~*~
Marie entered the room with the phone stuck to the side of her head and flopped down on the couch, tucking her right leg up underneath her. "So when are ya gonna get here anyhow? Ya gotta help me with the decoratin', remember? Ah can't do that and fix y'all dinner at the same time." The young woman laughed heartily at her phone companion's comment then sobered. "Yeah, right. So are ya bringin' that Cajun guy with ya? Mister Smooth Operator, what's 'is name... Raimi?" Another roaring laugh breaking the short silence. "Right, Remy, so's that a yes, right, ya are bringin' 'im? Well good, Ah'm lookin' forward t' meetin' 'im. So ya'll be here soon, right? Yeah, they should be here any minute. Okay, sugah, Ah'll talk t' ya shortly. Yeah, Merry Christmas t' ya too, Ororo. Bye."
Switching off the phone with a soft sigh, Marie leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. "Okay damn it, Marie, ya jus' knock that shit off right now! Ya will not begrudge 'Ro findin' someone jus' cause ya're still alone. It ain't her fault no man in 'is right mind wants anythin' t' do with ya."
With a heavy sigh, she opened her eyes and forced a cheerful smile onto her face. As it turned out it wasn't a moment too soon as the door across the room swung open. Marie rose quickly to her feet and hurried to help. "Hey, Jeannie," she greeted her visitor with a glowing smile.
"Hi, sweetheart, Merry Christmas," Jean returned with a smile, a smile which quickly froze when she noticed a particularly interesting feature on the young woman. "What did you do to your hair?"
"D'ya like it?" Marie asked sweetly separating a lock of shockingly white hair from her thick head of auburn tresses.
"I do like it," Jean assured her honestly, "Scott on the other hand is going to hate it."
"Ah know," Marie returned confidently, a smug grin on her face as she cocked an eyebrow. "Merry Christmas," she sang moving forward and snuggling into a hug. After a moment she pulled back and looked at the still open but empty doorway. "Where is Scott?"
Jean's gaze dropped sharply to the floor for a beat before she turned away from Marie and closed the door.
"Nothin's happened, right?" Marie demanded her tone nearly frantic.
"Oh God no, Marie, I'm sorry to make you think that. He'll be along soon." Pausing, Jean looked away again then focused her attention on the large couch across the room. "Can we sit for a minute? I need to tell you something."
"'Course," Marie responded, her tone and expression revealing her concern. She trailed along behind the older woman and slowly sank down into the cushions beside her. "What's wrong?"
Jean took a deep breath and released it with a heavy sigh. "Scott and I were doing some last minute Christmas shopping this morning in the city," she started to explain, her voice trembling lightly with emotion. "We were on our way back to the car when something caught his attention and he just froze..."
Marie waited a moment for her to continue but when the silence stretched to minutes, she prompted her onward. "Jeannie?"
"I'm sorry," she said, shaking herself physically. "I've never seen him like that before. He had this ... stunned, confused look on his face and he was visibly shaking, Marie." Again Jean stopped as she blinked tears from her eyes but this time she didn't have to be prompted to continue. "I asked him what was wrong and he just kept staring down this alley and then he brushed passed me and sprinted between these two buildings.
"I finally turned to see what he was looking at and I saw this man from the back. He didn't look like anything special or extraordinary," Jean shrugged. "In fact the only thing different about him was the way his shaggy hair stood up at the top of his head, made him look like he had ears up there or something."
The confusion on Marie's face only grew more pronounced as Jean's story continued to make no sense. Still she listened silently hoping that eventually she'd get to the point.
"Anyway," she sighed, "Scott ran after this man and I could see him reaching out to grab him when the guy spun around so fast it was unreal and dropped into a fighting stance. I could see Scott talking to him, his hands raised up in front of him in a placating gesture. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I could see Scott shaking from the other end of the alley. I watched, just this side of panic, as he continued talking to this man. I started digging in my purse for the cell phone when the man moved again, so swiftly that I gasped. He flung himself at Scott but not like I would have thought," Jean paused, tears streaming down her face as she wiped at them madly with her hands. "He didn't try to hit him, Marie, he wrapped his arms around him and pulled Scott to him and Scott hugged him back."
Shaking her head slowly from side to side, Jean managed to look up and meet the younger woman's gaze. "In all the years that I've known Scott, I've *never* seen him hug another man but he was clinging to this guy like ... like his life depended on it." A smile brightened Jean's face even as she resumed wiping away her tears. "I just stood there staring at them with my mouth hanging open. After a few minutes they stepped back from each other and talked some more. Scott gestured toward me and the guy turned and looked before turning back to Scott. After another couple of minutes, the guy took off and Scott moved back down the alley." With another pause, Jean started to giggle. "Marie, he had the stupidest grin on his face, I mean you should have seen him."
Again Marie waited for more but it seemed the older woman was too giddy to proceed without a little guidance. "So who was the guy?"
Instantly Jean's face fell somber again and she lifted her gaze to meet Marie's. "He's a buddy of Scott's from the war," she informed her. "He was an officer with the Canadian Special Forces and his battalion and Scott's worked together a lot and I guess they became very close friends. Apparently they were on a mission together and something went terribly wrong. Scott thought he'd been killed but he'd actually been taken as a prisoner of war."
"Mah Gawd!" Marie exclaimed.
Renewed tears wet Jean's face as she agreed. "Yeah, I guess they did some really heinous things to him. He managed to escape somehow but not before they really messed him up. For the last few years he's been working at remembering his past."
Outrage and sympathy vied for dominance as Marie processed the information she'd just received. "So then Scott's takin' 'im back t' his family, right?"
Slowly Jean shook her head. "No, his family is all gone. His mother apparently died right after he went missing, his father a couple of years later and his sister was killed last year in a car accident."
"Like he ain't already suffered enough, then t' have t' find all that out on Christmas Eve," Marie whined her honey-toned, southern accent thicker with the emotions.
"That's kind of why I'm here early, Marie."
"Wha' d'ya mean?"
Shifting in her seat, Jean fully faced the younger woman and gathered her hands tightly. "Scott went with him to get his stuff from the shelter he's been living in and he's going to stay with us so we can help him get his life back."
A brilliant smile lit Marie's face at the idea. "Well that's great, Jeannie."
"Yeah, he seems like a great guy - a little surly and rough around the edges but understandable considering everything he's been through."
Marie snorted. "Well yeah."
"Anyway, Scott's going to drop him off at the VA then he'll be up," Jean concluded.
"What?" Marie demanded, her brows rising sharply.
Jean jerked back at the harsh tone of the younger woman. "I said he's going to drop his friend off at the Veteran's Administration and then he'll be out."
"Like hell," Marie retorted, picking up the discarded phone. "Has he got the cell phone?"
"Yes."
Marie was already punching numbers into the phone before Jean even opened her mouth to respond. "Scott, hey, yeah it's me. What the hell d'ya think ya're doin'? Wha' d'ya mean, what do *Ah* mean? Ah mean takin' yer friend t' the VA."
Jean watched in wonderment as Marie continued.
"Ya are not takin' 'im t' that place on Christmas Eve. No, ya ain't. Damn it, Scott, ya better jus' brin' 'im up here with ya if ya expect t' stay over yaself." Marie rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh please, ya ain't puttin' anyone out an' ya know it, Ah'll jus' make up the spare room. No, he needs t' be with family right now and right now that's you which means us. Yes. Okay good. Ah'll see ya both in a little while then. Okay, yeah and, Scott, drive safe ya hear? Yeah, yeah, love ya too. Bye."
Hanging up the phone, Marie turned to Jean with a triumphant grin. "They're on their way."
Smirking widely, Jean shook her head appreciatively. "I wish I knew you're secret. You're the only one I know who can get your brother to do anything."
Marie sneered, "Yeah, right, sis, yer the one who has all the power ... ya are the one controllin' the sex." Wiggling her eyebrows, Marie smiled before bursting into laughter.
Quickly Jean shook her head, "No, sweetheart, Scott's the one controlling that. I'm much more insatiable than he is."
With a loud groan, Marie covered her ears. "That's more than Ah wanted t' know, Jeannie."
"Oh sweetie, you don't know what you're missing," Jean insisted dreamily. "We have *got* to find you a man!"
"Right, like he's just gonna fall outta the sky 'r somethin'," the younger woman snorted. "Come on, Ah got cookin' t' get back t' an' another room t' make up."
Rising from the couch, Jean followed Marie from the room. "Where do you want to start?"
"Let's get 'is room made up first," Marie decided pausing at the threshold of the kitchen before turning down the hallway. "Hey, what's this guy's name anyway? Ah'm gettin' tired a referrin' t' 'im as 'the guy'."
Jean laughed as they started making up the bed. "His name is Logan and let me tell you, sister dear, if I wasn't already married to your brother - happily, I might add - I'd be all over him."
Marie stalled in her task and laughed thunderously. "Well Ah'm sure Scott'll be relieved t' know that."
"Hey, I'm being serious here, Marie. I mean ... DAMN!"
"That good huh?" she chuckled.
Jean paused and shook her head, a dreamy expression on her face. "Gives new meaning to the term 'hottie'. Don't get me wrong, he's not really my type - I like clean cut and stable and he's got these sideburns that don't end and this ... totally unkempt look but on him it works. There's just something so feral and virile about him. Not exactly the kind of man you take home to mom and dad but definitely the type you could have a *lot* of fun with."
"Well since Ah ain't got a mom an' dad, guess Ah don' gotta worry 'bout it."
"Oh God, Marie, I'm sorry," Jean stammered.
Marie quickly waved a hand at her in dismissal. "F'get it, Jeannie, it ain't like it's nothin' new."
"I know, honey, but ... shit, I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry."
"Hello?" a loud voice echoed down the hallway into the opened door of the bedroom.
"Down here, 'Ro," Marie shouted toward the doorway. Catching Jean's eyes she smiled widely and mouthed, "She brought the Cajun guy."
"There you are," Ororo said as she stepped into the bedroom, stopping as she caught sight of her friend. "I love the hair, Marie," she stated as she moved forward, wrapping her into a warm embrace. "Merry Christmas."
"Ya too, sugah," Marie cooed, returning the hug. "Ah'm glad ya could arrange the time t' stay."
Ororo slowly pulled back away from her and turned to the other woman. "Jeannie," she screeched, moving toward her and repeating the friendly gesture. "It has been so long."
"Too long," Jean agreed increasing the pressure of the embrace.
After a long moment, the women pulled back and Ororo turned to the tall, handsome man in the doorway. "Girls, I want you to meet my friend, this is Remy LeBeau. Remy, these are my best friends Marie Summers and her sister-in-law, Jean Grey-Summers."
"Chere," the man drawled in a thick, southern accent that sounded as if it came straight out of the French Quarter of New Orleans as he took Marie's hand in his and lightly kissed the back of her knuckles.
"Nice t' meet ya," Marie returned sweetly, her eyes widening. Smooth operator was right and the package wasn't bad either. Tall and thin, but muscular, Remy had an intense gaze and eye-catching red hair.
"Mademoiselle," he said turning to Jean and repeating the process.
"Hello," Jean replied, arching an eyebrow seductively.
"Dis quite de place, chere," Remy stated, addressing himself to Marie.
"Well Ah'm glad that ya like it. 'Ro, ya wanna take yer stuff t' yer room while Jeannie and Ah finish makin' the bed here?"
"More company?" she asked knowing that Marie seldom used the room closest to her own.
"Yeah," Marie nodded, turning back to the bed, "Scott ran into an old friend a his in the city and he's bringin' him out."
"That is wonderful, it is always nice to have a house full for the holidays," Ororo commented happily.
"Oui, Remy hope dey hurry ... even out de odds a bit," he joked. The truth was at the moment he was truly out numbered.
Jean smiled at him coyly. "I get the impression you won't have a hard time holding the three of us back all by your lonesome, Remy."
"Oui, you be correct, petite," Remy chuckled, a thoroughly seductive sound in the confines of the small room.
"Come on, lover boy," Ororo called with a giggle, leading him off down the hallway toward her regular bedroom.
"Wow, 'Ro did well this time," Jean whispered once they were out of earshot. "He's a cutie."
Rolling her eyes, Marie shook her head. "Ah jus' hope he treats 'er better than that last asshole."
"Yeah, you and me both," Jean agreed easily, "and Scott, I don't even want to talk about what he wanted to do the bastard."
"Hang 'im by his balls and gut 'im, Ah'd imagine," Marie stated levelly. "Even that woulda been too good fer 'im."
Jean released a heavy sigh. "You're right but what do you say we forget about that bastard and have ourselves a merry little Christmas?"
Laughing, Marie smoothed out the comforter once more than gave a satisfied nod. "Looks good."
"I'm sure Logan will be very comfortable here," Jean agreed before following Marie back down the hallway toward the kitchen.
~*~