Finding A Way Around Pride

To quell any confusion that might arise:

This story is set after X2 and before X3. I am taking a large part of the plot of X3 and twisting it to my desires. I guess I should warn you now that I am farthest thing from a fan of Jean Grey. I am a huge Rogue fan and Wolverine is my favorite male X-Man, therefore I am an ultimate Rogue/Wolverine shipper. Although I don't object to the occasional Rogue/Gambit. :)

Emaree

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Nobody noticed that Rogue wasn’t at the mansion that night – actually they didn’t notice she was gone the entire weekend. The friends she did have thought that she wanted to be left alone when she didn’t answer their knocks on her door. Bobby might have sought her out to explain that things were over – if she hadn’t gotten the message at the pool house – but Kitty wouldn’t let him. She was ashamed of herself for acting against her friend and embarrassed at being caught. This wouldn’t change her decision about being with Bobby though. The two were attached at all times now and mostly at the lips. No, nobody noticed Rogue was gone until school started on Monday morning. The fact that she didn't come to class wasn't something to worry her friends either. Bobby and Rogue shared a few classes and the pool house incident hadn't happened that long ago, so it was natural that she would want to avoid him. No questioned her lack of appearance. Ororo accepted the fact that Rogue was upset about what had happened, but decided that locking herself up in her room for so long was too much. She didn't like seeing the fiery southerner so seemingly defeated. She resolved to visit the girl after classes and talk her out of it. Ororo was aware that Wolverine had already checked up on her after it happened, but he was not the most sensitive person. She was also aware of the girl’s feelings for him. She was a young woman now and had put on a good front at pretending those feelings were gone, but the older X-Man knew better than to believe they were truly gone. Having the man you love try to console you about the boy you cared about probably wasn't helpful.

When the halls cleared and the students drifted away to do homework or something leisurely Storm climbed the great steps up to the dormitories and knocked on Rogue’s door.

“Rogue, its Storm. May I come in?” she called, listening for a reply and sighing when none came. “I know you are upset but we need to talk. Its been 3 days – if you don’t answer the door I’m coming in anyway.”

Still no reply. She took a key from the ring she carried with her and placed it in the lock, but found the door already unlocked. Upon entering she found the room in disarray. She recognized the angry actions of a broken heart and pride in the mess.

“Rogue?” she called and went into the bathroom, finding no one. Assuming she must have finally come out of her room, she left it to search the mansion. When she didn’t find her in the kitchen she didn’t worry and when she wasn’t amongst the students in the T.V. room she didn't worry, but after looking in the training rooms, library and subbasement she became concerned. She asked around and questioned students but the last time anybody had seen her had been on Saturday after she had run inside. Ororo decided to go to Professor Xavier about this, knowing Rogue’s propensity to run away. Before she knocked on the door to his office he called her in.

“Ororo, what can I do for you?” he asked with a smile from behind the desk.

“Its Rogue, Professor. I can’t seem to find her anywhere and nobody has seen her since Saturday afternoon when-“

“Yes, I’ve been hearing all about it.” He finished for her, nodding sternly. He knew what went on between teenagers and young adults but to act like the two mutants did while at school disappointed him. He was not happy with them.

“I think she’s run away.” She told him, seating herself in one of the leather chairs facing the desk, “We should find her and bring her home.”

“She has run away because she is unhappy here for the moment; I do not think we should force her to come back to her unhappiness. When her heart has healed she will come home.” He said sagely.

“How long should we wait, then?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Let us give it until the end of the week. If she has not returned I will look for her with Cerebro.” He compromised.

Storm nodded and rose, getting to the door before turning back.

“Oh, Professor…” she began, her voice fading away at the look on his face.

It was as if he was listening to something she could not hear. Telepathic communication, of course. She waited politely until he was finished before continuing but when the color left his face she stepped forward.

“Professor?” she questioned and jumped when he gasped, shaking his head, “Charles, what is the matter?”

“What? Oh, nothing, just caught a thought on the wind.” He said with another smile, but it seemed imposed, “Did you need something else, Ororo?”

“I was just going to ask if you wanted me to do anything about Bobby and Kitty?” she wondered and he shook his head.

“I have already taken care of it, thank you though.” He told her and she left the office.

Thought Storm was concerned for Marie’s welfare, the rest of the day ran its normal course. There was a moment during dinner when the Professor had another look on his face like he’d had during their short talk earlier that day but she didn’t ask about it when he resumed eating as if nothing had happened. Several of the X-Men were watching the news that night after the students had gone home or gone to bed. The screen seemed plastered with news about the new mutant cure and they looked on with different expressions. Ororo seemed sad, Wolverine angry and Beast – well, Beast was disappointed in mankind but couldn’t help his fascination. Nightcrawler also looked fascinated for a moment, swinging tail in front of him to look at it, but dropped it after only a moment and his interest seemed to disappear.

“Mutant cure. Mutant registration. Next they’ll be putting gold stars on our shirts.” Wolverine muttered and Nightcrawler shot him a look.

“I don’t think Magneto would stand for that. He has seemed reasonably quiet so far with the announcement of this cure, but I fear he would react most violently to your last prediction.” Beast said. They all knew from the Professor that Magneto has been in a concentration camp during WWII.

Storm nodded thoughtfully. “He does seem quiet. Its been a whole weekend – surely he would have thought up some kind of plan of action against the new cure by now”

“Too quiet. We should be ready for him when he does raise hell, though.” Wolverine told them and was agreed with by all three. He got up to replace his empty beer, putting a foot out of the door before colliding with Cyclops.

Wolverine grabbed his shoulders and snarled at him. “Watch where you're going, Scooter."

Scott’s face was devoid of color and his mouth was hanging open. Storm rose to her feet and Beast leaned over the arm of the couch to stare at him. He was saying something, but so fast and jumbled they couldn’t discern it from Chinese. Wolverine shook him, slamming his open jaw up against his face several times before he shut up, breathing heavily. He led the now-quiet Scott to the couch and pushed him down onto it, arms crossed. Beast reached over and swiftly but methodically checked his eyes and pulse – he looked that bad.

“Scott what is the matter?” Storm asked, staring down at him with concern.

“Ja, you look as if you have just seen a ghost.” Nightcrawler volunteered. At his words Scott began trembling and looked up at Storm.

“I heard one…Jean – I heard her. She spoke to me.” He said in a rush of breath, “She’s alive and she needs us to come get her.”

“Jean’s dead Scooter. The dead don’t talk.” Wolverine said firmly, but not unkindly. After all, he had loved her too.

“It is possible you are just imagining her voice, Scott. It is not uncommon during the process of grief.” Beast told him kindly.

“No!” Scott yelled, making all their eyes grow big in surprise, “I’ve never heard her before. Not in the six months she’s been de- gone. If I would have imagined her voice it wouldn’t have just started happening. She’s alive…somehow, and she needs our help.”

“Why hasn’t she contacted the professor, then? He’d be the first on she’d’ve gone to for help” Wolverine asked with an arched brow. Storm started beside him and they looked to her – Scott had a wild look in his eyes.

“Maybe she has…” she told them and explained what had happened today.

“This is very doubtful though. How could she have possibly survived? Impossible.” Beast mumbled almost to himself, shaking his head and going over everything in his head.

“I shoot laser beams out of my eyes…you’re blue and furry and Storm controls the weather. We’re impossible – or so one might think.” Scott explained, seeming to come to his senses and hope ringing loudly in his voice. They all still looked doubtful, though.

“We should consult the Professor.” Storm suggested slowly and Scott shot to his feet.

“It is late, though. Is he still available?” Nightcrawler asked from his chair and Storm didn't look too sure, but before she could make the decision to wait until tomorrow Scott and Logan were already swallowing the distance to the office with long strides. She shrugged at Nightcrawler and turned to follow after them, catching the two of them entering the office at the same time to immediately begin shouting the story to him at the same time. Apparently the Professor WAS still awake and available. Ororo tossed an apologetic look over their shoulders to the Professor and closed the door behind Beast and Nightcrawler. They all gathered around his desk and Scott and Logan were the only ones left standing, pacing in agitation.

“Now, what warrants this late night visit. One at a time please.” He said with a wry grin, holding up a hand when they both began to shout again.

“Jean is alive” Scott told him with a look that begged him to believe, “I heard her. Not ten minutes ago in my head.”

“And what did she say to you, Scott?” Xavier asked curiously.

“She said: Scott…Scott I need your help. Come and take me home, Scott. I’m at Alkali Lake…help me.” He told him with glistening eyes and the Professor looked down.

The room was quiet as they waited for his response, then he looked back up at them and nodded.

“I’ve heard the same thing, though I suspected I was simply hearing things.” He said and Wolverine muttered a laugh, promoting a wry grin from the Professor, “Yes, a funny statement coming from one such as myself.”

His grin faded and he looked at them sternly, especially Scott.

“I cannot promise you that it is indeed Jean, though. I will condone a mission to search Alkali Lake but I do not want you to be disappointed-“ he stopped and sighed, “I suppose it is too much to ask of you, to not be disappointed if you do not find her. But tomorrow you have leave to go. Take the X-Jet. The five of you may make the journey, I believe that will be efficient.”

“Thank you, Professor!” Cyclops cried and left the room, presumably to get his room ready to welcome Jean back into it.

“Professor…If this does not prove to be fruitful, it will take an even bigger toll on Scott...” Ororo said unsurely, looking back at the empty doorway.

The Professor gave a sad nod, but then looked hopeful. “Then let us think good thoughts and hope this is not just our over-active imaginations.” He suggested kindly.

He bid them goodnight and they left the office. At the tops of the stairs Storm stopped Wolverine with a hand on his arm. When he turned back to look at her his eyes held a hungry anticipation and she let out a breath of worry.

“Logan. If it is true and Jean is somehow alive…Scott will want to be with her, he will fight more fiercely for her than he did before. Perhaps you should let go of these feelings for Jean and simply be happy that a friend is alive.” Storm advised gently, but her shoulders sagged when he grinned arrogantly.

“Maybe Jeanie’s come around, saw the light.” He told her jovially and continued on down the hallway, leaving Storm shaking her head slowly.

In the early morning the group met in the hangar and the anticipation was palpable, like swimming in molasses. They couldn’t board fast enough, couldn’t take off fast enough and most definitely could not reach the lake fast enough. The tension between Scott and Logan that had been so commonplace between them during Jean’s last months of life now seemed surprising and out of place. At the flight’s halfway point they almost came to physical blows over how she might have survived. Beast had to intervene and send Wolverine to the back of the jet. They had all forgotten how intense their rivalry had been and had to remember how to deal with the two of them in confined spaces for any amount of time. Confined consisting of the same room, the front lawn, even the huge foyer in the mansion. When they finally landed, their race down the ramp resulted in a small scuffle where Scott ended up spitting blood out of his cut mouth. Wolverine had received a blow to the eye that was already healed.

“If Jean is alive and to be found, your violence towards one another will have to be put on hold. We need to search, not brawl.” Beast said with a frown and loped off down the south side of the lake.

Storm merely looked at them both and followed Beast south. Nightcrawler, who had patted them both on the shoulder in a calming gesture, disappeared off to the other side of the lake to search. Scott spit once more and, with a nasty glare towards Wolverine, went north of the lake while Wolverine took to the woods.

Scott left no rock unturned. He was searching so intently that he broke a sweat not half a mile from the starting point. The longer he went without finding something the more frantic he became until he was panting and yelling her name at the top of his lungs. He felt as if his lungs were deflated and he couldn’t take a breath. Even he could, his heart was so full of hope and anxiety that his chest would have exploded had it filled anymore. The Professor had not promised that she would really be alive again, but he wouldn't accept that. He knew what he had heard, had recognized that silky voice that had been so absent from his head. Scott had to believe that she was alive and waiting for him. After half an hour of nothing he opened his eyes to the sky in frustration, bellowing.

-Scott?- came the voice. He stopped as if he had been filled with adamantium and ice.

-Jean? Jeanie? Where are you? I’m here – we’re here!- he cried in his mind, his body thawing enough for him to fall to his knees.

-Close – you’re so close. I saw your beam. Keep following the shore to a small inlet.- she told him and he scrambled to his feet, hurtling himself over large stones and piles of jagged rocks. When he saw the inlet he almost fell with excitement. There – a flash of red.

Oh God, he thought to himself and skidded to a halt when he reached it. If he gave in to the rushing in his ears and the black spots in his vision he would have fainted, lost consciousness right there in front of her. Her glorious ruby hair hung around her face, her smiling face like a beacon to him. He felt like a starving man who sees a Christmas feast laid out for him – all for him. A strangled cry came from his throat and he stumbled to her, throwing his arms around her and squeezing tightly. She felt real; solid and warm. She even smelled the same, her thick locks brushing over him as she returned his embrace. They both shook with his sobs and she ran a soft hand over his back as silent reassurance. He pulled back and stared at her in disbelief then covered her mouth with his in a kiss wet with tears. Tears of grief resolved and a soul renewed.

“Oh Jean…Jean you’re really alive…” he breathed after pulling back, “How did you do it? Why didn’t you contact me sooner?”

She laughed softly and wiped the tears from his eyes. “All questions will be answered in time – for now, let’s just enjoy each other’s company. I have missed you so much.”

His face was radiant as he buried it in the crook of her neck, missing the strange hard look of disgust running over her features. To him it seemed that it had been mere moments of reunion, when it had actually been almost an hour. So when Ororo’s voice broke through his reverie he felt annoyed with her, but Jean left his arms to embrace her old friend who also shed tears of joy on her shoulder. Scott’s annoyance left him, though, as he witnessed their happiness and almost hugged himself to keep himself from bursting with such intense joy. Still, he was impatient to touch her again - she was really alive! - and couldn't help himself when he grabbed her hand at Storm's release of her. On the way back to the X-Jet Ororo told Jean of the going-ons of the mansion and world. She didn’t respond to the news of the new mutant cure and cry for mutant registration, but Scott knew that she must be furious. She had fought so hard against it. He gave Ororo a look and she quieted, agreeing to his silent message to keep the atmosphere light. When they reached the jet Beast and Nightcrawler were meeting up to double back when the three came up the shore.

“Why, Jean my dear.” Beast said simply and folded her into a warm, furry embrace. She moved to greet Nightcrawler the same, smiling at both of them.

“It is so good to see you, meine freunde.” He said in a warm voice, “Every one will be overjoyed to see you. There is much to discuss, ja?”

“There is, Kurt. I am eager to return home…Its been so long." she said in a wistful voice, prompting Cyclops to go off about getting their room ready.

“I never changed it after you…disappeared. I’ve prepared it for you to come though, changed the sheets and-“

“Well, well, well. Scooter wasn’t crazy after all – you were talking to him.” Came Wolverine’s deep rumble and everyone turned to look at him. He sauntered up to Jean and lifted her off her feet in a bone-crushing hug. Scott’s face rushed with blood and turned a fiery red. When Wolverine let her go Scott hauled off and knocked Wolverine to the ground, shaking out his fist just enough to take the sting out of his hand before diving onto him. Beast and Nightcrawler rushed to pull them apart. Storm glanced over at Jean who simply stood looking at them. She seemed to look…pleased, that they were fighting over her. Storm mentally shook herself – Jean had just been gone for a long time and she was pleased to see them, however they were acting. When the two had been pulled them apart they were both tearing mad.

“What the fuck Scooter! You want Jean’s first day with you ta be cut short when I gut you?” Wolverine growled, his claws growing with a click as they fully extended.

“Keep your dirty, goddamn hands off of her Wolverine. She wasn’t calling to you for help, you fuck.” Scott yelled, his voice breaking.

“Yeah, well, she didn’t seem to object to my attentions, did she?” he shot back and barked a laugh when he saw he hit a nerve.

Cyclops pulled against Nightcrawler’s hold violently, fighting to get his hands on Wolverine. Storm made an angry noise and nodded to Kurt to take Scott onto the Jet, then took Jean’s arm and led her on. Jean came along silently with a small smile on her face and Ororo felt herself shiver when she looked at her. This confused her and she couldn’t put a finger on why. It was definitely Jean, looking the same as the day she had ‘died’, but with long hair and a strange look in her eyes. What did she expect, though? She had been through a terrible ordeal and any issues she possessed because of it were not to be judged. Kurt settled Scott into the seat next to Jean’s and he visibly calmed when he took her hand, though the air around him was still crackling. Wolverine, refusing to be dragged onto the jet by Beast, seated himself behind her by his own dam self, crossing his arms but smirking to himself.

“Let us go home, Ororo.” Beast suggested quietly and she immediately agreed, throwing the power on.