maverick // X-Men

• f o r t y t w o •

Grace snapped awake. She was bathed by the warm sunlight. Her hands searched her body, feeling there was no scar around her throat. She looked at her bed, clothes, trying to make sense of it. She got off her bed, and saw on the bedside table a photo of a grown-up Grace with her grandparents, who looked very alive.

She made her way to the door. She was a little woosy. She stepped out into the hallway. She walked down it, the world hazy around her. She drifted forward, the house teeming with life and students.

She passed Storm, alive. She was going over a textbook with a student. Grace kept moving, reeling, trying to focus.

She passed a classroom, where she saw a grown-up Beast teaching biology class with Mystique. Both of them were blue.

Grace kept going, catching a glimpse of Kit and Jubilee walking hand-in-hand. Kurt and Warren were behind them, arguing. Colossus was catching up with them.

Just around the corner she saw Bobby and Rogue. They were looking at each other in their eyes, smiling.

Grace finally snapped into focus by a laugh, a laugh she hadn't heard in many years. She walked down the hallway towards the garage. She pushed open the door;

"Gracie?" Scott turned around as she stepped inside the garage.

"Scott...." Grace smiled at him. "You're here..."

"Where else would I be?" He laughed.

Grace had no answer. She just drifted towards him. Someone caught her eye. She turned. "Alex?"

"Why are you so shocked to see us?" He joined in with Scott laughing. "We had breakfast together this morning."

"I'm not.." Grace really didn't know what to say. "I'm just...happy, that's all." She looked around at all the bikes parked up. "Where's Logan?"

"He and your dad are gone to get some gas for their bikes." As Alex spoke, it felt like Grace's heart skipped a couple of beats. Her dad was alive again. "Hope you're packed."

"Packed?" Grace raised an eyebrow at the two Summers brothers.

"The Bike Rally this weekend?" Alex stepped closer to her, knocking his knuckles on her head. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you eat anything funny at breakfast?"

Grace pushed his hand away, laughing. "I just forgot. Uh, who's going to the bike rally?"

"The three of us, Logan, your dad." Scott told her, throwing a dirty rag on the floor. "Your grandparents are putting us up for the weekend, seen as it's only 20 minutes away from their house."

"So, go get packing, because we leave at 7am sharp tomorrow." Alex dug deep into his pocket. "Oh, yeah, I think you forgot this." He placed something into her hand.

Grace looked down to see it was her MAVERICK dog tag she had given Alex back in the past. "You kept it." She smiled at him.

"Of course, it's important to you." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Actually, before you go packing, I think Professor X wanted you."

"Okay..." She smiled at the two brothers. "I will..." Before she said anything else, she pulled Alex and Scott close to her, into a hug. "I'm just so happy you're both here." She let them go. "I'll see you guys later."

As she walked out the door, Scott raised a brow at his older brother. "It's Grace, I wouldn't ask."

Grace started to walk down the hall to Xavier's office, but he bet her to it. "Wouldn't want to be late for our meeting." He smiled at her as he wheeled himself to her. "Time waits for no man...or mutant."

"What was our meeting about?" Grace asked him as he started to wheel towards the door; she followed him.

"We have an opening for a teaching assistant with Scott." As he spoke, Grace couldn't believe she was seeing the same Xavier she always knew, alive. "You did mention you wanted to teach history."

"History?" Grace laughed. "Well, actually I could use some help with that."

"What exactly do you need help with?" He asked, as she opened the door for them to go outside.

"Pretty much everything after 1973." She shrugged her shoulders. "I think the history I know is a little different."

Xavier slowed and looked at Grace, seeing into her mind. Flashes of another life, another path. "That's a lot to cover." He smiled at her. "Welcome back, Grace."

"It's good to see you, Professor." Grace nodded at him, looking around at the walls of the Mansion. "It's good to see everyone."

"Well." Xavier smiled at Grace. "I had a promise to keep. You and I have a lot of catching up to do." He turned his head to the gardens, where someone was planting flowers. "But there's someone else you might want to catch up with first."

Before Grace could say anything to him, he wheeled himself back inside the mansion. Grace looked over and saw the back of a man. She walked over, closer to him. Her foot hit off a bucket, making a noise.

The man turned around and the air in Grace's body stopped. "John...."

"Hey, baby." He smiled at her, putting down a shovel.

Grace slowly stepped closer to him. She placed her two hands on his chest, feeling his heart beating. The heartbreak of losing him all those years ago went and it felt like her heart glued itself back together. "You're...." She moved a hand to his cheek. "You're okay."

"Well, I'm a little dirty." He laughed, placing his hand over her hand. "I had hoped to have the flowers planted before you saw."

Grace looked down to see some red Primroses in the ground. "Primroses." A tear fell down her cheek.

"You and your gram's favourites." He noticed her tears. "Are you okay, Gracie?"

"Oh, yeah." She wiped the tears away. "I'm just really happy."

John pulled her close to him, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too." She placed her head on his chest.

"We're going to be okay." He looked down at her and smiled.

"Yeah, we are." 

And it would all be okay..everything was okay. 

Grace's struggles were finished. 

She had won the battles she fought her whole life. 

Or did she?