Jean leaned heavily on Scott as they made their way into the bedroom of the guest cottage. He led her straight to the bed, where she promptly sat down and laid back.

"Why don't you get undressed and I'll draw you a bath?" Scott suggested. "While you soak, I'll scrounge up something to eat."

"That sounds wonderful," she replied. "A nice, hot bath is just what I need." After laying there a few minutes, she slowly forced herself to sit up. She suddenly realized how tired she was. Her body ached, and her head throbbed. While he busied himself in the bathroom, Jean slowly slipped out of her clothes. She twisted her hair up, tucking the end into the bun. Then she walked into the bathroom.

"All ready," Scott said, helping her into the tub. It was then that he saw the stitched wound on her calf. "What happened to your leg?"

"Hm? Oh, that. It's nothing. A little scratch from our scuffle with the Sentinels. Hank sewed me up, gave me some antibiotics. I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Positive," she said, reaching up to touch his face. "But thanks for asking."

"I worry about you, you know that. Now, just relax. I'll come check on you in a little while."

"Thanks, sweetheart."

"My pleasure." He bent down to kiss her forehead before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

Leaning back against the back of the tub, Jean let out a slow sigh. The warm water felt marvelous on her skin. Already, she felt her tight muscles begin to loosen and relax. She closed her eyes, willing her mind to do the same. If only it were not filled with so much.

She was so relieved that Jubilee had awoke from the coma, but it had been an unending roller coaster ride since then-- actually, since she had arrived. Her first visit to the girl's mind, the second surgery, her confrontation with Emma, the battle to have Jubilee's mind repaired. Then, learning she had amnesia and temporary paralysis. And now, the idea that after coming this far, they might lose her to an orphanage. The thought was almost more than she could bear. Hot tears stung her eyes.

She had grown so close to this girl. True, it was tragedy that seemed to bring them closer together. The first time was following Illyana's death.

Then there was that day Jubilee went blading, when Jean helped her deal with her feelings toward Logan's leaving. She had managed to get through to the girl both times, to help her on the road to healing. And it felt good to be able to help her that way-- to see her through her problems, to offer a shoulder to lean on, or an ear to listen. And Jubilee seemed to take her advice to heart. Jean knew that she had done a world of good for the girl.

And she would do it again, without hesitation.

There was a part of her that wanted-- needed-- to reach out and embrace, to nurture. It were as though by doing so she felt more complete, more whole. It was not unlike how she felt when she had spent time with young Nate, teaching him how to control his powers, and how to love rather than to hate. And yet, it was different. Perhaps because Jubilee was a girl. There was a different, special bond between two women. And now, if Jubilee were taken away, that bond would be severed.

She suddenly shivered, feeling cold. She quickly got out of the tub, and dried herself with a towel. Wrapping it around herself, she walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed just as Scott returned, a tray in hand.

"Done already? There wasn't much in the fridge, I'm afraid. I found some--" He stopped and looked at her. "Jean, honey, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked, putting down the tray. She was trembling.

She did not reply, but simply looked at him. Shaking, she seemed on the verge of tears.

He silently sat down beside her.

"Hold me," she whispered. "Just hold me."

He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. She clung to him, closing her eyes, unable to prevent the tears from escaping. "I don't want to lose her, Scott."

"You won't," he replied, gently stroking her back. "I swear to you, Jean, we'll do everything in our power to stop them from taking her. I promise."

She looked up at him and smiled through her tears. "I know," she said softly, reaching up to stroke his cheek. She moved closer, and kissed him.

She reached for him, encircling his neck with her arms, and pressed herself against him. She clung to him strongly, her kisses fervent, almost frantic. She felt a need to be with him, a desperate desire to be loved. And, that night, for the first time in what felt like a very long time, she did not feel alone.

Scott lay in bed, Jean nestled in his arms, thinking. She lay with her face on his chest, eyes closed. He simply watched her sleeping, and smiled contentedly, the sight filling his heart with peace. It had been a while since they had been together, and he wanted to keep her in arm's reach for a while. Her desire to be with him that night had been strong-- almost overpowering through their rapport. He found himself a little surprised at the intensity of her thoughts and then, later, her actions. He had missed being with her as well, but he never expected such an ardent welcome. He chalked it all up to the emotional drain these past several days had been, and her need to find release.

It must have been a hell of a week. She had looked utterly exhausted when he found her in the hospital hallway earlier that night. Since the moment he saw her, all he had wanted to do was take her in his arms and protect her, to make all of the anguish and pain go away.

Had it been some sort of evil mutant they were facing-- Magneto or the Sentinels-- he would be able to do something, strike out at them. But now, he felt rather helpless. All he could do was sit back and let the doctors do what they had to do. Unfortunately, he did not agree with this latest decision, which had little to do with medicine, but rather with Jubilee's supposed "best interests". State home and best interest were anything but equivalent in his mind.

After he and his brother Alex had been apparently orphaned in a plane crash from which they parachuted, they had been sent to a state home. Alex was quickly adopted, but Scott was always passed up. He had received a concussion in the fall-- he later learned the only permanent damage was to the part of his brain that controlled his optic blasts-- and no one wanted a "damaged" child. So they had separated him from Alex, the only family he had left. He grew up in the orphanage, introverted, withdrawn, and feeling decidedly unloved. Then he met Professor Xavier, and joined the X-Men. For the first time, he felt like part of a family.

He knew that Jubilee felt much the same way. She had no one until she met Wolverine. And when Logan rejoined the rest of the X-Men, her family expanded. Even now, with Generation X, she had found new friends, other mutant kids to whom she could relate. If they took that away from her, she would be crushed. She would withdraw into herself. Hell, she might never regain the memories she lost. She might run away again. That is, provided she progressed enough with her physical therapy to be able to do so. That would be hard enough with those she cared about encouraging her; without that, what motivation would she have to recover? No, she could not go to an orphanage.

He had already called Professor Xavier, who said he would contact the proper agencies in the morning, see if he had any sort of pull. Xavier doubted it would do any good, but he would try nonetheless. Scott doubted it, too. It was not as though they could admit that Jubilee was a mutant, and that they were really members of the X-Men, able to teach her how to control her powers. That would just make a bad situation worse. But there had to be a solution-- a way to play by their rules, and yet still keep custody of Jubilee. He knew one thing, though: he would not let them put her in an orphanage. He was not prepared to sit idly by and watch them ruin the girl's chance of growing up in a loving environment.

He knew that Jean felt the same way. And yet, there was something more. There was another reason she was so concerned about the entire situation. He knew that his wife was a compassionate woman. Had any of the X-Men been harmed, she would most surely be there to lend her support. But this was somehow different. She had rushed to the hospital as soon as she heard Jubilee was hurt, and had scarcely left her side since her arrival. Surely, this was above and beyond the call of duty for a concerned teammate. He knew that the two had grown close-- they had developed some sort of relationship following the tragic death of Illyana-- but he did not realize until now how deep that bond was. There was something different about Jean when she was with Jubilee; it were as though something were added to her, making her seem more complete. It reminded him of how she was with Nate, during the time they spent raising him in the future. She had cared for that boy as though he were her own, giving him more love than any child could hope for. And now, he realized, she treated Jubilee the same way. Like a daughter.

Scott thought back to the times Jean had spent with Jubilee. He remembered the look in her eyes on one occasion as she told him about a day they had spent together shopping. She was incredibly happy-- happier than he had seen her in a long time. Lately, she had not been quite herself. There was a hidden sadness that he could sense through their rapport-- carefully guarded and masked, but not entirely hidden. And he had a good suspicion that he was the cause. He recalled the night of a particular discussion they had about the possibility of starting a family. He had told her he did not feel quite ready to take that next step, and she agreed, albeit reluctantly. That decision had no doubt been the cause of her subsequent melancholy.

Thinking about Jean and Jubilee, he realized that his wife had latched on to the girl because Jubilee was the closest thing she had to a child. Their relationship must be helping to fulfill some of those maternal yearnings she had told him about that night. And now, she was equating the prospect of losing Jubilee with the idea of losing a child. No wonder she was so upset.

"Scott?"

The sound of Jean's voice brought him out of his reverie. "I thought you were asleep."

"I can't sleep," she said, propping herself up on her elbow. "I've got too much on my mind."

"Me, too. I've been trying to find some way around this, but I haven't had any luck."

"I think I have an idea. It just suddenly came to me-- I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner-- and I've been going over it in my mind while I lay here."

"What is it?"

"I know this is going to sound a little outrageous, but hear me out, okay?"

"All right."

"Scott, what do you think about us taking her in?"

"Us? As in you and me?"

"Yes. We could apply to be her legal guardians. It's the perfect solution, Scott. She could stay with the X-Men, her family. We'd be able to help her with her therapy: three telepaths to council her and help her regain her memories. Hank, a doctor to supervise her physical therapy. And, at the same time, we would ensure that she was still learning how to control her powers. Eventually, when she's strong enough, we could choose to re-enroll her in the school."

Sitting up, he turned on the light. "You're talking like she's just coming back to live at the mansion again, Jean. But it's not that simple. In the beginning, she won't even be able to walk without assistance. She's going to need supervision every minute of the day. And that's to say nothing of her having to deal with the trauma of the torture she went through. You can't expect her to be passed around from one X-Man to another. If we were to become her guardians, we'd be shouldering the primary responsibility for her recuperation. You and me. Anything else the others would be willing to do would be additional. She'd have to come live with us at the lake house so that we could take care of her."

"I'm aware of all of this, Scott. But this is Jubilee we're talking about, not some stranger. She's an X-Man, and therefore part of our family. And the thought of her being sent to an orphanage or some kind of special care facility breaks my heart."

"I know, sweetheart," he said, taking her hand. "I've been through that, and I would never wish it on anybody."

"Then surely, Scott, you can understand better than anyone why I want to do this. I know how unhappy, how lonely, your childhood was. And I want to spare Jubilee that kind of pain. I want her to grow up happy and loved. We can give her that love, Scott."

Scott sighed, his head suddenly reeling. She had just given him a lot to think about. "How do we know Jubilee would even go for the idea?"

"Given the circumstances and the alternative, I don't think she would argue. I know you aren't as close to her as I am, Scott, and I know it would be a little awkward at first, but I'm sure we could make it work."

"When we discussed starting a family, this isn't exactly how I expected it to begin," he said with a sigh. He glanced over at Jean, and she returned his gaze, tears in her eyes.

"I know we decided to wait to start our own family, Scott. You said you weren't ready yet, and even though I wanted to try to have a baby, I respected your feelings. Now, I'm asking you to look at things from my perspective. I can't just sit back and let them take her away." She looked down at her hands, her bottom lip trembling. "I've been spending a lot of time with Jubilee these past few days, a lot of time thinking about her, and how I feel about her." She looked him in the face. "She's like a daughter to me. I love her, and I want to protect her, and help make her whole again. Please, Scott, help me do this."

He gently reached over and wiped the tears from her cheeks. This was important to her; therefore, it was important to him. Slowly, he nodded. "All right. If you really want to do this, I'm with you on this one."

"Thank you," she whispered, embracing him. "I knew you'd understand."

End of Chapter 11
Jennifer Sorowitz '98