Sins of the Father

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

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta... I think I lost a Scotsman... InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are marshmallowy goodness for archiving/hosting. *G * ProPhile: Sorry about the ellipses, lol. Morgan: *POKE * Are you there? Readers/Reviewers: The ducks have vanished. :( If you see them, shove them back this way. In the meantime... thank you so much for reading/reviewing!!! Just to give a bit of foresight: next chapter, Pietro/Tarot, among other things, then Hell is sort of going to break loose for everyone.

Storm sighed and glared balefully at the dead cel phone. "I told you it would not work," Caliban murmured, sitting down beside her. "You should just resign yourself to this visit and learn what you have come here to learn."
She arched a brow and looked at him sidelong. "I came here to relax. I do not think that will be happening soon."
"You came here," he said in his slow voice, "to remember. To learn your own mind again." He turned a hand palm-up between them, as if weighing something heavy. "You wanted to be free from things but not lose them. A temporary respite."
She leaned back slightly, not quite a recoil but a definite show of discomfort. "Stay out of my head." They were alone in the small cabin-small by Professor Xavier's standards, at any rate. She could hear activity outside near the cabin and some further out, the absurd notion crossing her mind that she was in the midst of some mutant summer retreat. She shook herself mentally and added, "I had no idea you would be up here. I did come up to be alone and obviously, this is not to be the case. I need to contact he Institute and have someone come out for me and the car."
A smile ghosted across Caliban's face. "What makes you think they don't know where you are and what happened?" He stood and began slowly pacing the room, not looking at her as he spoke. "You have such faith in the unseen but so little in the tangible. Why is that, I wonder?"
She frowned, rising. Outside, a stiff breeze began to blow, infinitesimal shards of ice lending it an unseasonable bite. "My faith and whatever it is I have faith in are none of your business!" Storm folded her arms across her chest and became, for the first time in a long time, the goddess she used to be. "Caliban, I am far too old for foolish games such as these."
"This is no game," he replied in a calm, dangerous tone. He faced the window but did not really see it, staring at some point only he could see. "You are underestimating the importance of faith, Ororo."
Before she could ask further questions, the door swung open and Evan stepped inside, stopping just inside the open door. The spikes on his shoulders and arms showed clearly now in the daylight, faint shadows on his face revealing where ridges and plates of bone were growing. "Auntie Ro! You're up! Good!"
The wind outside died and the day became springtime warm once more. "Caliban and I were just talking," she said smoothly, effectively turning her back on the seeming leader of the Morlocks. "Evan...how are you? Really..."
Evan glanced past her to Caliban, who nodded briefly and disappeared through the door leading to the cabin's single bedroom. "I'm fine." He smiled tightly. "Really." Evan looked away from her, his eyes lighting on the bench along one wall beneath the window. "Sit down with me," he added, already heading for it.
She followed at a slower pace, watching the nuances in his movements. She could tell the bone growth had been extreme, making his movements heavy and stiff as he sat down. "Are you getting enough calcium?" she asked neutrally, joining him on the bench. Her eyes swept over him again and she knew he saw the glance for what it was.
"Aunt Ro, I really am fine. How's everyone at ho...at the Institute?" He tried to look nonchalant but only managed a mildly pained expression. "I've wanted to call..."
"Everyone is fine," she said calmly, knowing that was almost true. "We miss you, Evan. I miss you. Terribly." She laid a hand on his hard knee and sighed. "I wish you would consider returning, even if only for a short while."
His face became lined with annoyance. "You want me to come back then hope I'll stay when I realize how much I missed all of you!" Evan shoved himself to his feet and glared down at her. "You didn't even listen to Caliban, did you?"
Storm returned his glare, feeling the fractures start anew in her heart. "Caliban told me nothing I did not already know. I am not sure what game this is, Evan, but it needs to stop now." Her head throbbed in time with her pulse, driving her to close her eyes for a moment. She sighed in the soothing darkness behind her eyelids and felt her body relax.
"Ororo," Caliban's pacific voice intoned from somewhere above her.
Storm opened her eyes and found herself looking up at the ceiling. She was flat on her back, she realized, on the floor near the bench. Evan was kneeling near her head, peering down at her and clutching her left hand fiercely. "What happened?" she breathed. She felt nauseated and dizzy. "Is it a concussion?"
"Yes," Caliban said simply. He nodded to someone out of Ororo's line of sight and she felt cool fingers brush her forehead as warmth spread through her body. "Sarah will take care of it for you."
Evan looked up sharply at Caliban. "You said you'd tell her. She still doesn't know!"
Caliban sighed and looked down at Storm, his face neutral as ever. "She does not wish to know."
"I don't care!" Evan snarled, his body trembling with some effort. "Tell her now!"
Storm felt the fingers leave her forehead and was washed in a wave of pleasure. The feeling passed as soon as it had started, leaving her clear-headed and suddenly very alert. Sitting up, she brushed Evan back and turned to face Caliban expectantly. "It goes without saying that you are hiding something from me. I do not like being kept in the dark. I suggest you tell me know before I leave and take Evan with me."
Caliban looked at her steadily. "You could not take him with you on your best day, Ororo." He leaned forward and continued in a very low tone, "There is a war coming and coming soon. We are not on a retreat here but a regrouping. We have lost several of our own already and are not prepared to lose more."
Storm raised a brow. "I never expected you would join the Brotherhood, Caliban."
"Not that sort of war," he sighed. "A real one. A very real one."