The soft summer grass felt heavenly against Dana's bare feet while the occasional green reflection from the trees fell across the pendant that Sam had given her. She had been walking along the grass at the edge of the woods for almost an hour to take advantage of the shade and enjoy the temporary softness of the grass. It was more than likely that the grass would be dried out by the sun as the summer progressed, leaving it slightly browned and prickly.
She found it so peaceful here. It felt as if she were millions of miles away from the mansion and her problems. She wasn't being cowardly but she needed to escape for a little while from the things that were there.
Dana halted suddenly as some movement caught her eye. From the mansion she saw a familiar figure walk through the wall of the building and proceeded to head towards her. "Kitty?"
"Yup!" Kitty laughed as she closed the distance between them at a jog and gave Dana a hug, "I hitched a ride with Professor Xavier and came for a quick visit."
"It's good to see you." Dana whispered as they bear hugged for a moment longer.
Eventually the two girls let go and walked to a denser patch of shade at the foot of an oak tree. Sitting down they both just stared at one another for a long time and allowed the reality that they were together sink in. How long had it been? Three months? Sure, they called one another and wrote occasionally but they had been busy and it wasn't quite the same as talking face to face.
"Is Mr. Gutherie treating you well or will I have to dispatch him and feed his remains to Lochead?" Kitty asked in mock seriousness. This question was met with a large grin on Dana's face.
"Things are okay. I trust him again and that's something I was afraid would take longer to regain. He's not perfect and I'm not perfect but we're both human and we accept that. We seem to be moving on. What about you and Pete?"
"Our relationship has always been rocky. I'm beginning to think that's why we've been together this long. He's a stubborn bastard but I'm just as stubborn. We challenge each other and love every minute of it. In fact, I think the sudden lack of opposition would do one or both of us in." The words from Kitty were both playful and tender when she spoke of Pete. She didn't bother adding that things were more rocky than usual but she knew it would pass as all the other times had. "But enough about me."
"How did you know where I was?"
"How else? I asked Sam, of course. He's been keeping an eye on you through the picture windows of the ball room."
Dana nodded in understanding. Sam was very good about giving her time alone when she needed it. She could sense that he was worried about her though. She knew he would be keeping a close eye on her for the next couple of days to make sure she was alright.
Kitty spoke up again, "Normally I would ask why you're out here all by yourself but that's probably a dumb question. You okay?"
"Yeah. Right now the emotions are pretty heavy in the mansion, particularly the tension. My shields are stronger than they used to be but it has still been very hard to deal with them all. They are all coming from different directions and it's overwhelming at times."
"You know something," Kitty said softly, "things are a hell of a lot harder on you than they are on the rest of us. Because of your powers things weigh more heavily on you. On top of that you have a great deal more responsibility because you are able to heal. I get the impression though that it's not just everyone else's emotions that are bothering you."
Dana nodded and Kitty continued, "I don't know a whole lot about the situation with these two strangers. Could you fill me in a little? It looks like you need to talk."
The medical lab doors swung open with a slight bang and Logan entered carrying a food tray. It was amazing that he didn't bend the metal from holding the handles so tight and his jaw was set with clenched teeth. He had insisted on being the one to bring the food down for Andromeda to which Hank had reluctantly agreed.
"Please don't upset her unnecessarily." Henry had warned him which Logan had every intention of following. At the same time he wanted to have it out with Andromeda. The two of them needed to get a couple of things straight.
Andromeda sat up in bed and willed herself to remain calm. Wolverine gently placed the tray over her lap and stepped back. She didn't reach for the food but stared at Logan instead. She betrayed no anxiousness or impatience but he could tell Andromeda was waiting for him to say something.
"I want to make some things clear." he started with a slight edge to his voice. "Never mess with my head again."
Andromeda nodded mutely and he continued, "Another thing, I don't kill for the sake of killing."
The statement seemed odd to Andromeda. In Mojoworld killing seemed widely accepted whether it had a reason or not. Masters killed slaves in a rage or for sport. Slaves killed other slaves for jealousy or to gain a higher rank. Sometimes a person was forced to kill for survival. Andromeda had no pleasure in killing but she did kill to defend herself.
Logan was beginning to believe that she wouldn't answer at all when her monotone voice broke the silence. "I'm sorry. I didn't understand that at the time."
Having nothing else to say, Wolverine headed towards the door. He was about to leave but thought better of it and stood in the doorway a moment before saying, "I know you've been livin' in a way that hasn't givin' you reason to trust anyone, but you can trust us. You're safe here."
*Safe?*
"Do you trust anyone?" came the question interrupting Logan's exit. With that he returned and stared at her a moment. The question startled him and he wasn't sure how to answer it.
*Do I trust anyone?*
He nodded and watched as Andromeda let it sink in for a moment. Whether she masked her emotions or not he could tell that this situation confused her. Right now she was trying to understand this new place she was in. Logan knew that gaining her trust was not going to be easy.
"I promise that no one's gonna hurt ya'. I'll make sure of that. You helped me out of a tough spot and I won't forget it."
She looked him straight in the eye for a moment to discern if he was telling her the truth. Momentarily her guard went down. Andromeda was unsure of him, of his intentions. Why should he want to help her? He could practically read the thoughts in her eyes.
It seemed like hours had passed when she finally spoke up, "They destroyed telepathic slaves you know."
"I didn't know." Logan shook his head.
"We were considered to be too dangerous and hard to control."
She didn't say anything else after that, but she had said enough.
She had lied about her abilities out of habit. How was she to know that they would treat her any differently than they did in Mojoworld? For all she knew she was taking her life into her hands by simply giving him this information.
Understanding was beginning to dawn on him but there were still many questions. This woman was one of the most vexing and complex that he had ever known. This was enough for now though.
"You'd better eat." He said softly before leaving, "I'll go see about gettin' ya' out of here."
The weather was lovely along the Massachusetts countryside. Everything was peaceful through the winding back roads and the birds were singing.
That was until Bobby came speeding along in the mini van trailing a cloud of dust behind him.
He paid no attention to the scenery. The windows were up, the radio was playing at the highest volume and the air conditioning was at maximum blast. His only concern was to get to the Massachusetts Academy as quickly as possible to pick up Gina and Jubilee and take them back to the mansion.
He was ready to kill Henry for volunteering him for the job of playing chaufer. Bobby considered Henry his best friend and confided in him. Henry would know better than anyone that Bobby would be apprehensive about the possibility of running into the White Queen.
There were a great many unresolved issues between the two of them that probably should have been dealt with a while back. The fact of the matter was that Bobby was just plain scared. Why should he pour his heart out to Emma? She was not someone prized for her warmth and understanding. No, he'd much rather avoid her and wrestle with these things by himself.
He reached the open cast-iron gates of the school and sped through. Rolling to a halt at the front door he decided against going in himself, not knowing "who" might answer the door. He did not want to run into Emma in the flesh.
*Considering how much of her flesh is actually covered in her skimpy wardrobe.*
Instead Bobby leaned heavily on the car horn to announce his arrival which caused a disonant tone to emanate from under the hood. This signaled his passengers to come out quickly to get in the car. The sooner Bobby got out of there the better.
No sooner had the horn blared when Jubilee threw open the two front doors and came barrelling down the steps yelling, "SHOT GUN!!" She threw her bags carelessly in the back seat and bounced in next to Bobby. "Hiya, popsicle!" Gina was escorted out of the building by Banshee who helped carry her few bags.
Most of the students had already left except for the two girls and Jono. Jono was going to accompany Sean to Muir Island and spend his summer vacation there. Emma, on the other hand, was planning on spending her time in New York. In any case, the school was going to be empty.
Gina had been dreading this vacation at the mansion for the last week. She liked all of the X-Men but whenever she was at the mansion she felt the uneasiness. They always made sure she was comfortable and they told her she was welcome but behind it she could feel that almost physically tangible tension. What bothered her the most though was the feelings she sensed from Jean. They weren't hostile but they weren't warm either.
Making it even harder was the fact that she couldn't talk to anyone about it. Jubilee was far too excited about seeing Wolverine to notice how worried she was. Miss Frost was too proper and stiff to confide in. Mr. Cassidy was warm but he was a man. All she really had was her journal.
"I'll see ye ag'en before ye know it lasses." Sean assured the girls as he gently placed Gina's things with Jubilee's in the back. Gina got in quietly and buckled her seat belt. She tried to catch Bobby's eye and smile at him but he was too annoyed to notice.
"Take care Mr. Cassidy." Jubilee called excitedly as he made his way back up the stairs towards the doors. He stopped to stand by the doors and waved at the girls.
Just as Bobby was about to pull away and head off through the gates Jubilee stopped him saying, "Please, just ten more seconds Icicle." She then rolled down her window and started to count down. "Five, four, three, two, one...." and pointed at the front doors dramatically.
At that exact moment a soft sound started to emanate from the building and continued to build into a shriek that blasted through the doors and rattled the windows. Sean was startled by the sound and jumped back nearly losing his balance. The decibels of this shriek rivaled even his voice.
The shriek belonged to one person alone...Emma. Once the initial shock wave had passed there was a murderous bellow, "JUBILATION LEE!!!"
"Gun it!" Jubilee ordered to her getaway driver who readily complied before Emma thundered through the doors after them.
As they sped down the road at inhuman speeds Bobby managed to laugh, "You know something Jubes? I like your style. You certainly know how to make a memorable exit."
*Here goes nothing.* Gina thought to herself as the prospect of her summer vacation loomed before her.
End of Chapter 9