodded, looking thankful. "Look, I'm sorry for what she did to your family…but we need her here. Now more than ever! So they're just going to have to deal with it. She's not all bad, just dramatic sometimes."

"If you say so," said Logan doubtfully. "Anyway, my point is…if you need a friend, I'm around, okay?"

"We're friends now?" Bobby asked disbelievingly.

"Wolverine may be a loner, but I'm not," said Logan simply. "It's better than being enemies, don't you think?"

Bobby bit his lip hard, furious at himself when the words on the page of his book began to blur through the tears misting his vision. He could sense his mother watching him from the front desk and swiped at his eyes in frustration. Finally, he looked up at Logan and nodded. "Yeah, that does sound nice. Thanks, Evans."

"Were those all your superhero action figures?" Logan marveled. "If it were me, I couldn't give my collection up. They're so cool! My dad is a huge fan, too. We have loads of fun making up adventures for the team."

"I don't need plastic figures," Bobby said simply, smiling faintly at the librarian's desk, where Melissa was engrossed in her work again. "I have my mom."

A/N Bobby has existed since a one-shot in 2013 as the school bully giving Logan a complex, coming full circle to friendship a decade later feels awesome! xx