Disclaimer: I don't own then but I'd love to date some of them. Why do they have to be sooooo fictional?!

A/NI: AHHHHH! IT'S OVER!! I can't believe it, I've finished it! You do, of course, realize, that in it's entirety (including both endings), this fic is a whopping 86 pages in Times New Roman, size twelve font? I can't believe I wrote that much! Especially in only 4 months! Then again, I'm also kinda sad. Writing this was so much fun, as was reading your reviews. Thanks for everyone who came along for the ride, especially when I became all fickle and decided to do a second ending. I'll miss frantically updating this, trying to figure out what exactly to do with Kurt, Amanda, Graydon and everything else. I'll definitely miss trying to figure out What Happens Next (there were times I was as clueless as you)! So, to everyone reading this and especially those who remembered me after the ff.net Meltdown, I'll miss you, and come on back for the sequel!

A/NII: Yep. Sequel. I finally got an idea for a sequel! It'll be more like a regular fic than completely Kurnda, although it will be Kurnda because there isn't another ship I support quite so much. I just, um, have to write something else first. Don't hurt me! It's Star Wars. The latest books are awful and utterly OOC, with the exception of the two written by Greg Keyes. They killed Anakin Solo and I'm determined to bring him back! It would be like Marvel killing Kurt. I have to bring him back, if only in fanfiction. I'll probably post a few chapters of the sequel while I'm doing that, but otherwise it'll have to wait until the SW fic is done. I think I'm gonna call the sequel "Empathy", so watch for it!

A/NIII: In regards to the pointless fluff you're about to read: I just had to write this b/c it's what would happen, and it's complete fluff. Just a warning!

Dedication: To everyone who ever reviewed, you helped so much, and there definitely wouldn't be a sequel without you! Especially to Silverangel, Nightshade Darkholme, Internutter, Neva and Darkfire, for either joining me in my Kurnda obsession or being a nearly-divine inspiration. You're muses, all of you!

An ending is really a beginning in disguise

-Susan Fletcher, Shadow Spinner

Epilogue

Kurt made it to Amanda's door without incident, although he wished in vain that he could teleport. It made this business of sneaking around easier.

It was currently ten o'clock in the morning and Kurt, who'd been up for two hours, was on his third attempt to sneak in and watch over Amanda until she woke up. He'd woken up that morning entirely himself and almost entirely recovered, although the lingering effects of a mild concussion were still prevented him from teleporting. The instant he finished eating, which completed his feeling of being back to normal, he realized with a pang of guilt that he, who was supposed to be the hero, had been taken care of by his poor girlfriend. He desperately wanted a chance to make up for it, but -

A gloved hand grabbed the back of his T-shirt and dragged him away from the door. "Aw, Rogue!" he protested. This was the third time this had happened.

She ignored him. "Cyke! Come get him and this time, watch him yourself if you don't want him waking Amanda up!"

"I wasn't going to wake her up!" he protested even as Scott dragged him down the hallway. "And if I'm not allowed in there, why's Rogue going in?!"

"Rogue?" Scott questioned just as she slipped into Amanda's room.

*

"Mornin', straight-gene," Rogue greeted Amanda as she woke up.

Without Rogue's sentence it would have taken Amanda six seconds of sheer panic before she realized that no, she wasn't still with the Friends of Humanity and that she was at the Institute. Blinking to clear the sleep out of her eyes, Amanda smiled , if a trifle weakly, at the other girl. "Morning, Rogue. What time is it?"

"About ten o'clock."

"What the -" Amanda sat up in bed. "Wasn't Cassie-?"

Rogue grinned. "Your cousin's been here an hour, but decided not to wake yah up. C'mon, yah can't go home in that," she gestured to the wrinkled, dirty mess of an outfit that Amanda had been wearing for two days straight and had slept in twice. "Ah think you'll fit in some of mah stuff." Rogue peered both ways down the hallway, looking for Kurt or any of the others. "Coast is clear. Room's two doors down that way on the left."

"Rogue? Where would I find a bathroom?"

"One door down," she answered. "Ah'm gonna go root through mah closet. And yah can borrow mah brush, it's the one with the red bristles."

"Thanks."

Rogue turned to her closet, a peculiar look on her face. She had a half-formed idea of what she wanted to do, but she wasn't sure she could manage it. Not with her wardrobe. Uh - Jean? she inquired, aiming her thought at the telepath.

*Wha - um, what Rogue?*

Ah have an idea, but I'm not sure mah wardrobe is gonna work.

*WHAT?!*

Rogue rolled her eyes, and proceeded to tell Jean what she'd thought. Well, think about it. Ah know Amanda had hysterics yesterday before she went to sleep, and personally, Ah know Ah couldn't hold up under all the strain put on her that she's gone through with a smile. So she's feeling awful but doesn't want to burden us with it. Add that to the fact that she hasn't even changed clothes in two days and is in on a third and we have a combination for a very unhappy person.

*Uh-huh,* Jean agreed, waiting for the other shoe.

So I just want to clean her up. Shower, clothes, hair - something to get her to feel better. But Ah don't think mah dark-and-depressing clothes are going to perk anyone up anytime soon.

Down in the rec room, Jean put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Kitty shot her a strange look. *Well, she won't fit into anything of mine, that's for sure! Hm. I'm going to see if I can use your eyes; look back at your closet.* Jean surveyed the clothes. *Anything else? Dig, woman!*

"Jean, like, what's so funny?" Kitty finally had to ask.

With an effort, Jean split her concentration. "Rogue's trying to get Amanda to perk up and is lending her some clothes, but we can't find anything in her closet that would inspire that attitude!"

Kitty grinned. "Can I help? This is so totally within my area of expertise!"

Jean extended the link to Kitty, and the three of them hunted through Rogue's closet trying to find anything that would suit Amanda. They had just made their decision when Amanda shocked Rogue out of the link.

"What's this?" Amanda asked. "It looks like Ms. Munroe had a temper tantrum in here."

"Here," Rogue unceremoniously dumped the clothing into Amanda's arms. "Back into the bathroom, then back in here. You have permission of the Professor - and Cassie - to take a shower."

As Amanda did a 180 and went back outside. Rogue felt Jean re-connect her to a telepathic web that now held Jean, Kitty, Rogue, Amara and Jubilee. In short, every female in the mansion with the exception of Amanda and Ororo. Jean? Can she take a shower, or will Cassie be late to class?

*Cassie doesn't have a class till two this afternoon, and right now she and Beast are so involved in whatever science thing they're discussing that I think they'd behead us if we asked!* They then proceeded to telepathically argue about what to do with Amanda's long hair.

Again, they agreed on something almost the instant Amanda walked back into Rogue's room twenty minutes later. "Sit on the bed," Rogue instructed. "Ah'm getting mah brush."

"What?" Amanda inquired, but as Rogue had left the room, she shrugged and did as told. "What are you doing?"

Rogue stood behind Amanda and brushed the part out of her hair. "French braiding your hair," she replied, as if this were an everyday occurrence. The braid still reached Amanda's waist when Rogue was through. "Man, girl, you've got a lot of hair!"

Amanda grinned. "Thanks, Rogue. God, I feel so much better than I did when I woke up!"

"Well, she had some help," came a voice from the doorway. The other girls were standing there, grinning.

"Yeah. Mostly like, going through Rogue's closet," Kitty commented.

The human was left mostly speechless. "But - why?" she finally asked. "I mean, I don't know any of you!"

"Well, as I had thrashed into me last night, we'd have done this even if one of us hated you," Jean explained as they trooped in. "Because Kurt's so afraid of people that he doesn't have many friends outside of us. You make him truly happy when few things do."

Amanda blushed.

Jubilee spoke up. "That is, of course, ignoring the fact that you probably just saved our lives by going through that instead of leaving us in the dark. Not hating us when you had the chance."

"And as X-Men we'd like to think," Amara leaned her head on her hands. "that we can take care of our own."

*

Amanda was only just finishing breakfast when Kurt stalked in.

"I can't believe they still won't let me see - Amanda!" he cried, and pounced on her. She let out a surprised screech when they fell off the chair, but Kurt twisted around so she landed on top of him. He then kissed her soundly on the lips.

She was laughing when they broke off, feeling his tail curl around her waist. "Miss me?" she asked, brown eyes sparkling.

"You have no idea!" he cried. "Were you finished eating?"

Amanda laughed again. "I am now!"

"What, do I ruin your appetite?" he teased, bumping her forehead with his.

"No, but now I'll get blue fur in my food," she teased right back. Sighing, she laid her head on his chest and sighed. "Did yesterday really happen?"

"It was two days ago, liebling. We spent yesterday mostly unconscious."

Amanda fell silent. After a moment, she shook her head. "Remind me to thank your housemates."

"Huh?" Kurt questioned.

She explained. "I felt awful this morning. Terrified that the rescue had only been a dream, then just exhausted because exactly what happened is beginning to hit me. But the girls got together to - to give me a brighter outlook, I guess. Rogue even lent me some clothes."

Kurt took one look at the flared white jeans, plain long-sleeved white shirt and white vest and shook his head. "Those cannot possibly belong to Rogue. They're - white."

"Sometimes," she informed him, pushing herself into a sitting position. "People can surprise you."

"Sometimes?" Kurt repeated, sitting up as well and bringing them eye to eye. "I'm almost used to surprises by now, from you at least."

"Oh?" she inquired, a gleam in her dark brown eyes. "Does this mean I have to think of new ways to entertain you?"

"No," he assured her, cupping her cheek in his hand and kissing her. "Just be yourself."

Amanda smiled and kissed him back. "I think I can manage that."