Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father Chapter Thirty Two (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta... *sends healing * InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are fantabulous for archving/hosting. :) ProPhile: Any better? And I'm writing you a nice, long, sweaty fic... Morgan: Greck. Remy isn't cooperating but it's coming... Readers/Reviewers: Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!


Emma's eyes snapped in barely restrained fury. "You are not listening to me, Charles," she snarled. "You're wrong!" Behind her, the handful of students available on short notice shifted uncomfortably. Emma's voice had not risen in pitch but rather lowered to a near growl. Logan regarded her coolly, but his fingers flexed at his sides as if preparing for a fight. Professor Xavier's neutral expression vexed her all the more for the inaction. At least, she thought, Logan seemed to be aware she was speaking.
"Emma, please," Sean said pacifically. "Let the man talk." He glanced at the students, Jubilee with her eyes wide and teary, Theresa looking dour and not a little angry, Jono still and morbid. "He needs to tell them."
Kurt and Scott chose that moment to enter, both looking alternately irritated and curious. "There you are," Scott said to Jean, heading for her before he noticed the tense silence in the room. "Um..." He glanced around quickly and seemed mildly uncomfortable. "Sorry. Are we interrupting?"
"No," Professor Xavier said shortly as Emma hissed "yes!" The Professor continued, "If you will please have a seat, we need to discuss something quite serious with all of you."
"Where's Kitty?" Kurt chose the space next to Jubilee, usually occupied by Remy, and settled in, prepared for either hideously bad news or a boring lecture on dishwashing, he was not sure which yet. "If this is so important, why aren't we waiting on the others?"
Emma's eyes were fairly glowing with her anger. "Because Professor Xavier is a damned fool!"
Logan started forward then, the veins in his neck bulging. "You watch your damned mouth!" he snapped, pushing Sean aside as the younger man tried to step between them. "You're out of line."
It was like a scene from an early Spielberg movie, Kurt decided, ducking involuntarily as several curios on the shelf over the small fire place burst into shards under the force of Emma's anger. "Hey!" he cried indignantly, not a little nervous. Jubilee slid off the sofa and on to the floor, covering her head as a vase from the same mantel hurtled overhead. "You're acting like children!"
The Professor was strangely passive during the exchange. Emma stilled mentally and became almost statue-like physically. The outburst had lasted only a few seconds but it had been enough to destroy the integrity of the atmosphere of the room. Instead of nervous tension, there was now a vague undercurrent of excitement and apprehension. Jean and Scott were staring frankly at the adults, Jono had not moved and Jubilee was looking as if she might burst into tears or laughter, she was not sure which. Kurt was not sure which way to jump, as it were, and just sat very still. Finally, Jean broke the silence. "What the Hell is going on?"
Professor Xavier looked first at Emma, then at Logan. Both appeared as defiant and guilty as children caught out doing something against a parent's orders, but they remained silent. He rolled his chair forward to come between them and began quietly, "I am not going to wait for the others to arrive because I wish you all to hear this from us first, and not television or radio. There has been an incident in town, less than...I'm sorry, a bit more than an hour ago. It involved some of our own."
The pregnant pause that followed was suddenly broken by Jubilee's sharp, strangled gasp. Kurt felt his mouth go dry. "Is Kitty...in the Danger Room maybe? She might need to hear this. I could go check. She might be up in the shower..."
"Kurt, sit down," Logan said quietly. "She's fine." His glance flickered to Jubilee; though his face remained set in stern lines, there was a distinct softening about him that made the Asian girl start to tremble.
She reached out awkwardly, needfully, and grabbed Kurt's hand. "Remy wouldn't have gone to town without us...he was going to take me to the dentist but I didn't want to go so he's fine, right? I mean...yeah..." She was shaking visibly, the certainty that the bad news was most directed at her so strong that she felt sick to her stomach. She had felt this before, when her parents were killed, and again the first time she had been taken to the county home for children. She knew this feeling and knew better than to deny it, instinct working a hard, painful knot in her stomach.
Professor Xavier looked momentarily nervous, an expression so fleeting that Kurt was not quite certain he even saw it. He squeezed Jubilee's cold fingers and murmured, "I'm sure everything is fine, Jubes..." He knew himself for a liar even as he spoke but he could not let the silence stretch on.
Emma's jaw worked as if she were going to say something, but she shook her head and turned towards the window, her knuckles going white as she gripped the sill in silent anger. Professor Xavier sighed. "The preliminary reports say there must have been a gas leak at Mary, Queen of the Sea church on Main and Pine, but nothing is certain yet." The words were difficult in coming but he forced them out. "Remy and Ernie had just gone inside the church before the explosion. We...we have been told that early signs are there are no survivors."

Jubilee was grateful no one had followed her. She had barely made it to the hall bathroom in time before she threw up the contents of her stomach, dry heaving rather than crying as she rested her forehead against the floor tiles. She had never felt so empty, not even when her parents died. She had been so young then, even though it had only been a few years ago. Now, loss was burning and keen. She felt numb in body and soul, but her mind was racing. Someone knocked on the door, the sound making her cringe. "Go away," she yelled. "Go away and leave me alone!" Her throat was sore and she realized she must have screamed or cried before ending up in the bathroom. The knock fell again. "GO AWAY!"
_*Jubilee... the Professor is misinformed. Remy is not dead. Neither is Ernie...* _ Her words had the desired effect. In seconds, Emma was staring down at Jubilee's pale, shaken face.
Her fingers flexed hard on the doorknob. "Don't lie to me, Emma."
"I'm not. Come with me and we'll talk."

A/N Next chapter, Rogue/Todd, Lance, Amara, Storm...