SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
THE
RAIN WHISPERS SERIES – Ame 19 months
Ororo looked in the
direction of the invisible Blackbird hovering silently over beach embankment.
‘We should be leaving
soon.’ She thought
and turned her attention back to the water. Jubilee was raising Ame over her
head and plunging the child back into the water again and again. This activity
had worried Ororo but Ame’s constant stream of giggles and clapping as she
emerged, quelled any fears she might have kept. Ame’s hair was plastered over
her eyes, so all she could see was her wide open-mouthed smile. Ororo smiled.
The child’s hair had darkened over the last few months. Instead of pure white
like her own, Ame’s hair was now a mix of brown, blond and red— too light to be
auburn and the odd strand of white running through it.
She wasn’t even certain
whose idea this was— an impromptu visit to the coast, a day at the beach for
relaxing and for the children.
While the main beach was
already sparsely populated, it being fall, they had found an average sized cove
that was uninhabited. It was easier for Ororo to raise the temperature to a
more summer-like state in this smaller area.
Ororo rubbed her hands
together knocking the sand from them. She straightened the blanket she sitting
on and leaned back on her hands again.
She looked down the surf.
Scott and Jean were coming out of the water, jump-swinging their son between
them. On each jump, David would peddle
his legs frantically, as though he wanted to keep going—to fly.
Gambit was waist high in
the water with Jerri perched on his shoulders. She was in a hand slapping fight
with Rogue, who was reveling in the fact she was actually able to touch the
girl. To touch anyone. Three months ago, due to Jerri’s idea and Remy’s prodding,
Remy managed to convince Forge to create a dampening ring for Rogue for her
birthday. The band came to a point on one side. If the point faced out, towards
her fingertips, Rogue’s power was active. When she reversed the ring, the
effect was reversed. She was powerless, but she could touch. However, she did
keep a pair of gloves with her at all times—just in case. Right now, they were
tucked into the lower half of her sport bikini.
A little farther off, Bobby
and Lisa were involved in their own form of water play. Bobby had been
positively floored when Lisa had asked him out. Since then, the two had been
nearly inseparable—to Hank’s hidden dismay. A few feet from her, the large
doctor had his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he feverishly
concentrated on his sand-based recreation of Windsor Castle—every battlement in
it’s correct place. During those few hours he allowed himself out of the lab,
Hank had been throwing himself into projects such as this—anything to avoid
running into his best friend and having to tell him, that while he was happy at
Bobby’s new found happiness… quite frankly, he missed him.
"Ororo, if its not too
much trouble," he said to her, "would you very much mind creating a
small bubble of humidity around my creation. The salt water just isn’t doing
it, and I’m right at the tricky part."
"Of course Hank. Is
this enough?"
"Perf—"
There was suddenly a loud
series of ‘PFFT’ sounds from the direction of the water. Both X-Men were
on their feet. Ororo’s eyes quickly panned the water. Booby, Lisa, Remy, Jerri
and Rogue were all accounted for. Ame and Jubilee were not. Remy had ordered
Jerri back to the shore. He and the others were heading in the direction
Jubilee and Ame had last been in. David was sitting safely on the sand; Jean
and Scott ran back to the water. Ororo and Hank moved to join them.
A hand appeared on the
surface and released another bright ‘PFFT’, before disappearing again.
Bobby, who was the closest,
suddenly slipped beneath the waves, as though someone was pulling his legs from
below. An ice shield appeared, and Bobby popped back out, arms flailing.
"Undertow!" He
yelled, as Lisa helped pull him to his feet.
Rogue, powers released,
dived below the waves, at the same time Ororo did. Jean had resurfaced and went
under again. Lisa, Scott and Remy were also involved in this search. Beast was
standing in the water to mid thigh. When Bobby discovered the undertow, Ororo
immediately held up her hand to indicate he should travel no further. Though he
deeply wanted to help, they all knew too that if Hank, with his 300 plus
pounds, were to become caught in the tow, they may not be able to get him out.
In an explosion of water,
Rogue flew out of the surf carrying an unconscious Jubilee in her hands.
Jubilee’s hands were empty.
Hank was back on the beach
by the time Rogue reached it. He immediately began CPR on the girl, who was not
breathing. After a few moments, her body shuttered and she began coughing up
saltwater. The coughing soon ended, but Jubilee still lay limp and disoriented
on the sand.
Out in the ocean, Ororo was
doing everything she could to hold herself in one piece. The sky was turning
dark and threatening, and the wind had drastically picked up. This was not
helping.
‘This is not happening.
This is not happening.’ The phrase kept repeating in her mind.
Rogue headed back out,
leaving Jubilee in Hanks care. The blue doctor looked out at the commotion. He
rubbed a worried hand over his face.
"Please, please,
please..." He whispered.
Suddenly, something to his
left caught his eye. He turned towards it—stood up and began yelling.
"Ororo! Storm!
Everyone! Over there! The cliffs! Over there!"
Ororo looked in the
direction Hank was frantically pointing in. On one of the lower cliffs that jutted
out and defined the cove, was a lone tiny figure. Seated, dripping wet on one
of those rocks was Ame.
Storm immediately flew over
to where her daughter was sitting. Ame was coughing slightly but otherwise
seemed fine. Ororo scooped her up and hugged her tightly. Greatful tears fell
from her eyes.
"No cry, mommy. No
cry." Ame placed a hand on Ororo cheek over a tear stream.
Storm floated them down to
the others.
"Hank…"
Hank came over to look at
the girl, but had enough sense not to ask Ororo to let go of her for a minute.
"I see no immediate
trauma, but we should get her back to the mansion for a full examination… just
in case. And we need to get Jubilee back as well."
Ororo nodded and kissed Ame
on the top of her head.
"Nice man,
mommy!" Ame was pointing out to the surf.
Ororo looked out to sea.
The other X-Men were all on the beach, catching their breath and gathering
their things. Scott was carrying Jubilee towards the Blackbird. There was no
one in the water.
"What Nice man,
Ame?"
"In water."
"A man in the
water?"
Ame nodded and hiccuped.
Bobby stopped collecting
his things and looked towards the cliff where Ame had been sitting. It was at
leas fifteen feet above the water.
"How the hell did she
get up there?"
Both Lisa and Hank looked
in the same direction. Ororo, still tightly holding her daughter, went over to
them.
"Ame says that a "Nice
man" who was in the water, put her to sit up on those rocks."
"A "Nice
man"?"
Ororo shrugged. The low hum
of the Blackbird engines sounded over their heads.
"We can sort this out
later. We should be on our way."
* * * * *
"Namor. It must
have been Namor."
Logan nodded pensively.
"When I asked her
specific details, she said his hair was long and it was dark. Who else could it
have been? A man in the ocean…"
"Sounds like."
"But when I showed her
a picture of him, she said no."
"Kids forget."
Ororo leaned back in her
chair. "Logan… If I had lost her today--"
"You didn't."
"But if I had…"
"Ororo, don't do this
to yourself. Ame's here, she's safe, she just swallowed a little seawater,
she's healthy…" He knocked twice on the coffee table with his fist.
Ororo nodded to herself,
then looked over at her daughter.
Laying on the rug in front
of the fireplace, Ame yawned.
"Time for bed little
one." Ororo said and picked the child up. Ame wrapped her arms around her
mother’s neck, tightly clutching the "Wolverine" doll Kitty had made
for her in her right hand.
"Nice man mommy! Nice
man!" Ame exclaimed excitedly. Ororo looked over her shoulder at the
mantle where Ame was pointing. Ororo felt a jolt that had nothing to do with
her lightening. Logan stood up and looked as well.
The initial shock began to
wear off and Ororo turned to fully face the mantle.
"A-Ame… is this the
Nice man? Is this the man who put you on the rocks?"
Ame nodded vigorously.
"Cripes." Logan
said quietly.
"You remember his
face?"
Another nod.
Wolverine raised an eyebrow
and shrugged.
"…More things in heaven and earth…" She said almost in
whisper, her eyes on the photo.
Ame yawned again.
Ororo shook her head and
took a breath.
"Bedtime." She
said. Ororo took the photograph from the mantle and left the den.
A few minutes later, Ororo
brought the covers up to Ame’s chin and kissed her on the forehead. The child
was already asleep. She lightly brushed a hair from the girl’s face and as she
straightened up, brushed her hand along the top of the silver framed picture of
the “Nice Man”.
Ororo had yet to explain to
Ame, whom that man was. His picture was on the mantle piece, and on her dresser
and night table, and in her photo album. But she had never really shown any of
them to her young child. She had always thought her too young to understand.
The Nice Man had made her
feel safe and so Ororo now placed his picture on her night table, so that which
goes bump in the night would never harm her. While she slept, Ame would
continue to feel safe and protected under the warm gaze and loving smile…
…Of her father.
End