Chapter 15

Two Hours Later

The Mansion

Jean gently took her sleeping son out of his car seat and grabbed his baby bag. She lovingly kissed his forehead as she settled him on her shoulder. She took a moment to inhale his sweet baby scent. It was a stolen moment of calmness in what had been a whirlwind of emotions the last thirty-six hours. She observed her son sleeping and couldn't help but think of Scott. Nathan took so much after him.

Scott… The only man who could put her emotions through the wringer like that. The drive by herself to her parents' place helped settle her frazzled nerves. She hadn't really had any time to calm down since being rescued. She hadn't had much sleep. Then again, neither had Scott. They had both been worried sick over Rachel. She knew she'd been unfair to him, but a part of her was still so angry for the risks he took.

Rachel had woken up in the middle of her sleep crying the night before. She had had a nightmare. She kept saying that the bad men were taking her mommy and daddy. It broke her heart to see her baby girl in such distress… Was this trauma to her daughter worth her life? Scott seemed to think so.

The good news at least was that during the day, Rachel seemed alright. She was playing with her aunts and uncles again. She also hadn't shown any signs of being able to tap into her powers again. But Jean was still consumed with worry over what potential long-term repercussions the events of the last two weeks would have on her daughter.

Jean let herself into the mansion, eager to bring her daughter home. She could hear Rachel's squeals of delight from the foyer and started making her way towards the living room where the sounds were coming from. Jean stood by the entrance and just observed her daughter for a moment.

Rachel was laughing and giggling as she, her Aunt Ororo, Uncle Logan, Uncle Peter, Uncle Hank and Aunt Raven were playing a game of Capture the Flag which currently was on Kurt. The entire room smelled of the residue Kurt leaves after teleporting; sort of a sulphur-like scent. They were obviously allowed to use powers in this game they were playing. It seemed Peter with his super speed was the only one who stood a chance against Kurt's teleportation. It was a balm to Jean's soul to see everyone have a bit of fun, especially her daughter.

Unfortunately, all the ruckus woke little Nathan up and he started crying. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her. "Mommy!" Rachel said, joy written all over her face to see her mother. She ran to her mother and Jean bent down to give her daughter a hug. They ended up squeezing Nate a little which irritated the baby even more.

"Shhhh, Nate! Stop cryin'," Rachel admonished her little brother. Everyone chuckled at Rachel's ire.

"Oh, let me hold the baby, Jean. I've missed him," Ororo said, taking Nate from Jean's arms. Amazingly enough, he stopped fussing the moment he was in his Aunt Ororo's arms.

"I see you guys were giving my daughter a work out," Jean said, smiling.

"I catched Uncle Kurt, Mommy! I got the flag!" Rachel said exuberantly.

Jean smiled at Kurt knowing he had let Rachel catch him. Kurt walked over to Rachel and patted her on the back and said, "Yes indeed, you've gotten quicker than your Uncle Peter, meine kleine." She beamed back at him proudly.

"Definitely gave me a run for my money!" Peter said, winking at Jean.

"Yer little girl definitely does have everyone wrapped around her little finger," Logan said, good naturedly.

"It's a talent," Jean said smiling.

Just then, Jubilee appeared by the entrance and said, "Jean, I'm so glad to see you safe and home again!"

"Thanks, Jube!" Jean said, embracing her friend. "Thanks so much for all your help with watching the children."

"Anytime!" Jubilee then turned to Rachel. "Sweetie, I've got some ice-cream cake in the kitchen, wanna have some with me?"

Rachel turned to look at Jean, a request for permission clear in her emerald green eyes. Jean smiled at her daughter. "Go ahead sweetie."

"Yay, c'mon Auntie Jube! My mommy says it's okay!" Rachel grabbed Jubilee's hand and dragged her out of the living room.

"Perhaps you should have some ice-cream cake too, Red. You've lost some weight," Logan said.

"Have I? I haven't even looked in a mirror to be honest," Jean said, sighing.

"Aside from the stress of your whole ordeal… Are you okay otherwise?" Raven asked.

"Yes… Although my powers haven't returned yet. The professor said it would probably take a couple of days. But he was confident the serum they injected me with will have no lasting effects. And believe it or not, I was not physically harmed while I was kept prisoner," Jean said.

"Obviously, the trauma to everyone was more psychological in nature," Hank said.

"Speaking of… Is Scott gonna be okay?" Peter asked. "I mean, his brain kinda got fried by Cerebro last week and he hasn't really taken any time to recuperate from it."

"No thanks to you, speedy!" Hank said.

"I don't rat friends out! Scotty needed my help and I gave it. He's a big boy and he can determine what he can and can't handle," Peter answered, glaring at Hank.

"I must say though, he wasn't thinking clearly at the time. He was beside himself with worry over Jean," Ororo said. "Do you know if he'll be alright, Jean?"

"As far as I know…" Jean said, feeling guilty she hadn't paid more attention to Scott's well-being.

"Good, we were worried about him earlier. He stopped by to pick up Rachel about a half hour ago. He looked a little pale and when I mentioned it he said he had a bit of a headache," Raven said.

"But knowing Scott, "a bit" is usually a gross understatement," Hank said. "Anyway, Rachel didn't want to leave just yet, so we told Scott we'd bring her over to your place later, so he left."

Dear God, had Scott downplayed his injuries? Now Jean was worried. "Did he say where he was going?" Jean asked.

"No, he didn't. But couldn't you just find out through your psychic rapport?" Ororo asked.

"I usually could, but the serum my body is still trying to cleanse is wreaking havoc on my powers. It's messing with our link," Jean answered. That, and she suspected that Scott had put up a wall between them since their brief but heated exchange a few hours ago.

"You umm… still angry with Scotty, Jean?" Peter asked.

"Peter! That is none of our business!" Kurt admonished.

"Umm… What's your point, Elf?" Peter said, raising an eyebrow at Kurt.

Peter continued. "Look, Red… We're all family here… And we've been talking because we've seen the tension between you and Scott. Normally we don't say anything when you and Scott have your spats, but this time I feel we should…"

Jean nodded. Considering what her friends had done for her and her family, they certainly had a right to give their two cents.

"I think what Peter is trying to say is that Scott did not make the decision to bring Rachel to Sinister lightly," Raven said.

"I've never seen a man more torn, Red," Logan said.

"You have every right as a mother to be angry, Jean. And as much as it hurts me to say this… For Rachel's sake, all of us, except for Scott, even considered the possibility of letting you die," Hank added. "And perhaps Scott could have eventually accepted that outcome if he knew for sure that we'd lose Rachel-"

"But meine freundin, asking Scott to just let you die would be akin to asking a person to stop breathing. What would you have done?" Kurt asked.

Jean was about to answer when Peter said, "Look, Jean… These were the facts Scott had when he made his decision. We knew Sinister would not harm Rachel. He needed her. But he didn't need you…"

Hank chimed in. "And even if we allowed him to just kill you, it didn't guarantee Rachel's safety as we were sure he'd make another attempt at taking her. Also, we were confident that, just as Sinister was able to telepathically shield his men from the professor, so could the professor shield us from Sinister."

Raven added, "Not to mention, they gave away a lot of their hands the day they came and took you. We knew what each of his henchmen were capable of. The remaining risk was that Sinister was an unknown entity to us… But then again, it was a risk we had to take."

Ororo added, "Jean, by the time we put our plan together, Scott had already regained his memories. He had every confidence that we would succeed. And I think we can all agree, his tactical genius and mastery of strategy won the day."

"I couldn't have said it better, 'Ro. And you know me, Red. I'm not exactly Cyke's biggest cheerleader," Logan said.

Jean wanted to say something but a lump started developing in the vicinity of her throat. She had been unfair to Scott. A part of her had always known it, but the horror she felt at seeing her daughter in such a dangerous situation overtook her good senses. She felt awful. What would she have done if their situations had been reversed? Probably… Ultimately, the same thing.

"If you only knew how many times Scott kept saying, 'My children will have their mother back, even if it kills me.' What I'm trying to make you see, Jean is that as much as Scott loves you, his reasons for rescuing you and risking Rachel were not selfish," Raven said.

Jean's eyes were brimming with tears. "Thank you for letting me know. You guys always joke that redheads have quite the temper… I'm sorry to say that mine got the best of me. Thank you for everything you've done for me and my family. If I lived ten lifetimes, I could never repay you all."

"And we would never expect you to, my friend," Ororo said, embracing Jean.

Jean added, "And no, I'm not angry at Scott anymore. I realized I never should have been-"

"We weren't trying to judge you, meine freundin… None of us here is a mother, and we can't truly grasp the horror you felt at seeing Rachel in danger… It's only that we know Scott… And we know he'd not defend himself much. We just wanted you to see what we saw," Kurt said.

"Thank you, I needed to hear it," Jean said, giving her friend a hug. Jean turned to all her friends and smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find my husband."

Thirty Minutes Later

The Boathouse

Jean walked up to the front door of her home and noticed the enormous damage to the patio from their fight against Sinister's henchmen. In hindsight, she was shocked that it was the only part of the house that needed repairs. She opened the door and let herself and the children in.

Jean had a fussy Nathan in her arm and Rachel was holding her other hand beside her. She could tell that Rachel was tired and needed to sleep. "Scott?" Jean semi-yelled, checking to see if her husband was home. There was no answer. She was getting more and more worried after hearing from their friends that he was suffering from a headache.

The professor had said that Scott was fine, but Scott also had a tendency to downplay, or sometimes altogether hide his injuries. If their psychic rapport was working properly she would know exactly what he was feeling.

Jean had no idea if Scott was suffering from a run-of-the-mill headache or something more serious. She was scared that it might have something to do with the injuries he'd suffered with the stunt he pulled with Cerebro. Their friends also mentioned to her the devastating optic blast he let loose on Sinister. It was like nothing they'd ever seen before they'd told her. She wondered if his headache could be an after-effect of that as well.

Jean looked down at her daughter who she noticed started swaying on her feet. "Alright, missy… You're tired. It's time to go to sleep," Jean said.

"Ah don' wanna s'eep," Rachel said, her eyes drooping.

Jean chuckled. "Yes, you do. Come on, no arguments."

Jean gave instructions to Rachel to brush her teeth, then go to her bedroom and put on her pyjamas. She then quickly changed Nathan's diaper, fed him, then put him in his crib. She then went to Rachel's bedroom to make sure her daughter followed instructions.

Jean found Rachel in bed under her blanket, but still awake. Jean lay down next to her and said, "Try to sleep sweetie."

"Mommy, is the bad men gonna come back?" Rachel asked.

"No darling, they won't. I don't want you to worry about that okay?" Jean said, moving a stray strand of hair away from her daughter's face.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I won't let anything happen to you or your brother and neither will daddy. Everything will be okay," Jean said. "Won't you sleep for mommy now?"

"Can you stay?" Rachel asked.

"Of course, honey, I'll stay right here," Jean said.

Rachel was so exhausted she drifted off soon after. Jean looked around the room and noticed the doll house Scott built for Rachel. It was beautiful! Goodness, that was quite the hidden talent her husband had. It was quite large, just slightly taller than her. It was impressive how he was able to build it in just two days.

Jean was saddened that she didn't get to see Rachel's reaction when she received it. More than that, she was sure the joy of the experience was stolen from all of them with what Sinister did. Still, it touched her heart just how much attention, care and detail her husband put into their daughter's birthday gift.

Jean sighed, regretting her conversation with Scott earlier that day. I'd rather have your hate than your corpse, he had said to her. She still couldn't get the hurt look on his face out of her mind. Looking back at everything, this time with a clear mind, she knew that Scott did the best he could. He made what he believed was the right decision based on all the information he had at the time. What more could you ask someone to do?

More than that, Jean finally imagined herself in his position and realized she'd have done the same thing. The horror of the whole ordeal stole Jean's better judgment, at least for a time. She owed her husband an apology. Jean closed her eyes and tried to reach out to Scott telepathically. She could sense him vaguely… somewhere… But her powers were still dampened by the serum still lingering in her system as well as from exhaustion. Against her will, Jean found herself drifting off to sleep.

The following morning

Jean was woken up by sunshine streaming through the window. Jean squinted and realized there was shuffling on the floor. She looked down and saw Rachel playing with her chess set by herself. Jean must have been so exhausted she slept through the night… And in Rachel's room too. She noticed a blanket over her. Scott must have found her this way and put it over her while she slept.

Jean decided to let Rachel know she was awake. "Good morning, sweetie. How long have you been awake?"

Rachel looked up from her chess set and smiled. "Umm… a long time."

"Did you have a bad dream last night?" Jean asked.

"Uh hmm," Rachel nodded.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Jean asked.

"Daddy said let your mommy s'eep," Rachel answered. "And he stayed here." Jean must have been more exhausted than she realized if her daughter waking up from a nightmare failed to rouse her. She also made a mental note to contact Dr. Henderson and set up an appointment for Rachel.

"Where's daddy now?" Jean asked. Rachel just shrugged in response, once again engrossed in her chess game that she was playing against herself.

Jean got up and stretched. While she did that, she tested her psychic rapport with her husband. It wasn't at a hundred percent yet, but definitely stronger than it was the previous day. In fact, she could tell through their link that Scott was working out in the Danger Room at that moment.

Jean quickly brought Rachel and Nathan down to the kitchen to eat. She smiled when she saw that breakfast was ready on the table. Even with Scott thinking she was still mad at him, he still made sure to cook for them.

Jean had a feeling her poor husband didn't get much rest the night before… Or really, any of the nights since her abduction. She'd have to remedy that. Jean looked at all the delicious food Scott left for them on the table and she felt like the luckiest woman in the world. She would make sure that Scott knew that… Just as soon as she got the children fed.

One hour later

The Mansion

After having breakfast as well as feeding Nate, Jean and the children made their way to the mansion. Jean wanted to see her husband and didn't want to postpone it any longer. Ororo took the children from Jean to spend some time with them before she had to teach her afternoon classes.

Jean headed straight to the Danger Room but to her disappointment, no one was there. She felt that Scott was close and so assumed he was just wrapping up his workout and was in the changing room. She headed straight there and let herself in.

She came in just as Scott was stepping out of the shower, a slightly damp towel wrapped around his waist. His back was turned to her, and she took a moment to appreciate her husband's fine physique… Alright, she was ogling him, she admitted to herself, smiling.

Scott must have sensed her presence as he quickly turned around. "Jean?"

"Hey…"

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked.

"Looking for you," Jean said, simply.

"You umm… Ready to talk?" Scott asked.

Jean nodded.

Scott took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and said, "Look Jean, I've had a lot of time to think… And I'm so sorry that you had to see Rachel in Sinister's clutches like that. Knowing the kind of mother you are, I know that was hell for you. It was for me too. But… I won't apologize for saving your life. To do so would imply I regret what I did. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Jean saw the resolve on her husband's tired face and knew he was speaking from the heart. "Actually, Scott, I came here to apologize to you." There was a brief moment of silence.

"… Huh?" Scott said, a perplexed look on his face.

"I've had a lot of time to think too… Actually, it would probably be more accurate to say that I've had a lot of time to calm down and settle my emotions," Jean said.

"… I see."

"My anger was a knee-jerk reaction, Scott. Honestly, it was more of a culmination of all the stress, fear and feeling of helplessness I endured for the last two weeks… I'm so, so sorry that I made you an outlet for my anger," Jean said, her heart overflowing with remorse.

"You don't need to apologize to me Jean… You were right, I went completely against your wishes… I knowingly put our daughter in danger. And although I did my utmost to minimize that danger, there was no guarantee she wouldn't be harmed. But I was running out of time…"

"You did what you had to. And you came through for us… Like you always have."

Her husband smiled wryly at her. "Losing you was not an outcome I was prepared to accept, but neither was losing Rachel. I want you to know I would have died first before letting Sinister take Rachel. I need you to believe that."

"Of course, I do!" Jean said, fervently.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that, I know we got lucky… And I believe with all my heart that although Rachel's suffering from nightmares now, she would have ended up a lot worse if she lost you, Jean. Our children need their mother… more so, I would say, than their father," Scott said.

"They need us both… And because of your courage and ingenuity our family is still whole. And I regret I didn't realize it from the outset. Can you forgive me, Scott?" Jean asked, taking her husband's in hands in hers.

"You know I'd forgive you anything, Jean. The question is… Can you forgive me?" Scott countered.

"There's nothing to forgive. How could I hold what you did against you when I would have done the same thing?" Jean said.

"You would have?" Scott asked incredulously.

"Do you really think I would give you up so easily?" Jean asked.

"Not easily, no… But you've always been stronger than me. If you had to, I know you could do it…" Scott said.

"I wouldn't be too sure…"

"As for me, I honestly don't know if I have it in me to give you up, Jean. And I pray that I never have to find out," Scott said.

"One of the things I've always admired about you is that you always end up doing the right thing, Scott… And there's no one I trust with our children's safety more than you. What happened hasn't changed that," Jean said, embracing her husband.

"Thank you, Jean… You have no idea how much it means to me that I didn't lose your trust with what I did," Scott said, returning his wife's embrace.

"I love you, Scott… Our bond may bend at times, but it will never break. You need to trust in that," Jean said.

Scott smiled and kissed his wife. "Yes ma'am."

Jean smiled back at him. "So, now that your memories are back… How do you feel?" Jean asked, changing the subject.

"Honestly…" Scott paused for a moment trying to find the right words. "I feel whole again. I don't know if it was divine intervention or if I'm just a really lucky guy, but I would never have found the courage to do what I did in rescuing you if my memories hadn't returned."

"Don't think that justifies you using Cerebro. Scott, you could have been seriously hurt! Do you know how lucky you are that you're even walking and that your motor and cognitive skills are in tact? If you ever try something like that again-"

"Never again, Jean… I promise… But the caveat is that I can break that promise if you or the children are in danger," Scott said.

"I suppose it's not like I could stop you if it came to that," Jean said, wryly.

"There's nothing more important to me than my family, Jean. I hope you know that," Scott said.

"I know… It's one of the thousands of reasons I love you so much," Jean said, standing on her toes and kissing her husband.

"I love you too, Jean," Scott said. Scott and Jean just held each other for several moments, savoring the feeling of being back in each other's arms.

"By the way, I wanted to thank you for the delicious breakfast you left for us this morning," Jean said, resting her head on her husband's chest.

"I was trying to fatten you up," Scott answered.

"Oh… I haven't lost that much weight have I?" Jean asked, now a little self-conscious.

"Umm… It's noticeable enough," Scott said. "It's obvious you've been through an ordeal, hon… I'm just doing my part to make sure you're on the mend."

"Speaking of mending… I've been really worried about you, Scott. Raven told me you were suffering from a headache yesterday," Jean said, running her fingers through her husband's damp hair.

"It's nothing," Scott said.

"I don't believe you… You've been through too much the last two weeks, what with you using Cerebro, to falling into a coma, regaining your memories as well as that full-out optic blast you gave Sinister… I want you examined, Scott," Jean said.

"Hmm… Wanna play doctor with me, huh?" Scott said playfully. But Jean wasn't kidding and just raised her eyebrow at him.

"I'm serious, Scott," Jean said.

"Aww, honey, Professor Xavier said I was fine," Scott said, semi-whiningly.

"And it's not that I don't trust him, but I would feel better if you saw a neurologist… Just to be on the safe side," Jean said. "You're still suffering from headaches and that worries me."

"My headache isn't as bad today. And it's probably just a combination of that optic blast I let loose on Sinister, as well as my lack of sleep. Going to see a specialist is just a waste of time," Scott said.

"Honey… This isn't up for debate. I'm scheduling you an appointment," Jean said, making sure her voice left no room for argument.

Scott sighed deeply and slumped his shoulders. Jean knew that he knew he wasn't going to win this one. She couldn't help but be amused that Scott reminded her so much of Rachel whenever Jean made her do something she didn't want to. "Fine, schedule the appointment…" Scott mumbled.

"Good. Now get changed so we can go home, and you can go to bed," Jean said.

Scott grinned and gave his wife a very sexy look that told her rest was the furthest thing from his mind. Jean rolled her eyes. "I meant to sleep, Scott. Go to bed and sleep."

"I can think of more fun things to do in bed on a lazy afternoon," Scott said, putting his hands suggestively around Jean's waist.

"Get your head out of the gutter, Mr. Summers. No fun for you until I'm confident your headache is not a sign of something more serious." Jean said, pulling away from her husband's arms.

Scott's grin just got even wider. "I see the gauntlet's been thrown… I'll take that as a challenge, Mrs. Summers. I bet you'll cave to my charms before you even get that doctor's appointment set up."

Jean just rolled her eyes and pretended indifference. "You just wish, Scott!" She was glad their psychic rapport wasn't at a hundred percent yet… Otherwise he'd know he was right and that it wouldn't take much for Jean to cave at all.

To be continued…