The ride back to Earth was more interesting than Scott had expected it to be. K and Corsair seemed to have come to some kind of understanding, which made it at least a little easier to be with all of his parents without feeling ... well, as awkward as he had before.

But Scott still didn't feel entirely prepared once they got back to Earth and the Starjammers dropped the X-Men off. Corsair had offered to keep both boys on if they wanted - which Alex had flatly refused on the grounds that he liked the school and the fact that he could spend his holidays surfing.

Scott... had to think about it, though. It had been easier to deal with Corsair on the return trip than it had before. And it was very tempting to want to stick with his father.

But... he didn't want to go. Which was how he found himself heading back to the boathouse with his hands in his pockets long after the Starjammers' ship had disappeared from sight. Logan and K were already there - they had wanted to give him some privacy with his father - and Scott wasn't entirely sure what their reaction would be when he got there. He knew they had given him a lot of space around Corsair, and he appreciated it. But now he just... wished he didn't have that hanging over his head as he came up on his adopted parents.

The two ferals were sitting outside behind the boathouse on the dock, leaning on each other and quietly watching the water. Logan had his arm around K and she was comfortably curled into his side as their feet sent rippled out lazily across the water. The whole estate was nearly silent save for the sounds of the frogs at the lake croaking, and the crickets chirping, though neither K nor Logan turned when Scott came up. "Hey Slim," Logan said. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Scott let out a breath and then sat on Logan's other side, looking out toward the water as K sat up a little straighter - even if Logan's arm didn't slip away from her. "They're gone. Just saw them off."

"Heard 'em go," Logan said - not taking one stance or another on the subject until he knew where Scott stood.

"He - Corsair - he offered me and Alex a spot with the Starjammers," Scott said slowly.

Logan turned his way at that. "Regrettin' not goin' already?"

Scott shook his head. "No," he said. "I probably should. He's my father. But I don't want to be a Starjammer. Or anything like one." He pressed his lips together and then shook his head again. "I couldn't do that."

"You must take after your mom more," K said.

"Yeah," Scott said. "He... he's different than I remember him."

"He had some nasty trauma too," K said as diplomatically as she knew how.

"Yeah, he told us about Mom," Scott said. "It was almost as hard to hear the second time."

"It was just that last bit of hope dyin' that got you," Logan agreed.

"Yeah." Scott was quiet for a long moment before he finally turned to face them both properly. "But I'd rather stay here. Not just because I don't want to be a Starjammer. But because I do want to be an X-Man. With you guys."

"You already are an X-Man," Logan said.

"Yeah, that's what I mean. I'm not giving it up." He shook his head. "I'm not - I don't want to give up what I've got here. I've got a good team, and Jean - and I've got really good parents that always watch my back," he added, a bit softer at the end as he dropped his gaze and rubbed his neck.

"Scott," Logan said. "We're not goin' anywhere. You know that, right?"

There was a long silence before Scott nodded - and then surprised Logan with a hug that was as tight and fierce as anything.

"Hey," Logan said, quick to put his arms around him in return. "I thought you said you were alright."

"Yeah, I am," Scott promised. "It's just - you're my dad. You know that, right?"

"I was trying to give you room to breathe," Logan said. "I wasn't trying to get you twisted up."

"I know," Scott said.

"We knew it was going to be hard for you either way," K said. "So ... we tried to keep it simple. Less stress if we could. Didn't want you in a tight spot with Corsair. I'm sorry if we were too distant."

"I'm fine," Scott promised, only just letting up on the hug with Logan to give her a small smile. "Really. It... was a lot to process, but..." He shrugged and gestured to both of them. "I wanted a family every day for years, and I finally got one. I'm not going to turn my back on that. Ever. I'm too lucky not to know I'm lucky."

"Well, Mr. Lucky," Logan said slowly. "We're probably gonna need to cut out here pretty quick."

"No. We need to arm up," K argued. "Let Tony help. He likes helping."

Scott frowned and looked between the two of them. "What's going on now?"

K let out a breath. "Well ... you probably know that one of the trackers wasn't exactly a tracker. It was a drug delivery system."

"Are you okay?" Scott asked, jumping right to concern.

"Little unprepared, but I'm fine," K said. "Just ... having some trouble processing everything myself. As irritating as the space thing was - it was a good distraction."

"Well, what can I do?"

"Just ... keep up your practice bein' a big brother," Logan said.

Scott blinked before a slow, disbelieving smile started to spread over his face. "Really?"

"Really," Logan said, nodding.

"Wow." Scott grinned. "That's - I mean -" He ran a hand through his hair. "I mean - that's great but - oh man."

"Which brings us to our argument," Logan said.

"You can't leave," Scott said quickly. "He found you when it was just the two of you."

"He found us when we were lookin' for him," Logan corrected.

"Still." Scott shook his head.

"And ..." K said, letting the word hang for a moment. "... he drugged me so that this would happen. He already knows the timeline because he orchestrated it. He'll come looking. And since we know it, I think we should be ready to blow him into next year."

"That's why we should stay here," Scott insisted, nodding lightly. "You two couldn't stop him alone. And I can't stop him. We need help."

"You wouldn't be goin' anyhow," Logan said.

"Like hell I wouldn't," Scott shot back. "I just said you're my parents, and I'm sticking with you. And if you're going to add a little sibling into the mix, there's no way I'm not sticking with them too."

Logan couldn't help but smirk crookedly at that before he threw an arm over Scott's shoulders. "So what do you think? Stark's working up somethin' for her ..."

"Pym figured out what the drugs were for," K said. "They were tearing apart the capsules. Tony found the delivery system."

Scott nodded and then quickly got up to move over to hug K. "I'm sorry he drugged you," he said. "As excited as I am, I'm sorry that's how this happened."

"He blew the pool. All bets are invalid, by the way," K said, going for a little tease.

Scott shook his head, unable to hide his smirk. "Of course that's what you're worried about."

"I just needed to clarify - we had things under control ... someone else was bound and determined to see a tiny Logan." She leaned against his shoulder and started to relax a little. "Your girlfriend knew before we went into space, by the way. Feel free to do with that as you will."

"Oh, so you mean she owes me," Scott said.

"How?" Logan asked. "We told her to keep her mouth shut."

"Yeah, but..." Scott shook his head. "You know what, never mind. I'll talk with her later. That point is-" He looked between the two of them. "The point is I'm sticking with you. And before this thing with Corsair, I was going to ask you both to join the team anyway. This just cements that." He tipped his head. "I really want you there. The team's like family."

Logan nodded. "Won't be easy," he said. "And I'm sure we'll need to get the hell out now and again. Not used to staying still for long."

"You don't have to come on every mission," Scott clarified. "And I still want to go on fishing trips with you. Family comes first, right?"

"That's what they say," Logan teased.

"Good." Scott smirked and then leaned over so he was resting his head on K's shoulder. He was quiet for a long time still before they heard him add, "Love you both."

"Love you too," K said as Logan rested his arm across Scott's shoulders.

"Hope you remember that, kid," Logan said quietly.

While Scott had felt pretty strongly about staying in Westchester and staying with the family he'd found for himself, that didn't mean he wasn't still more than a little torn up about the whole thing.

It made it hard to sleep, really - so he went to the kitchen again for what was now almost a reflex: a cup of coffee and a newspaper and sometimes Jean, depending on how badly he'd been projecting.

He was trying to stop doing that, though the closer he and Jean got, the more he was sure it wasn't just projection that had her in his thoughts. Not that he'd bring it up with her.

Still, he couldn't help but smile when Jean made her way downstairs and they moved effortlessly from the kitchen to the living room. There was something comforting about curling up with Jean that made it easier to go back to sleep, and it took no time at all before both of them were comfortable and knocked out on the couch again.

Hours passed before the smell of coffee filled the room again, though neither Scott nor Jean had gotten up to make it. K took her time, curled up in a chair nearby, her feet pulled up under her as she settled in with her latte. She'd hoped the coffee scent on its own would be enough to rouse them, but when she was almost halfway into her coffee, she decided that subtlety was for the birds. "Awfully cozy looking," she said in a low tone that she knew would wake Scott up at least. "Is this some kind of attempt to keep things rated PG?"

Scott was obviously awake faster now - and trying not to jostle Jean. "Mom."

"If you want privacy, generally, it's easier if you ... you know. Get a room. Close the door." She raised her mug and took a sip, both hands wrapped around it. "More comfortable too."

"That's not..." He shook his head as Jean started to wake up too. "We're not."

"Not sleeping? Well not anymore. I didn't say you were doing anything else. I just said you'd be more comfortable in the privacy of a room with the door closed."

"We've just... been watching movies and ... " Jean blushed. "You know, to get back to sleep."

"How often does this happen?" K asked, smirking into her mug.

"Not... too often," Scott said, turning a little redder as well.

"Why? She underage?" K asked straight faced before she leaned forward. "Should I be worried about cops showing up looking for you?"

"Mom."

"Just wondering if it's a statutory situation ..."

Scott shook his head as both he and Jean started to sit up a little better. "You know that's not what's going on here," he said.

"And for the record, he's not that much older than me," Jean said, though she was blushing harder than he was.

K finally smirked at that. "Yeah? When's your birthday?"

"December."

"Uh-oh, got some time still," K said, doing her best to make a face at them.

"You're terrible," Jean said, shaking her head. "And you know we're not doing anything like that."

"And I know you're leaning toward getting more serious about each other if you're using each other for teddy bears," K said. "Which is fine. I was supposed to be married off by the time I was her age."

"It's ..." Scott let out a breath. "It's just about ... being grounded. That's all."

"I'm not giving you a hard time," K promised. "I was teasing a little, but you're both old enough to make your own decisions. If those decisions happen to be more comfortable on a bed, then I don't see why you wouldn't roll with it. Just because you're sharing sleeping space doesn't mean you're having sex."

Scott shook his head, but since they were awake at that point, he got up to fold up the blanket anyway. "You're not going to do this all the time if you move up to the house, are you?"

"What makes you think we're moving up to the house?"

Scott gave her a look that said he thought it was obvious. "You're on the periphery in that boathouse. How are we supposed to help you if something goes wrong?"

"I thought your argument was that it wasn't going to go wrong," K said.

"Right. Because we've got backup." Scott raised an eyebrow. "I'm not just talking about Essex, Mom. What about the department? If they come here again and find out..."

"Find out ... what? That your Dad's starting to get wildly overprotective?"

"If they find out that you're pregnant," Scott said.

"Well ... they wouldn't be putting me in a death squad," she said under her breath.

Scott gave her a dry look. "Besides," he said. "It doesn't feel right having you so separate when you're - I mean, I wanted you on the team and in our lives, not off to the sidelines."

K had tipped her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. "We've been on the sidelines all the time," she said. "It gives you guys a little room to be yourselves, doesn't it?" She pulled her shoulders up to her ears. "Besides ... you probably won't want to be too close once I'm really uncomfortable anyhow."

Scott shook his head at that. "Mom," he said, "come on. I thought I already told you I'm not looking to distance myself from my family."

It's not about us, Scott, Jean projected. She wants to hide.

Then why not hide somewhere safe? Scott shot back. You know I'm right.

I know that, Jean replied. But she's not being entirely rational right now. All things considered ...

Yeah. Scott shook his head before he got up and kissed K's cheek. "Mom, I'm just trying to help. And a big part of that is being sure that I keep my family together."

"I know," she said. "I just keep picturing a little cabin tucked far, far away, that's all." She shook her head and got to her feet. "Don't worry about it. I'll let you two wake up alone."

"Wouldn't complain if you didn't if it meant you were here," Scott said with a small smirk. "I mean, I would..."

K gave him a little squeeze on the arm. "I probably shouldn't have picked to start with."

"I'm fine, really," he promised. "Why don't you let me buy you breakfast or something?"

"I'm thinking of going back to bed, honestly," she said. "Coffee's warm ... settled out my nerves."

"It must be a family trait," Jean said with a smile. "Scott does the same thing."

"Learned behavior," K replied. "You should make each other breakfast instead."

"You'll let me treat you some other time, right?" Scott said.

"Maybe," she said. "Honestly my nose is sharper than usual - which is saying something."

"That can't be comfortable," Jean said, wrinkling her nose.

"You learn to tune it out," K replied. "Unless it's really offensive." She started to leave, her hands in her pockets. "Your Dad should be in soon. He took a run around the property."

"Alright. I'll talk to him about the move," Scott said.

"Not what I meant," K almost sang out.

"Happening anyway!" Scott called back to her.

"Love you, Caramel Mocha," K called - knowing it'd get a smile out of him. On her way out, she saw Bobby, who looked surprised she was already leaving, though when he turned to try and see where K had left from, she spun and gave him a quick, hard swat that made him yelp and jump - and gave Jean and Scott an extra moment or two to get out of the room while Bobby's attention was elsewhere.

Jean gave Scott a wide grin on hearing Bobby accusing K of trying to kill him through spanking as she rushed off, slipping out the other way so she could get changed before the rest of the team started to wake up and continue to give them a hard time.

And K ... headed right down to the barn. In spite of telling Scott she was going to sleep, she wasn't ready to even attempt to lay down. Not when closing her eyes made the world spin like a top. She was halfway to the barn when she tipped her chin up and paused, scenting out the air as the breeze picked up a little bit from the east. Logan had started out that direction, and he had to be on the far side of the vast property by now - which tracked with what she was smelling, anyhow.

Deer were nearby and their earthy tones were reasonably strong on the warm breeze as she continued on her way. The roses in the garden were blooming strong and the heavy scent of the flowers almost overpowered everything else until she stepped into the barn and was enveloped by the comforting scent of fresh hay and horses.

K was smirking to herself as she made her way through the barn, feeding the handful of horses that Charles apparently kept on principle. Not that she was complaining. It gave her something to do with her hands for the time being.

She was almost to the last horse, scoop of grain in hand when she caught a somewhat familiar scent that had her freezing in her tracks just before the massive guy stepped into the far end of the barn - where they could have easily hidden from the house. K started to growl even as she dropped the grain - more than ready to fight him ... until the tall, pale doctor joined his bodyguard.

"Now, my dear. Be polite," he said.

All at once, K retracted her claws. The growl dropped, her shoulders slumped, and a moment later, she'd crumpled to her knees.

Essex smirked as he stepped toward her and then rested a hand on her shoulder, peering into her surface thoughts. "I had worried when I wasn't getting the feedback I expected that my experiment simply didn't stick. It's nice to know it's simply a matter of your removing the devices. Annoying, but still workable all the same."

K simply couldn't respond or do anything at all to fight back as the pale doctor's large assistant picked her up. They were headed through the back, so that no one at the house would see them, when someone else got to the barn.

"Hey, Mom, I brought you something to eat if you just want to stay outside," Scott called out, shouldering into the barn with a plate of biscuits and some fruit. "Kurt made some German pancakes, but we ate them all."

"How thoughtful."

Scott froze at the familiar voice as his gaze snapped to the pale doctor - and the large man carrying K. "How..."

"Be careful now," Essex said. "I don't want to restart this experiment again. Such a fussy system with the little female."

Scott narrowed his eyes at that. "Leave her alone," he said. "I'm not the one kidnapping her."

"No, but I do tire of waiting for one of these women to actually survive the ordeal of pairing up with Logan and all of his baggage." He shook his head. "Though if I come across that blonde brute, I may have to deal with him personally."

"He won't touch her," Scott said, his hands in fists. "I won't let him."

Essex chuckled low. "It's happened with others, you know."

Scott hadn't heard that much, but he wasn't going to say anything. Not to this guy. "He's never been able to handle my whole