"Hey, hey you! Stop! Hey, it's tough to run in heals, so would ya please stop for christ's sake?"

Gambit turned around to see a woman around his age, heavily made up, coming towards him. The heavy make up wasn't surprising. This was not a good section of town and at this late hour, the only women wandering around were for the most part heavily made up. What did surprise him was that she wore a long, heavy coat buttoned up, covering a great deal of her body. That was an uncommon sight in this area, no matter how cold the temperature. "Were you talkin' t'me?" he asked as she ran up to him, panting and out of breath.

"Yes," she gasped, holding her arms closely around herself. "You, I need t'talk t'you."

Just my luck, he thought. I'm going to get propositioned by a weird hooker. He had come to New York City looking for a chance to get away from the mansion for awhile, catch a little excitement. While he was not above occasionally paying for excitement, this was not exactly what he had in mind. "An' why is dat?" he asked.

"You're Gambit, aren't you?" she asked him. "You're one of the X-men, aren't you?"

He gulped. Although he really did not go to great lengths to conceal his identity, he really did not think people noticed when he was dressed casually, as he was tonight. "What makes you t'ink dat?" he asked her.

"The eyes give you away buster. I've seen the X-men on the news an' stuff. A face like yours, eyes like yours, they're hard t'forget ya know?" She had caught her breath now and was chewing gum and snapping it loudly.

"Maybe dat X-man just a relative?" he offered, half kidding.

"Don't matter. What matters is can ya get in touch with him? Or any of the other X-men?" She tipped her head to one side, her long, obviously dyed black hair falling over one shoulder.

"Mebe I can, Mebe I can't," Remy said, refusing to commit himself one way or the other. "Why you askin?"

"Because I got somethin' that belongs t'one of them. The one you call Beast. And I want to give it back." She stated.

Remy was more than a little skeptical. He knew Dr. Hank McCoy rather well and somehow the idea of this woman having anything of his seemed rather... remote. Still, Hank had been know to have a very kind heart. Maybe he lent her money or something and now she wanted to pay him back. Stranger things had happened. "What is it?" he asked.

"Well, that's the thing, I left it back at my place. I live back there," she jerked her thumb behind her. "I was gettin' ready t'go out and work when I saw you walk by and I had t'get you. Under this coat I'm like, uh.. not dressed."

I'll bet you don't wear much when you are dressed for "work," Remy thought, but didn't say out loud. "So are you askin' me t'come back t'your place so you can get whatever it is you got for Hank?"

She shook her head. "No, it's okay, you don't have t'come home with me." She motioned to a tiny coffee shop. "Uh... could you wait in there for me? It'll just be a minute, I swear. I just want to give this to you an' you can be on your way and I'll be on mine. Is that okay?"

There was something desperate about this woman, but Gambit could not sense any danger from her. He looked over at the coffee shop. It was small, but it looked well lit and moderately crowded. If she was setting him up for any sort of trouble, she had picked a bad place. Besides, there was something about her that made him think she was telling the truth. She did have something for Hank and once she gave it to him, they would go their separate ways. "All right, I'll wait," he agreed.

"Thank god!" She exhaled sharply with obvious relief. "I swear, I'll only be a minute."

"I'll give you five," Gambit warned her. "If you aren't in the shop in five minutes, I leave."

"Don't worry, I'll be back way before then." She turned to rush off then stopped. "Well, I might not be, but if I'm not, I'll send a friend of mine. But I swear on a stack of bibles either she or I will meet you in less than five minutes." Before he could answer her, she turned and ran off down the street as fast as eight inch heals could carry her.

Oh dis ought to be amusing! Gambit chuckled to himself and walked into the coffee shop. He got himself a cup of lukewarm weak coffee from the counter and took it over to one of the small tables by the window to wait.

Four minutes later, another woman came into the shop, holding something in her arms and looking around. She spotted him and walked over. "Hey, you Gambit?"

Gambit looked at what she was holding, his eyes widening. He started to shake his head, no, but for some reason it came out as a nod instead.

"Then this is for you," the woman said, putting the bundle on the table. "Tonya said you knew where to take it." She turned and started to leave the shop.

"Hey wait a second!" Gambit scooped up the bundle and started walking after her. "You can't do dis! You can't leave me with dis! Dere is no way I can't take this!"

The woman turned and looked at him. She was older than the first woman who approached him, closer to middle aged, with a look on her that said she did not take any crap from anyone. "Yes you can, yes you will," she stated flatly. "Tonya told me t'turn it over to you. I did. I sure ain't keepin' it. And don't expect Tonya's gonna take it back either. She's packing her stuff. She's out of here." With that, she turned and left.

Gambit looked down at the bundle and shook his head. "Oh Hank, " he moaned. "What in de world have you gotten me into? And what 'ave you gotten yourself into?"

"Hank!"

Hank look up from his microscope for a moment. He knew who was shouting and it did not phase him at all.

"Hank!" The cry came again, closer to the door. "Hank are you in there?"

The object of all this shouting did not move from his chair. Instead he looked back at the microscope and counted. "Four... three... two..."

The door banged open. "Hank!"

"... One." Hank looked up again and spun around on the chair. "Hello Bobby. Is there a particular reason for your shouting or are you just exercising your rights to free speech, even if it is late at night and you sound both loud and obnoxious?"

"Hank, you gotta get upstairs, now!" Bobby exclaimed. "I mean right now. Immediately. It's important. Very important. Now!"

Hank slowly slipped off the chair. "Your gift for speech is only outdone by your redundancy. What is the problem Bobby?"

"Gambit just got back." Bobby said, heading for the door.

"Oh well that certainly clears it up." Hank followed his fellow teammate out of the lab. "Amidst all the work I've been doing with the legacy virus, the rule that we all must scream and shout whenever Gambit returns must have completely slipped my mind. A terrible oversight and I thank you Robert, for correcting it."

"No jokes Hank, it's more than you think." Bobby said, leading him up the stairs. "He has something for you. Something some woman gave him. You've gotta see this."

"A woman gave him something to give to me?" Hank pondered. "There is something wrong with that whole concept. Reverse it and I can see it. Women always want to give Gambit something, although it's not usually something I could carry with me. Tell me, Bobby, did he know this woman?"

"No." Bobby shook his head as they walked through the mansion heading for the kitchen. "Remy claims he'd never seen her in his life. Says her name was Tonya, at least that's what someone claimed her name was."

"Ah, the plot thickens!" Hank exclaimed. "An unknown woman. The name Tonya strikes no bells with me, with the exception of Tonya Harding and I doubt that is the woman Gambit met. So, what is this thing Gambit has been entrusted to pass on to me?"

"It's something you've gotta see for yourself," Bobby replied as they walked into the kitchen.

Gambit was sitting at the table when they walked in, the bundle on the table in front of him. He rose from his seat as they walked in. "Hank, I don' know what you've been doin' in your spare time... well, actually now I do know but, mon ami you've got to be more careful."

"Remy I don't understand.." Hank began then stopped abruptly as he saw the bundle. "Oh my stars...." He looked up at Gambit, his eyes wide. "How in the world did this get here?"

"Up to de mansion? on my bike, an' let me tell you it wasn't easy." Gambit shrugged. "How did it arrive into the world? You de scientist, you tell me Hank."

Hank approached the bundle cautiously. This has got to be some sort of joke, he thought someone is playing a trick on me and a very bad one at that. He leaned closer to the table to get a better look.

Lying on the table, wrapped in an old blanket was some sort of doll, a bit smaller than the average human baby, but the appearance was far from that of an average. The tiny face was covered with sparse blue hair, thicker at the head. Hank looked at Gambit. "It's... it's a doll isn't it? It's got to be it can't be..."

Before Remy could answer, the "doll" opened it's eyes and let out a scream.

"Sorry, Hank, dat's no doll," Gambit said. He felt sorry for his friend, but there was a part of him that wanted to laugh. This was a situation no single man ever wanted to find himself in and selfish as it seemed, he was awful glad it was Hank's problem and not his.

"It's crying!" Bobby said, coming over and looking down at the screaming figure.

"I can hear that," Hank replied dryly. "I do have ears."

"Well, shouldn't we do something?" Bobby asked, raising his voice to be heard above the wailing."

"Of course we should do something!" Hank exclaimed. "I'm just not sure what..."

Although he wanted to, Gambit could not completely suppress his smile. "Well, Daddy, maybe you oughta check t'see if it's hungry or leakin'."

Hank looked at Gambit, his eyes wide. "I am not this child's father!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Really? Sure look like you."

"Gambit, I can assure you beyond a shadow of a doubt this child is not mine!" Hank swallowed hard. "Who gave this child to you? Where were you? What, exactly happened?"

As Gambit was about to answer, the kitchen door opened and Joseph and Rogue walked in. "Good god what's all the sc-" Rogue began, then stopped when she saw the baby. "What in the world?" she began.

"Seems like our blue furry friend been doing somethin' in his spare time we did'n know about," Gambit answered grinning.

"Remy, I'm telling you this is not my child!" Hank shouted, louder than he intended to. As his voice raised, so did the volume of the infant's crying.

"I dunno sugah, sure looks like yours," Rogue said. "How did it get here?"

"I was in de City when a woman came up an' said she had somethin' for Hank," Gambit explained.

"And while you're all debating the child's parentage, haven't any of you noticed he or she is crying?" Joseph dryly asked as he walked over to the table. "I'm not an expert by any means, but the last time I checked, when a child is crying, they usually want and/or need something." He scooped up the bundle easily, then frowned feeling something extremely warm and wet on his sleeve. "Well, I know one thing that's wrong right off the bat. There wouldn't happen to be any diapers around, would there?"

Joseph's common sense approach seemed to knock Hank out of his shocked state. He's right, he thought. We'll worry about who's child this is later, right now the important thing is to stop him or her from crying. He looked at Joseph. "No, as far as I know, there are no diapers in the mansion. They aren't something we find ourselves in need of very often."

"Well, something has to be done," Joseph said, looking very uncomfortable holding the child. "This blanket around the child is ruined and I think my shirt will be too."

Although Hank had no younger brothers and sisters, he was not completely ignorant to the world of babies. He had earned money when he was younger by baby-sitting and had been rather successful at it. "Let me see the child," he suggested, holding out his arms. Joseph happily surrendered the infant to him.

Hank looked over at Bobby. "Robert, make yourself useful. Go and see if you can find an old towel or sheet somewhere, something we can use for a temporary measure until we can find proper diapers."

Bobby nodded and left the room rather quickly.

Gambit sensing he might be called into service decided to volunteer rather than be drafted. "While your doin' dat, I'll go down to the store and buy some diapers."

"Good idea," Hank nodded.

"You might want to pick up some formula too," Joseph suggested. "And a bottle."

"An' some of those baby wipes," Rogue offered. "An' some powder, an' some baby oil, an'-"

Gambit sighed and interrupted with, "How am I suppose to 'member all of that?"

"I'll go with you," Joseph suggested. "I've spent some time with children, recently. I'm sure I can help."

"Is there something I can do?" Rogue offered.

Hank thought for a moment. "Why don't you try to find something for the child to sleep in? he suggested. "Somehow I doubt Remy or Joseph are going to find a crib at the 7-11."

Rogue thought for a moment and nodded. "Ah think Ah can manage that."

"Good." Hank said, carrying the child from the room.

While the other four busied themselves making preparations for the unexpected guest, Hank took the child up to his living quarters and into his bathroom. Fortunately for all the members of the house, the child had stopped screeching and instead was whimpering quietly. Hank looked down at the bundle. "You're not having a very good night are you?" he asked, taking a towel and placing it down on the vanity and lying the child on it. "Forced to ride up here on a motorcycle, surrounded by strangers. We don't even know your name. Worse, we don't even know if you're a boy or a girl. Well, that's easily remedied..." He pealed off the blanket. Underneath, the child was naked except for a very soggy disposable diaper. He pealed that off, trying to only breathe through his mouth. "Ah, I see you're a little girl!" he exclaimed.

The child stopped her whimpering and looked up at him with large, blue eyes. Hank did not know if it was relief at being freed from lying in her own waste products or that at least her sex was known that stopped her from crying, but it did not matter. "Well, this is a start, isn't it? We know you're a girl and we've gotten that terrible diaper off you. Let's see what we can do to make you more comfortable shall we?" He took a washcloth from the towel rack, soaked it with warm water and began cleaning off the child. While he cleaned her off, he studied her carefully, making visual assessments as to her condition. "Well, you seem healthy enough," Hank murmured. "A bit thin, a bit small, but nothing time and good food won't take care of."

There was a tap at the bathroom door. "Hank, you in there?"

"No I'm not, Bobby," Hank called out. "This is a recording."

"Verrrry funny." Bobby snorted. "Is it okay for me to come in?"

"Unless the sight of a naked infant titillates you, I can't see why not," Hank answered.

"Gee, you're such a riot," Bobby commented opening the door. "I can't believe you don't have your own sit-com yet. I found some stuff."

Hank looked as Bobby began placing some old towels on the other side of the sink. "Brown towels?" he asked.

"My idea," Bobby said proudly. "I figured they wouldn't look so stained when she was done with them."

"My, I'm amazed Proctor and Gamble hasn't hired you for research and development," Hank muttered. "But, I suppose one of them will do until Remy and Joseph return."

He turned his attention back to the infant, who was grinning broadly now, waving her tiny arms and legs around, obviously relieved to clean again.

"Aw,she's a little girl," Bobby said, looking down at her. "She's kinda cute."

"Cute?" Hank looked at him. "This child is beautiful. Look at those sapphire eyes, the fair skin underneath that spectacular blue fur. I would say she's easily the most beautiful baby I've ever seen."

"You would say that." Bobby commented. "It's the resemblance to you." He looked at his friend. "Hank, it's just you and me now... tell me, is she yours?"

Hank sighed. "Bobby, I assure you there is no chance on heaven or earth that this is my child by blood."

"Then how come she looks so much like you?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know," Hank admitted. "But I plan to find out." He dropped the dirty washcloth into the sink and turned the water on to rinse it. "Do me a favor Bobby, rip the end off one of those towels so it's square."

"Sure," Bobby agreed, doing as his friend asked. When he finished, he looked at it. "How are you going to make it fit?"

"Simple," Hank answered. "Fold it in half so it forms a triangle, then lay it down there." He waited for Bobby to do that then picked up the child and put her down. "I've heard this is how people used to do it before the days of disposables and pre-fitted cloth diapers," he said, bringing the center corner of the towel up between the child's legs and the other two around. her waist. "See? Perfect. You wouldn't happen to have anything we can use to fasten this would you?"

"I thought of that," Bobby said, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. "Here."

Hank looked at the offered object and quirked one brow. "A roll of masking tape?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah, why not? It should work and it'll be easy to take apart too."

"I was thinking more along the lines of a safety pin." Hank took the tape and tearing off a piece. "But I suppose that never occurred to you."

"Well it did, but I didn't know where to find any," Bobby admitted.

"Then you get an A for effort and a C- for results."

Hank used some smaller pieces of tape to hold the front closed, then wrapped a longer one around the child's waist to hold the makeshift diaper. "There, you're all set."

The child looked at him steadily for a moment, as if she was not quite sure what she should do, then grinned broadly and waved her tiny arms and legs wildly.

"She admires your taste in fashion, Bobby," Hank commented. "Let's hope with time she'll outgrow this phase."

"Yeah, right. At least she's too young to talk like she's swallowed a dictionary, unlike some folks I know."

Half an hour later the clock read 2:00 a.m. Bobby, Hank and Rogue were in the kitchen waiting for Joseph and Gambit to return. Hank held the infant, who did not seem at all upset with the sudden changes in her life. She also showed no signs of being ready to go to sleep. She peered over Hank's shoulder, looking about the room with sharp eyes for one so young.

"Ah fixed up a makeshift crib using' some blankets and a dresser drawer," Rogue said. "Ah put it in your room Hank."

"Amazing how everyone automatically assumes that I should shoulder responsibility for this child." Hank commented dryly.

Bobby's answer was interrupted by Joseph and Gambit coming into the kitchen. "We have returned," Gambit announced, placing a plastic bag on the counter.

"We were able to get diapers and some other baby supplies, including a bottle and formula," Joseph added. "The woman at the convenient store suggested a soy formula since we don't know if the child has any allergies."

"Dis baby stuff ain't cheap either," Gambit commented. "Hank, you owe us twenty five bucks."

A pained expression crossed Hank's face. "Remy, I'll be glad to pay you the money. But I admit, I am getting tired of everyone assuming this child is mine when I am constantly stating she is not."

"Oh, forgive me," Remy said, grinning broadly. "Some woman give me a blue child an' say that she belong to you. What am I suppose to t'ink?"

Hank drew in a deep breath. "All right, I see your point. But, and I'm only going to say this one last time; this child is not mine.

"Well then, who's child is it?" Joseph asked, moving over to stand next to Rogue.

"I don't know," Hank admitted. He turned to Remy. "Now that the child seems to be settled, please tell me, what happened this evening?"

While Gambit told the story, Hank continued to hold the infant. She stayed remarkably calm during the story of her arrival to the mansion, only interrupting by occasionally cooing or making other baby noises. Every time she did, Hank automatically reached down and stroked her hair.

"So let me get this straight," Hank said, feeling frustrated at the lack of information in Remy's story. "This woman approached you and said she had something for me."

Remy nodded. "She never used your name though, she called you Beast."

"Hmm... I see." Hank nodded slowly. "And you didn't try to locate this woman again after you were given the child?"

Remy shook his head. "I really didn't want t'run around de streets wit' an infant in my arms looking for some woman who didn' want to be found. I figured the best thing would be to just come back here. 'Sides, Hank, how was I to know she wasn't your daughter?"

"Because I would think you knew me well enough by now to know that I'm not likely to engage in any sort of intimate relationship with a woman like this Tonya" Hank retorted.

Gambit shrugged. "Far as I know you ain't seein' anyone. Lots of men have been known t' take a little walk on de wild side when they ain't got nothin' steady."

"Well I'm not 'lots of men.'" Hank pointed out.

"You can say dat again." Gambit sighed. "Mebe I should have gone looking for de woman, but hell Hank, she obviously didn' want the baby. And I really didn' know what else to do."

Hank nodded. "I think I understand what happened. This woman found herself giving birth to an unusual infant. Obviously she's seen pictures of myself in the newspaper or perhaps on the television and figured if she could find a way to give me the infant, no one would question it. However, a simple blood test will easily prove the child is not mine."

"So what are you going to do?" Bobby asked.

Hank shrugged. "Well, right now the child is safe. I don't suppose it would hurt to have her stay here a few days. I can run some tests, make sure she's healthy and see if I might be able to locate at least one of her parents."

"Tomorrow night I'll go back to where I got her an' see if I can't find Tonya," Remy offered. "But I'm tellin' you Hank, even if I do find her, I doubt she'll remember who de baby's father is, unless he was as unusual as you."

"True enough," Hank admitted.

A week passed, and although Dr. McCoy was able to prove the child was not his by blood, he was not able to find out who the child did belong to. The small sampling of blood he took from the child showed a variety of interesting characteristics, many of which were similar to his own, but enough differences to take him out of the paternety picture. He fed the data on her into Cerebro, having the computer try to match her scan to any mutant known to its data base, but it came up blank.

Not to mention there is also the possibility that neither of her parents are mutants, Hank thought. In which case the chances of finding either of them could get much more remote.

To give him credit, Remy went out almost every night that week, returning to the same place he had met Tonya and roamed the streets, trying to find her. He met several interesting characters who knew her vaguely, but told him she moved away from the neighborhood. "An' we all know people like Tonya ain't likely t' leave a change of address card wit' de post office." Gambit sighed.

"True enough," Hank agreed. They were sitting in the kitchen. It was rather late at night, Remy had just returned from his nightly searches to find the child's mother and Hank was curious to see how it had gone. "It's probably pointless to keep searching for her."

"Probably," Gambit agreed.

The unspoken question hung in the air. What do we do with her now? It was a question Hank had been running over in his mind constantly since she first arrived. So many questions, he thought. Even if we were able to find this Tonya, she never said she was the child's mother. And, if she is, it's obvious she doesn't want her. So what next? Call child welfare?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of crying, shortly followed by Storm coming into the room holding the child. "Forgive me, but as I was passing your room I heard her."

"I understand," Hank assured Storm, reaching for the baby. The moment the child was passed to Hank, she quieted down, her loud cries turning into softer sobs. "Shh, it's okay, I'm here," he murmured.

Remy looked up at Storm, quirking one brow. Storm, however wasn't looking at him, she watched Hank with the girl. "She is a very special child."

Hank nodded, running a finger along the inside of her diaper. "That she is. She's not wet though, and she can't be hungry..."

"I think she is lonely," Storm finished for him.

"She miss her Daddy," Remy added, with a grin.

Hank looked up. "Remy, she's not my daughter."

"Yeah?" Remy tipped his head to one side, studying Hank and the child carefully. "Looks like someone forgot t'tell her that."

"And what is that suppose to mean?"

Gambit shrugged. "Last I knew babies don' care 'bout biology or family trees. Babies want to be held, changed and loved. Dat is what dey look for in a parent, care an' love. Since she came here, we all 'ave lent a hand, but you the one who's taken care of her. You de one she quiets down for, You de one she smiles most for. You de one who's dealt with most of her diapers, You-"

"I see your point," Hank interrupted. "But you're not suggesting I keep this child are you?" He looked from Remy to Storm.

"Why not?" Remy shrugged. "Jean-Luc, he find me, he kept me. He's de' only family I ever known. Mebe I'm not his by blood, but that don' mean he isn't my father."

Hank looked over at Storm, expecting her to be the voice of sanity and come up with a dozen reasons why he could not even consider adopting the child. Instead she nodded. "Gambit is right. Since the child arrived here, you have been the primary care giver, you have acted as her father."

"But Ororo," he began, trying to think up reasons of his own. His words stopped abruptly as he felt a tiny hand close around his finger. He looked down at the child, who was looking up at him intently. You have a rough life ahead of you little one, he thought. I had an advantage over you, I wasn't born blue and furry, I did this to myself as an adult. Even if you had a mother and father who love you, as I did, it still won't be easy. I can't offer you much, but I can offer you one thing; A chance to feel less alone. You'll never feel you're the only one like you.

He looked from Storm to Gambit. "You're right," he admitted softly.

Storm smiled. "Does this mean she shall be staying?"

Hank nodded. "Providing Charles and everyone else has no objections, she stays. And if Charles does have any objections, we'll probably both leave." He sighed, not sure if he liked this option.

"I do not think Charles will." Storm smiled gently. "And if he does, you have a lot of support here. In the short time the child has been here, we have all grown very fond of her."

"There is something very special about her, isn't there?" Hank asked, looking down at the child again. She grinned and tried to stuff his finger into her mouth. He pulled it away from her mouth, but let her keep her hold on it.

"If you gonna keep the little one, don' you think you should name her?" Remy questioned. "I mean, we can' keep callin' her Girl, or little one."

"Good point," Hank agreed. He shifted the child so his hands were around her waist and held her up. She looked at him, cooing happily, enjoying her new view of the kitchen. "What should I call you little one? Any suggestions?"

Gambit chuckled. "Petite Bete."

Ororo suppressed a smile, but the look Hank shot Remy could be described as annoyed. "Small Beast indeed. She needs a name, not a neurosis." He studied the child further. Her grin broadened and her cooing turned into laughter. She knew she was the topic of conversation among these adults and she liked it. "Mm... something special," Beast mused. "Something that fits you..." He ran over names in his mind. "Juliette? Amanda?"

"If it were up to me," Storm murmured, "I would name her, Sikudhani."

"See what?" Gambit asked.

Storm chuckled. "See-koo-THAN-nee," she repeated slowly. "It means a surprise, or unusual. Long ago I knew a little girl with that name. She was a delightful child, always smiling, so eager to see the world. It is a good name and I think it suits this one," She reached over and placed her hand on the child's head, gently stroking the fine blue hair.

Beast tried out the name, "Sikudhani, Sikudhani McCoy." He looked over at Storm. "I like it." He looked back at the child, raising her higher. "What do you think?"

She responded by giggling madly, her arms and legs splaying out to her sides as if trying to fly. "I believe I can translate that to mean she likes it," Hank said.

"Yeah? Wait till she 'ave to spell it," Gambit offered. "But, I t'ink you're right Storm. It does fit her."

"Now, let's see what Charles is going to say about our new permanent guest." Hank sighed.

"You want to what?" Charles asked, his face was almost expressionless, but his eyes flickering slightly.

It was the next morning and Hank stood in Charles' study. He held Sikudhani against his hip, her little legs around one thigh, her hands trying to circle his waist. "I think you heard me," Hank said calmly. "Since we cannot find either of the child's parents, I am going to keep her."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Charles asked, also trying to sound calm.

"I'm very sure," Hank said. He might have been plagued with doubts the night before, but he wasn't going to express them now. Besides, in his mind, the advantages of raising this little girl far outweighed the disadvantages, for both of them. "Sikudhani needs a home."

"Siku-?" Charles began, then stopped. He's already named her, he thought. And I have a feeling I might as well be banging my head against a brick wall than try to discuss this with him, but I have to try. "Henry, have you given this careful thought?"

"I certainly have," Hank assured him. "I am fully aware that this will not be easy. Raising a child is never easy, but I cannot help but feel that this is right. That somehow, Sikudhani was brought to me because it was meant to be."

"I might point out that while it's never easy for a single parent to raise a child, there are other considerations in your case to look at," Charles pointed out. "You are an X-Man. You put your life on the line on a regular basis, is it fair to the child?"

"I thought about that," Hank countered. "And I admit now that I'm a father, I will think twice before exposing myself to totally unnecessary danger. However, I've often thought my skills as the team doctor and scientist far outweigh my physical prowess to the team. There are many times when I feel I won't be needed to 'save the world' on the front lines. Life is often a risk Charles. People die every day without even being so-called Super Heros."

Just as I feared, this is turning into a debate, Charles thought, his elbow on the desk, leaning his head against his fingers. "I'm not sure the mansion is the proper place to raise a child."

"There have been children here before," Hank pointed out.

Sikudhani squirmed uncomfortably. Hank automatically shifted her, so she was resting against his chest, his arm under her butt to support her. She peered over his shoulder looking at the door, her sapphire eyes gleaming with interest. Her ears were quite keen and she could hear noises outside that door. Interesting noises, like the murmur of voices, the scraping of feet.

"Children yes, infants no." Charles shot back.

"She won't be an infant forever," Hank reminded him. "And what about Scott and Jean? They're married now. It is not at all uncommon for married people to have children. Will you expect them to leave if they produce offspring?"

"Of course not," Charles said. "But that would be different-"

"Oh really?" Hank interrupted, his tone rising slightly. "Are you implying that just because I'm using a less conventional method of having a child, that she and I don't have the same rights?"

"No!" Charles answered quickly. "However, in the case of Scott and Jean, the child would have two parents. Also, certain adjustments would have to be made-"

"Those same adjustments can be made for Sikudhani and myself," Hank interrupted.

Charles nodded, giving him that point, but still not ready to abandon the discussion. "Well then, how about the fact that it's proven a child does best when raised by two parents? She's female. She'll need positive female role models in her life, she'll need a mother."

"There are a multitude of positive female role models' in this place," Hank reminded him, sailing easily over this verbal debate. "Yes, I admit nothing can quite replace a true mother, but I'm certain Sikudhani will not lack for female influence and love in her life. She has Ororo, Jean, and Betsy, not to mention a variety of other women who are frequent visitors to this place. In fact, I fear rather than too little feminine influence, she'll most likely suffer from too much."

"Besides- " He walked closer to the desk, not ready to yield the floor to Charles yet. "-If you think you can possibly talk me out of this, you're wrong. It will be rough enough for Sikudhani to grow up in this world, perhaps having a father that bears a resemblance to her will help her. And one other thing, this whole debate is pointless. I'm not asking if I may keep her, I'm merely informing you of my plans. If you do not wish for her to live here with me, then we shall both leave together."

Why am I not surprised? Charles thought. He looked up at his long time friend and former student. "All right, since you are determined to raise-" he paused, trying to remember the name Hank had bestowed upon her. "-Sikudhani, I have no objections if you stay here. However, before we make this official, I think we should have a meeting. Everyone who lives here should have the chance to-"

Before Charles could finish his sentence, Sikudhani interrupted him "Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"I think we can take this to mean my daughter has no objections," Hank said, stressing the word daughter a bit.

What had actually prompted the noises from the infant were sounds outside the door. Both men were caught up in their debate and neither of them realized someone on the other side of the study door had taken hold of the knob and turned it.

"Callin' a meetin' Charles?" Logan asked, walking into the room. Rogue, Joseph, Scott, Jean, Storm, Gambit, Warren, Betsy, Bishop, Sam and Bobby followed him, crowding the room.

Charles looked up. "Were you listening outside the door?" he asked, not looking pleased.

"That's besides the point," Logan began.

"We knew Hank was planning on talking to you this morning," Jean explained. "And we were all... concerned on how it would go."

"Let's cut to the point, " Bobby interjectected. "You want to know how all of us feel about having Sikudhani live here? Well, I don't think any of us have any objections. Hank is right, the both of them belong together."

"We're a team, Professor," Warren began.

"We're more dan a team," Gambit interrupted. "We're like a family. So, now Hank got a daughter an' we got a niece."

"An' like any family, we're willin' t'help Hank with his daughter any way we can," Rogue confirmed.

Scott looked at the professor, a faint smile playing across his lips. "I think you can skip the voting process, it's obvious it's unanimous."

Charles closed his eyes for a moment, looking pained. Everyone waited to see what he would do. When he opened his eyes, they were glittering. "I should have known," he said, the tone of his voice holding unmistakable warmth. He looked at Hank. "All right Henry, it's decided. Sikudhani stays with you, and the both of you stay here."

A cheer broke out among the X-men and they pressed closer to Hank and his new daughter to congratulate him and re-confirm the offer to help out in any way they could. Sikudhani giggled and kicked, in her most captivating way, thrilled at being the center of so much fuss. Then she suddenly stopped, her tiny face screwing up in an expression of deep concentration.

"What's wrong with her?" Bobby asked.

Suddenly, Logan's eyes widened as he sniffed the air, then made a face. "Something smells like shit in here," he said, turning away.

By the time he had finished speaking the smell had the chance to carry around to the rest of the inhabitants of the room. "Oh dear." Hank extended his arms, holding Sikudhani outward. "I fear it's time to change her diapers. Perhaps-"

"Oops,, gotta go," Logan interrupted, heading straight for the door. "Got things I gotta do."

"Let me help!" Bobby exclaimed, following the retreating X-Man.

"Don't ferget about me!" Sam chimed in. "You might need my assistance!"

"-Someone-" Hank continued.

"I jus' remember, I left de coffee pot on in the kitchen," Remy excused himself.

"Are you sure you can handle it by yourself?" Bishop asked, following Gambit.

"Um... Warren, didn't you promise to take me to breakfast?" Betsy asked hopefully.

"I certainly did!" Warren quickly agreed. "Shall we?"

Hank sighed, watching as the rest of his team mates found reasons to leave the room as quickly as possible. When it was just the original three of them, he looked at Charles. "Maybe you would be-?" he began hopefully.

Charles shook his head. "Your daughter, your problem," he stated.

Hank sighed, looking at his daughter. She looked at him with an expression of both bewilderment and discomfort. "You know, I don't doubt for a moment that most of the time, you'll be overwhelmed with love and attention," he said, walking out of the room with her. "However," he continued, heading up the stairs to his room, where the diapers were. "I do believe there are times when it's just going to be you and me."

The child kicked her legs and grinned, as if to say this sounded okay with her.

The End for Now...

THE STANDARD DISCLAIMER The X-Men are owned by Marvel comics/Marvel Entertainment group. Sikudhani McCoy, however, is my (darqstar) creation. This page is intended as a tribute to Marvel and not intended for profit in any way. Marvel Comics and/or Marvel entertainment group has nothing to do with this site and are in no way, shape, or form, responsible for any of the contents. So, if you have a problem with this site, don't go to them, come to me.