Rahne's bedroom...
*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEZWARRRRK!!*
"Fekt." Rahne whispered as she withdrew her clawed hand from the alarm clock. She didn't know what the word meant, but it fit the situation better than a few other choice four-letter words that she knew she shouldn't say. "Nae again."
She sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It was her day to make breakfast for the team, so she was up earlier than the rest. A few seconds later, her keen hearing picked up the sounds of Rachel crying.
--A should go see what's wrong 'fore she wakes Sam up.-- Rahne thought, slipping out of her room and over to the nursery. Quietly and gently, Rahne opened the door. Fortunately, Sam had already gotten up and gone to handle the situation. Unfortunately, Sam slept in the buff, and hadn't yet bothered to put any clothing on.
Rahne gasped at the sight, too shocked to move. Sam's head spun around to see Rahne standing in the doorway clad only in her tank-top and underwear, his jaw landing squarely on the floor. Sam's arm shot back to cover himself up as much as possible, and Rahne looked away quickly.
She slammed the door shut and ran down the hall, embarrassed, ashamed and more, her thoughts running at a thousand per second. Scandalized though she was, she couldn't help remembering what Kitty had told her a month or two before. --A cute butt is such a terrible thing to waste.-- She jerked open the door to the womens' showers, threw off her clothes and hopped right into the freezing water. She'd heard Pete mention that it helped.
Breakfast...
"What's that?" Sam asked.
"It's a letter from Meggan." Pete answered. "She says she got Luna to the Maximoffs safe and sound." In his last will and testament, Quicksilver had specified that his daughter be given to his own foster parents. "But she says she isn't coming back. I'm not surprised, really. Losing Braddock's going to take her a long time to get over." Pete put the note down and turned the T.V. on to the morning news. "I hope she'll be all right, wherever she goes." Meggan was one of the first Excalibur members to accept Pete when he came to the team, and he'd befriended her in turn.
Jimmy walked into the kitchen with Rachel in his arms, feeding her with a bottle of formula. "What's new today?"
"Watch." Sam said, pointing to the screen. "They're interviewing that Nate Grey kid. He just stopped the Juggernaut from robbing Fort Knox." They all looked to the screen as Trish Tilby shoved a microphone in Grey's face.
Fort Knox...
"So X-Man -- or can I call you Nate?" Trish asked the young man holding Juggernaut in a telekinetic ball of energy. Nate nodded. "Are you really America's newest hero or not?"
"It has a nice ring to it, now that you mention it. With the other heroes dead or missing, I think the country could use somebody like me. And besides, I've got the power to do the job, so why not use it?"
"That's good to hear. Also, I was hoping you could answer another question for me."
"Shoot."
"There's been some rumor about you being affiliated with the X-Men, especially with your name being X-Man and all. Can you give us anything on that?"
"They're good people, and I've met them once or twice, but I've never really worked with them. My methods and theirs aren't the same at all, so we try to cross paths as little as possible these days. And you media guys gave me the X-Man name, I didn't choose it," he pointed out.
Trish shrugged. "The reason I ask is because there's also been a rumor about the X-Men's deaths. Can you confirm or deny this?" There had been no rumors, but Trish hadn't heard from Hank, her boyfriend, in over a week, and was worried. Finding the X-Mansion in ruins hadn't helped much.
"You know as much as I do at this point. I can't help you there. Sorry." Nate turned as the military carted Marko away, and went to escort them.
"Thanks anyway, X-Man." Trish turned back to the camera and addressed the audience. "This wouldn't be the first time that the X-Men have disappeared, having apparantly died before in the fracas in Dallas several years ago, and with Operation: Zero Tolerance gaining support in Congress, perhaps this is a tactic to get out of the way before it all hits the fan. But at this point, it's all speculation. This is Trish Tilby, reporting for CNBC News. Back to you, Roger."
And back again...
Pete clicked off the T.V. and went to get a cup of coffee. He was so frustrated that he drank it all down before realizing that it was Moira's and started coughing.
"Bloody 'ell, this Zero Tolerance crap is the only thing anyone's talkin' about these days." Pete looked at Kitty as inspiration struck. "Whattaya think that these are the guys who sent the 'Crimson Goatgouger' after us?" His smile faded when Kitty gave no reaction. Kitty's problem needed to be dealt with, and soon.
"Has anyone seen Lady Moira yet?" Rahne asked the group, walking into the room and blushing furiously when she met eyes with Sam, as did he. Pete noticed and made a mental note to find out the reason. There was something about embarrassing Sam and Rahne that was just... fun. "A hope she did nae stay in her lab all night again."
"Ah think she did, from what Ah saw." Sam said, eating the breakfast Rahne had prepared for the team. "Ah went to ask her what she wanted for breakfast, but she was busy talking with Cypher about some sort of containment unit and an extension on her lab. Ah couldn't make heads or tails of it, mahself."
"A'll talk t'her after breakfast. It hurts me t'see her pushin' herself sae hard. If the bleedin' virus does nae kill her, stress and exhaustion will!" Rahne said, tired and upset. She had come to Muir Isle to support her foster mother as best she could, and nothing she tried ever succeeded for very long.
"Want me ta come with ya, Rahne?" Sam offered.
"Nae, this is somethin' A need t'talk with her aboot alone. But thanks anyway, Sam, A appreciate the offer," Rahne replied softly. She decided to move on to another topic. "Everyone's accounted for 'cept for Shatterstar. Anyone seen him today?"
"Bet you ten pounds the sod's in the basement working out already." Pete muttered, getting out his secret stash of 'Rory' coffee. "He doesn't smoke, doesn't even drink coffee, doesn't joke or laugh, barely smiles, he's probably never used a dirty word in his life, has more muscles than Kitty has computer disks, and prefers exercise to a good night out. It's disgusting!"
"Pete Wisdom callin' someone else's behavior disgustin'. Never thought A'd see the day." Rahne said, then took a sip from her morning tea.
Before Pete could come up with an appropriate response, the phone rang. Jimmy picked it up, then handed it to Sam. "It's Paige. She sounds irritable," he warned.
Sam grabbed the receiver. "What's up, sis?"
"I hate Domino!" The younger Guthrie grumbled. "I've never felt so sore in my entire life! You wanna know what she made us do today? She scheduled a training session this morning and all we ended up doing was sit-ups for an hour!"
Sam knew he shouldn't. His little sister was angry, and he should comfort her. She needed to vent without interruption. Family honor demanded that he resist. He didn't. He laughed instead.
"Exactly what is so funny about all this, Sam!?" Paige yelled. "Stop laughing!"
After a moment, he composed himself enough to respond. "Paige, if ya think that's bad, wait until you get past her beginners' level. She'll have ya' doin' things that've made Shatterstar hate excercise. Ya' got a ways ta go yet."
"You're joking." Paige said, her face pale on the other end of the line. "Please be joking."
"Nope." Sam was enjoying this. "Imagine havin' ta swim the lake next to the mansion back n' forth three times, run eight miles uphill, and then climb a rope course up to a platform where ya' have ta do your best ta beat her. Shatterstar's the only one o' us ta ever beat the entire thing, and only once at that."
"Oh God." All of a sudden, becoming a member of the X-Men came in dead last on her goals for the future. "I wanna go home." Sam laughed again.
The containment unit...
Moira's hand hovered over the control panel for what seemed like an eternity. Her thoughts were in conflict, keeping her from making her final decision.
Moira had been fighting the Legacy Virus for over a year, in more ways than one. As the world's foremost authority on genetics, Moira had a scientific obligation to cure the virus that she was determined to fulfill. Moira was also the only human to be infected with the virus, making her battle all the more personal, especially now that her closest equal in the field, Hank McCoy, was dead and buried, along with Charles Xavier.
Moira was the only person left on the planet who had a chance of curing the virus. Even the mad scientist Mister Sinister was dead, killed in a suicide attack by Cable. Nathan's genetic make-up was a key ingredient in finding the cure and, without access to it, her chances of success had dwindled to almost nothing. Moira didn't even have the comforting phone calls and letters from her deceased love, Sean Cassidy, anymore. Moira MacTaggart felt lost and alone, with no one to turn to for help.
Her fight was now a one-woman struggle against impossible odds, without anyone left to help her fight the virus. Perhaps, just perhaps, the end would be less painful if she faced it alone. Isolated. Just as she had isolated her own son, Proteus, so many years ago.
--It's poetic justice, really. A'd locked Kevin away for his own good, now A have t'lock meself away. For me own good.--
"A need t'do this." She repeated to herself, trying desperately to believe it. Her hand pressed down on the panel, shutting the door and locking herself in.
Moira's Lab...
Rahne opened the large metal doors slowly. She hated the creepy feeling the huge lab gave her, even after being lab assistant to her mother for so long, not understanding how her foster mother could spend so much of her life in there.
--Where could she be?-- Rahne thought, finding no sign of the older woman. --If she's nae here, then what happened t'her? A... A hope the Legacy Virus didn't finally...-- She couldn't finish the thought.
With the deaths of so many loved ones fresh in her mind, she was slowly starting to panic, thinking that perhaps after so long, the virus had done what it intended to do, and take away the only family Rahne had ever had.
"Lady Moira, where are ye?!" Rahne ran around the lab, looking everywhere and still finding nothing. She switched to her full werewolf form to enhance her senses, but they availed her nothing in the sterilized lab. "Please be here, please be all right. Be alive."
::Lady Moira is alive, Ms. Sinclair.:: Cypher's computerized voice said over the speakers in the lab. Rahne was visibly relieved, calm filling her once again as she shifted fully human again.
"Then where is she, Dou... Cypher?" Rahne said, catching herself.
::She is in the containment unit.::
"And what is tha'?" Rahne looked around, her eyes falling on the large construct at the rear of the lab. "Is tha' it?" she pointed to it.
::Yes.:: Rahne crept over to the construct, finding the door, but no control panel to open it with. Her brow furrowed in concentration, then she said, "Open?" Nothing happened.
::The door cannot open.::
"Then how does Lady Moira get oot?"
::She does not.::
"D'nae be daft, o'course she gets oot. Why wouldn't she unless..." Rahne's panic was returning. The thought of losing her mother was one of her worst fears, and now it was coming true in the way she least expected. Moira had killed herself by cutting herself off from the living, and that was just one step removed from death itself. "Is... is there some way for me t'contact her?" she asked.
::Yes. Lady Moira left an intercom operational so that she could inform us of when she found a cure for the virus.::
"Where is it?" she asked, then walked over to where Cypher indicated with a spotlight. "Leave us alone, Cypher, this is gonnae be private."
::As you wish.:: He set his sensors to ignore what was going on in the lab.
Rahne turned on the intercom. "Lady Moira? Can ye hear me?"
"Rahne? Child, what are ye doin'?"
"Savin' ye from ye'self." Rahne stated.
"Rahne, please, this is somethin' A need t'do. A'm sorry if this hurts ye, but A cannae cure this virus withoot total privacy and concentration." Moira lied. Her real reason, the one she wouldn't even admit to herself, was that she was trying to detach herself from her remaining loved ones before they were taken from her, too. "T'have that, A need t'be quarantined. It was either that or kick ye and the X-Men off me island." Moira paused before continuing. "A've got enough supplies t'last me for a year, sae ye needn't worry aboot tha'." Moira had gotten Cypher to help her prepare everything she needed, including the adjoining labs and storage space for her supplies.
"Ye d'nae have t'do anythin'!" Rahne was terrified and confused, but more than anything else, she was angry. "A know that ye've been gettin' worried, now that sae many of us have already died, that one o' us would be infected by spendin' sae much time around ye, but A'd rather risk infection meself than lose ye like this."
"Rahne, that's foolishness. Givin' ye this virus is me worst fear, more'n meself dyin'. A've lost too many people A care aboot -- Sean, Kevin, Charles an' the rest -- t'continue takin' the risk o' infectin' ye."
"An' what makes ye think that one o' us will ever get infected? A've looked at yuir research, and everythin' A've read shows that Legacy cannae be contracted from an infected person. Kitty's been around ye f'r a year and she has nae contracted the virus."
"It only has t'happen once, Rahne. Just suppose that Kitty is nae the right type o' mutant t'contract Legacy. Just suppose that ye are. A care aboot ye too much t'have ye riskin' yuir life when ye have nae reason tae."
"What the flamin' 'ell d'ye think A'm doin' on the X-Men but riskin' me life when I d'nae have tae!?! Ye'll let me be a hero, riskin' me life savin' total strangers from divils like Sabretooth, but ye won't let me risk me life by stayin' close t'me mother? That's foolishness!" Rahne's emotions had reached their boiling point and she was in no mood to hold herself back.
"Rahne, I am nae yuir real mother, A haven't even adopted ye legally. A..."
"YE ARE ME REAL MOTHER!!" Rahne's outburst quieted Moira instantly. "Ye may nae be the woman A was born tae, but ye are me mother. Ye have nae idea how much that means t'me -- t'have someone t'love as family an' cherish as yuir own flesh n' blood. Ye an' the New Mutants were the answers t'nearly fourteen years o' prayer and I couldnae have asked for better."
"The decision t'do this was hard 'nough, Rahne, sae please, leave me be." Moira was feeling desperate now. The more she wanted to leave her quarantine, the more she felt she needed to stay.
"Nae sae long as A live. A'm nae leavin' ye until ye come oot and stay oot. A will nae be quiet and A will nae give up. Ye mean too much t'me t'let ye kill yeself like this."
"If ye really care aboot me as much as ye say, Rahne, then ye'll leave me be. It's nae just me that A need t'find a cure for, it's f'r everyone oot there in the world that's sufferin' from this infernal plague. Would ye let them all die just because ye want t'be around me all the time?"
"Yuir foolin' yuirself if ye think lockin' yuirself away from those who care aboot ye is goin' t'do a damned thing for findin' the Legacy Virus cure. Ye can do it well enough oot here wi' the rest o' us." Tears were pouring from Rahne's eyes as she continued.
"But d'ye know what ye'll miss if'n ye stay in there? Ye'll miss the chance t'eat breakfast with the rest o' us every morn, ye'll never see Rachel grow up, ye'll never... we'll never be mother and daughter again. Please, A d'nae want t'feel sae unwanted ever again."
"Rahne, please, d'nae do this t'me. With Hank, Charles -- even Nathan and Sinister dead, A'm facin' this damn virus all alone, an' A..." Moira's voice trailed off into silence.
"Ye know what else ye'll miss? Ye'll miss seein' me greatest dreams come true. Ye'll never meet me future husband, whoever he is, or see what kind o' family we'd raise together. Ye'll miss oot on the chance t'ever be a grandmother, spoilin' the puir wee bairns like a granny should. A want sae much for ye t'be a part o' me life, t'be the mother A always wanted -- that A always needed. Ye'll never be able t'do that if ye're locked away like a blessed monk. That's why A will nae leave ye be, because A couldn't live without a mother. Nae again."
Inside the chamber, Moira's head dropped into her hands, her tears running freely. --A've been makin' the same cursed mistakes all over again, haven't A, Lord? A've devoted what li'l energy A have left t'me science an' me work, but A've been ignoring the needs o' the one person left in this entire world who just wants me... nae the cures A make, nae the skills A have... just me, for who A am, unconditionally.--
Moira's thoughts drifted back to over a year ago, when she first discovered the Legacy Virus with Charles Xavier. Rahne was still with X-Factor at the time, and had just been told about what the Genoshans did to her - genetically bonding her to Alex Summers, making her his slave. If Havok had been less than honorable, and wanted to take advantage of the underaged girl, she would not have stopped him.
This fact was compounded by Rahne's misinterpretation of her programmed lust as love. When the truth was discovered, Rahne was scarred emotionally to the point where she never thought she'd be able to trust love again.
Then the Genoshan mutates started dying of an unknown plague, and an expert on genetics was called in to examine the situation. That expert was Moira. When Rahne tried to talk to her mother about her fears, to find comfort for her troubles from the one person she trusted above all others, Moira turned her back on her. The world needed saving, and she had a meeting to keep with Charles Xavier in France, so helping Rahne would have to wait. Mother and daughter did not part on the best of terms. And when Moira eventually did get around to helping Rahne, it was at her own convenience. When the 'important' things had been dealt with.
Painful as that memory was, salt was poured on the wound only a few short months ago when Rahne would hear news about Moira's own Legacy Virus infection. If Rahne had remained with X-Factor, turning her back on her mother as Moira expected she would, Moira would have felt vindicated, but that was not the case. One day after Trish Tilby exposed the truth behind the Legacy Virus, Rahne dropped every last bit of the life she'd carved out for herself in X-Factor and came running to be with her mother, never once showing a hint of regret at her decision. To her, there was nothing more important then being with her mother.
Still, in times like these when Moira was most honest with herself, she knew that she would have given up the ghost a long time ago if it had not been for her ever faithful daughter. The one Moira had betrayed, but who would not betray her when the tables were turned. She doubted if Rahne even considered the irony of the situation; that her daughter's stubborn love had done more to keep her alive than any drug or serum could -- the same drugs that Moira had spent her life believing in.
And now, even after all this, Moira had made the same mistake. By locking herself away from Rahne, she had put the needs of science over the needs of a daughter -- her daughter. She would not let herself continue living the same lie, making the same mistakes; even if it meant she would die the next day, she would die knowing what it truly meant to be a mother.
The doorway to the chamber opened slowly, their complex locks methodically unlatching in sequence. Outside, Rahne stood by, tears running down her face, and then ran forward to hug her mother. Neither knew how much time they'd spent standing there, just holding each other, but for the first time in a long time, the two women were family again in every way that mattered.
In the kitchen, several hours later...
Pete Wisdom was hungry. He wanted food and liquour. That meant he needed to go to the kitchen. What he found when he got there was not what he expected to find.
Katherine Pryde was a technological genius almost on par with Reed Richards, a self-proclaimed goddess of computing. However, these skills did not carry over into the field of appliance repair.
So when Pete found his girlfriend sitting at the kitchen table, working on the insides of the microwave, he knew it was time to draw the line. Kitty had used her work as an excuse to avoid confronting the real problems she faced but, since she'd fixed every possible problem related to computers in the entire complex, she needed something else to fill the void. It was now that she was most vulnerable. Vulnerable to falling into the abyss of depression, as well as being vulnerable to Pete's assistance. The former special agent of Black Air saw his opening and went for it.
Pete grabbed Kitty's hand as it picked up a wire and stared into her eyes. "Kitty. This has to stop. Now."
"Leggo. I'll stop when this is fixed."
"I'm not talking 'bout the bloody microwave. I'm talking 'bout this compulsion you have."
"What compulsion? I tried using it for lunch and it didn't heat my soup up in the right amount of time, so I'm increasing its output. Now if you'll let me finish, you can..."
Pete had had enough. For the past week, Kitty had been carefully wrapping herself up in busywork, leaving the older man outside her shell and unable to help her. His patience was shortened to the point where it was almost non-existent. He raised his hand and shot an array of hot knives into the microwave, ruining the appliance completely. "Bugger the microwave."
"What was that for!?" Kitty asked. "How am I supposed to fix it now?!"
"You're not." Pete said.
"Then what're we going to do about a microwave?" Kitty asked again.
"I'll buy a new one next time I'm in town." Kitty started to get up, but Pete put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "No more work. No more distractions. Just us and your compulsion."
Kitty phased and stood up anyway, walking away to the corner of the room before turning around to face him. "What am I supposed to do? Just forget about the people who've been like family to me for years? Forget what they mean to me?"
"You should never forget 'em -- I'd never ask you to do that. All I'm asking is that you stop working yourself to death."
Kitty said nothing for a long moment, her thoughts fighting each other for supremacy. She looked Pete in the eye, her eyes full of desperation. "Whenever I think about 'em, I can't do a thing. I can barely stand up sometimes, when I think about how easily they were slaughtered. They shouldn't have died like that. Especially not Logan. Logan just... he just couldn't die. But he did, and if someone like him could get killed like that, what does that mean for the rest of us? Who's going to end up killing us?"
"Everyone dies, Kitty. We just haven't gotten there yet." Pete rubbed Kitty's shoulders, doing his best to comfort her. Pete had lost his mother to a random shooting, so he knew what it felt like to lose family. --I hope that's enough,-- he thought.
"I know, Pete, I know. It's just so hard to accept when you've survived as much as the X-Men and I have." Kitty hugged her boyfriend.
"Then all I want is for you to let me help you through it." Pete returned the embrace.
Rachel's nursery...
Shatterstar was a man who hated losing even more than he hated being insulted. But tonight, he lost, and he lost big.
After having read a number of texts on the subject of childcare, Shatterstar felt he was up to the task of taking care of Rachel for the day while James took "shore leave". He was slowly discovering that he was dead wrong and that feeding a human baby was not as easy as he thought it would be. Infants on his world were given all their necessary nutrients through injection, but he had a strong hunch that his human troopmates wouldn't like that idea too much.
"Drink," he said uselessly to the wailing child. "I have changed you, bathed you, burped you and everything else I was told to do. There is nothing left that you need except food and sleep. So, the logical thing for you to do is eat and then go to bed." He had the sinking feeling that Rachel was not listening to him. "The book I read said that I should feed you every 5 hours. Since it's been that long, you should be hungry. Drink."
He put the bottle to her mouth, only to have her resist yet again. Before he could come up with any ideas, Shatterstar heard a knock at the door. "Enter."
The door opened and James walked in grinning. He was carrying a boxful of toys, with several other boxes and bags in the hallway behind him. "Parenting problems, Shatty?" Shatterstar nodded. "Let me help." He took out a toy from the box and dangled it on front of Rachel's face, making her smile. "I spent all day today getting the baby stuff we've been needing." James looked at Rachel. "No more nights in the sock drawer for you." He tickled her tummy, making her squeal in delight.
"Why does she refuse to eat?" Shatterstar asked.
"Because she's not hungry." James said matter-of-factly.
"She should be."
"Who says?"
"Them." Shatterstar pointed to the stack of books on the table beside him.
"They're wrong." Jimmy said. Shatterstar looked perplexed.
"Then why do they write things that are wrong?"
"To make people like you very mad." Shatterstar looked confused and a bit angry. "Kidding." James took Rachel from Shatterstar. As he did, she kicked her legs a little, making her diaper fall off. "You've been having trouble with these things, I see."
Shatterstar grumbled.
"Gimme one out of the box." He pointed to the stuff behind him. As Shatterstar went to get one, Rachel decided that it was a good time to use the restroom, and peed on Jimmy's feet.
"Awwww MAN!" He started dancing out of the puddle. "Get some of those wipes while you're at it. We've got some cleaning to do."
Fifteen minutes later...
"I have never seen a creature as problematic as this child." Shatterstar said, wiping where she'd spit up.
"Just wait until she's two. Just wait." Jimmy wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at Rachel for a moment. "What I wouldn't give to be her right now. No worries, no loss, no pain. Just living and knowing that someone will take care of you." James looked at Shatterstar. "Do you ever miss the innocence of childhood?"
"Not really. I spent the first fourteen years of my life in Mojo's Arena before I escaped to the Cadre Alliance. By human standards, I didn't have much of a childhood."
Jimmy sighed and muttered, "The way you talk, you make it sound like you were going into battle as an infant." Despite Rahne's talk with him yesterday, he was still feeling pangs of depression. Talking to Shatterstar wasn't helping matters. "Whatever. I'll talk to you later." Jimmy left.
The living room...
Rahne couldn't sleep. Even though dealing with Moira had taken a lot out of her, she still wasn't tired enough to go to sleep. Then she got an idea. Rahne got out of bed and went to find Sam.
"Sam?" Rahne said to Sam, who was sitting in the rec. room watching a Red Sox vs. Mets baseball game via satellite. He and Paige were betting favors on the outcome.
"Hey, Furtop, what's up?"
"Me. A cannae get any sleep."
Sam nodded and offered her a seat next to him on the couch. She sat down and leaned against him as they both tried to watch the game. "Ah couldn't sleep either. Wanna try the Weather Channel? That should knock us out pretty quick." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Sorry, nae interested." Sam shrugged. "A had a better idea." Sam noticed a sparkle in Rahne's eyes and looked at her curiously.
"What?" he asked, caution evident in his voice.
"A'd like ye t'sing me t'sleep." Sam blushed. "Well, ye did such a guid job o' it last night, A thought it might work again." His blush deepened.
"Ah'm really not that good at it. It's more up Josh an' Li'l Bit's alleys than mine."
"Ye're great at it!" Rahne said proudly. "Please." One look at Rahne's pleading eyes and Sam's heart melted like an ice cube in a frying pan.
"Okay." he said, letting her get comfortable against him. Sam thought through all the songs he knew, but none of the lullabies really seemed appropriate, since Rahne was too old for most of them. Then he remembered a song his father had made sure he and the other boys in the family knew. He recalled the words clearly.
Soon, both New Mutants were asleep on the couch, resting comfortably as Sam held Rahne in his arms.
Moira walked in shortly afterwards to get a midnight snack, then go to bed at a decent hour for the first time in months. When she saw the both of them resting on the couch, with Rahne's head laying on Sam's chest, she simply smiled at the youths and went to grab a blanket from the nearby closet.
--They look sae sweet together, A should nae disturb 'em.-- Gently laying the cloth over the both of them, Moira leaned down and kissed Rahne on the forehead. --G'night, sweet daughter o' mine, an' pleasant dreams.--
She stepped quickly into the kitchen, grabbed an apple, then headed back to her bedroom.