A/N: It's Alive! Here's another chapter. I managed to explain some things that I thought needed explaining. Like… how Jean is a medical doctor at the young ripe age of 27… Oh, and she's 28 now. She had a birthday, but I never wrote about it. Disclaimer: I don't own Finding Nemo or any lines I choose to quote and not reference… Sorry for the grammatical mistakes. This hasn't been beta-ed.

I almost don't want to post it.. it's marking the end of a chapter in my life…

Final words: "Evolution Squared" was a title I created with the help of Chele. However, Peter Kropotkin, a Russian Anarchist wrote this "We maintain that under any circumstances sociability is the greatest advantage in the struggle for life. Those species which willingly or unwillingly abandon it are doomed to decay; while those animals which know best how to combine, have the greatest chances of survival and of further evolution" That said, co-operation is what helps us advance as a species, and I think my Evolution Squared showed that through the development of Jean and Rogue.

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"Excited?" Storm shifted her weight and readjusted the wool blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders.

"A little bit."

"This place won't be the same with out you."

Jean smiled at her best friend.

"Well, it hasn't really been the same place since Marie got here. But, change is good."

Storm nodded and sighed. The two women were sitting on the roof of the tallest part of Mansion. Ever since Ororo and Jean were in their teens, the rooftop was a place in which they could go to avoid the problems of below. Usually, it was Storm who would fly them up, but this time, Jean had levitated them up using her telekinesis. The only way the two women could manage sitting in the chilly morning air was because Storm manipulated the surrounding clouds to have a gap in which the sun could shine through directly onto them.

"Remember when it was just you, me and Scott? It seemed so easy back then."

Jean let out a soft laugh.

"It was never easy with you. You kept stealing my stuff!"

Storm smiled, and from her left hand she produced Jean's set of keys.

"And I still can."

Jean snatched back her keys and glared playfully at the other woman.

"Always the pick pocket."

Storm nodded.

"Well, every group needs it. But, now that Remy's here, I think I can retire my pick pocket skills."

The two women sighed again and lapsed into a moment of silence as they reminisced about their past.

"You'll have to visit. I'll need your help with the weather there. Moira said it rains a lot in that region." Jean said absently.

"Just call and I'll see what I can do for you." Storm shifted again, and felt one of her muscles pop and loosen up.

Neither Jean nor Ororo wanted the moment to end, but as powerful as Jean would one day become, stopping time would never be within her grasp. So, the telepath and the weather goddess sat in blissful silence as they enjoyed a few more minutes in the snow. Below them inside the house, Rogue's friends helped her move the luggage onto the X-Jet.

"Where do you want these?" Piotr asked. His voice had a slight metallic ring to it as he was in his metallic form.

"Over there by Jean's other lab equipment." Rogue said, after quickly asking Jean mentally.

"What's in dis?" Remy asked breathlessly as he pushed and shoved at another metal crate.

"Jean's stuff. It's lab equipment."

Remy pushed at the box once more, but his feet slid from him.

"It's like a dead body!" He huffed as he tried once more before plopping down for a rest.

"Nothing that interesting Remy." The crate in front of Remy levitated and floated up into the X-Jet cargo hold. Jean and Storm walked into the hanger bay of the X-Jet. Flecks of white snow still clung to their clothing. Jean knelt down by the Cajun boy. "Did you pull anything?"

Remy shook his head, but when he went to stand, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He swore sharply in French and sat back down.

Jean started to help the boy up, but a sudden pain in her head caused her to rapidly blink her eyes. In the split seconds between blinking, she swore she saw Remy's form dissolve into atoms. The atom form of Remy showed a glowing red mass in his back, and she knew it was the iliocostalis muscle that Remy had pulled. Her rapid blinking brought confusion to Remy and the atom form that Jean saw registered the mood chance. Jean opened her mouth to say something, but Professor Xavier spoke first.

"Jean?" His friendly voice betrayed nothing of his inner thoughts.

"Huh?" Jean's eyesight returned to normal and she looked up at her mentor. She hadn't realized he had come into the room, and a quick scan of everyone in the room told her no one but Remy had seen her strange state.

"Is something the matter?" Xavier asked.

Jean tried to speak but she realized her mouth had gotten paper dry.

Swallowing quickly, she answered back.

"Just excited to go I guess."

Xavier pressed his lips into a smile and nodded.

"Remy, why don't you go to Moira. I'm sure she can help you with your back."

The thief nodded, and went off to the infirmary. It wouldn't be for many years to come that he would realize the significance of what had just happened.

"Lunch is ready. The students are out in the kitchen eating, but perhaps you would like to join me in Storm's arboretum?"

Jean nodded and watched as the Professor turned his wheelchair around and left the hanger.

"All done!" Allison cheered and the room filled with a sudden array of lights and colours. She had programmed the speakers in the hanger to play music while they moved Jean and Rogue's things. At the completion of the task, Allison used her gift to send rays of colour all throughout the hanger.

"Phew. Just in time for lunch too." Lorna said as she swept a sweat-dampened lock of hair from her face.

"Yeah, Forge and Moira made lunch." Bobby said. He came up beside his green haired girlfriend and sent a light breeze of frost to her neck with an outstretched hand.

Lorna giggled and shivered at the same time.

"Thanks." She almost purred the words out.

Bobby smiled at her and dropped his hand.

"Are we ready? I'm pretty hungry."

Piotr nodded and shifted out of his organic metal form.

Rogue saw Jean lag behind and went to her.

"How was your time outside?" Marie asked pleasantly.

"Nice." Jean's mind had cleared surprisingly quickly, and the significance of what had happened faded. "Chilly, but that was a given." Jean smiled at her partner and looped her arm around Rogue's as both slowly left the hanger.

"So tomorrow we leave." Rogue said with a bit of a sigh.

"So we do." Jean smiled fondly at the younger woman. "Not getting second thoughts are you?"

"Of course not, but I'm going to miss the Mansion with all the people, and noises and random explosions from training sessions gone wrong. I'll miss it."

Jean laughed lightly.

"I'm sure you'll survive." She stopped at the hall staircase just before the kitchen. "The Professor and I will be in the arboretum for lunch. I'll see you later, okay?"

Rogue nodded and the two women went their separate ways.

Jean strolled into the arboretum a few minutes later. The air had an earthy, natural smell to it that Jean loved. The sound of rainfall caught her attention, and she looked upwards.

"Ororo!" Jean called out. "Are you joining us too?"

"Of course. I'll be there in a moment" From Storm's hand, a tiny rain cloud floated above a hanging basket. The conjured cloud drizzled its tiny raindrops onto the lush green leaves of the plant for a moment longer before vanishing completely. Storm floated down to Jean and both proceeded to the table that seated four.

"I'm going to get the drinks. I'll be right back." Ororo quickly slipped into a separate room, and left Jean.

Jean knew she wasn't alone. Turning slowly, she saw him standing behind her.

"Hello Jean. I'm glad you could make it to lunch." His voice was low, and showed no signs of aggression. His words were not forced, and only echoed a hint of sorrow and regret.

"Scott." She acknowledged him, and he stepped forward. She wanted to read his mind so badly to see what he was thinking. The two hadn't really spoken or been in a room alone together since Emma left.

Scott stepped forward and took hold of her hands. Although he never was linked with her mind, Scott could read Jean's body language from across the room.

"A little too late now, but read my mind if you like, Jean. It's open to you now." A slight twitch in his brow betrayed his pain, but he had come to deal with the fact he lost her.

Jean's brow twitched slightly and took a quick peek. She tilted her head slightly, never breaking eye contact with Scott.

"You organized this?" She asked softly as Scott led her to the lunch table.

"Yes. Current and recent events notwithstanding, the four of us will be separated for the first time for a long time." Scott picked up a picture that was placed in the middle of the table. It was a picture of younger days. Xavier was in the middle, seated in a manual wheelchair, Ororo was floating in the air above him, Scott was standing proudly on the right of Xavier and Jean stood on the other side. The picture was taken some twelve years before, but had been the hallmark picture for Xavier, and his original students.

Scott picked up the card that was underneath the picture and gave the card and picture to Jean.

"I don't expect you to forget what has happened over the last few months." Scott paused slightly and flexed his jaw. A part of him was still too stubborn to forgive Jean or Marie for the pain they caused him, but another part, wanted to move on. "But, I hope you'll at least remember us from before."

"I would have never forgotten." She replied softly as she fingered the metal picture frame.

The corners of Scott's lips lifted for a moment into a faint smile before he turned to look at Storm strolling in with pitchers of some exotic drink.

"Are we all ready?" Storm asked as her eyes shifted rapidly between Scott and Jean. Her tone of voice had a hint of trepidation, and her body language was slightly tense. However, since both Scott and Jean were still in the room, things probably went as well as could be.

"Yes, yes we are." Scott said, as he helped Jean into a chair.
Storm's face lit up and she smiled broadly.

"Thank the Goddess."

Jean laughed. Lately, Storm felt stuck between the unspoken feud between Scott and Jean. Storm couldn't ask for more than Scott and Jean being able to sit and talk to each other rationally.

"We're ready then? I'm dieing to try this new dish Scott cooked for us." Xavier called as he wheeled in with a large plate of food resting on his legs.

Jean's eyebrow shot up and she looked bemusedly at Scott, who was blushing ever so slightly.

"Just something I whipped up last minute." Scott said as he helped Xavier serve lunch. Scott never liked to cook. In his mind, if it took longer to cook than to eat it, it wasn't worth it. However, Scott did have an amazing knack for the culinary arts.

For the next hour, the recent past melted away. There was no mutant registration act; there was no Magneto, no interpersonal disputes, and no real anti-mutant movements. There was nothing. There was only Xavier and his students he had taken in to help him shape a world where mutants and humans could live together peacefully. The four adults chatted and laughed, remembered the good things they had forgotten in light of recent events. They talked about the students they taught now, and of how the future would still hold more surprises and how little by little they were making a difference in the lives they touched. When the food was all eaten, and the glasses were all empty, the four quickly cleaned up and made their way onto the main level. More students had returned back to the Mansion in preparation for the spring semester. Some had heard that Jean and Rogue were leaving, and had come back early to say their goodbyes.

The night came upon them quickly, and when the evening was over and everyone had retired to his or her rooms, Rogue took one last walk through the halls of the place she called home. She remembered the first time she was here, and how scared she was. Rogue remembered how the X-Men had showed her a world of possibilities and through patience and understanding had helped her master her gift. Marie smiled. Gift. It wasn't a curse now, and it wasn't just a 'power.' It was a gift. Half her heart was heavy with the knowledge that she would be leaving her friends, and that tonight would be the end of a wonderful and intricate chapter in her life. She sighed, pulled the robe closer around her shoulders, and stopped glass door that lead into the backyard garden. Her breath was visible on the cold glass, and small icicles could be seen developing on the cracks of the door. She smiled again, and imagined Forge installing some new invention to increase the heat efficiency of the Mansion. I'll be back. She thought sternly. Maybe during the summer semester she would come back, but Rogue knew she would be back. Yawning, and suddenly realizing how tired she really was, Rogue made her way back to her now bare room.

Jean was also awake, but just barely. In her lap were the old photo albums that chronicled the life in the Mansion. Almost fifteen years of history surrounded her. She was a telepath, and according to Xavier, telepaths never forgot anything. This was true. Her memory was the main reason she was able to get a medical doctorate by the time she was twenty-seven. As she flipped through the pictures, it was like walking through time. She remembered the pictures she saw as if it were some sort of movie. Jean stopped on one particular picture and fingered the old print. It was a picture from about five years ago. Jean had come back from a medical practicum, and returned to find that Xavier, Storm and Scott had decided to actively go into the field to use their mutant powers. The picture was of their first uniforms. Scott and Ororo stood proudly in their new garbs, where Jean remembered herself shifting nervously in her suit. It was during this time Scott and Ororo adopted code names, and had asked her to do the same. But Jean's power was never like Scott and Storm's. They were the ones with the offensive powers, and Jean had early on convinced herself that the only reason why she was even part of the X-Men was because she was Scott's girlfriend. She resigned herself to being a support member, secretly feeling never quite good enough to be part of their team. Being a doctor and an academic by nature, Jean felt like a fish out of water running around the city at night in leather armor. Jean tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

"No, I think it's better I don't have a name." A younger Jean said as she poured over a thick medical textbook about advanced human anatomy.

"Just a code one. Ororo and I have one, it would be nice if you had one too." Scott said as he flipped through another one of Jean's books.

Jean crinkled her nose.

"I think I'll just stick with being a doctor."

Scott sighed.

"Well, will you help us out if we need your help?"

"Of course. I just think my capacities are better suited away from the…battlefield." Jean said as she rubbed her eyes. Thankfully she only had to read her textbooks once, but still, it was a monumental task nonetheless.

Xavier came in beside her, and smiled fondly at his first student.

"What you're reading at is the reason why I switched from medicine to academia."

Jean stretched her neck.

"I can't imagine what it's like for non-telepaths to have to do this. This is hell."

"Well, most doctors don't have the advantage of remembering absolutely everything."

Jean remembered fondly. Xavier had supported her decision to not be in the field as much as Scott and Storm were. Instead, Xavier had her help in the public relations of mutants, and this instead turned to be a better calling for Jean's skill.

Checking her watch, she muttered angrily to herself. It was 2 am, and she should have been in bed hours ago. With the help of her telekinesis, she quickly put the photo albums and went back to her room. Rogue was already sound asleep in the bed, and only moved slightly as the bed adjusted to Jean's weight. Jean curled around Rogue's body and draped her arm over Rogue's belly.

"… seamonkey has my money…" Rogue muttered through her sleep.

Jean smiled, buried her face into Rogue's scented hair and promptly fell asleep.

"Goodbye! Oh! I'm going to miss you!" Alison bear hugged Rogue and refused to let her go.

"Visit me." Rogue managed to gasp out.

Alison finally disengaged and stood back, pouting. Kitty hugged Rogue next, albeit much gentler.

"If I get into my school in England, we'll have to get together." Kitty said.

Rogue nodded. It was very early that morning, and in the X-Jet hanger, the air seemed just as cold as it was outside.

"Ready?" Storm called from inside the jet.

Rogue nodded and walked to the jet. Piotr and Bobby were there too, and together with Kitty and Alison, they called out their goodbyes.

"Hey." Logan stepped up and hugged Rogue.

"Hey, yourself." Rogue hugged the cigar-smoke smelling man. Without him in the very beginning, life would have been very different.

"Take care of yourself there. And take care of Jean for me." Logan fingered the white lock of hair and patted her head.

"Visit me?" Rogue asked hopefully.

"I'll try." Logan placed a kiss on her forehead and stepped back. Rogue, a personification of his humanity was leaving. He looked up into the cockpit of the X-Jet and saw Jean watching him. He smiled and with three long strides, he walked up to her and hugged her.

"Bye, Redd. I promise I won't knock on Cykes when you're gone."

Jean laughed and hugged Logan back.

"Thanks."

Logan jumped off the X-Jet platform and smiled one last time at Rogue as she ascended the jet.

"X-Jet ready for take off. Strap in everyone, take off in… three…" Storm counted down.

"Two…" Alison, Piotr, Bobby and Kitty said in unison from the platform.

"One." Scott said from the air traffic control box. He pressed a button and the roof of hanger opened into the clear, blue sky.

Jean watched the school disappear as the X-Jet pulled higher and higher into the atmosphere. Storm and Xavier had come on the flight as well. Storm used her powers to ensure that the weather was as clear as possible, and Xavier came along to help fly the jet home after Muir Island.

"Should I switch to auto-pilot?" Jean asked as she read the jet's consol.

"No, I can fly it faster. But, if you're tired, you can turn to controls over completely to me and go into the back and sleep."

Jean couldn't argue with that as she yawned. She and Rogue had woken at six in the morning to ensure everything was set to go. Rogue was already dozing in the back seat, and Xavier was enjoying his English breakfast tea as if eating breakfast on the world's fastest aircraft was something he did everyday.

"I can help Ororo fly if need be. Go and sleep." Xavier said.

Jean nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt and moved to a seat in the back. She didn't sleep right away. Instead, she watched the earth below her zip past her at unimaginable speeds. The sun was getting brighter, and Storm activated the automatic tinting on the X-Jet's windows. In about four hours, they would be on Muir Island, and Jean and Rogue would begin their new lives.

Yawning, Jean finally succumbed to a light sleep, dreaming of the world of possibilities that lay in front of her.

-- If you need us, we will come… -- Xavier said to the both of them in their minds as Jean and Rogue stood watching the X-Jet lift off into the sky. Both women waved at the jet until it disappeared into the blue sky, and didn't stop watching the sky until the surrounding clouds rushed back together, heralding the end of Storm's weather manipulation.

Standing, in the darkening sky with the rain already soaking them to the skin, Jean and Rogue turned to each other. Smiling, they linked arms, kissed deeply and went back into their apartment. There was no sadness of leaving the Mansion. No regret of leaving friends and family. Today was a new day, and tomorrow would be another. The past year had seen them grow together, evolve together, and the next years to come would see to more.

The End.

Please review. Although it has taken me months and months to write, I truly enjoyed the process. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and stuck by my fic. I can't tell you how much I loved writing this fic. I hope it won't be my last, but only time will tell. Thanks for the ride everyone!