Stephanie lay on the grass, enjoying a moment off peace in the sunshine, all three of the babies curled up in their blankets next to her, asleep as well. It had been rough, learning to deal with three infants at once. Hank hadn't been in the lab for quite some time, often on call for when all three babes were awake and needing attention. If it hadn't been for all of their family's willingness to help look after the babes during the day Steph doubted any of them would have slept at all.

She hadn't even tried to get back onto the team yet, to the mild surprise of most of the other X Men. As soon as Samantha had been off breast milk she'd asked for a part time placement, but now she was spending all her time with the children. Especially Jacob, who seemed to get sick easily and needed a bit more attention since coming out of the breathing chamber.

She looked around, then sighed, eyes closing as she enjoyed the peacefulness. The sun was warm, and her children healthy for the moment.

Gambit was staring at the doorway, his heart and mind battling it out as he sat motionless, a firm hold on his daughter as he waited. The Lady should have been back already, a long time ago, and no matter what the purple haired alternate son said Gambit was no ok with it.

But he had his orders, and sat, staring. He hated waiting.

Lynn chuckled and pushed away Snow's muzzle, then lifted her arms and gloried in the gently raining morning. She could hear Firecracker rummaging around in the underbrush to one side of the trail, and was aware of the silent shadow that was Gambit bringing up the rear with Ice a gentle little company beside him.

The small woman glanced back and smiled, knowing that the little mare was sticking close just in case the tall man should decide that he wanted to ride. But the thought of Gambit on the Icelandic mare made Lynn chuckle.

Then she looked up again at the soft warm rain and danced slightly.

Gambit leaned against a tree as close to the family picnic as he dared. He wasn't overly concerned with the warning glares he was recieving from half the men in the rather huge group, but his Lady would be mortified if he got into another fight in front of all the new little ones.

He had to marvel at the size of his Lady's extended family, and the size and beauty of the celebratory feast being held in the late summer sun to welcome the many new additions to the family. The three newborns of the Hank and Steph of this world were wrapped in blankets and kept being passed around, along with the twi children his own alternate son had fathered. Other small children ran about and played with a football, laughing and tackling their fathers and uncles. The food laid out, which he'd refused several times over since arriving, was plentiful and rich, the aromas drifting off of them enticing even to the stubborn Commander.

He watched the family closely, thinking of his own tiny world. Firebug was at home, as he commanded her to stay, playing with the new doll Logan had given her. While bitter another man was providing fo his baby, the Gambit had to admit the doll was far out of his own reach, and seeing the look on his daughter's face when she recieved the gift eased his misgivings.

He'd have to remember to get plently of this food and bring some back for her.

Gambit trudged back to the house, annoyed and confused by the conversation he'd just held with the new Warlord, which as far as he could tell was completely pointless.

The Commander hurried back to the Warlord's alternate's home, eager to reposition himself in his Lady's shadow, even though he was aware the black eye the new father had given him a couple days ago was still a point of discomfort for her.

Sighing he entered the house, then went to the lab door, as usual making no move to announce his arrival as he walked in.

The Warlord sight as he lay on his bed. He wasn't thrilled that his wife had left the room, but he knew he had no choice. She'd decided it was time o go out, and not even the raging war in the In City was going to stop her. He was still smoldering slightly from trying.

Instead he lay around his baby, touching the shell, still curious about him being big enough to have no more room to kick his father. To say the least, the fact that his son was fighting him before he was born pleased the Warlord intensely.

"Do you think Samantha is alright?" Stephanie asked softly as she lay in Hank's arms, staring up at the ceiling.

"She's fine, sweetheart. As soon as the children are born safe and sound her last fears will be put to rest," her husband murmured, kissing her cheek gently and stroking her stomach. Stephanie sighed, then turned to him for a kiss, right before she winced, feelingsomething that was familiar, but a lot more urgent than when Samantha was coming.

She gasped softly, then blinked and looked over at Hank, eyes huge.

"It's time," she said softly, then winced as another contraction made her want to double over. Hank gasped as well, then quickly picked her up.

-Charles, it's time,- he said hurrying out of the temporary room and across the hall to the medlab.

Gambit leaned against a tree, a borrowed pair of glasses setting on his nose. He watched as Lynn and Charlie played in the sun, and a ways away the young Kurt tried to screw up enough courage to approach and pet one of the horses without running away.

Several days had passed since the Warlord had abandoned him, and after his initial resentment Gambit had slowly stopped speaking, finding anything that the people of this world said or did usually only grated his nerves if he payed attention.

Outwardly he was alert and watchful, but inside his head his thoughts were back in his home world, wondering if he was being forgotten there, pronouced dead, or just left off somewhere on a long, unimportant mission. Then his gloomy thoughts turned to the small, fiery youth he'd left behind, and he lowered his head. The Warlord didn't care about the child, had probably forgotten about her by now. And if he had remembered, he would have sent her by now.

But she wasn't here, and probably woudldn't be coming. He wondered if she'd forgotten him yet.

Lynn shivered and huddled under the blankets, feeling Kurt's warmth where he sat against her back but unable to get free of the after effects of what had happened to her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing shaky though deliberately deep and even. Part of her noted that she wasn't crying, but another realized that this was just because she was too deeply in shock.

"Has anyone called her family?" asked the doctor who'd been called in to see to her in Hank and Henry's absence.

"Her sister Lilah is going to get her... uncle," said Kurt with unwonted gruffness. "Und meine tvin brother. The rest of the family is avay."

The young blond woman nodded and returned to packing her gear into her bag. "Just stay with her and keep an eye on her. She doesn't have a concussion, but she's had a shock.

Lynn barely heard the words as her mind flashed back to earlier, when she'd been attacked and beaten by a gang of young mutants on the way to the apartment of a former colleague.

-They called me a mutie-hating flatscan,- she thought dully, curling more tightly and squeezing her eyes shut. -They didn't even know me... they were so wrong....-

A small sound came from her and she started and cringed at thought of drawing attention to herself. -God... where's Dad? Please... I want my father. Please...!-

Stephanie smiled as she opened the oven door and the smell rolled out.

"Mm," she said, loving her mother's recipie as the two in her stomach responded to the warmth and bounced a bit.

She smiled, a hand stroking her growing belly before she reached up and took the cookies out, putting them on the counter and then turned, putting the next pan inside and then raising the oven door.

"Mam, are they cool?" Sammy asked, bouncing in.

"Not quite," she smiled, then frowned at the expression on the child's face. "Samantha, what are you up to?"

"Nothing," she said, eyes big and innocent look nearly genuine as she blew on a cookie, cooled it, then bolted from the room.

"Hmm," Steph said, frowning slightly before she smiled and went back to the cookie making.

Storm crossed her arms over her chest, feeling like she wanted to slap the grins off the faces of the two men in front of her despite them being her husband and his alternate. "You drank until neither of you could stand up, then got into a fight that left blood all over the dining hall floor, then went out hunting and came home shredded and even drunker so that you over strained your healing things, and NOW you want me to wake up the sleeping slaves, who have worked hard to try and pick up after you, SO THAT THEY CAN BANDAGE YOUR STUPID WOUNDS????" The last part of her tirade was a carrying shout that offered to wake more than just the slaves. Even as she did it Storm irritably wondered what was wrong with her. She'd been out of temper for days, even going so far as to snap at Nika when her heart daughter had done nothing wrong.

Colossus moved behind her and she whirled and punched him in the stomach as hard as she could, then gasped and wondered if he'd suddenly developed telepathy and shared his pain.

Her shoulders stiffened with surprise as the pain turned to a contraction. "What??? But.... Oh no...."

((starts here))

Lynn looked around her lab, then turned to Christian to see how he was taking his first glimpse of her time. "This is my lab, where I do most of my work. The big fish is Louie, it's probably best if you don't stick your fingers in his tank."

Then she bit her lip as her brain went blank for a moment. "Er, would you like a tour?"

Little Steph lay on her bed, both the tiny, newborn babes happily having thier breakfast, occasionally making small sighs and half dueling feet with one another.

The young woman, herself in the arms of her husband, watched them happily, then turned to see RJ as he marveled at them.

"Dey so small," he said softly, stroking the baby girl's head.

"And so beautiful," she agreed, kissing his cheek. "Sheesh... can you believe it RJ? We're parents!!!"

"Oui," he said softly, voice full of soft laughter. "I'm a papa, yoh a mama... we pay'nts."

She giggled, and kissed his cheek.

"I love you," she said softly, and he kissed back.

"Je t'aime, ma chere, ma petite," he whispered back, grinning.

Logan's face portrayed just how happy he was as he ran through the forest, running alongside a giddy Creed, chasing a rabbit they'd never kill.

The man was just happy to be alive, just happy to be running, running with the knowledge that his beautiful, flawless wife was carrying his next child, running happy knowing his family was ealthy and safe, and that Little Steph's child was alive and happy with it's mother, still gathering strength before it could teleport home.

But the Warlord was looking after that sect, and Logan trusted him as much as he trusted himself, more so.

Hank groaned slightly, then staggered out of the hole in the wall, looking around, very worried.

Where was the Angelic Little Steph? There'd been such pain in her voice, the scream had been so frantic....

He groaned slightly, then collapsed to the floor, the scream seemed to have sucked all the energy from him. He blinked, attempting to stay conscious, but soon passed out cold.

Hank hurried in from the Cafe, then looked around.

-Jean, I need your assistance in the medbay, immediatly,- he sent, then took Creed inside and lay him down.

"Anything I can do?" his wife asked, getting a little closer. Hank kissed her cheek quickly.

"Sing for him. I think it eases his pain slightly," he rumbled, then touched her cheek. "Fear not, my love, I know how to save our loved uncle."

She nodded, then did as he said, taking Creed's hand and singing to him as Hank went and found a power surpressor.

Hank sighed as he watched the heart monitor. The wild, crazy beatting of Lynn's heart and the need for him to watch some unknon and foriegn object begin to keep her blood flowing thruogh the ordeal was extremely unnerving and uncomfortable, but it was nessessary, now.

He stood, knuckled white as he clenched his fists, facing the machine. he had to have faith in what he found inside of Lynn. He had to trust that it would do what it appeared to do. He was a doctor always on the verge of something new, he had to remember the trust and faith in science, destiny, and the Lord's good will.

He sighed, looking down, wishing whatever else was in Lynn would kick in and stop the pain.

Logan sighed as he leaned against the railing of his second story porch, staring at the sky as he smoked and worried. Little steph was acting increasingly oddly, just the other day she'd sent Jubilee scurrying away nearly in tears.

Now RJ was going missing for days at a time, probably out to the woods, and neither one of the kids looked like they were getting any sleep. Loosing a baby was about the worst that could have happened to the pair, but Logan was worried that something else was going on, that it was hurting them too much, and if nobody interviened something bad might happen.

But Chuck, Jean, Ororo and Milana were very obstinate in thier no brain-numbing policy. They wanted the kids to work thruogh it, but Logan wasn't sure that approach was doing anything but tearing the young couple apart.

Growing softly to himself he hung his head. He knew they'd gotten married too young. He wished for thier sakes they'd stayed in the lovey dovery boyfriend and girlfrined phase at least another couple years.

RJ sighed as he curled around his knees, his third cig hanging off his lip as he stared through his sunglasses, dressed in his darker clothes and hiding behind a large tree by a small pond in the woods behind the Logan residence. This was his secret spot.

And now he was here, worrying about Steph. Scared. She hadn't been herself last night, something only he would notice. And now he was scared. She'd never, ever refused him, or been so strong willed and outgoing as she had been, and he was worried about what was going on.

Worried. Right. More like scared to death.

Logan stared at the heart monitor and growled moodily. This was ridiculous, being trapped in here, in bed. But since the last time he'd attempted to sneak out Steph had had Hank rig a security system that set off crazy alarms when he got out.

Lynn was mad at him, hadn't even been in to see him yet. That made him feel bad. If he'd known about the fixed cure he would have taken it instead of the old one, but he wasn't the telepath, Chuck was. What was he supposed to do about it?

Now he just sat there, glowering, listening to the maching beep away his sanity. He needed a visitor... but who'd come to see the sick old man at this hour?