The X-Men: New Additions - Part 16

Author:  Stacy Ricco

 
    It was two weeks after Christmas and Alex was going nuts. She didn't have much to do and that bothered her more than anything else could. She had tried to stay on her normal routine, but one morning she went down to the Danger Room and found that she didn't have the access to start her programs. She confronted Scott on the issue and he had admitted to changing her access to the more intensive sessions so that she wouldn't be endangering the twins. Her access was limited to light sessions and aerobic workouts.
Alex spent most of her days trying to keep herself occupied. She played the piano for a few hours a day, even when the Professor was in his office. The first time he found her playing, he invited her to stay and play for him. From that day on it almost became a daily ritual and a bond was starting to form between the two of them.
When she wasn't in the Professor's office playing the piano, she was in there reading books. The Professor really didn't mind her sitting in there reading and it gave him someone to talk to. Most of the time they ended up talking more than anything else.      Working out, playing the piano and reading really didn't fill Alex's need to keep busy. She went around the mansion looking for things to do. Sometimes she even tried to talk Bobby into setting up a Danger Room session for her. Bobby, who didn't want to have to face Logan if something went wrong, declined all attempts by Alex to talk him into starting a session for her.
Alex didn't see much of Logan in the two weeks. He went out on missions frequently and when he wasn't on a mission he spent the majority of his time at Harry's. Alex only saw him briefly during the days and when he crawled into bed at night. She missed talking to him, but she knew he was still trying to deal with the whole pregnancy thing. She let him have his space and knew he would eventually come out of this phase he was going through.
One afternoon found Alex pacing back in forth in the Professor's office while he was out for the afternoon. She couldn't concentrate enough to play the piano or read a book. She paced back and forth like a caged animal. She was so intent on thinking about what she could do that she didn't notice the door open. The Professor stopped in the doorway and watched Alex for a brief minute or two. He watched her pace back and forth. He knew that having so much free time had started to get to her. He knew from their conversations that she never really had free time and was always kept busy with her duties or missions.
"Alex." There wasn't a response.
*Alex*
She stopped short and turned around.
"Oh sorry sir."
"It's okay. What's bothering you?"
"All this free time is really starting to get me. I've never had this much free time in my life and I don't know what to do with it all."
"Please sit and we can talk about it."
Alex nodded and sat down in the offered chair. She sat down, but couldn't sit still. She started tapping her heel on the floor.
"Is there anything that you would like to do?"
"I don't know. I've never really had the chance to just do something that would be of interest to me."
"Would you like to take any classes at the local college, perhaps?"
"I don't know. I know what I could use, and it may sound a little strange, but is there any place around here that offers cooking classes?"
"I do not know, but I will look into it. Would you also be willing to go teach at the Massachusetts school for some time?"
"Sure."
"When are you due?"
"Mid-July."
"I will check into cooking classes around here. When can you leave for the Massachusetts school? You can go up and talk to Sean and Emma about what you want to teach in the next semester."
"Anytime sir."
"Would you like to leave on Sunday? That way you will have the day to get settled in up there."
"I don't see any problem in leaving on Sunday."
"Great. I will contact you when I have information about the classes. Do you have anything planned for tomorrow night?"
"No sir."
"Would you like to accompany me to a fundraiser?"
"Yes sir. I would be honored to accompany you."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Alex walked out of the Professor's office and headed straight to her room. Although she spent every night in Logan's room, she had managed to keep her clothes and things from migrating down there. She threw some clothes on the bed and then went looking for Rogue to borrow a suitcase. She found Rogue and Jean talking in the solarium.
"Excuse me."
"Alex. What's up?"
"Rogue can I borrow your suitcase again? The Professor is sending me to the Massachusetts school on Sunday."
"Shur sugah. It's in mah closet."
"Thanks."
"Alex?"
"Yes Jean?"
"Is everything okay with you and Logan? I've noticed that he's been away from the mansion quite a bit."
"I don't know what's up with us. We barely see each other and rarely talk. I think he's still trying to deal with it. I know I am."
"I'm here if you ever want to talk."
"Me too."
"Thank you. Both of you. I must go pack and get dinner ordered."
Alex left the room and headed back to her room. She passed Logan in the hallway, but neither of them said a word to each other. Alex stopped in Rogue's room to grab the suitcase and then went to her room to pack. Twenty minutes later she was in the kitchen trying to think what she should order for dinner. Alex opened the one drawer and pulled out "The List". "The List" was a list of what everyone in the mansion wanted if take-out was ordered. There was an entry for each person under the different types of food. Alex wanted to keep things simple and decided that tonight would be subs. She picked up the phone and placed the order. The table wouldn't have to be set so Alex headed to her room.
After dinner, Alex went downstairs to make an evening dress for tomorrow night's dinner. She picked a black evening dress that had a very simple design to it. She selected a pair of black one-inch heels to go with it. She didn't bother with jewelry and figured she could borrow some from Rogue or Jean. She grabbed the shoes and the dress and headed for the medlab.
"Hank can you do me a favor?"
"Sure Alex," he said looking up from the magazine he was reading.
"Can you help me get rid of my scars?"
Hank just gave her an astonished look.
"I'm going out tomorrow night with the Professor and they're pretty obvious when I wear a dress. Where I come from no one notices scars, here people are pretty squeamish about them for some reason."
"I see."
"And I would like to get rid of them as a part of starting my new life here."
"We might as well get started. This will probably take better part of the night."
Alex hopped up on the table and laid down on her stomach.

    Hours later, Alex slowly made her way up to Logan's room. Her whole body hurt, but barely a trace of a scar remained. She laid down very slowly and tried to go to sleep. Logan moved and brushed her back. Her skin screamed in pain and she groaned.
"Alex?"
"Logan?"
"Somethin' wrong?"
"No."
"Are you sure?" he said as he rolled over and propped himself up on an elbow. He placed a hand on her stomach.
"Logan please don't touch me."
"I'm sorry." Alex could hear the pain in his voice. Logan laid back down and turned over so that his back was facing her.
"Logan I didn't mean it that way. I want you to touch me, just not right now. My skin feels like it is on fire."
Logan sat up. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, so to say. Hank said it would probably be a little tender afterwards."
"What will be tender after what?"
"Turn on the light and I'll show you."
Logan turned on the light and was amazed at what he saw. Alex's skin was a bright red, but Logan couldn't see the trace of any scar.
"Alex what happened?"
"I had Hank remove my scars."
"Why?"
"I am going out with the Professor and people here get all squeamish when they see scars. And I wanted to get rid of them as part of starting a new life here."
Logan didn't say anything, but instead he just nodded. He turned off the light, rolled over and went to sleep.

    Alex spent the afternoon of the next day getting ready to go out with the Professor. She and Rogue went into Salem Center to the hair salon to have their hair and nails done. Rogue wasn't going out that night, but she figured she might as well pamper herself. After they hit the hair salon, they grabbed a late lunch and then went back to the mansion. Alex spent the remainder of the time sitting in the Professor's office reading. At five thirty she headed up to her room to get dressed.
"Alex sugah you look stunning," Rogue said as she sat on Alex's bed, as Alex stepped out of the bathroom.
"Thanks."
"Ah hope Logan gets a good look at you tonight."
Alex just shrugged and didn't want to think of Logan. Alex hoped she could get through the night without thinking of him. Alex slipped on a pair of pantyhose and put on her shoes.
"I think I'm all ready. I better get going. The Professor is expecting me at six in his office."
Rogue just nodded and got up off of the bed. "Things still not goin' well with Logan?"
Alex just shrugged. "I don't know where things stand between us. We're barely speaking to each other. I don't want to talk or think about him tonight. I'm going to go out and try to have a good time."
"That's the spirit sugah." Rogue gave her a hug and they exited the room.
Alex quickly made her way down to the Professor's office. She knocked on the door and entered the office when the Professor bade her to enter.
"Alex you look beautiful," the Professor said as he looked up from the paper that he was reading.
"Thank you sir."
"I have something for you."
"Sir?"
The Professor moved out from behind his desk and stopped in front of Alex. He handed her a long, thin, black box.
"Sir?"
"Open it."
Alex carefully opened the box and discovered an elegant diamond and emerald necklace. Nestled in the middle of the box was a diamond and emerald ring.
"Sir?" she asked looking at him.
"They were my mother's. They were left to me when she died and were to be passed on to a daughter. I want you to have them since you are the closest thing to a daughter that I will have."
"Thank you sir," Alex said staring at the glittering jewels.
"Well?"
Alex just looked at him.
"Are you going to put them on?"
"Huh? Oh sure," Alex said coming out of the spell of the glittering jewels. Alex carefully picked the necklace out of the case and put it on. She then slipped the ring on to her left ring finger.
"Ready?"
"Yes sir."
"Charles, Alex. Just Charles."
   
    Logan, Bobby and Bishop sat in the rec room watching college football. Logan wasn't really paying attention to the game and he barely tasted the beer that he was drinking. Thoughts of Alex were running through his mind. No matter what he did he thought of her. He volunteered for almost every mission and spent most nights at Harry's trying to forget her with beer and whiskey. Nothing helped him forget about her or his impending fatherhood. There was the joke of the century, him a father of twins. Of all the people not suited or ready for parenthood it had to be him. Babies were the last things he wanted to deal with. Going toe to toe with Sabretooth seemed more appealing most of the time. Babies were noisy, smelly and probably a lot of work. Not to mention the fact that there would be four all around the same age in the mansion. Logan came out of his reverie and downed the remainder of his beer. He set the empty bottle down on the end table and was just about to go for another beer when he stopped short. Alex. Her scent filled his nose. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about her, but her scent was too strong. Something inside of him wanted to turn around and look at the hallway. He opened his eyes and slowly turned around. His heart leapt into his throat when his eyes landed on her. She was dressed in a short, tight black dress and her hair was pulled up into a twist. His eyes traveled slowly over her curves and he savored the sight before him. Even though her uniform fit as well as the dress did, it paled in comparison to what the dress did for her. A stunning diamond and emerald necklace sparkled at the base of her throat. He had never seen her look more beautiful then she did at that moment. Their eyes met. The world and time seemed to stop for an instant. Logan could feel the tension between them. He saw a brief flash of pain cross her face and then a mask of indifference once again covered her face. Perhaps he was hoping for a smile or some sort of a positive acknowledgment from her, but he knew he wouldn't be getting one. A feeling of regret washed over Logan. He hadn't been treating her well since they returned from Canada. He went out of his way to avoid her and did everything possible to get her out of his thoughts. This whole baby, no, babies thing had really turned his world upside down and he was still trying to figure out which way was up. He knew he would have to figure things out soon or there would be nothing left to salvage between them. Logan watched Alex tear her eyes away from his and then exit the front door with the Professor. He sighed, turned his attention back to the tv and tried to focus on the game. A half an hour later he was in Harry's downing beer and whiskey.

    Alex didn't realize she was holding her breath until she walked out the front door. She exhaled explosively and drew in a deep breath. She let it out slowly in an attempt to calm herself.
"Alex?"
"I'm okay sir."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"No, sir. We better get going. We're going to be late."
"I suppose so."
Alex helped the Professor get out of his hover chair and helped him into the limo that was waiting. She climbed in and they were on their way into the city.
Alex spent most of the ride thinking about Logan and the two babies that were growing inside of her. She didn't want all this tension between her and Logan. She didn't even care if he accepted the pregnancy or not. She just wanted to be able to talk to him again and to be close to him. She sighed and leaned back in the seat. She just wanted life to be simple again. Being a soldier was the simplest thing in the world. You were told where to go and who to kill. Not much thinking involved and certainly no emotions. When did life get so complicated? She knew the answer, but didn't want to think about. She closed her eyes and tried to think of the night ahead. They arrived at their destination and Alex waived the driver off and helped the Professor out of the limo and into a waiting wheelchair. They walked up to the door and were greeted by a middle-aged man.
"Charles. It's so good to see you."
"Thank you Stephen. It's good to see you too."
"And who is this?' the man asked eying Alex.
"Stephen Van Horn, this is Alexandra…" Charles stopped. He wasn't sure how to introduce Alex.
"Alexandra Xavier. Pleased to meet you sir," Alex said offering a hand.
"The pleasure is all mine," he said shaking her hand. He turned to Charles and asked, "Any relation?"
Charles just stared at the man, not sure how to answer the question. He was totally unprepared for Alex to give the man her last name.
"His daughter sir," Alex answered before the Professor had a chance to think of a reply.
"Charles?"
Charles didn't know what to say. He was shocked by Alex's announcement of her being his daughter. "Yes. I recently found out myself. It was quite a surprise."
*Alex are you sure about this?*
*Yes sir*
"Well, congratulations then," Stephen said giving Charles a light slap on the shoulder. "Please enter and enjoy yourselves tonight."
"Thank you."
They were shown to their table and Alex sat down and she was determined to have a good time.

    Hours later, Alex quietly walked through the mansion as she made her way to Logan's room. She was very tired and her feet were killing her. She carried her shoes in one hand and slowly massaged the back of her neck with the other hand. She had lost count of the number of dance partners that she had that night. Most of the faces of the men she danced with were but a blur and she couldn't recall one single name. Overall it was a good evening and barely a thought of Logan popped into her mind. She had a slight smile on her face as she opened the door to Logan's room. Alex was surprised to see the light on and Logan sitting in the chair. He was sitting there in nothing but a pair of boxers and was smoking a cigar. He quickly extinguished the cigar when he saw Alex enter the room. Emerald green eyes met sapphire blue and the air crackled with energy. Logan slowly closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He savored the sweetness of her scent. He slowly opened his eyes as he exhaled. She was still staring at him. He was still amazed at how beautiful she looked tonight. Maybe it was seeing her in a dress or maybe it was just the desire that had been building up in him all night long. He didn't know and he really didn't care. The necklace sparkled from the light in the room and Logan wondered where she got it. He watched her lower her eyes and enter the room. She quietly moved around the room and eventually disappeared into the bathroom. He heard the shower turn on and knew she would be in there for some time. He sat in the chair and waited for her to come out of the bathroom.
Alex, wrapped in a towel, emerged from the bathroom a half hour later and was surprised to see Logan still sitting in the chair.
"Have a good night?"
"Yes. It was a very pleasant evening. The Professor and I had a very good time."
Logan didn't say anything, but just looked at her. He slowly stood up and walked over to stand in front of her. "Darlin' you looked beautiful tonight."
"Thank you."
They stood there and looked at each other. The foot of space between them seemed much wider. It was as if they stood on opposites sides of a chasm and there wasn't a bridge in sight.
"Logan…" Alex started to say and then stopped. She was suddenly unsure of what to say to him.
He stood there looking at her and hoped to hear her say she wanted him like he wanted her.
"I'm sorry I don't remember what I was going to say," she said as she looked away.
"Don' worry 'bout it," he said as placed a hand on her cheek. He gently kissed her and hoped that she would return his kiss. She returned the kiss and more. Her lips were demanding and her arms wound themselves around him. Logan groaned. The towel fell to the floor and his arms enveloped her.
Later, Alex slept nestled in the crook of his arm and her head on his chest. Logan watched her sleep for a while before the lure of sleep overtook him. "Good night darlin'," he whispered. He kissed her forehead and then closed his eyes.