Here is the fourth story in what I am calling the "Twin Chronicles".

Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed my stories. This one has been a challenge for me, hence my series of one-shots.

I think (and hope) I have reached the point where I can offer longer pieces to this series, starting with this story.

Warning: There is some Charles/Scott bashing in this chapter.

You will need to read the first three stories ("Here", "Where it all Began", and "Meet the Twins") to understand what is happening here.

As always, your reviews and input are highly appreciated. I hope you continue to enjoy my writing…

AX

/

Previously...

"I'm listening Ro. Here's yer chance ta tell me everything. And Ororo…" he paused waiting for her to acknowledge him.

The scared blue eyes of the Goddess met the angry hazel eyes of the Wolverine.

"…don't leave nothing out."

/

Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart

~I don't know why they call it heartbreak. It feels like every other part of my body is broken too.~

/

Ororo slowly made her way to Charles' office.

She did not have any desire to face him.

How embarrassing is it for your dad to walk in on you in bed with a man?

But embarrassment was only part of her reluctance to see her father.

Ororo was also infuriated and confused by his reaction.

She was a grown woman for goddess sakes. He was making a big deal out of nothing.

So what she had sex with Logan? What she did in the privacy of her room was her business.

Once she reached the door, she paused to compose herself.

She knew if she walked in there infuriated, she would only antagonize him and she would never get to voice her point of view.

Once again, he would be right and she would be wrong, yada, yada, yada…

"It's showtime, Munroe." she whispered to herself before walking confidently into Charles' office.

"Professor" she said with no emotion in her voice.

Charles scrutinized her through narrowed slits.

"Do not "Professor" me, Ororo. This is not a discussion between Professor X and Storm. This is between Charles and his daughter. Now sit down!" he yelled as he slammed his fist on the desk.

Ororo actually jumped back at the sound of his fist hitting the wood.

It was nothing new for Charles to be upset with her, but saying he was upset now would be a gross understatement.

Ororo obediently made her way to the leather chair in front of the Professor's desk.

Charles leaned menacingly over his desk.

"Ororo, I only desire to know one thing from you. Why?" his voice quivered with anger.

Ororo gaped at him incredulously.

"Why? What would posses you to ask such a question?"

"I am trying to figure out what motivated you to do such a thing. You were not raised to conduct yourself in such a "loose" manner." he explained.

Ororo rolled her eyes at his hesitance to say what he meant. What was he, 12?

"Sex, Dad, it's called sex." she stood up from her seat and began pacing back and forth.

His temper rose even further in response to he nonchalant attitude about the whole situation.

The air became thick with his outrage. Ororo paid no mind and kept on pushing him.

"Do you think I did this to hurt you or something? Is that it?" she bellowed in a surprised voice.

"Of course not."

"Well then what is the big deal! So what, I fucked Logan. It is not a crime you know. Scott has been fucking Jean for years and you never seem to have issue with that!"

Charles grimaced at her vulgarity.

Ororo cast him a look of disbelief. He could not possibly be serious.

Her frustration with him magnified.

"Oh for goddess sakes, Dad, I am allowed to say dirty words." she crossed her arms over her chest and began tapping her foot.

Charles had had enough of her flippant attitude.

"How dare you allow such filth to leave your mouth and then fix that same mouth to address me as your father!" Charles wheeled himself in front of her to gain her attention.

His voice was a tone that caused the blood in her veins to run cold.

"How can you possibly compare your meaningless fling with Logan to what Scott and Jean share? They are in love and in a committed, long term, responsible relationship. Something of which you have absolutely no first hand knowledge!" he argued.

Ouch…

The first blow had been delivered with a vengeance.

The kids gloves had been discarded.

The final round had officially begun.

Charles moved so close to Ororo that she had no choice but to fall back down into her seat.

He pointed an accusatory finger in her direction and continued. "I will tell you what the big deal is Ororo. I did not raise you from a child, nurture you, educated you, give you the best things life had to offer you, for you to callously give up your innocence for a quick lay with Logan! Your innocence was something sacred, something to be treasured, and you just threw it away like it was nothing, NOTHING!" Charles was so furious he was visibly shaking.

Blow number two…

Ororo was coming apart inside. It took her longer to recover from this one.

Charles words cut deep, and her heart was bleeding…

But she was determined not to go down without a fight.

She quickly dusted herself off and jumped back into the fight.

"Just because you took pity on me and took me in does not make you supreme ruler over my life. I never asked you for any…!"

"You never had to ask me for anything. Everything I have done is because I LOVE YOU! I have loved you with every fiber of my being, and you resist me all the more. You freely give intimately of yourself to Logan, and how has that worked out for you Ororo? He is gone!" his restraint slipping dangerously.

"He left because you told him too!" she countered.

"He was going to leave anyway, as he always does. He made no endearing declarations or commitments to you did he?" when she looked to the floor he had his answer. "You know he is incapable of such things and yet you slept with him anyway. He does not love you. He could never love you!" Charles finished his rant.

His statement sucked the breath out of her.

Ororo was down for the count…

1...2...3...

All the things he said were swirling around in her mind…

It did not matter what he actually said, because what Ororo heard was "you are incapable of being loved."

4...5...6

Ororo sat in the chair completely still.

Recovery was not possible this time.

Charles moved back around his desk and went to the window, unaware of what damage he had inflicted.

"Where did I go wrong with you? I did everything I thought was right. I have loved you more than any other person on the face of this earth, and it still is not enough." Charles sighed deeply. "Maybe it was a mistake for me to keep you here with me. There is obviously something you need that I have not been able to provide. Perhaps I should have let you go with him when he wanted you. Obviously, my love is not enough for you." he said sadly.

7...8...9...

Ororo's breathing sped up as hot tears filled her eyes. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, threatening to jump right out onto her lap.

"Dad, please, you do not mean that…" her voice small and defeated.

Charles turned to look at her, his eyes bright with tears.

"I never, ever thought I would say such a thing to you. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy and safe. Evidently, despite my best efforts, I have failed you." he said gravely, turning away from her.

That was what Charles said.

What Ororo heard was…"You do not deserve to be here, go away."

…10.

T.K.O.

This is what she had tried to prepare for all of these years.

She knew the day would come when Charles would regret bringing her into his family, his home.

No amount of anticipation could shield her from the agony she was feeling now.

Physically, she felt as if she were going to be ill.

Spiritually, she had already died.

Her heart ceased to beat.

An unbearable pressure built up between her ears, causing her not to hear anything.

Her body refused to move.

Charles was so disgusted with her, he could not even look at her anymore.

Turned his back on her…

And it was all her fault.

He saw her as the whore Scott accused her of being the night before.

She had always known she did not deserve his love and kindness, and now he realized it to.

Ororo stood up on shaky legs.

All her bravado was gone, and what was left behind was a pathetic shell of the goddess she professed to be.

"I…I am so sorry I have been such a burden to you. I never deserved you, you know. I understand if your hatred towards me now…" she trailed off as her voice began to fail her.

Charles turned sharply to look at her.

"Ororo, I could never hate you, never." Charles said with resolve. He attempted to move closer to her.

Ororo put up both hand as to shield herself from him.

"Please, please…just…do not." The tears were now flowing freely down her face as cold, hard rain fell from the sky.

"I just…I am…" her words were failing her. She had to get out before she embarrassed herself further.

Swiftly she turned and made her way to the door, Charles following in her wake.

"Ororo, please." he begged.

Before turning the knob on the door, she turned back to look into his distressed eyes.

"I love you. Please believe me. I love you the best I know how. I am sorry that I was never good enough for you." with that she ripped open the door and slammed it behind her.

Her eyes were so clouded with tears of pain, she was running through the halls on pure instinct.

She came to an abrupt stop when she ran into someone and landed on her rear end.

"Hey, where's the fire." she heard Scott tease as he reached out to help her up.

Ororo did a crab crawl away from him.

Scott frowned when he saw her face drenched in tears. He reached out to her once again, but backed off when he saw the pure terror in her milky white eyes.

"What's wrong, Ro?" he asked worriedly.

All Ororo saw was in her emotional state was another person who was completely disgusted with her.

"No!" she yelled in her panic. "Please, just leave me alone." and she took off down the hall at an alarming rate.

Scott just watched as she disappeared up the stairs to her loft he assumed.

He was so intent on watching her retreat, he did not hear Jean walk up behind him.

"Scott?" she asked as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Scott turned to see Jean watching him with concern swirling in her green eyes.

"Yeah, Jean." he answered.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh…Ro…she just." He looked to Jean shaking his head in confusion.

"She just bumped into me running down the hall. She was highly agitated." he answered distractedly.

"Did she say why?"

"No. No she told me to leave her alone and ran off."

"Maybe we should go after her, make sure she's ok?" Jean offered.

Scott thought about it for a few seconds and then shook his head in the negative.

"No. She was more upset than I have ever seen her. Something serious happened. Come on." with that he took Jean's hand and headed down the hall to get some answers.

Scott didn't bother knocking, knowing Charles was well aware of their presence.

When they walked in, they found a solemn Charles, watching the thundering rain pelt the window panes.

Scott and Jean didn't know what happened, but the mood was ominous.

"Dad…" Scott inquired tentatively, but received no reply.

Jean decided to move closer to Charles.

"Professor, are you alright?"

"No. Far from it, my dear." Finally, he turned to face them. They were shocked to see his red-rimmed, puffy eyes.

Scott cursed to himself. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had him in such a state. It always seemed to boil down to one thing.

Ororo.

His frustration with her last night was suddenly back.

What was it going to take to get through to her?

"It's Ororo again, isn't it? What the hell did she do now?" exhaling an exasperated breath and rubbing his now throbbing temple.

Charles shook his head no. "I am the one at fault this time Scott." Charles lowered his head in shame. "I…I regretfully let my emotions take over. I said some things that I never should have said. I fear I have hurt her, severely."

"Dad, as angry as I get with her, you know that I love Ororo, but we both know how she pushes us to the limit. Whatever you said to her was probably warranted." he argued.

"I am afraid you are wrong son. Yes, I know Ororo has been quite a handful the last few years, and everyone in this room knows why, even though we have been reluctant to address it. She has dealt with more losses in her young life than most people experience in a lifetime." Xavier let out a heavy sigh.

"Emotionally, Ororo is unstable. Foolishly, I believed that our love and nurturing would provide her with much needed support, hoping that her emotional state would stabilize. Unfortunately, I have never been so wrong in my life. The things I said to her…the look on her face"

Scott moved over and placed a strong hand on his shoulder in silent support.

Jean leaned down to engulf him in a loving embrace.

Charles pulled her closer, taking what comfort he could from her. As Jean buried her head in the crook of his neck, she heard his heartbreaking inquiry.

"What have I done?" his voice hoarse with tears.

"What have I done?"