"Hey Mrs. X!"

Moira turned in time to see Alex jogging cheerfully up the path to the school. His little brother, Scott, struggled to keep up with him. She had to feel sorry for Scott; his brother was much faster than him. The heavy backpack he was wearing and the suitcase he was dragging couldn't be helpful either. Not to mention that his vision was obscured by his sunglasses.

Alex set his luggage down before giving her a one armed hug that nearly strangled her. Her stomach turned at the sudden movement.

"So you've acknowledged my last name's changed," she said, "And it's only taken a year."

"You haven't been married to the Professor for a year," Alex said, crinkling his nose.

She shook her head. She was sure she knew when her own anniversary was. Because of their busy schedules Moira and Charles had opted for a summer wedding. It had been a small affair at a church a few towns away; only family and intimate friends had been invited.

"One year last month," she said, "You were there you know."

"Yeah?"

"You all were."

It was true. Hank had labored to make an image inducer that he could disguise himself with to the event. The gesture had been kind since Hank had just started to feel confident about his image. However, her parents had attended. Charles had tactfully told her her parents couldn't know that they were all mutants. It made her uncomfortable to have to hide something so integral to her life from her parents, but she understood the need for secrecy in that particular matter.

In some ways she'd been relieved that she hadn't had to explain to her parents about the crowd she ran with. It had been difficult enough to live with their uncertainty about her marrying a man who was confined to a wheelchair. Things would have been much more complicated if they'd also known that said man was also a telepath who owned a school for mutants.

Her mother had tentatively managed to voice her doubts. They both knew it would be nearly impossible for her to have children. Her mother knew how much Moira wanted them. That had hit home since Moira had secretly cried over it once before getting it out of her system. Her mother had been worried that she was sacrificing having children for the man she wanted to marry.

However, Moira knew that she'd rather have Charles and a school of other people's children than any other man and a horde of biological children. So, in the end she'd simply said;

"He's worth it mom. He really is."

Her father had been silent but she knew he was worried for various reasons. However, he'd remained silent until he'd actually met Charles. During Charles' visit her father had been friendly but watching. At first she thought that he was trying to get her fiancé's measure. Later she realized that she'd been wrong; he'd been watching how she interacted with her fiancé. He'd been trying to see if he was really 'worth it' to her. At the end of the night he'd given an approving nod and never said a word about it.

"Fine, whatever," said Alex.

She smiled at him.

"It's good to see you again Alex. Have a nice summer?" she asked.

"Fantastic," Alex said.

He looked over his shoulder.

"Hurry up!" he yelled.

"Shut up!"

She shook her head. Panting Scott managed to reach the two of them. He was nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

"You shouldn't tease him like that."

"Ah, he likes it," Alex said, "Can't believe you guys thought that you were going to have a problem with my boy scout."

Alex chuckled and ruffled Scott's hair. Moira had to admit that when she'd first heard about the addition of a second Summers she'd been worried. Yet, Alex's nickname for his brother rang true. Scott was a model student, thoughtful and respectful in class. She had to wonder if his upbringing had been stricter than his older brother's. After all, it must be a sign that a parenting method needed editing if the first child ended up in jail.

"So," Alex said, "Sean in yet?"

"He promised he'd take me flying," Scott piped up.

"He's in," she said.

"Great," said Alex, "Is everything still okay with Maeve?"

Moira let out an exasperated sigh. During the previous January Maeve had broken up with Sean after a fight. Sean had been devastated. Although they had gotten back together he had spent the rest of that month, February, and a good chunk of March in a deep depression. It had been a rather gloomy time for them all and they'd had to watch what they said.

"They're fine," Moira said.

"Then it's even better," said Alex, looking at his brother, "Hey boy scout, this is Sean after Maeve left."

Alex put on a pouting face and buried his face in his hands with loud, overdramatized fake sobs. Scott giggled.

"That's not that funny," Moira said.

"It's hilarious," he said, "Three months after a girl? Yeah, never going to catch me doing anything like that."

"We'll see," said Moira, "Now go and unpack your things. We're having the first day of school scavenger hunt in two hours. Winning team gets to pick their time slot for the first week in the game room."

"Alright, alright," Alex said, "Come on, let's get moving."

He picked up his brother's extra suitcase. She shook her head after them and entered the entryway. Several kids were holding maps and frowning, turning them this way and that. On her way to the staircase Moira ended up giving directions several times, assuring the kids that they would get the hang of it after a few weeks.

It was a little quieter towards the dormitories, but not much. Many of the kids were getting reacquainted but there were new arrivals that caused tension. On the way up she had to break up a fight between a few of the students over rooming arrangements. With another flight of stairs she went past the offices of the administration where teachers were trying to organize things, and with another flight she finally made it to the faculty living quarters.

Feeling tired she walked up to the door with the brass plate that read 'Xavier'. She took out her key and put it in the lock. Just when she was about to turn it she coughed. One of the teachers used a cinnamon perfume. She never used very much of it, but lately the smell had seemed unbearable to Moira. She couldn't even stand to be in the same room as her.

Coughing again she opened the door. Since their marriage Charles and her had shared the same living dormitory. Much of the furnishings remained the same, but there were different knick knacks like a framed picture from their wedding on the table beside their bed. The image of the two of them smiled at her when she came in, the light from the hallway making the glass shine.

Something else caught her eye; her husband lying on their bed. His hands were folded on his stomach and his eyes closed. He looked tired and she assumed he was asleep until he said;

"Lock the door behind you. Bolt it, batten down the hatches, brace it for invasion."

She smiled and locked the door behind her. Then she walked forward and laid down on the bed next to him. Without opening his eyes he moved his arm so that it was wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. She placed a hand on his chest and put her head on his shoulder.

"Long day?" she asked.

"Exceedingly so."

"Well, it's not over yet," Moira reminded him.

"Yes it is," he groaned, "The door is locked, the day is over. Time to sleep. Wake me up on June third."

Moira laughed; the school year ended June third.

"Don't make me go down there and explain why Professor X isn't coming down," she said, "We'll have a riot on our hands."

"Then don't," he said, opening one eye and giving her a sly grin, "stay here and hibernate with me sweetheart. I'm sure it will be quite fun."

He took the hand on his chest and moved it up. He kissed her fingertips and she felt shivers run down her back.

"Tempting," she said, trying to concentrate while he kissed her palm, "But I don't think we're going to be able to get away with that."

"You're right; there's no food in here except alcohol in the mini bar."

"That's not food," she said, pulling her hand away.

"Oh, it is. It is," he assured her, undaunted and caressing the side of her face with his cool hand, "But if I can't get ten months of complete peace, can I have eight months?"

"No."

"Five."

"You made the term last this long, not me," she pointed out, "I'm just the housekeeper."

"That makes me sound perfectly dreadful, having my wife as the housekeeper," he moaned, "You know perfectly well you're a teacher's aide. Come now; I'll be reasonable. One month."

"No Charles."

"You drive a hard bargain sweetheart," said Charles, twisting a lock of her hair around his finger, "How about one hour?"

Moira leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Then she let her lips trail down to his, giving him a deep, lingering kiss.

"Of course."

A/N: First off I'd like to thank everyone who's come back to read the sequel. Thanks for the support! The second thing is that there's one thing I'd like to say about the X-Men movie timeline to avoid confusion in the future; it doesn't make sense. I might be nitpicking but I've actually been trying to puzzle it out for some time. I guess Marvel's ageless characters are playing merry hell with chrono-dynamics. My way of thinking about it ran as such; Charles Xavier is 28 in 1962, which is when the Cuban Missile Crisis happened. The first X-Men movie came out in 2000. If it's 2000 in the movie that means he now 66 which doesn't make a lot of sense for the character. Patrick Stewart was 60 when the film was made, even if he's one of those actor's whose age doesn't really show, so I can almost see it. However, he saw a young Storm in Cerebro. That puts her in her forties in the first movie at least, and Beast in his fifties by The Last Stand. I don't think so.

And then there's takingX-Men Wolverine: Origins into account. Generously that took place in the 80's, but it looks more like the 70's. Professor X mentions in the first X-Men movie that Wolverine's been wandering around for 15 years without his memories. That makes it in the 1990's. And Stryker? Factoring in First Class this makes him around 100 by the time X2 rolled around. This is why, for the sake of continuity, and my sanity, I'm supposing that the first X-Men movie actually happened sometime in the late 80's. No actual dates are going to be mentioned, but if you're curious. Wow; this was definitely longer than I thought it was going to be. Definitely my longest author's note. Thanks for reading!