Among the Strong
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marysuevirusTitle: Among the Strong
Chapter Thirty Six: Confusion
Fandom: the Marvel universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic violence, language, sex, dark themes, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. Haley belongs todazzledfirestar Morgan belongs toginevra Roxxy belongs tonanaeanaven Jehnna belongs to silverfox_chan and Dare belongs to me. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from dazzledfirestar .
Author's Notes: this is almost entirely Daz's fault. okay. so it really isn't. its actually almost 100% my fault. Daz just did a whole lot of encouraging. this fic is going to be kind of dark, so please keep that in mind while reading.
Among the Strong - the index
The room was a scene of utter chaos. It was loud and obnoxious, with shouting filling the air. But it was a better kind of chaos than the kind that had gripped the school for the past week. The past week, and even the week before that, had been fraught with tension and fear. It had been a kind of chaos that had set the school on its head. While this chaos was capable of setting the school on its head, there was less tension to it. A little more joy. A little more fun.
Someone, and he wasn't sure who it was, had decided that it was time for Purple Team's existing children to meet the newest additions to the family. And it was, to put it mildly, wild.
Gaze sliding around the improvised daycare room, he found each and every adult who had come. Jehnna had taken the corner set aside for the youngest of the children, occupying a soft, plush chair someone had brought in for the occasion. She held the bundle that was her new daughter in her arms, a soft smile on her face as she watched the kids run and scream and play around her. Sam stood behind her, giving the impression that he was slightly overwhelmed and not entirely comfortable with the situation.
His mother had set up in the corner meant for the older toddlers and the preschool crowd. Again, someone had brought in a comfortable chair for her to sit in. And she had his baby sister nestled safely in her hold. He thought his mom looked tired. But she was putting on a brave face for this weird meet and greet. Warren stood behind the chair, his gaze shifting from the chair's inhabitants to the other kids to the other adults in a never ceasing circle.
Uncle Logan had picked a wall to hold up, one shoulder leaned against it while his arms sat crossed over his chest. He looked unhappy, which really said something because the man generally never looked happy. He was watching the room with an eagle eye, as if afraid someone would burst in and steal people away. Again. Of course, the look on his face could have something to do with the fact that Aunt Dare wasn't there. Uncle Tristan stood with him, clearly not happy with things. The look on his face and the frown he wore reminded Tam of Aunt Dare when she'd had a particularly bad session in the Danger Room or the mission she'd been on had gone sour. Tristan always swore he was nothing like his sister, but the expression he wore suggested otherwise.
Both Tristan and Logan stood near the spot where his dad sat. Where Aunt Dare would be sitting, if she'd been able. Oh, he knew all about the reasons why Aunt Dare wasn't in attendance. He'd heard about it from Dee. Dee, who had come to him in tears early on in the whole mess, worried and frightened for her mother. That attitude had shifted up and down over the passing days. Tam felt certain the changes were to do with Dee's powers coming in. Regardless, he knew that Aunt Dare's absence was due to a series of things that could have spelled disaster.
His dad cradled the baby girl he'd had with Dare in his arms, his face a mixture of pride, joy, and the smallest bit of sorrow. While it didn't show on his father's face, there was worry there. No doubt for Aunt Dare. And the faint threads of loss Tam sensed were probably due to the situation between his parents.
The last member of the group had taken up the corner meant for the oldest of the kids. Haley looked supremely uncomfortable. And she was sad. Even with the pained smile she wore, he could sense that she was sad. Mr. Summers stood close by. Despite the glasses that hid his eyes, Tam was certain he was filled with equal parts joy and regret. There was a story there, but it wasn't any of Tam's business. And he was certain no one would share it with him anyway. He was just a kid, after all.
Nearly all of the kids in the room were moving from chair to chair in groups, like they were going from door to door on Halloween. Many of the littlest of the kids were overjoyed with their newest siblings, smiling and laughing and cooing at the babies in a way that was meant to mimic the way they'd seen the adults interact with the new babies. The older kids were more reserved in how they behaved. They took the time to study their new sibling or siblings. He could sense their curiosity and their confusion, but those were things they kept to themselves. He wasn't sure if they'd been advised not to ask too many questions or if they'd all simply decided that asking questions wasn't important
And then there were the older children who were not quite settled into the idea of a new sibling who hadn't been sired by their father or had been birthed by someone not their mother. There were a few of them among the gaggle of children. Warren and Jehnna's oldest, Lexi, was side-eyeing her baby sisters with something like faint jealousy. Of course, there was Spencer, who had been very verbal since the whole thing started, about how much he wasn't pleased about this turn of events. And even his sister, Cassie, seemed to be mildly unhappy by everything. He'd seen Liam go take a brief glance at his baby sister, the boy's face never once changing expression. It was somehow Uncle Logan's displeasure and Aunt Dare's blank stare rolled up into one. Even Brenna was giving her two new sisters mildly dirty looks.
The only ones who didn't show emotion too far one direction or the other were Roxxy and Henry's six. Roxxy had shown up with them at the start, leaving Tam to wonder what it was all about. But he'd realized quickly enough that their calm was a good buffer to the kids who were not quite so happy about it all. The six of them spent their time roving between the children and the adults, speaking to and playing with those who looked in need of a friend.
"Why do you stand here by yourself, Tamlyn? Why are you not at your mother's side?" The question came from behind and to the right of him. He knew the accented voice without having to turn. Still, he glanced over his shoulder at Herr Wagner before shrugging in response.
"Mom is overwhelmed right now," Tam responded, his gaze returning to where his mother sat. The smile on her face was strained and there was a tightness in her shoulders that told him she wanted to pop away.
"Is that not all the more reason to go to her? I am sure she could use your support."
Tam shifted his attention back to Herr Wagner. "She's afraid I'm going to be one of the ones who despises their new sibling and possibly said sibling's father. She's worried about Aunt Dare. She's sad about Dad. She's got a lot going on. I don't want to add to it."
Herr Wagner took a moment or two to consider Tam's words. There was a faintly thoughtful look on his face for several long seconds. Then he inclined his head and heaved a sigh. "I can understand why you would worry over upsetting your mother. But I am certain that a smiling face would be of great help."
Tam nodded slowly, his mind turning over the logic of that suggestion. "I'll check in with her when this is over. She'll need it more then."
"Very good," Herr Wagner responded. He lapsed into silence, his yellow eyes focused kind of intently on Tam's mother. With that stare came a faint sense of longing. It was old and almost felt more like a memory than a true feeling. Which told Tam there was a story there, as well. Maybe one day, when they didn't look upon him as a kid, the adults in his life would tell him these secrets they kept buried. For now, he tried not to think about what that longing might mean and let his gaze slide around the room once more.
Some of the childish insanity had died down and now there were kids checking in on their baby siblings again while others were playing with toys or having conversations with other members of Purple Team's large brood. The room was almost at peace and it was a lovely thing. Which meant, of course, that someone had to destroy it.
"You never answered my question, you know." The voice belonged to a girl and, almost as one, every eye in the room turned to where Cassie stood. She was staring up at Mr. Summers, her hands on her hips. Even at a distance, Tam could see the determination on her face. And he could feel the discomfort coming from both Mr. Summers and Haley. Haley's smile had dropped away and was now a frown, while Mr. Summers' expression hadn't really changed. But Tam could tell he was equal parts surprised and confused.
"Cassie, please," Haley said softly. The girl ignored her mother, taking a step closer to Mr. Summers. It meant she had to tip her head back to look him in the face, but that didn't seem to be of any bother to the girl.
"Which question is that, Cassie?" Mr. Summers asked politely.
"Scott, don't encourage her," Haley insisted, though the protest sounded weak.
"Its okay, Haley. Better we get this over with now than let it keep growing," Mr. Summers responded, one hand reaching out to briefly, gently, land on Haley's shoulder.
"You had sex with her and got her pregnant with Emilia. Does that mean you love her?" Cassie's question was blunt, her tone entirely serious. And she continued to stare up at Mr. Summers as if his answer meant life or death. The girl's mother choked and looked away. Tam got a sense of longing there, but it was buried deeply under guilt and determination.
Silence hung heavy in the room as everyone waited for Mr. Summers' answer. Finally, after a long silence filled with expectation, he sighed gently and offered Cassie a smile. It looked stiff on his face, but it was meant genuinely. "Your mom is a good friend of mine and I care about her deeply. But whether I'm in love with her or not simply doesn't matter right now because your mom loves your dad very much. And I suspect she wants to try to work things out with him."
It was an honest answer. And it was nothing but tactful side-stepping. He saw Haley kind of deflate a little at the answer. But a moment later, she was straightening up and putting herself back together. Tam was old enough to know that she was building a wall with which to protect herself. Which told him that Mr. Summers' answer had been more important to her than she wanted anyone to know.
And then, Mr. Summers' answer and Haley's response to it were unimportant as the sounds of a scuffle reached everyone's ears. This time, all attention shifted to a wall of books on the far side of the room. They found Spencer pinned against the wall, one of Liam's arms holding him against the shelves. Liam's forearm pressed against Spencer's throat just hard enough to see Spencer's eyes widened in a bit of fear. There was a look on Liam's face that was almost feral and his other arm was raised up to shoulder height, the hand on the end curled into a fist and aimed at Spencer's face.
"You shut your stinking mouth, Storm, and don't ever talk about my mum like that ever again! Or next time, I'll punch you right in your stupid face!" Liam said, voice low and even. Was it Tam's imagination or was there perhaps a faint hint of a growl in it?
"Liam." Logan said his son's name without any inflection, but it was enough. Liam let Spencer go and stepped back. He turned to look at Haley and his expression softened.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Haley," he told Spencer's mother. Then he turned and strode from the room, shoulders squared and head held high. Tam wondered what Spencer had said about Liam's mother to garner such a reaction.
"Spencer Jonathan Storm!" The boy turned to look at his mother a moment, who was regarding him with a stern look. Spencer almost looked like he might apologize. Then his face twisted in anger and he turned to stomp out of the room.
Silence fell over the gathered group as all of the adults looked for something to say and the kids tried to figure out what had just happened. A glance at Haley suggested she was on the verge of tears. And something about her sorrow pulled at Tam's heart strings. He found himself in motion, moving to where she sat. She watched him come, eyes filled with questions. And fear. She was afraid of what he might say or do.
Tam stopped before her chair, aware of all the eyes resting on his back. Everyone else waited to see what he'd do.
"He won't always be like this, Aunt Haley," Tam said quietly. Gently. Confidently. He watched as a pair of worried green eyes got wide in shock and surprise. Probably more because he'd called her Aunt than because of his assurances. He didn't often use Aunt with anyone other than Dare. And it wasn't like his mother hadn't told him numerous times over the years that the members of Purple Team were family and that he was allowed to refer to all of them as Aunt. He knew that they considered themselves a family. Even before they considered themselves a team.
But he'd seen first hand the relationship between his mother and Dare. Between his mother and Logan. Between Dare and his dad. Hell, there was something special and unspoken between his dad and Logan. It had always been that relationship that had seen him using Aunt and Uncle with Dare and Logan. And he'd never really gotten that same kind of feel off the rest of the team.
Haley smiled at him, a real smile, and she reached out a hand to take hold of his. "Thank you, Tamlyn." The emotion in her voice made it all worth it. "Thank you."
Warmth blossomed in his chest as he stared at his Aunt Haley. Something told him that he'd be referring to the others in much the same way because the feel of the team had just changed and become something else. Something more.
And he was pretty sure that was a good thing.
~*~
A soft sigh and the faint sound of skin moving against material brought her attention toward the bed in time to find Dare's eyelids fluttering open. It was early evening and they were the only two people there. Even Henry had left to enjoy a relaxing evening with Roxxy and their children. So the room was darkened and boring. And she'd been left to chase her thoughts around, to try and keep her fears at bay.
"Morgan?" Dare's voice was rusty with disuse, rough and scratchy as it wrapped around her name. Filled with exhaustion despite the fact that she'd been sleeping for more than sixteen hours. It was the worst Morgan thought Dare had ever sounded. And hearing her speak was the best thing she'd heard all week.
"Its me, honey. How are you feeling?" she asked, reaching out to take hold of Dare's hand. Her friend's fingers curled limply around her own, as if she didn't have any energy to hold on tighter. Chances were good she didn't. Henry had told her that it was going to be anywhere from a couple of days to a week, possibly even more, before Dare was back to normal.
"Like shit," Dare replied. "Drugged shit. But shit."
"Well, you had surgery last night. So its understandable that you feel like drugged shit," Morgan said, fighting back the laughter that came with her friend's no nonsense answer. But the laughter sobered quickly enough as she stared at Dare and read the effects of the past week that had been written into the other woman's face in the form of utter exhaustion. Dark half-moons hung under her eyes and made already pale skin look even paler. And with it came a return of the fear she'd felt when she'd realized just how close she'd come to losing Dare. Again. Her grip on Dare's hand tightened. "Why, honey?" she asked, voice a whisper and words choked around the sudden rush of emotions.
Dare blinked at her, the action so slow that Morgan knew she'd be asleep sooner rather than later. Henry had warned her about that, too. That the combination of exhaustion and drugs would see her asleep more than awake.
"Why? Why what?" Dare asked, managing to sound coherent despite the way her eyes keep trying to close on her.
"Why'd you do it? Why'd you cut us all out? Why did you hide from everyone? You've had us all worried and afraid," Morgan questioned softly. For the thousandth time in the past hour, she took a moment to ensure that the link worked again, traced mental fingers down the path until she felt every inch of Dare's exhaustion and the slight stirrings of emotions that were buried under the pressing weight of sleep.
The other woman's eyes slipped shut and Morgan thought she was going to go back to sleep right then and there. But another sigh came some moments later, a heavy sound that told Morgan she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. Finally, after a few more seconds, Dare's eyes opened again and they focused on Morgan. And in them, Morgan could see self-loathing and hatred. "Because I'm dirty and tainted. If Victor made me a whore, Sinister enforced it. Logan deserves better than that. You and Remy deserve better. Remy thinks he loves me, but that's only because Sinister mind fucked him. I kept him away so that he'd give up on that stupid idea and go back to you."
Morgan stared. She couldn't even begin to work her way through the twisted logic required to come to such a conclusion because it was utterly and completely fucking warped. Brilliantly stupid. And completely fucking wrong, too. "Dare..." Morgan said, then trailed off. What the hell did she say to that?
"He loves you, Morgan. He always has. He doesn't love me. Not really," Dare told her, tone very matter of fact. Her words were slurring, though, and Morgan couldn't be sure if it was just the drugs or if it was because she was going to slip back under soon. She hoped it was the drugs, because there was so much she needed to know and understand. "That first night we went out... He was lonely. He'd just broken up with Rogue. I was a pity fuck. He didn't mean for it to be permanent and I was too infatuated and stupid to realize it at the time. He said no attachments. I'm the one who was an idiot and fell in love."
"You're not stupid, Dare," Morgan insisted, anger touching her words. "And you aren't an idiot."
"Of course I am. You tell me so all the time," Dare replied. It was in such an off-hand way that Morgan had to believe Dare was giving a statement of fact. Like it didn't hurt or bother her. Like it was normal to think that way.
Her statement threw Morgan off for a moment. Did Dare really think Morgan thought she was stupid? Sure, she'd been known to call her dense and an idiot. But she'd never meant any of it as anything other than teasing. She hadn't realized Dare'd taken that all to heart. "I'm sorry. I never meant to make you feel like you weren't smart."
Dare lifted a hand off the bed and managed a faint waving motion, as if she was brushing Morgan's apology aside. "Doesn't matter. You're right. You always have been. I was stupid to think Remy wanted more from me than just sex. I was stupid to think he wanted me. And then I realized how much you loved him and..."
Dare's words trailed off. Morgan didn't need to look down the link to know that her friend was filled with hurt. And more of that damned self-loathing. "You left that night because of me. Didn't you?" she asked softly. She remembered the night they'd had their ill-advised threesome. Not that she regretted how that evening had begun. She regretted how it had ended. Because it had been something out of myth, the way the three of them had kind of synced up together and experienced all of the pleasure floating around. And, somewhere along the line, Dare had decided to walk away from it all.
"You left that night because of me. Didn't you?" Morgan asked again, voice louder this time, as she recalled what Remy had told her the other day when they'd talked.
"I looked down the link. I saw how much you loved him. And I knew he didn't love me." Dare said it like it was written in stone. Like sacrificing her own happiness was normal. Like everything about their situation was normal. "He loves you. He only thinks he loves me."
"I'm so sorry, honey. I never wanted you to trade my happiness for yours. You shouldn't have done that," Morgan whispered. Her throat was tight and her eyes stung with tears.
"You're more important. Your happiness is more important," Dare responded immediately.
"Its not, honey. Not more than you. Not more than your own happiness," Morgan insisted. Dare offered her a tired smile.
"You're my girl. I'd do anything for you. You deserve the best of everything," she said, warmth and love soft in her voice. Morgan had to swallow against the lump in her throat. What had she done to warrant that kind of devotion?
"You deserve the best of everything, too, honey. You always have," Morgan said, pushing aside the urge to cry for what was and what could have been. Dare gave a slight shake of her head, as if she planned on arguing the point. But her eyes slid shut just then. Morgan didn't have to go poking along the link to know she'd expended what little energy sleep had given her.
"Don't deserve anything," she managed to mutter. And then her faint grip on Morgan's hand went lax, letting Morgan know she'd gone back to sleep. Morgan set Dare's hand back down on the bed before she rose from the chair she occupied so she could lean over the bed and press a gentle kiss to her best friend's forehead. One hand stroked the hair back from Dare's face.
"You do, Dare. You deserve the world. And I'm so sorry. I never knew," she whispered.
When she returned to her seat, it was with tears running down her cheeks and an ache in her heart. How had she not known? How had she failed so spectacularly? She was supposed to be Dare's best friend. And she hadn't known about any of this. She hadn't seen any of this. There'd never been any kind of clue that Dare felt this way. That she'd sacrifice everything for someone else's happiness.
She was glad she was alone in the medlab because she couldn't seem to stop the tears from falling. She felt certain her eyes were red and swollen. That her nose was red, too. She felt certain that her cheeks were splotchy. Her lungs ached from trying to draw a breath between the sobs. She'd been a horrible friend and she didn't deserve the love and devotion Dare showed her.
She was so caught up in her grief that she didn't hear the door swing open or closed. Nor did she hear the soft tread of feet across the floor. She didn't realize that anyone was there until a hand settled gently on her shoulder. When she looked up, she found Remy standing behind her. His gaze was soft as it focused on her and his lips were tipped up ever so slightly in the corners. "Dere no reason to be sad, petit. She gon' be okay," he told her softly
"I know," Morgan replied, wiping at the tears with both hands.
"She love you," he added. Those three words made the guilt sit heavier on her heart.
"I know," she repeated. Her attention shifted back to her sleeping friend. It seemed like she didn't know Dare as well as she thought she did. "She loves you, too."
"I know. And dat part of de problem," Remy said before leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Morgan's head. "But we gon' find a way to work it all out. We gon' find a way to fix dis."
Morgan laid her cheek against his hand and took strength from his presence. She really, really hoped he was right.
~*~
The door opened on the second knock. Warren was treated to Jehnna's mildly confused look as she stared out at her visitor. The look cleared up in an instant when she saw him and a smile spread across her face. "Warren. I wasn't expecting you," she said, a touch of joy in her words. "Please come in."
She stepped back from the door and allowed him to follow her into the suite. The door to the baby's room was closed, though he spied a baby monitor on one of the end tables near the couch. The door to the master bedroom was open, nothing but darkness showing through the opening. That told him Sam was out, either with the rest of his team or perhaps training in the Danger Room to rid himself of pent up energy.
Jehnna took a seat on the couch and watched him as he moved to settle in one of the chairs. That earned him a faint frown. But it really wasn't his place to sit next to her on the couch anymore. They'd agreed to that when last they'd talked. A moment later, the frown was gone and she offered him a curious smile. "What brings you here, Warren?" she asked.
"I just wanted to check in with you after the chaos of the day," he told her. The meet and greet for the kids had lasted much longer than he'd expected it to and he'd taken note that Jehnna had looked a little tired at the start. She looked even more tired now and he wondered what kind of internal thing she'd had going on that made her appear that way.
"Oh," she replied, and it sounded slightly disappointed. "I'm okay. Just tired. Everything that happened today has been a lot to process."
"I can understand that. I think, for the most part, it went well. There were a couple of hiccups. But overall, I think everyone was excited and happy to meet their new siblings," Warren responded. He thought back to the day and how Spencer had tried to spread his brand of anger and poison amongst the other children. He, and no doubt everyone else, had been surprised when Liam had threatened to punch the boy over something Spencer had said about Dare, but there no one knew exactly what that thing had been. And then there'd been Cassie very loudly asking Scott if he loved her mom. That had drawn every eye in the room. But beyond those two incidents, the rest of the day had been spent in loud excitement.
Alexia, Warren, Jason, and Elizabeth had seemed to take a shine to Kayla, though it had taken his oldest a while to get there. Lexi and Warren, he felt, had kind of grasped the situation when he'd explained things to them. Not that he'd told them everything. He'd explained what he could, in age appropriate language, so that they understood the basics of what had happened. Jason and Elizabeth had just been told they had new siblings. Warren would untangle the knot of their conception and births later, when all four of his children with Jehnna were older.
"I don't think there were hiccups," Jehnna responded. She sounded thoughtful, as if she was giving the event and her response some serious consideration. "Maybe Liam wasn't behaving as well as he should have been, but I don't think there were hiccups."
Warren blinked at that. That... didn't sound right. And it really didn't sound like Jehnna. He had to wonder what had brought about such a response. "What do you mean?" he asked in an attempt to get to the meaning of her observation.
Jehnna looked at him and frowned. "The disrespectful way he behaved toward Spencer. You were there, Warren. Surely you saw that."
"Jehnna," Warren began, then sighed. How had she come to that conclusion? Did she not know what had happened? "Honey, how was Liam disrespectful? We all heard from Liam's mouth that Spencer said something disrespectful about Dare. If someone said bad things about you to one of our children, would you expect any of them to smile and take it?"
"That's different," she replied. "We both know how Dare is."
Warren was again left staring. There was a kind of 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' tone to Jehnna's voice. And it seemed to be there on her face, as well. "No. I don't know how Dare is," he responded slowly.
Jehnna stared at him, but he got the impression her gaze was seeing through him. As if she didn't really see him there. And he had to wonder just what the hell that was all about. She really wasn't acting like herself. "Surely you know what I'm talking about," Jehnna insisted. There was something not quite right about this whole encounter and it had only just started. Moments ticked by in which Jehnna seemed to be waiting for Warren's answer. When he didn't give her one, she went on. "Come on, Warren. We all know about the arrangement between her and Logan and Remy and Morgan. She's been whoring it up for years now. If Spencer said anything to Liam, it was probably only the truth."
Warren could only stare, his shock eating any words he might have said. He felt that there was nothing he could say that would shift Jehnna's thoughts at the moment. He wasn't sure what was going on with her, but he knew this was not like her.
"To be honest," she continued, as if she didn't notice his lack of response. "I understand why Spencer is so upset. And he has every right to be. His mother went and fell in love with another man and had his child. What must that be like for the poor child? And what must it be like for Johnny? Its no wonder he's angry at Haley. And understandably so. His wife cheated on him."
"Like you did with me?" Warren asked. He hoped his words would spark some kind of understanding with her. She needed to see what she was saying and how it was harmful. She needed to understand that she was in no position to judge anyone else's life.
"It wasn't like I wanted to fall in love with Sam. And it wasn't like I had any choice in having sex with him," she responded. The look she shot his way was filled with earnest need. "You understand that, Warren. Don't you? Don't you understand that I didn't want to do those things? Sinister made me."
"He made all of us do those things, Jehnna. We're all victims in his machinations. I can't believe you would blame Haley for Johnny's anger at the situation. She wasn't at fault. Dare wasn't at fault. You weren't at fault. None of us were at fault."
His gaze searched her face, looking for some sense of understanding. Jehnna stared back, her attention focused solely on his face. For a long stretch of time, all they did was stare. There were no words. No indication that what was happening was some odd, sick joke. Finally, Jehnna blinked and it was almost like sense seemed to come back to her. Her posture shifted, became more relaxed, and she offered him a smile that was much more her own. "Of course not, Warren. What happened wasn't anyone's fault."
Warren studied her face for a minute or more, looking for some clue that this whole episode was some kind of joke. Or that he was dreaming. Or that it was literally anything else other than Jehnna behaving so unlike herself. But there was nothing. No signs that he was dreaming. No signs that someone had replaced Jehnna with a look-alike. Nothing to indicate that she believed what she'd said anymore than there was nothing to indicate that she didn't.
Frustration rolled through him. This was not the Jehnna he'd fallen in love with. This wasn't the Jehnna he'd been married to for the past decade. There was something not right with her. But he couldn't pinpoint what it was. It almost felt like he was looking at a copy of Jehnna. A copy who had all of the negative emotions she'd never really shown.
Maybe this was a fractured part of her psyche peeking through. Maybe this was a reaction to the trauma of what had happened to her. It made sense in a way. The trauma had been more than she'd been capable of handling and her mind had fractured. The scared and frightened Jehnna had folded away and given room to this version of Jehnna. A version that judged her friends harshly and put herself on a pedestal. It wasn't that uncommon for trauma to force changes like that to happen. He'd often thought that it was some kind of bizarre miracle that Dare had never responded to her trauma in such a way.
Sadness welled up within him. He'd never wanted to see their experiences do this to Jehnna. He would always love her. He hadn't lied to her when he'd told her that. It didn't matter to him that she'd chosen Sam over him. He just wanted her happy. That was all he'd ever wanted for her. Of course it hurt that he had to let her go. But he knew she couldn't give him what he needed. Not right now. Maybe at a later date, she might come to understand it. But now...
Warren didn't bother to hide his concern as he took a good look at Jehnna. She was staring back at him, curiosity in a gaze that he didn't fully recognize. She physically looked fine, even if she was still a little thin after Talia's birth. Her skin looked healthy. Her hair was glossy and sleek. There didn't seem to be any exhaustion lurking under her eyes. She looked fine. Almost normal, save the foreign expression that lingered in her stare.
It was the concern that saw him rising to his feet so soon after he'd arrived. Jehnna looked up at him, curious and maybe a bit saddened, as he motioned toward the door with his head. "I just realized that I have some things I need to do, Jehnna. I apologize for rushing off when it seems like I've only just gotten here."
"I understand, Warren," she smiled at him. That, at least, looked like his Jehnna. "I was thinking of having a nap. Today wore me out and I should take advantage of Talia sleeping while I can."
"Of course," he nodded, offering her a smile of his own.
"Thanks for checking in on me," she said as she followed him to the door.
"I'm always going to check in on you, Jehnna. I still care about you, you know," he informed her. She nodded. Her smile wilted at the corners. He suspected she'd been waiting for him to say he still loved her. And he did. But it wasn't his place to say that to her anymore. Not until they were both on more stable footing. Not until he was sure she wasn't having some sort of break down. Not until everyone, the two of them included, got their shit together. "Go get some sleep. I'll check in with you later."
"Promise?" she asked, her smile brightening.
"Of course."
Warren let himself out of the room without another word. His mind was turning over possible problems and possible solutions. But he couldn't be sue what the problem actually was. It could be the trauma. It could be something like paranoia. It could be any number of things. He didn't know.
What he did know was that he needed to talk to someone about it. His first instinct was to go talk to Henry. But he put that on the back burner for now. Henry had been run ragged in the past two weeks. He'd almost lost Roxxy. Then he'd had to contend with everybody showing up on the same day. The girls had been ready to give birth when they'd returned home. Dare had tried to kill herself. Warren was surprised Henry hadn't packed up and left already. There was no talking to Henry yet. The man needed time to relax and unwind.
The next choice was the only other one he felt comfortable making. And that was Scott. Scott would likely welcome the diversion. And, as head of the teams, it was his right to know if something was amiss with his X-Men anyway.
Decision made, Warren set off up the hall in search of the other man. He just hoped Scott could figure out how to help.
Chapter Thirty Six: Confusion
Fandom: the Marvel universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic violence, language, sex, dark themes, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. Haley belongs to
dazzledfirestar Morgan belongs toginevra Roxxy belongs tonanaeanaven Jehnna belongs to silverfox_chan and Dare belongs to me. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from dazzledfirestar . Author's Notes: this is almost entirely Daz's fault. okay. so it really isn't. its actually almost 100% my fault. Daz just did a whole lot of encouraging. this fic is going to be kind of dark, so please keep that in mind while reading.
Among the Strong - the index
The room was a scene of utter chaos. It was loud and obnoxious, with shouting filling the air. But it was a better kind of chaos than the kind that had gripped the school for the past week. The past week, and even the week before that, had been fraught with tension and fear. It had been a kind of chaos that had set the school on its head. While this chaos was capable of setting the school on its head, there was less tension to it. A little more joy. A little more fun.
Someone, and he wasn't sure who it was, had decided that it was time for Purple Team's existing children to meet the newest additions to the family. And it was, to put it mildly, wild.
Gaze sliding around the improvised daycare room, he found each and every adult who had come. Jehnna had taken the corner set aside for the youngest of the children, occupying a soft, plush chair someone had brought in for the occasion. She held the bundle that was her new daughter in her arms, a soft smile on her face as she watched the kids run and scream and play around her. Sam stood behind her, giving the impression that he was slightly overwhelmed and not entirely comfortable with the situation.
His mother had set up in the corner meant for the older toddlers and the preschool crowd. Again, someone had brought in a comfortable chair for her to sit in. And she had his baby sister nestled safely in her hold. He thought his mom looked tired. But she was putting on a brave face for this weird meet and greet. Warren stood behind the chair, his gaze shifting from the chair's inhabitants to the other kids to the other adults in a never ceasing circle.
Uncle Logan had picked a wall to hold up, one shoulder leaned against it while his arms sat crossed over his chest. He looked unhappy, which really said something because the man generally never looked happy. He was watching the room with an eagle eye, as if afraid someone would burst in and steal people away. Again. Of course, the look on his face could have something to do with the fact that Aunt Dare wasn't there. Uncle Tristan stood with him, clearly not happy with things. The look on his face and the frown he wore reminded Tam of Aunt Dare when she'd had a particularly bad session in the Danger Room or the mission she'd been on had gone sour. Tristan always swore he was nothing like his sister, but the expression he wore suggested otherwise.
Both Tristan and Logan stood near the spot where his dad sat. Where Aunt Dare would be sitting, if she'd been able. Oh, he knew all about the reasons why Aunt Dare wasn't in attendance. He'd heard about it from Dee. Dee, who had come to him in tears early on in the whole mess, worried and frightened for her mother. That attitude had shifted up and down over the passing days. Tam felt certain the changes were to do with Dee's powers coming in. Regardless, he knew that Aunt Dare's absence was due to a series of things that could have spelled disaster.
His dad cradled the baby girl he'd had with Dare in his arms, his face a mixture of pride, joy, and the smallest bit of sorrow. While it didn't show on his father's face, there was worry there. No doubt for Aunt Dare. And the faint threads of loss Tam sensed were probably due to the situation between his parents.
The last member of the group had taken up the corner meant for the oldest of the kids. Haley looked supremely uncomfortable. And she was sad. Even with the pained smile she wore, he could sense that she was sad. Mr. Summers stood close by. Despite the glasses that hid his eyes, Tam was certain he was filled with equal parts joy and regret. There was a story there, but it wasn't any of Tam's business. And he was certain no one would share it with him anyway. He was just a kid, after all.
Nearly all of the kids in the room were moving from chair to chair in groups, like they were going from door to door on Halloween. Many of the littlest of the kids were overjoyed with their newest siblings, smiling and laughing and cooing at the babies in a way that was meant to mimic the way they'd seen the adults interact with the new babies. The older kids were more reserved in how they behaved. They took the time to study their new sibling or siblings. He could sense their curiosity and their confusion, but those were things they kept to themselves. He wasn't sure if they'd been advised not to ask too many questions or if they'd all simply decided that asking questions wasn't important
And then there were the older children who were not quite settled into the idea of a new sibling who hadn't been sired by their father or had been birthed by someone not their mother. There were a few of them among the gaggle of children. Warren and Jehnna's oldest, Lexi, was side-eyeing her baby sisters with something like faint jealousy. Of course, there was Spencer, who had been very verbal since the whole thing started, about how much he wasn't pleased about this turn of events. And even his sister, Cassie, seemed to be mildly unhappy by everything. He'd seen Liam go take a brief glance at his baby sister, the boy's face never once changing expression. It was somehow Uncle Logan's displeasure and Aunt Dare's blank stare rolled up into one. Even Brenna was giving her two new sisters mildly dirty looks.
The only ones who didn't show emotion too far one direction or the other were Roxxy and Henry's six. Roxxy had shown up with them at the start, leaving Tam to wonder what it was all about. But he'd realized quickly enough that their calm was a good buffer to the kids who were not quite so happy about it all. The six of them spent their time roving between the children and the adults, speaking to and playing with those who looked in need of a friend.
"Why do you stand here by yourself, Tamlyn? Why are you not at your mother's side?" The question came from behind and to the right of him. He knew the accented voice without having to turn. Still, he glanced over his shoulder at Herr Wagner before shrugging in response.
"Mom is overwhelmed right now," Tam responded, his gaze returning to where his mother sat. The smile on her face was strained and there was a tightness in her shoulders that told him she wanted to pop away.
"Is that not all the more reason to go to her? I am sure she could use your support."
Tam shifted his attention back to Herr Wagner. "She's afraid I'm going to be one of the ones who despises their new sibling and possibly said sibling's father. She's worried about Aunt Dare. She's sad about Dad. She's got a lot going on. I don't want to add to it."
Herr Wagner took a moment or two to consider Tam's words. There was a faintly thoughtful look on his face for several long seconds. Then he inclined his head and heaved a sigh. "I can understand why you would worry over upsetting your mother. But I am certain that a smiling face would be of great help."
Tam nodded slowly, his mind turning over the logic of that suggestion. "I'll check in with her when this is over. She'll need it more then."
"Very good," Herr Wagner responded. He lapsed into silence, his yellow eyes focused kind of intently on Tam's mother. With that stare came a faint sense of longing. It was old and almost felt more like a memory than a true feeling. Which told Tam there was a story there, as well. Maybe one day, when they didn't look upon him as a kid, the adults in his life would tell him these secrets they kept buried. For now, he tried not to think about what that longing might mean and let his gaze slide around the room once more.
Some of the childish insanity had died down and now there were kids checking in on their baby siblings again while others were playing with toys or having conversations with other members of Purple Team's large brood. The room was almost at peace and it was a lovely thing. Which meant, of course, that someone had to destroy it.
"You never answered my question, you know." The voice belonged to a girl and, almost as one, every eye in the room turned to where Cassie stood. She was staring up at Mr. Summers, her hands on her hips. Even at a distance, Tam could see the determination on her face. And he could feel the discomfort coming from both Mr. Summers and Haley. Haley's smile had dropped away and was now a frown, while Mr. Summers' expression hadn't really changed. But Tam could tell he was equal parts surprised and confused.
"Cassie, please," Haley said softly. The girl ignored her mother, taking a step closer to Mr. Summers. It meant she had to tip her head back to look him in the face, but that didn't seem to be of any bother to the girl.
"Which question is that, Cassie?" Mr. Summers asked politely.
"Scott, don't encourage her," Haley insisted, though the protest sounded weak.
"Its okay, Haley. Better we get this over with now than let it keep growing," Mr. Summers responded, one hand reaching out to briefly, gently, land on Haley's shoulder.
"You had sex with her and got her pregnant with Emilia. Does that mean you love her?" Cassie's question was blunt, her tone entirely serious. And she continued to stare up at Mr. Summers as if his answer meant life or death. The girl's mother choked and looked away. Tam got a sense of longing there, but it was buried deeply under guilt and determination.
Silence hung heavy in the room as everyone waited for Mr. Summers' answer. Finally, after a long silence filled with expectation, he sighed gently and offered Cassie a smile. It looked stiff on his face, but it was meant genuinely. "Your mom is a good friend of mine and I care about her deeply. But whether I'm in love with her or not simply doesn't matter right now because your mom loves your dad very much. And I suspect she wants to try to work things out with him."
It was an honest answer. And it was nothing but tactful side-stepping. He saw Haley kind of deflate a little at the answer. But a moment later, she was straightening up and putting herself back together. Tam was old enough to know that she was building a wall with which to protect herself. Which told him that Mr. Summers' answer had been more important to her than she wanted anyone to know.
And then, Mr. Summers' answer and Haley's response to it were unimportant as the sounds of a scuffle reached everyone's ears. This time, all attention shifted to a wall of books on the far side of the room. They found Spencer pinned against the wall, one of Liam's arms holding him against the shelves. Liam's forearm pressed against Spencer's throat just hard enough to see Spencer's eyes widened in a bit of fear. There was a look on Liam's face that was almost feral and his other arm was raised up to shoulder height, the hand on the end curled into a fist and aimed at Spencer's face.
"You shut your stinking mouth, Storm, and don't ever talk about my mum like that ever again! Or next time, I'll punch you right in your stupid face!" Liam said, voice low and even. Was it Tam's imagination or was there perhaps a faint hint of a growl in it?
"Liam." Logan said his son's name without any inflection, but it was enough. Liam let Spencer go and stepped back. He turned to look at Haley and his expression softened.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Haley," he told Spencer's mother. Then he turned and strode from the room, shoulders squared and head held high. Tam wondered what Spencer had said about Liam's mother to garner such a reaction.
"Spencer Jonathan Storm!" The boy turned to look at his mother a moment, who was regarding him with a stern look. Spencer almost looked like he might apologize. Then his face twisted in anger and he turned to stomp out of the room.
Silence fell over the gathered group as all of the adults looked for something to say and the kids tried to figure out what had just happened. A glance at Haley suggested she was on the verge of tears. And something about her sorrow pulled at Tam's heart strings. He found himself in motion, moving to where she sat. She watched him come, eyes filled with questions. And fear. She was afraid of what he might say or do.
Tam stopped before her chair, aware of all the eyes resting on his back. Everyone else waited to see what he'd do.
"He won't always be like this, Aunt Haley," Tam said quietly. Gently. Confidently. He watched as a pair of worried green eyes got wide in shock and surprise. Probably more because he'd called her Aunt than because of his assurances. He didn't often use Aunt with anyone other than Dare. And it wasn't like his mother hadn't told him numerous times over the years that the members of Purple Team were family and that he was allowed to refer to all of them as Aunt. He knew that they considered themselves a family. Even before they considered themselves a team.
But he'd seen first hand the relationship between his mother and Dare. Between his mother and Logan. Between Dare and his dad. Hell, there was something special and unspoken between his dad and Logan. It had always been that relationship that had seen him using Aunt and Uncle with Dare and Logan. And he'd never really gotten that same kind of feel off the rest of the team.
Haley smiled at him, a real smile, and she reached out a hand to take hold of his. "Thank you, Tamlyn." The emotion in her voice made it all worth it. "Thank you."
Warmth blossomed in his chest as he stared at his Aunt Haley. Something told him that he'd be referring to the others in much the same way because the feel of the team had just changed and become something else. Something more.
And he was pretty sure that was a good thing.
~*~
A soft sigh and the faint sound of skin moving against material brought her attention toward the bed in time to find Dare's eyelids fluttering open. It was early evening and they were the only two people there. Even Henry had left to enjoy a relaxing evening with Roxxy and their children. So the room was darkened and boring. And she'd been left to chase her thoughts around, to try and keep her fears at bay.
"Morgan?" Dare's voice was rusty with disuse, rough and scratchy as it wrapped around her name. Filled with exhaustion despite the fact that she'd been sleeping for more than sixteen hours. It was the worst Morgan thought Dare had ever sounded. And hearing her speak was the best thing she'd heard all week.
"Its me, honey. How are you feeling?" she asked, reaching out to take hold of Dare's hand. Her friend's fingers curled limply around her own, as if she didn't have any energy to hold on tighter. Chances were good she didn't. Henry had told her that it was going to be anywhere from a couple of days to a week, possibly even more, before Dare was back to normal.
"Like shit," Dare replied. "Drugged shit. But shit."
"Well, you had surgery last night. So its understandable that you feel like drugged shit," Morgan said, fighting back the laughter that came with her friend's no nonsense answer. But the laughter sobered quickly enough as she stared at Dare and read the effects of the past week that had been written into the other woman's face in the form of utter exhaustion. Dark half-moons hung under her eyes and made already pale skin look even paler. And with it came a return of the fear she'd felt when she'd realized just how close she'd come to losing Dare. Again. Her grip on Dare's hand tightened. "Why, honey?" she asked, voice a whisper and words choked around the sudden rush of emotions.
Dare blinked at her, the action so slow that Morgan knew she'd be asleep sooner rather than later. Henry had warned her about that, too. That the combination of exhaustion and drugs would see her asleep more than awake.
"Why? Why what?" Dare asked, managing to sound coherent despite the way her eyes keep trying to close on her.
"Why'd you do it? Why'd you cut us all out? Why did you hide from everyone? You've had us all worried and afraid," Morgan questioned softly. For the thousandth time in the past hour, she took a moment to ensure that the link worked again, traced mental fingers down the path until she felt every inch of Dare's exhaustion and the slight stirrings of emotions that were buried under the pressing weight of sleep.
The other woman's eyes slipped shut and Morgan thought she was going to go back to sleep right then and there. But another sigh came some moments later, a heavy sound that told Morgan she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. Finally, after a few more seconds, Dare's eyes opened again and they focused on Morgan. And in them, Morgan could see self-loathing and hatred. "Because I'm dirty and tainted. If Victor made me a whore, Sinister enforced it. Logan deserves better than that. You and Remy deserve better. Remy thinks he loves me, but that's only because Sinister mind fucked him. I kept him away so that he'd give up on that stupid idea and go back to you."
Morgan stared. She couldn't even begin to work her way through the twisted logic required to come to such a conclusion because it was utterly and completely fucking warped. Brilliantly stupid. And completely fucking wrong, too. "Dare..." Morgan said, then trailed off. What the hell did she say to that?
"He loves you, Morgan. He always has. He doesn't love me. Not really," Dare told her, tone very matter of fact. Her words were slurring, though, and Morgan couldn't be sure if it was just the drugs or if it was because she was going to slip back under soon. She hoped it was the drugs, because there was so much she needed to know and understand. "That first night we went out... He was lonely. He'd just broken up with Rogue. I was a pity fuck. He didn't mean for it to be permanent and I was too infatuated and stupid to realize it at the time. He said no attachments. I'm the one who was an idiot and fell in love."
"You're not stupid, Dare," Morgan insisted, anger touching her words. "And you aren't an idiot."
"Of course I am. You tell me so all the time," Dare replied. It was in such an off-hand way that Morgan had to believe Dare was giving a statement of fact. Like it didn't hurt or bother her. Like it was normal to think that way.
Her statement threw Morgan off for a moment. Did Dare really think Morgan thought she was stupid? Sure, she'd been known to call her dense and an idiot. But she'd never meant any of it as anything other than teasing. She hadn't realized Dare'd taken that all to heart. "I'm sorry. I never meant to make you feel like you weren't smart."
Dare lifted a hand off the bed and managed a faint waving motion, as if she was brushing Morgan's apology aside. "Doesn't matter. You're right. You always have been. I was stupid to think Remy wanted more from me than just sex. I was stupid to think he wanted me. And then I realized how much you loved him and..."
Dare's words trailed off. Morgan didn't need to look down the link to know that her friend was filled with hurt. And more of that damned self-loathing. "You left that night because of me. Didn't you?" she asked softly. She remembered the night they'd had their ill-advised threesome. Not that she regretted how that evening had begun. She regretted how it had ended. Because it had been something out of myth, the way the three of them had kind of synced up together and experienced all of the pleasure floating around. And, somewhere along the line, Dare had decided to walk away from it all.
"You left that night because of me. Didn't you?" Morgan asked again, voice louder this time, as she recalled what Remy had told her the other day when they'd talked.
"I looked down the link. I saw how much you loved him. And I knew he didn't love me." Dare said it like it was written in stone. Like sacrificing her own happiness was normal. Like everything about their situation was normal. "He loves you. He only thinks he loves me."
"I'm so sorry, honey. I never wanted you to trade my happiness for yours. You shouldn't have done that," Morgan whispered. Her throat was tight and her eyes stung with tears.
"You're more important. Your happiness is more important," Dare responded immediately.
"Its not, honey. Not more than you. Not more than your own happiness," Morgan insisted. Dare offered her a tired smile.
"You're my girl. I'd do anything for you. You deserve the best of everything," she said, warmth and love soft in her voice. Morgan had to swallow against the lump in her throat. What had she done to warrant that kind of devotion?
"You deserve the best of everything, too, honey. You always have," Morgan said, pushing aside the urge to cry for what was and what could have been. Dare gave a slight shake of her head, as if she planned on arguing the point. But her eyes slid shut just then. Morgan didn't have to go poking along the link to know she'd expended what little energy sleep had given her.
"Don't deserve anything," she managed to mutter. And then her faint grip on Morgan's hand went lax, letting Morgan know she'd gone back to sleep. Morgan set Dare's hand back down on the bed before she rose from the chair she occupied so she could lean over the bed and press a gentle kiss to her best friend's forehead. One hand stroked the hair back from Dare's face.
"You do, Dare. You deserve the world. And I'm so sorry. I never knew," she whispered.
When she returned to her seat, it was with tears running down her cheeks and an ache in her heart. How had she not known? How had she failed so spectacularly? She was supposed to be Dare's best friend. And she hadn't known about any of this. She hadn't seen any of this. There'd never been any kind of clue that Dare felt this way. That she'd sacrifice everything for someone else's happiness.
She was glad she was alone in the medlab because she couldn't seem to stop the tears from falling. She felt certain her eyes were red and swollen. That her nose was red, too. She felt certain that her cheeks were splotchy. Her lungs ached from trying to draw a breath between the sobs. She'd been a horrible friend and she didn't deserve the love and devotion Dare showed her.
She was so caught up in her grief that she didn't hear the door swing open or closed. Nor did she hear the soft tread of feet across the floor. She didn't realize that anyone was there until a hand settled gently on her shoulder. When she looked up, she found Remy standing behind her. His gaze was soft as it focused on her and his lips were tipped up ever so slightly in the corners. "Dere no reason to be sad, petit. She gon' be okay," he told her softly
"I know," Morgan replied, wiping at the tears with both hands.
"She love you," he added. Those three words made the guilt sit heavier on her heart.
"I know," she repeated. Her attention shifted back to her sleeping friend. It seemed like she didn't know Dare as well as she thought she did. "She loves you, too."
"I know. And dat part of de problem," Remy said before leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Morgan's head. "But we gon' find a way to work it all out. We gon' find a way to fix dis."
Morgan laid her cheek against his hand and took strength from his presence. She really, really hoped he was right.
~*~
The door opened on the second knock. Warren was treated to Jehnna's mildly confused look as she stared out at her visitor. The look cleared up in an instant when she saw him and a smile spread across her face. "Warren. I wasn't expecting you," she said, a touch of joy in her words. "Please come in."
She stepped back from the door and allowed him to follow her into the suite. The door to the baby's room was closed, though he spied a baby monitor on one of the end tables near the couch. The door to the master bedroom was open, nothing but darkness showing through the opening. That told him Sam was out, either with the rest of his team or perhaps training in the Danger Room to rid himself of pent up energy.
Jehnna took a seat on the couch and watched him as he moved to settle in one of the chairs. That earned him a faint frown. But it really wasn't his place to sit next to her on the couch anymore. They'd agreed to that when last they'd talked. A moment later, the frown was gone and she offered him a curious smile. "What brings you here, Warren?" she asked.
"I just wanted to check in with you after the chaos of the day," he told her. The meet and greet for the kids had lasted much longer than he'd expected it to and he'd taken note that Jehnna had looked a little tired at the start. She looked even more tired now and he wondered what kind of internal thing she'd had going on that made her appear that way.
"Oh," she replied, and it sounded slightly disappointed. "I'm okay. Just tired. Everything that happened today has been a lot to process."
"I can understand that. I think, for the most part, it went well. There were a couple of hiccups. But overall, I think everyone was excited and happy to meet their new siblings," Warren responded. He thought back to the day and how Spencer had tried to spread his brand of anger and poison amongst the other children. He, and no doubt everyone else, had been surprised when Liam had threatened to punch the boy over something Spencer had said about Dare, but there no one knew exactly what that thing had been. And then there'd been Cassie very loudly asking Scott if he loved her mom. That had drawn every eye in the room. But beyond those two incidents, the rest of the day had been spent in loud excitement.
Alexia, Warren, Jason, and Elizabeth had seemed to take a shine to Kayla, though it had taken his oldest a while to get there. Lexi and Warren, he felt, had kind of grasped the situation when he'd explained things to them. Not that he'd told them everything. He'd explained what he could, in age appropriate language, so that they understood the basics of what had happened. Jason and Elizabeth had just been told they had new siblings. Warren would untangle the knot of their conception and births later, when all four of his children with Jehnna were older.
"I don't think there were hiccups," Jehnna responded. She sounded thoughtful, as if she was giving the event and her response some serious consideration. "Maybe Liam wasn't behaving as well as he should have been, but I don't think there were hiccups."
Warren blinked at that. That... didn't sound right. And it really didn't sound like Jehnna. He had to wonder what had brought about such a response. "What do you mean?" he asked in an attempt to get to the meaning of her observation.
Jehnna looked at him and frowned. "The disrespectful way he behaved toward Spencer. You were there, Warren. Surely you saw that."
"Jehnna," Warren began, then sighed. How had she come to that conclusion? Did she not know what had happened? "Honey, how was Liam disrespectful? We all heard from Liam's mouth that Spencer said something disrespectful about Dare. If someone said bad things about you to one of our children, would you expect any of them to smile and take it?"
"That's different," she replied. "We both know how Dare is."
Warren was again left staring. There was a kind of 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' tone to Jehnna's voice. And it seemed to be there on her face, as well. "No. I don't know how Dare is," he responded slowly.
Jehnna stared at him, but he got the impression her gaze was seeing through him. As if she didn't really see him there. And he had to wonder just what the hell that was all about. She really wasn't acting like herself. "Surely you know what I'm talking about," Jehnna insisted. There was something not quite right about this whole encounter and it had only just started. Moments ticked by in which Jehnna seemed to be waiting for Warren's answer. When he didn't give her one, she went on. "Come on, Warren. We all know about the arrangement between her and Logan and Remy and Morgan. She's been whoring it up for years now. If Spencer said anything to Liam, it was probably only the truth."
Warren could only stare, his shock eating any words he might have said. He felt that there was nothing he could say that would shift Jehnna's thoughts at the moment. He wasn't sure what was going on with her, but he knew this was not like her.
"To be honest," she continued, as if she didn't notice his lack of response. "I understand why Spencer is so upset. And he has every right to be. His mother went and fell in love with another man and had his child. What must that be like for the poor child? And what must it be like for Johnny? Its no wonder he's angry at Haley. And understandably so. His wife cheated on him."
"Like you did with me?" Warren asked. He hoped his words would spark some kind of understanding with her. She needed to see what she was saying and how it was harmful. She needed to understand that she was in no position to judge anyone else's life.
"It wasn't like I wanted to fall in love with Sam. And it wasn't like I had any choice in having sex with him," she responded. The look she shot his way was filled with earnest need. "You understand that, Warren. Don't you? Don't you understand that I didn't want to do those things? Sinister made me."
"He made all of us do those things, Jehnna. We're all victims in his machinations. I can't believe you would blame Haley for Johnny's anger at the situation. She wasn't at fault. Dare wasn't at fault. You weren't at fault. None of us were at fault."
His gaze searched her face, looking for some sense of understanding. Jehnna stared back, her attention focused solely on his face. For a long stretch of time, all they did was stare. There were no words. No indication that what was happening was some odd, sick joke. Finally, Jehnna blinked and it was almost like sense seemed to come back to her. Her posture shifted, became more relaxed, and she offered him a smile that was much more her own. "Of course not, Warren. What happened wasn't anyone's fault."
Warren studied her face for a minute or more, looking for some clue that this whole episode was some kind of joke. Or that he was dreaming. Or that it was literally anything else other than Jehnna behaving so unlike herself. But there was nothing. No signs that he was dreaming. No signs that someone had replaced Jehnna with a look-alike. Nothing to indicate that she believed what she'd said anymore than there was nothing to indicate that she didn't.
Frustration rolled through him. This was not the Jehnna he'd fallen in love with. This wasn't the Jehnna he'd been married to for the past decade. There was something not right with her. But he couldn't pinpoint what it was. It almost felt like he was looking at a copy of Jehnna. A copy who had all of the negative emotions she'd never really shown.
Maybe this was a fractured part of her psyche peeking through. Maybe this was a reaction to the trauma of what had happened to her. It made sense in a way. The trauma had been more than she'd been capable of handling and her mind had fractured. The scared and frightened Jehnna had folded away and given room to this version of Jehnna. A version that judged her friends harshly and put herself on a pedestal. It wasn't that uncommon for trauma to force changes like that to happen. He'd often thought that it was some kind of bizarre miracle that Dare had never responded to her trauma in such a way.
Sadness welled up within him. He'd never wanted to see their experiences do this to Jehnna. He would always love her. He hadn't lied to her when he'd told her that. It didn't matter to him that she'd chosen Sam over him. He just wanted her happy. That was all he'd ever wanted for her. Of course it hurt that he had to let her go. But he knew she couldn't give him what he needed. Not right now. Maybe at a later date, she might come to understand it. But now...
Warren didn't bother to hide his concern as he took a good look at Jehnna. She was staring back at him, curiosity in a gaze that he didn't fully recognize. She physically looked fine, even if she was still a little thin after Talia's birth. Her skin looked healthy. Her hair was glossy and sleek. There didn't seem to be any exhaustion lurking under her eyes. She looked fine. Almost normal, save the foreign expression that lingered in her stare.
It was the concern that saw him rising to his feet so soon after he'd arrived. Jehnna looked up at him, curious and maybe a bit saddened, as he motioned toward the door with his head. "I just realized that I have some things I need to do, Jehnna. I apologize for rushing off when it seems like I've only just gotten here."
"I understand, Warren," she smiled at him. That, at least, looked like his Jehnna. "I was thinking of having a nap. Today wore me out and I should take advantage of Talia sleeping while I can."
"Of course," he nodded, offering her a smile of his own.
"Thanks for checking in on me," she said as she followed him to the door.
"I'm always going to check in on you, Jehnna. I still care about you, you know," he informed her. She nodded. Her smile wilted at the corners. He suspected she'd been waiting for him to say he still loved her. And he did. But it wasn't his place to say that to her anymore. Not until they were both on more stable footing. Not until he was sure she wasn't having some sort of break down. Not until everyone, the two of them included, got their shit together. "Go get some sleep. I'll check in with you later."
"Promise?" she asked, her smile brightening.
"Of course."
Warren let himself out of the room without another word. His mind was turning over possible problems and possible solutions. But he couldn't be sue what the problem actually was. It could be the trauma. It could be something like paranoia. It could be any number of things. He didn't know.
What he did know was that he needed to talk to someone about it. His first instinct was to go talk to Henry. But he put that on the back burner for now. Henry had been run ragged in the past two weeks. He'd almost lost Roxxy. Then he'd had to contend with everybody showing up on the same day. The girls had been ready to give birth when they'd returned home. Dare had tried to kill herself. Warren was surprised Henry hadn't packed up and left already. There was no talking to Henry yet. The man needed time to relax and unwind.
The next choice was the only other one he felt comfortable making. And that was Scott. Scott would likely welcome the diversion. And, as head of the teams, it was his right to know if something was amiss with his X-Men anyway.
Decision made, Warren set off up the hall in search of the other man. He just hoped Scott could figure out how to help.
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(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-03 09:01 pm (UTC)I can literally hear Haley in my head. "Why is it always my fucking kids???" Leave it to Cassie to have both her parents' flair for the dramatic. Clearly, Haley's going to start building the walls back up now. There was no right answer for Scott to have during all this. I feel for him.
I feel like Spencer is projecting hard and a lot of his anger is going to different directions. Here's hoping Liam knocked some sense into him, but that might take a little more.
I'm glad Morgan got a chance to hear what is really going on in Dare's head with all of this and I feel like this is going to trigger a lot more conversations once she's less likely to fall asleep. A lot of hard truths in there for Morgan too. Hopefully the support of Morgan and Remy will help Dare move forward. If they can get Logan on board too.
Something is clearly very wrong with Jehnna. She's going so much further in her usual more conservative views. Almost aggressively so! I wonder what's driving that! No wonder Warren's worried. Teh switch between that darker side and her "normal" facade was a little scary too! I love that Warren's first instinct is to go to Henry and Scott because they've always been good at figuring this stuff out. Hopefully they can find some kind of answer to this!
Great work hun! Can't wait to see where it goes!
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 10:58 pm (UTC)i've always thought that Tam was more Faye's child than Morgan's, so his having that extra special emotional awareness makes perfect sense. and i like seeing the chaos through his eyes, because he's removed from it all. but he isn't? i think all of the older kids are well aware that there is something really not right with this whole mess, so they will, of course, react accordingly. Spencer is a little shit. and very much his father's son. so his reaction might be just a little bit understandable. just a little.
i don't think its just Haley's kids. i think some of the others are side-eyeing the whole thing. hers are just the ones that are giving voice to all of their feelings on the matter. and i feel like Cassie is, in some way, looking out for her parents. maybe she's a little bit dramatic about it all. maybe. but i'm sure that will level out as she gets older. (we can hope, right?) i'm sure Haley feels like her world is falling in around her shoulders. so i can understand why she'd put the walls back up. and Scott is not in an enviable position. not at all. he did the best he could, but yeah. there was no wrong or right or easy answer there at all.
Spencer is... young and frustrated because he knows that what happened messed with his mom and dad's relationship. and he just doesn't know how or where to channel his temper. so he's lashing out at whatever and whoever he can. he's lucky Liam didn't just up and deck him.
see, this is what happens when Dare is drugged up. she doesn't have the ability to filter what comes out of her mouth. and while, yes, people probably needed to hear the things she was thinking... this is probably not the best way for it to all go down.it kind of feels like most people didn't realize that Dare is a complex and complicated individual because most people associate her with anger and fire. granted, she tends to hoard her emotions because i think she feels like she shouldn't express her softer emotions. because doing so might jinx things. you know? so she keeps a lot wrapped up and hidden away. so now that she doesn't really have the capability to monitor her words, she's letting it all spill out. people will be hearing a lot of things they either don't want to or didn't even know. its going to take everyone a lot of effort to get her to let go of that way of thinking. maybe, if she does, she can start healing
there is definitely something wrong with Jehnna. and its obviously worrying to Warren. there very much is something going on with her, but maybe that isn't so surprising. this is the first time she's ever been made part of something so traumatic and frightening. hopefully Warren can find the right help for her with either Henry or Scott. maybe even both? fingers crossed someone can figure it out.
thanks. i can't wait to see where it all goes, either!
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 12:53 am (UTC)How old is Tam? He's very emotionally astute for a kid. I bet he gets that from his dad. His conversation with Kurt and picking up on that sense of longing was a nice touch. I'm sure someday (soon, likely) he'll figure out that his parents had lives before they fell in love.
Methinks Spencer should have stayed put. Liam doesn't seem to be in the mood for the trademark Storm hotheadedness.
I gotta echo Morgan. How did she miss it? How did they all miss it? I don't envy them the trouble they're going to have proving to Dare that she's worthwhile and deserving. But I do hope they can manage it.
Okay, wtf is up with Jehnna? That was definitely uncharacteristic. I know she's a bit uptight about things, but that comment about Dare whoring around? Damn. I wish Warren and Scott luck figuring that one out.
Well done as always, bb. *SMOOCHES*
(no subject)
Date: 2024-11-05 11:24 pm (UTC)Tam is the same age as Dee. so about 11 or 12. he probably gets the emotionally astute bit from Faye more than his dad because, you know, Logan is his father. i mean, Tam doesn't know. but yeah. though i can see him absolutely learning how to read people from Remy. i have really enjoyed writing Kurt and i feel like there are still some feelings for Morgan all these years later. and i think it might not be too hard to figure it out, if you spend a lot of time around Kurt. fairly certain Tam has. so... i'm sure its coming that the kids will learn things about their parents that they really didn't want to know.
Liam was absolutely not having any of Spencer's shit. and that is absolutely the trademark Storm hotheadedness coming into play there. but also, Spencer just doesn't know where to direct his anger. or how to deal. so... yeah. things like this happen.
its really actually easy that everyone missed these things with her. living on the streets taught her to hide the vulnerable parts because people would take advantage of those parts. so she's spent most of her life stuffing all of that shit away in a corner where no one, not even her, can find it. but the drugs make it easy for her to forget to hide that stuff. and it comes spilling out. yes. it is going to be difficult for everyone to teach her that there's nothing wrong with her and all. but i think they can do it. its just going to take time.
Jehnna's issues will come to light soon. she generally is uptight, so this is far beyond her normal. i feel like Warren and Scott can figure something out. they might talk to Henry about it. but i think they'll figure out what's going on in her head.
thanks, bb. and thanks for reading. i'm glad you enjoyed!