* DISCLAIMER * This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction involving characters created and owned by Marvel Comics Group. * WRITTEN BY * Samy Merchi * ARCHIVED AT * http://mash.yok.utu.fi/~samerc/fanfic/index.html * STARRING * Elizabeth "PSYLOCKE" Braddock Generation X * CONTINUITY * This story takes place after OPERATION: ZERO TOLERANCE and before PSI-WAR. * MATURE CONTENT * This story includes: various verbal references to sexual acts a scene of explicit sex (m/f consensual) a scene with non-explicit teenage nudity * DEDICATED TO * My late mother, Seija. She went away not because she wanted, but because she didn't have a choice. I'll ever love her and ever miss her. I am just happy our love had a voice. ************* * MADONNA * * CHAPTER 3 * ************* *** "Come now, Brian! You need a break from your studies!" Brian Braddock shook his head and sank deeper into his chair, holding a thick book titled along the lines of 'Contemporary Manifestations of the Chaos Theory's Philosophical Implications'. "Brian!" Betsy said exasperatedly, placing her hands onto her hips. "It's Saturday night! *Everybody* goes out on Saturday night! You haven't been out in over a month!" "Betsy, I don't *need* to go out every weekend", Brian said, finally lifting his eyes from the book. "I've got a few bottles of Guinness in the fridge, Courtney's coming over in a while, and I've got a good book to read. What else do I need?" "Oh, I don't know, Brian -- maybe a life?" Brian closed the book in slow, deliberate motions and placed it onto the table beside his chair. Then, he looked into Elizabeth's eyes. "I *have* a life, all right? I'm content with my life. At least I'm *doing* something with my life, instead of just partying it all away, Betsy!" Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. "You didn't have any objections to partying when Jamie was doing it." "That's different! Jamie was -- is -- is --" "Older?" "-- yes!" "Well, I'm 'older' now too, Brian! And I have a right to enjoy my life! And if you want so much to stay here and read your books and let life pass you by -- then bloody do it!" She whirled around and strode for the door. "But don't ever judge me again, Brian!" She walked out the door and slammed it closed after her. Brian sighed, and stood up from his chair. For a moment, he considered going after Betsy, but after a few moments, decided to let her go and cool off. He headed to the kitchen to go get a Guinness. Outside the door, Elizabeth Braddock bit her lower lip roughly as her shoulders shook and her eyes felt prickly. "Damn you, Brian", she sniffed and took a handkerchief from her purse to dab at her moist eyes. "Maybe this isn't about you", she said quietly as salty tears leaked from her eyes. "Maybe it's about me not wanting to be alone." *** "Elizabeth?" "Hmh??" The British woman looked up, to notice Emma Frost's curious face. (( Damn! )) her thoughts cursed as she realized she had again been lost in her thoughts. What was wrong with her today?? This was harder than she had expected... "You looked like you were a million miles away", Emma Frost said. "Were you talking with someone?" "No", Elizabeth shook her head and steeled her expression. "I was just thinking...of some things...years ago. About my brother." "Jamie?" "No, Brian." "Ah", Emma said and sipped her brandy. "How are they both? I understand Brian is retired?" "Yes", Elizabeth nodded. "Since he lost his powers a few months ago. Jamie is still in a coma at Muir Isle." Emma smirked faintly, staring into the brandy in her glass. "The Phalanx", she murmured softly. "What about the Phalanx?" Elizabeth asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I was just thinking of some amusing...parallels", Emma answered. "Didn't Muir Isle get destroyed by the Phalanx? Was Jamie there then?" "Yes, on a reinforced sub-level", Elizabeth nodded. "The sub-level was lucky enough to survive the devastation the Phalanx wreaked." "I see", Emma mused. "Well, I --" "Elizabeth!" The woman in question turned her head towards the new voice, and smiled warmly at the sight of Sean Cassidy. Betsy stood up, and the two former X-Men walked over to each other for a brief hug which Elizabeth added to with a light kiss onto Sean's cheek. "Been too long, you blarney-stone-kissing rogue, you", she smiled, and took a few steps back, looking over Sean. "You look as delicious as ever." She sniffed lightly. "Still sneaking off for a puff of the old pipe every now and then, I see." "Sean!" Emma chastised amusedly. "And here you complain about my smoking being a bad example to the children." "Who're you calling 'children'?" Jubilee's disgruntled voice chimed out from the doorway. "And you've got delusions of granger if you think we're gonna take after you, Frosty. *Wolvie* smoked, and if I didn't take it up from him, I'm sure not gonna take it up from you." "'Grandeur', child", Emma just voiced in her aloof tone, and then quirked an eyebrow at Jubilee and Paige's soaked clothes. "And I can see you most definitely are not taking after my intelligence. I usually take my clothes off before going swimming." "Uh, that would be me fault", Sean interjected. "Best way t' break up a fight's with a lot of icy water", he said and looked to the grumbling Jubilee and the shivering, ashamed Paige. A smile forced its way onto his lips. "G'on, lassies --" he said and pointed towards the seats near the burning fireplace. "Y' can warm yerselves up over there while you tell me an' Emma why you were fightin' and why the television set in the girls' dorm is a smokin' wreck." "A wreck!?" Emma said, her eyes widening as she watched the two teenagers. "Why you little --!" "Hey, you think *I* like it, Frosty?!" Jubilee shot back. "I'm not particularly fond of being deprived of my daily dosage of MTV and cute guys in nighttime X-rated movies!" "X-rated movies??" Sean blinked. "We don't get any channels carryin' X-rated movies!" "*You* don't, at any rate", Emma remarked calmly, diverting her attention from the girls to the Irishman. "I didn't think you'd have any use for them, so I didn't have the appropriate channels routed to your cabin. If you want that changed, just let me know." She smiled devilishly and nodded to Jubilee and Paige. "They did." Paige proceeded to blush crimson red and huddled up in a thick blanket on the floor in front of the crackling fireplace, just staying quiet and out of the argument's way. In the meanwhile, Jubilee was sneaking off slight glares towards Elizabeth, who pretended not to notice them. (( Sneaky little ugly untrustworthy stuck-up to-die-for-bod psi-witch... )) the young mallrat started muttering in her mind as she shivered a bit in her wet clothes, wanting to take her pullover off and hang it out to dry. But she wasn't going to reveal her curves in the presence of Psylocke, even if their minimal nature would be bulked up a bit by her Wonderbra. "-- we can't let 'em watch X-rated movies!" Sean had gotten started on a proper tirade. "It's illegal, not to mention bleatin' immoral to let th' kids watch that kind of stuff! An besides all that, we should be makin' these kinds o' decisions t'gether -- I'm in charge o' the kids as much as y're, Emma..." Emma's expression didn't waver one bit. "So, does this mean that if one of the girls asked me to buy a vibrator for her, I should say 'no'?" Sean's eyes widened. "You didn't?" Now it was Jubilee's turn to go bright red. Sometimes listening in to the parental figures -- such as they were -- squabble was *not* a good thing, she decided. "-- look, Sean -- when we had the talk about Sex Ed, you just kept blushing and saying 'maybe next year'. So sue me, I intend to make sure my students know how to take care of themselves in every field of life. And if you don't agree with my methods --" "Y' can be bleatin' sure I don't agree with 'em, woman!" Sean said loudly. "What're ye goin' t' do next, give some individual lessons in sexual practices??" "Angelo wouldn't mind that", Emma just smiled. Elizabeth couldn't restrain a smile at Emma's words, and slowly turned her head until her eyes met with Jubilee's. There was something tantalizing, yet mocking, in the British woman's eyes -- like she could see thru every facade, see every little dirty secret -- and Jubilee felt like she was back in Madripoor again, on a boat with Wolvie and Betsy. She tried to break the locked gaze, but didn't succeed. She felt her heart beat faster, and then, with a swallow, she forced herself to turn her head away, and curled up in a slightly frightened ball, trying to pretend she was just enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. "-- irresponsible disregard blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah rules and regulations blah blah blah blah blah blah wait 'til I tell blah blah blah blah blah blah blah --" Emma let Sean's words pass in one ear and out the other as she sipped a brandy and pretended to look attentive, nodding every now and then when Sean drew a breath. *** She was rich. She was drunk. She was on drugs. She was having sex. She wasn't happy. Elizabeth Braddock's lithe body arched off the sheets against Him. Her arms curled around His back and tried to pull Him closer against her. His warm strong body felt so good inside her but even though He was as close to her as a man could get to a woman, she felt alone. His hips moved up and down urgently, His sweat-slickened body sliding against her tense, frustrated one. His hard thick erection sliding inside her arousal-slickened passage. His sharp hungry teeth sliding over her sensitive delicate throat. Her dry ruby-red lips sliding over each other as she breathed rapidly, trying to reach for the orgasm she knew she wouldn't get. And she was sure of it when His body tensed and went rigid on top of her. His harsh teeth bit down on her neck and sent shudders of painful pleasure thru her, and she felt like He was going to tear off her throat muscles before He was through. She gasped, trying desperately to rub her clitoris against Him so she could come as well, but she was too far away... Too far away. She let out a little sob that He egotistically mistook for a sound of pleasure. She closed her eyes as she felt His seed fill her in strong spurts. She wrapped her legs around Him and held Him tightly, waiting for Him to finish. Which He did after an agonizingly long time, and with a final spasm relaxed atop her. She kept her eyes closed, and brought her hand to stroke His short hair, her fingertips caressing the base of His neck soothingly. "Mmmm...that was good", He finally muttered into her ear. "Yes...yes it was..." she replied quietly and cradled His head against her chest. "It was wonderful." He withdrew from her with a smile, and got out of the bed, going over to the desk nearby. He fiddled with things for a while, before taking a camera, and removing the lens cover. "Okay, get ready." She ran her fingers thru her hair a few times, brushing all the blonde locks back, and then tilted her head backwards, pushing her chest forward and giving a flirtatious look to the camera, puckering her lips in an imaginary kiss about to be blown. The flash lit up the room briefly. "Good -- really good, Betty", He said with a smile, and moved to another position, kneeling down at the foot of the bed so He could get a shot upwards at her. "Spread your legs." With rigid self-control she forced herself not to blush, and spread her thighs for the camera. A seductive smile slid onto her lips as she winked for the camera, exposing everything. She was in her late teens. He was in his late thirties. "You like that, Evan?" *** (( I hated being called Betty )), she thought as she let her eyes watch Sean keep on blabbing and Emma nodding every now and then. The scene seemed somehow serenely hypnotic despite it being an argument, and she felt her heart quiver at the memory of taking care of the Warpies at Braddock Manor -- how difficult some of them had been, how she had had to raise her voice every now and then. Maybe this 'family atmosphere' reminded her of that warm motherly feeling. Families aren't without their quarrels. *** "You WHAT?????" "I -- I think I'm pregnant, Brian." Her voice quivered and she hugged herself tightly as she stood in the kitchen in her nightgown. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were mirrors reflecting the terror of a young teenage girl. THUNK! Brian's forehead hit the kitchen table, shaking all the breakfastware on it like an earthquake shakes buildings. Then, he lifted his head up, and slowly smashed it again against the table. THUNK! And again. THUNK! Finally, he took a deep breath and looked up from banging his head, and into Betsy's eyes. A serious fire burned in them, so unlike this quiet, studious boy, but quite characteristic of one who would one day grow up to be Britain's premiere superhero. He tried to figure out what to say, but he wasn't a politician. Not a man of words. "Good thing we Braddocks have thick skulls, I reckon", Betsy said, trying to lighten the mood and her own trembling with a healthy dosage of levity. The attempt was all but lost on Brian, however. "Good lord, Betsy --" he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Are you -- do you -- I mean..." "I think I do", she nodded, swallowing an imaginary lump in her throat. "I got a pregnancy kit yesterday and...and..." She took long, deep breaths a few times before continuing. "Well, I tested myself just now, and it's..." She nibbled her lip, and looked away, her eyes searching for some excuse for them to move away from Brian. "...positive." "Dammit, Betsy!" Brian suddenly shouted, and furiously his arms tossed the table aside. There was a cacophony of crashes and shatters as the teapots, plates, glasses and everything on the table flew around. Elizabeth Braddock's heart skipped a beat, her jaw fell slack and she instinctively took a few steps back from the violence. "Brian --" she gasped, her throat suddenly dry and coarse as she heard the blood rush in her ears, her heart leaping out of her chest. She had never seen her brother angry like this before. "WHAT??" Brian demanded roughly, his eyes biting straight into Betsy's, his mind so clouded by the revelation that he didn't even realize what he had done, what kind of mood he had slipped into. "Brian!" Betsy suddenly shouted, teary-eyed, sobbing. "You're *scaring* me!! Stop that!" Her eyes squeezed shut, moisture flowing from them as she slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor into a fetal position. "I'm sorry, Brian... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." she repeated over and over again like a mantra. "Betsy, I --" Brian said, his voice suddenly an astonished whisper as his twin sister's plight broke thru his mind's haze and showed him what he had done. "What -- did I --? I --" He looked around at the mess he had made, his sister whimpering on the floor, and a pained look shot onto his face. "Oh god, Betsy, I'm sorry --" Silence overtook the kitchen, as Brian hung his head in shame, standing there in the middle of the floor. Only occasional sobs from Betsy broke the silence as she was curled up on the floor, near the doorway, against the wall. "I didn't mean to, Brian..." Elizabeth whimpered softly. "I swear I didn't -- I was on the pill... I thought it'd be enough... It should've been enough... I didn't know..." Brian suddenly felt very hot, his cheeks glowing red with shame and a prickly feeling making him itch all over his body as the adrenaline rush wore off and he started realizing just how stupid he had been. "Betsy --" he started, kneeling beside his sister and stroking her hair lightly. "It's okay. We'll figure it out..." Betsy took a deep breath and looked up into her brother's eyes and saw the madness was gone. She huddled up against his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "What's there to figure out, Brian?" she mumbled softly into his chest. Brian reciprocated the gesture, putting his arms around his sister and holding her close. "Well, I mean -- if you want to keep this child, and..." "BRIAN!" Betsy gasped in horror and looked up into his eyes as if he had suggested murdering the Queen Mother. Instinctively, protectively, she put a hand over her abdomen. "I can't believe you'd even suggest that! I -- I --" She shuddered slightly. "I can *feel* him", she whispered almost reverently. "That's murder, Brian. I can't get an abortion... I can *feel* him...somehow..." She placed a hand onto Brian's chest. "Please, Brian -- you've got to believe me", she said almost hysterically as tears started welling up in her eyes again. "You've got to believe me -- he's alive. I just *know* it somehow..." Brian took a deep breath, and gave a reluctant nod. "All...all right, Betsy. If you're *sure* --" "I've never been surer of anything in my life, Brian", she whispered. *** The memories ran thru her head in a jumbled mess. Every moment, she felt more nervous. Her heartbeat had been steadily increasing in pace ever since she had driven into Snow Valley. The glass of brandy was empty. She stared into the crystal glass, and felt a crushing in her heart at the thought of her brother. She had always been the one who had enjoyed being out. Why did he end up the one afflicted with alcoholism? A lump rose in her throat as even that reminded her of the pregnancy. Everything she had had to give up so she wouldn't harm the baby. Drinking. Smoking. Doing drugs. Even coffee, just in case. The last thing she ever wanted was to hurt the baby. She took a deep breath and looked to Sean and Emma who were still in the middle of an argument. Her delicate body slowly stood up from her chair, and she silently headed towards a doorway out of the room. Her stealth was impeccable and no one noticed her form walk out of the room. (( Sean )), she spoke softly in the Banshee's mind. (( Mind if I pick out the layout of the building from your mind? I need to go to the bathroom. )) (( Ah -- not at all, lass )), Sean replied with slight surprise as he no doubt looked towards her chair back in the living room and noticed her absence. (( Go right ahead. I'm sorry about Emma --)) (( Don't be )), she answered and absorbed the knowledge of the house from his mind, but she didn't stop there. Instead, once she was in his mind, she took the entire layout of the campus and all the buildings within. (( You are not to blame for her behavior. )) Then, when she was finished, she broke the psi-link and felt a pang of guilt for having taken more out of Sean's mind than she had said she would. *** "I'm sorry, Betty. There isn't much of a market for pregnant women." She closed her eyes and lay a hand onto her by-now-swollen abdomen, lightly touching her belly thru the thin fabric she was clothed in, as if she could caress, stroke and soothe the baby inside her. "Evan", she murmured softly, "you promised that if I would sleep with you, you would get me a photo shoot with --" "I know what I promised", Evan answered and took a sip from his coffee, lifting the cup to his lips. "And you promised me you were fixed", he then asserted strongly. "You broke your promise, so if you expect me to --" "I didn't break *anything*, Evan!" Betsy said in a quiet, anguished whisper, trying to keep the volume of their conversation down in the streetside cafe. The hot summer sun was burning down from the sky and making her sweat, making her uncomfortable. Not that she was comfortable doing much of anything lately. "I was on the pill -- it just -- just..." Evan sighed and shook his head, just placing his cup down and staring into Elizabeth's eyes for a long while. "Are you sure it's even mine?" he then asked. "He", she said, slightly hurt, with an accusing look in her eyes. "Don't talk about him like he's a thing. He's not a thing, he's a person -- and yes, he's yours, if the doctor's right about the timing. I hadn't slept with anyone else than you in over a month before or after the time she calculates I got pregnant..." He sighed and put a few fingertips to his temple. "What do you want, Betty? I'm not going to marry you." He lifted the cup of coffee to his lips again, taking a brief sip. Betsy felt a lump in her throat despite the fact she had been hoping he would say that. "I don't come from a bad family, Evan --" she nonetheless found herself arguing, and she didn't understand why. "I'm rich, I have status --" "You didn't answer my question", Evan said like a stonewall, her words bouncing off him without any effect. He took the spoon from the coffee and carved a piece of his cake, bringing it to his mouth. She sighed and lowered her eyes. Coffee. God how she wanted and needed it. (( Everyone drinks it )), she thought to herself. (( Even other pregnant women. I -- I -- oh lord, I need it... )) She tried to force herself not to look at Evan's cup, but irresistibly, her eyes were drawn to it again and again. She took her glass of water and hurriedly took a sip from it. "Evan, our child needs a father. A family." "I agree", he nodded in response. The next words blew Elizabeth Braddock's mind, shattering her sanity and scattering the remnant pieces to the four winds. "I can provide that." "Wh-- What do you mean?" she stuttered with young wide doe-eyes. "Betty -- you're still a child", he said calmly. "I am an adult. I have a good job, a good status, a stable life and all the requisites for raising a child well. You are in school, without the time to attend to a child, and to be quite frank, your situation is too unstable to consider as a beneficial environment to raise a baby. Not to mention your unhealthy lifestyle --" "Unhealthy lifestyle!" she gasped, her jaw dropping. "I have left that all behind -- I've quit drugs, and I haven't smoked or used alcohol for *months*, Evan! I would never ever do anything to put my baby in danger! Never!" Her voice started to rise as panic built up within her young chest. "Calm down", Evan said sharply, narrowing his eyes. "I will not have you cause a scene." He waited for a few moments for Elizabeth to calm down, and then just said, matter-of-factly, "Tell me, Betty -- can you honestly say you think the child would be better off with you than with me?" "Evan, you're *not* taking my baby away from me!" she snapped. "Be realistic, Betty", Evan chastised her. "If you want a fight, I can tell you right here and right now -- there is no custody court in the country that would grant an eighteen-year-old drug addict custody of a child over a well-off respectable publisher." She drew back in her chair, recoiling from Evan with wide eyes. "You can't do that", she said, breathing quickly and shallowly, her head starting to go dizzy. "You can't. You can't take my baby. I won't let you --" She was too shocked, too terrified, for tears to come just yet. He sighed and shook his head. "Look, Betty -- I am not a monster. I'm not doing this to hurt you. I'm doing this because it is best for all concerned. You can go back to your studies, or building a career. The child will have a stable environment to grow up in. It truly is for the best." Now, the tears started, and they didn't stop. "No...no, this isn't happening... Please, Evan --" she pleaded amidst sniffs. "I'll do anything -- you don't have to get me a photo shoot -- I won't be a model -- I'll leave my studies --" "Oh, that would be good for the child", Evan accused. "Forget school and career, just dump it all", he said sarcastically. "You think that would be better for the child? Really, Betty, you are obviously too immature for me to let you raise the child..." "NO!" she shouted as streams of tears flowed down her cheeks. "I'm not immature! I -- damn you, Evan -- You can't do this to me!" Her face contorted in anguish, her eyes closing for a brief moment, and then she opened them again, looking into his eyes. "Please, Evan -- I'll do anything -- absolutely anything you say..." "Then let me have the child", he just replied. "Marry me, Evan?" she whimpered, grasping at a last straw. "Please, I'll be a good wife to you -- I promise! Just don't take my child away from me! I'll do anything -- I can't give him up! Anything, Evan! Let me be your wife, I can take care of him and you both --" "No", Evan just shook his head. "I don't believe in marriages of convenience. When I will marry, it will be out of love. I don't love you." Her head and shoulders collapsed onto the table and she started weeping uncontrollably. *** She dabbed at her eyes, drying them up and then shook her head upon seeing her reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Bloody cheap mascara..." she muttered under her breath, and started rummaging thru her purse for her make-up. She wanted to look especially good today. After freshening up her make-up and once more looking like her ever-classy self, she opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom into the corridor outside. *** (( Coast's clear )), Jono broadcasted after looking up and down the corridor. Angelo Espinosa opened the small key cabinet hanging on the foyer wall and looked at the contents. After a few moments, he snatched one of the keyrings hanging in the cabinet, and closed the cabinet up. "There", he said, looking over to Jono. "The Jeep it is. They won't even know the keys are gone before we get 'em back." "Unless I tell them, that is." Angelo and Jono spun around towards the voice, their eyes locking onto the lithe figure. Elizabeth Braddock stood there, her Asian features accented by the dim lighting of the corridor, the lights behind her silhouetting her slightly and making her seem like an imposing, supernatural presence. (( Busted )), Jono said. *** "ARRRRRGH!" Brian Braddock couldn't hear his sister's scream of agony. He was pacing up and down the hallway of the maternity ward, looking more scruffy than usual. It was four in the morning. Betsy's going into labor hadn't waited for him to shave and comb his hair before driving her to the hospital. He had bags under his eyes, and his usually-rigid posture was slumped in weariness. (( She'd better be all right )), he thought to himself nervously. Betsy was his twin, the other half of him. They fought. They cried. They laughed. They hugged. They did everything together. He could never go on without her. His heart felt black. Scared. Like the lights were turned out and he didn't have anyone to hold his hand and show the way. What use was life if you didn't have your sister to share it with? "Braddock?" Brian slowly turned around towards the voice, and his eyes narrowed. "You", he just said venomously, standing there and his posture suddenly bettering, gaining him a few inches. "How is she?" Evan simply asked, his hands in his pockets. He didn't look too hot either, obviously having woken up from his sleep. A long trenchcoat covered most of him as he stood there. And Brian could see the worry in his eyes. "I got her here just in time", Brian answered as he went to lean one shoulder against the wall of the corridor. "She has been in labor for the past hour. That's all I know." "I see", Evan nodded slowly, and then walked a bit further away from Brian, to sit down on a couch in the hallway. Uncomfortable silence reigned for long moments, Brian turning his back to Evan and trying to ignore the man's presence. Evan stood up, and walked over to the drink machine, and studied the selection. Hot chocolate, coffee, tea, cappuccino... He glanced over his shoulder towards Brian. "Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee?" Brian's head slowly turned, to look at Evan over his shoulder. He wrinkled his nose and answered, pointedly, "No." To most people, he would have answered, 'No, thank you.' With a sigh, Evan shook his head and pushed a few buttons, getting himself a cup of coffee. He returned to the couch and took a sip from the hot drink. More than half an hour passed with Brian ignoring Evan. Then, a door opened, and a doctor walked out, pulling down the mask from in front of his face. "For those of you who didn't know", he said slowly, and then allowed a little smile, "it's a boy." Evan quickly opened his mouth, standing up from the couch and almost spilling his by-now-cold coffee. "Are they --?" "Betsy!" Brian interrupted. "How's Betsy?? Is she all right??" The doctor looked to Brian with a smile, and said soothingly, "She is all right." Then, he nodded to Evan. "They are both all right." "Can I see her?" Brian asked hurriedly, the frown he had worn with Evan having melted away completely and his expression now overtaken with worry. The doctor nodded and stepped aside from the door, letting Brian pass thru, which the blond boy did immediately, almost bowling the doctor over before he could move aside. Then, the doctor moved in front of Evan to prevent his entrance. "I'm sorry, only immediate family." "I'm..." He hesitated a moment, and then said, with a swallow, "I'm the father." "Ah", the doctor said, and then took a step aside. "I do reckon that makes you immediate family of the baby, then, at least", he smiled. "Go ahead." Evan nodded with a smile, and went thru the door. The doctor smiled to himself, shook his head, and stepped out of the doorway, letting the door close behind him. He started pulling off his gloves as he made his way to the drink machine. Cigarette smoke filled the air, and the doctor coughed, waving a hand in front of his nose. He turned his head to see a man standing behind a corner the hallway made. The man was handsome, roguish -- perhaps in his late twenties, with dark brown hair and thin moustache of the same coloration. He did not seem to show any weariness despite the late hour, and was dressed perfectly, in a brown suit without any wrinkles. His right hand held a cigarette to his lips. A golden chain went around the wrist, and from it dangled a small round plaque with the initials 'JB'. "Smoking is off-limits in here", the doctor coughed. "Oh, terribly sorry, old chap", the man smiled sweetly, and stubbed the cigarette out against the wall he was standing next to. Then, he flicked the cigarette butt across the hallway and into a rubbish bin with perfect accuracy. "Better?" The doctor did not bother to respond. Instead, he asked, "Are you of the Braddock party?" "Depends on how you look at it", the man answered. "How is she?" "Miss Braddock?" the doctor quirked an eyebrow. "She is fine. She has an extraordinary physique. I should expect her to make a full recovery very quickly." The man nodded and smiled enigmatically. "All right, then. Thank you for the cooperation, Dr..." He glanced at the name tag on the doctor's chest. "...Milbury." *** In the birthing room, a drowsy, exhausted, achy but happy Elizabeth Braddock was holding a bundle of blue towel in her arms. Her eyes and cheeks were moist from tears, and it took her several moments to notice that her brother and the father of her child had entered the room. "Betsy", Brian whispered, and pulled up a chair to come sit next to her bed. "How are you feeling?" "Brian", she smiled, looking into her brother's eyes. "I'm just great." Her eyes went briefly to the bundle in her arms, and then back to Brian. "Would you like to hold him?" *** (( So beautiful )), she thought as memories flooded thru her head. Despite the images and emotions clouding her mind, she maintained her authoritative pose, with a small confident smile on her face showing off how in control of the situation she was. Inside, she felt completely the opposite. But Elizabeth Braddock was not the kind to show weakness. "Lone Ranger and Tonto, about to ride off to the wilderness?" she asked with an amusedly sarcastic edge to her voice. Angelo twirled the keyring on his finger a few times. "You going to do something about it, X-Man?" he asked in that rebellious tone that refused to yield to authority. The same bravado that teenagers give the police. "Something?" Psylocke asked, and then nodded. "Yes." She leaned to the wall of the hallway with one shoulder, her eyes going between Angelo and Jonothon. "Exactly what, depends on you." *** Jubilee had finally noticed Elizabeth's departure and taken off her wet pullover, and laid it over a back of a chair she had pushed over near the fireplace. Then, she had returned into her chair. After a few questioning glances from Paige at her Wonderbra, Jubilee had blushed despite furious attempts not to. She had finally solved the situation by crossing her arms over her chest and putting on her stubborn-as-an-ass expression. That's when the wall exploded inwards. "Saints alive!" Sean Cassidy gasped and whirled from his argument with Emma towards the explosion, unleashing his mutant power, the devastating wail of the Banshee. The debris hit the sonic waves and was demolished and blown back by the force erupting from Banshee's mouth. Emma had turned towards the explosion and watched with narrowed eyes, but a stony expression. Jubilee had turned around in her chair and was watching over the back of the plush recliner. Paige, in the meanwhile, had stood up and was keeping quiet and close to one of the remaining three walls. Nanny stood where the wall used to be, with the ever-loyal Orphan Maker at her side. On her other side was hovering the young Algerian girl, Monet St Croix. Behind the three were Arthur Maddicks and Leech the Morlock. "There's a rhyme", Nanny started, "that explains why I and my Lost Boys (and Girls) are here tonight." In marble walls as white as milk, Lined with skin as soft as silk; Within a fountain crystal clear, A golden apple doth appear. No doors there are to this stronghold -- Yet thieves break in and steal the gold. We are here to save the precious apples before they get stolen." CH-CLAKK! The Orphan Maker cocked his rifle. *** Psylocke's forehead furrowed, and her attention strayed from the two boys before her. Delicate fingers touched her temples, and the pink butterfly manifestation appeared before her face as she utilized her telepathic powers. "I knew it", she said after only a few eyeblinks, her expression turning grave. "Knew what?" Angelo quirked an eyebrow, still holding the keyring with the keys to the Jeep, but starting to raise his guard, his street-developed sixth sense starting to tell him something was going on, even though the hallway was too far away from the living room for the sound of the explosion to have carried over. (( Somethin's wrong, mate )), Jonothon broadcasted and looked up and down the corridor before his eyes returned to Elizabeth. (( What is it? )) "Nanny and the Orphan Maker", Elizabeth explained curtly. "They are attacking the others." She lowered her fingers from her temples, her butterfly aura fading away like the embers of a fire from bright red to black. "I've fought them before." Her eyes passed briefly over Angelo, and then settled upon Jonothon. "Stay here. I shall go and provide the others assistance." With that, the shadows of the corridor grew and started to envelop Elizabeth Braddock. Angelo and Jono watched the woman be swallowed up by the darkness which then retreated without leaving a single trace behind of Psylocke. (( Whoa )), Jono said with wide eyes. (( That's some trick. )) The Latino was less awed, and more lost in his thoughts. Fighting was usually not his modus operandi in respects to how to face problems. Running was. But this was his home turf. His friends were in danger. "I've fought the Orphan Maker before, too. Screw her if she thinks I'm backing out."