CHAPTER 73 THE CHOICE
The hospital's halls smelled like bleach and quiet. The whole team gathered in Xavier's office, the man himself in his chair at the center, his expression calm but drawn. Logan stood in the back, arms folded, healed enough to pass for untouched.
Xavier's voice carried with its usual steel. "My X-Men. You've endured storms, fire, and near-death. For now, you will have rest. A vacation, if you will. I must remain behind to monitor Jean's recovery. I will not have time to manage you properly. Rest is necessary."
A murmur went through the room. Colossus glanced at his hands, Nightcrawler's tail twitched, Thunderbird crossed his arms.
Scott stepped forward, voice clipped. "Professor, with respect I'm not going anywhere. My place is here. With Jean."
"You should rest, Scott," Storm said gently. "We all should. She is safe now. She will recover."
"I'm not leaving her," Scott snapped, louder this time. "She needs someone by her side. I'll stay."
"Ha," Sunfire muttered, arms folded tight. "The great Cyclops, chained by his heart."
Banshee lifted a hand. "Professor if it's rest you want, I've an idea. I got word from the homeland. A message. Might be nothing, but it'd give us reason to head there. Ireland's got space to breathe."
"Fine with me," Thunderbird grunted. "As long as it ain't another goddamn hospital."
The Professor nodded slowly. "Then it's settled. Sean, you will guide the others to your family estate. Scott if you insist, you may remain here."
Scott's fists clenched, his visor tilted down. "It's not a matter of insistence. It's a matter of love."
Logan tilted his head at that, his nostrils flaring. Soul scent. He caught the burn of Scott's emotions, hot and tangled. Possessiveness. That he understood. Jean had just danced on death's edge a man would want to guard her close. But beneath it, darker, sharper... jealousy. Jealousy of who? Of what? Logan's brow furrowed. He didn't understand.
The meeting broke. The team filed toward the infirmary, one by one to say goodbye.
Jean lay quiet, still pale, but breathing easy now. Scott sat beside her, eyes never leaving her face. The others offered gentle words, Storm pressing Jean's hand, Colossus bowing his head like she was a saint. Nightcrawler whispered a joke meant to lighten the air.
Logan lingered at the back. When it was finally his turn, he stepped forward, rough boots echoing against tile. He didn't speak. Just looked.
And Jean, half-asleep, looked back.
Their eyes met - just a flicker, brief, but enough. Heat under glass.
They both looked away at once.
Logan grunted, turned on his heel, and left with the others
The truck rattled like a bag of bones, coughing smoke with every mile. Its paint was chipped, its seats torn, and every pothole on the Irish road made it lurch like a drunk sailor.
Behind the wheel, Banshee grinned ear to ear. "Ahh, listen to her hum! Nothin' like the roads of me youth, lads and lass."
"Hum?" Thunderbird groaned from the back, clinging to the side as the truck bounced. "This heap's screaming for mercy."
Colossus sat wedged between him and Nightcrawler, knees jammed to his chest. "I think... my spine is folding in ways not meant for man."
Nightcrawler, balanced lightly despite the jolts, grinned wide. "Ah, but Peter, it builds character! You will thank Sean someday when you are as limber as me." He flipped his tail lazily, earning a glare from Thunderbird.
"Limber? He'll be crippled if we survive this road."
Sunfire crossed his arms tight, seething. "This is beneath us. Heroes of the world, saviors of Earth and we ride like peasants in a farm cart?"
"Better'n ridin' your high horse," Logan muttered from the back, cigar clenched between his teeth. He was the only one not visibly rattled, just braced with feral steadiness. "Least this thing's got wheels."
Storm, seated up front beside Banshee, hid a laugh behind her hand. "I cannot believe this is how the mighty X-Men travel. It is... charming."
"Charming?" Sunfire sputtered. "This contraption is insulting."
Thunderbird jabbed a finger at him. "You want to walk, hotshot? Be my guest. We'll pick up your ashes a mile down when you burn yourself out."
The truck hit another hole. Colossus' head smacked the roof. "Oof!"
Nightcrawler laughed so hard he almost fell off the bench.
Banshee only sang louder, some old Gaelic tune that rose above the coughing engine. "Ahh, Cassidy Keep will put all your hearts at ease! A feast, a warm fire, the sea wind-"
Another bump threw everyone skyward before they crashed back down.
"Or," Logan growled, "it'll kill us before we get there."
The road wound on, the bickering, laughter, and groans making the rattling truck feel more alive than it had in years.
At last, through the mist and rolling green hills, stone towers rose in the distance..
Cassidy Keep..