Lee had barely been home from the hospital for 24 hours, and yet she had already had a visit, a check-up, with DocProf. Part of her was very glad for this attention, glad that the doctors, both DocProf and those at the hospital, were serious with making sure that everything was alright with the baby.

But that was the part of Lee’s mind that was always worrying about her powers. The part of her mind that, even six months in like this, was still slightly terrified and panicked at the mere thought that she was pregnant.

The other part of her mind was so sick of doctors, sick of the hovering of the last few days, of their refusal to let her really even move, that at that moment, Lee didn’t think she ever wanted to see another doctor again.

But finally, Lee was home again, back in the apartment, and for the moment, she was revelling in not having anyone hovering over her. Not even Tarin, since he had run out to get something for dinner.

That revelling didn’t last long, though. She had been annoyed by being hovered over, but much more than that, Lee had been frustrated with having to continue sitting mostly still the last few days even though she now had the energy that she could move.

Pushing herself up off the couch, a much more difficult task now than she remembered it being, and a little frustrated with how wobbly her legs still felt despite her energy, Lee walked over to the phone by the wall, picking it up. And then just stood there for a few minutes.

She had thought about this off and on while she had been stuck in the hospital, but hadn’t had the chance to act on that thought while there. Finally, Lee just shook her head at herself and reached out her hand, dialling the number.

Three rings. Then a fourth. Finally, as the phone was ringing for the fifth time, the other end was picked up, and Lee heard her sister’s voice.

“Hi Rach, it’s Lee,” She said, but before she was able to say anything else, she was interrupted by her sister’s excited, eager voice.

“Oh my god, Em! Sorry, Lee. Are you alright? Where are you? What happened?”

“Woah, calm down Rach,” Lee cut in, hoping her sister would hear her and not just continue. “Of course I’m alright, I’m at home.”

”Thank goodness! We’ve been so worried about you. What the hell happened? Where were you?”

“What do you mean ‘we’?” Lee asked, frowning into the phone. This wasn’t why she had called Rachael, Lee hadn’t even known that her sister would have been worried about anything. But apparently she did know, had been worried. “What did Tarin tell you?” That had to be how she had known, how she had found out, after all. Maybe Lee should have talked to Tarin about this idea before actually picking up the phone...

”Only that you were missing. He didn’t know anything else.”

Lee nodded into the phone even though her sister couldn’t see it. This was going to take a lot more explaining than she had thought that it would. So Lee carried the cordless phone with her, making her way back over to the couch, as she explained, in vague terms, what had happened to her over the last few months.

”Oh my god, I can’t believe it!” The voice Lee heard on the other side of the phone was incredulous, shocked.

“I’m alright, Rach, really I am,” Lee told her sister calmly, much more calmly than the woman on the other end of the phone was speaking. “But that isn’t what I was calling you about in the first place,” Lee went on to admit, leaning back into the couch as far as she could. “There’s something else I should tell you, and especially with all this, I’m not sure I’m up to talking to mum and dad, so was hoping you could pass it along for me.”

”There’s more? How could there be more after all of that?”

Lee couldn’t help but smile slightly into the phone as her hand came to rest on her stomach lightly, distended as it was and covered by a pair of Tarin’s sweat pants and one of his t-shirts since her own clothes didn’t exactly fit her any more. “There can always be more,” Lee murmured, the smile sliding off her face momentarily. And it was true, there were times when, despite everything that had happened to her, to Tarin, to both of them, things just seemed to continue getting worse.

“This time, at least, it’s something good,” Lee continued as the smile reappeared. But she paused her for a moment as she tried to figure out the exact words she was going to use, and even in the silence, Lee could hear her sister’s impatience. “Rach, you’re going to be an aunt.”

The line was silent. So silent, Lee started to wonder if her sister was still on the other end.

Then, Lee finally heard a squeal coming from the other end of the phone, and Lee knew that Rachael had heard exactly what she had said. “What?” Followed by a pause. “It is Tarin’s, right? Sorry, it’s just that after everything...never mind. Oh. My. God. You’re pregnant?!?”

The conversation continued mostly like that for the next couple minutes, and Lee couldn’t help but smile into the phone by the end. But soon enough, probably much too soon for Rachael’s liking, Lee was saying goodbye claiming that Tarin was home and she needed to go eat. As she walked across the still silent apartment after hanging up the phone, Lee couldn’t help but think that it was true, she did need to eat. And Tarin, she was sure, would be home any moment with their dinner. She just wanted to be able to sit down and eat as soon as he came home.

Hanging up with her sister that early clearly had had nothing to do with the fact that she had known about the kidnapping. Nor the fact that Rachael had brought that into the pregnancy announcement.

They really needed to go shopping, Lee decided, standing in the kitchen and staring at the coffee maker. With a pot full of coffee. Which, unthinking, she had set up the night before. Which now, she realized, she shouldn’t be drinking. They really needed some decaf in the house. Or something else that was uncaffeinated that would be able to drink.

Hopefully Tarin would think to grab her a decaf coffee on his way home with breakfast. Which was something else they were going to have to shop for, breakfast stuff, so one or both of them would not have to leave the apartment every single morning. After the months of separation, Lee didn’t want to be away from her husband any more than she absolutely needed to be.

Lee was almost back to the couch, to immerse herself in morning cartoons while she waited for Tarin and breakfast, when she heard a knock on the door. Frowning in confusion, she walked over to the door, simply standing there to make sure she was still siphoning for a moment before she actually opened it. Not that she was really all that worried about Anton getting in there, or even knowing where to find her; there were still cops posted downstairs as far as she knew, just in case, and the doorman had the sketch and had been instructed by the police what to do if the man ever showed up.

Still, it was good to know that she still had access to her powers before removing the last obstacle between herself and whoever was on the other side. It never even really occurred to Lee to use the peephole.

Once the door was open, Lee simply stood there in shock. It didn’t matter what was going on, she had never expected to find those two people on the other side of her door.

Lee still hadn’t reacted when her sister stepped in through the doorway and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. ”I’m so glad you’re alright! I was so worried about you!”

Alright, Lee thought as she slowly wrapped her arms around her sister’s body returning the hug, maybe she had sort of expected to see the younger woman show up at some point, especially after what had happened. They did actually have a decent relationship now, after the months she had spent living with Rachael in Toronto, after all.

But her mother? That was something Lee was still having trouble wrapping her head around as she looked over Rachael’s shoulder, watched as her mother stood there just on the other side of the door. With tears in her eyes. She hadn’t gotten along with the woman since she was 15, and yet here she was, crying at her door.

The moment that Rachael had pulled back from the hug, Lee’s mother stepped forward, and this shocked Lee even more than simply their arrival had. Her mother, who had pulled her out of school at 15 because of her powers, so that no one would find out that she was a mutant, who had all but refused to even be in the same room as her, had just shown up out of the blue and was now hugging her.

Lee’s mother seemed to notice this, and stepped back out of the hug much sooner than Rachael had. “What are you doing here?” Lee finally asked after another couple of moments simply standing there and staring.

”Tarin made me stay in Toronto when you were missing,” Rachael said. “Did you honestly think I was just going to stay there now that you’re back? And oh my god, Em, when you said you were pregnant, I didn’t think you were this pregnant!”

Lee’s mother and sister had been in the apartment for a few minutes already, and Tarin hadn’t made it back yet. Rachael was still gushing over how far along in the pregnancy she was, and her mother was, strangely enough, her mother was fussing over her trying to make sure that she was doing alright.

”I know you’re pregnant and all, but I never expected to see you wearing sweats in the middle of the morning like this,” Rachael said as she wandered around the living room looking at this picture and that knickknack laying around.

“Well, I could still fit into pretty much all of my clothing before, and I haven’t exactly had a chance to go shopping yet,” Lee replied, turning to look at her sister.

”I could always see if you have anything I can alter for you,” Rachael offered. “At least that way, you’d have something of your own you can wear until you manage to go shopping. If you don’t mind, that is.”

Lee only thought about it for a moment. Sweats were great for movie nights and all, but not so great in her mind for daily wear. She knew that she would love to be able to get into clothing that was more her after all this time. “Sure, go ahead, Rach. You can check out my closet, just make sure you check with me before you start actually cutting or sewing anything.” As she spoke, Lee pointed toward the bedroom, where her clothing was.

With a smile, Rachael headed off to search, which left Lee alone in the apartment with her mother. Apparently she hadn’t thought that out very well, had she?

Very slowly, Lee turned to see her mother simply standing off by herself on one side of the room, looking at her. ”You should sit down,” her mother said, her voice gentle.

Lee took a deep breath, this was the same fight she had had with the doctors, and to a slightly lesser degree, with Tarin. “What do you think I’ve been doing for the last three months?” Lee asked, though her tone wasn’t nearly as harsh as it had gotten with the doctors before she had left the hospital. “I’ve got more than enough energy now; resting doesn’t help me with that. And how else am I supposed to strengthen my muscles again if I’m always sitting?”

Before Lee or her mother could say anything else, a voice came out of the bedroom. ”Oh. My. God. I am in love with your closet!” Taking a step, Lee could see her sister’s head poking out of the bedroom. “How the hell can you guys afford somewhere like this in New York of all places?

“No, you can tell me later!”

Apparently, the draw of the large walk-in closet was too much, because without waiting for any sort of answer, Rachael disappeared back into the bedroom.

”That is a very good question,” Lee heard, this time coming from behind her, and she turned to see her mother now standing much closer to the couch than she had been. “How about we sit and talk? If the closet is as big as it sounds, Rachael will be happy to be in there for hours.”[/color]

Lee thought back to the sight of her sister’s closet when she had been in Toronto, which hadn’t actually been large enough to hold all her clothing, and she wasn’t surprised by the idea that her sister could spend hours in there. So Lee gave in, and sat down on the couch, only to have her mother sit beside her. “So, how can that little shop of Tarin’s be doing well enough for you to afford an apartment like this? We never really had a chance to really talk last time.”

Lee simply sat there in silence for a few moments, considering what her mother had said. It hadn’t been said in a harsh way, Lee realized, nor in any sort of a condescending tone. She was merely curious as far as Lee could tell. Very strange coming from her mother, at least with their history.

“I’ve actually started doing some consulting work,” Lee said. It sounded like her mother actually cared, so Lee figured she should be at least be partially honest about it. “For a medical research company. Those kinds of things pay rather well. And before you ask, no, I don’t have any medical training. But they do a lot of research in terms of mutants and powers and such, and need input from mutants for some of it.”

Yeah, very vague, but Lee knew she couldn’t really go into much more detail than that. Even if she was able to, Lee knew that her mother wouldn’t understand what she was doing with Slate and the Kabal.

”But, I thought you didn’t like doctors...Surely you can’t need the money that badly...”

As she heard her mother’s words, a slight glare came into Lee’s eyes. “I’m a consultant, not a guinea pig,” Lee replied. Then Lee pushed herself up off the couch. “I should call Tarin, see what’s taking him so long,” she said as she made her way to the phone. “Maybe I’ll catch him in time to grab food and coffee for you two as well.”