It had been a week of good food and good company before they got back to Earth, so the entire group was looking and feeling much better when they returned than when they left. They were in high spirits, joking around and laughing once they reached Earth, but before they dropped off the Young Avengers, Logan and Scott made a point to pull Tommy in to have a little talk.

"You do good work, kid," Logan said as they made to get a cup of coffee.

Tommy looked surprised at the compliment but then shrugged and grinned, stretching out his arms as he hobbled forward on the crutch he was still using. "Yeah, I'm pretty great," he agreed.

"You should know that compliments don't come easy from him," Scott said with a crooked smile. "But, if you ever re-think joining up somewhere, we'd be happy to have you."

Tommy looked between the two of them in mild disbelief. "You're kidding, right? You've seen me blow stuff up, right?"

"And you've seen Logan try to kill everyone in sight, right? It's almost a requirement to need a little polish," Scott said. "One wrong move with my quartz, and I can take out a building as quickly as you can."

Tommy grinned at that. "We're gonna have to find a ghost town and test that theory."

"I can think of a few," Scott replied, his smile widening.

"And we'll continue to encourage you to destroy things — when they need it," Logan added.

Tommy looked at both of them for a moment, all but bouncing in place as he thought it over. "I eat a lot," he warned.

"I know," Scott said. "I've been reliably informed - but we feed everyone well. It's a school full of teenagers for Christsake. We do massive quantities of food."

Tommy nodded. "And if I don't want to go on a mission?"

"As long as the world isn't ending — you don't have to. And in some cases, if it is — you don't have to," Logan agreed. "No contracts. We just want you to keep trying to get better."

Tommy looked them both over again and then broke into a wide grin. "Okay. Sure. Why not? Sounds like it could be fun."

"Great, come by the place when you're ready," Scott said. "Storm or Bobby will set you up with a room, show you anything you might have missed."

Tommy beamed at them both and then indicated the little crutch. "Give me a bit to stop being a hopalong — but I heal fast."

"Like I said, whenever you're ready," Scott reiterated. "The offer is open."

It was practically a given at that point that when they dropped Scott back off at home, Annie would insist that they come in. This was made even clearer when they got back to Alaska and Scott called home to let her know that he was back — and she made a point to tell him that everyone had to come. No arguments were allowed.

"Your girl's a little bossy, Summers," Logan teased.

"She's just used to dealing with children," Scott countered with a smirk. "So she knows how to deal with you."

"She's had a lot of practice with you; guess it's time to move up a bit. Argument wise."

Scott chuckled and shook his head. "Don't argue with Annie. Even if you win, you lose," he told him frankly.

"Sounds like she's got you trained up already," Logan said with a smirk. "Good for her."

Scott just shook his head at Logan and led the way down the picturesque streets to the little home, where it looked like they already had company, if the number of cars in the driveway was anything to go by.

Logan and Kurt both slowed a bit, simply because neither of them liked to be pulled into a party full of strangers with no warning — and the cops were already there, judging by the State Patrol car in the driveway. "What's the deal, Summers?" Logan asked with a frown.

Scott just shrugged lightly. "Annie's sisters must be visiting again," he explained.

"You mean you got more than one of 'em in there?" Logan asked with a disbelieving look.

"Well, yeah." Scott turned to Logan with a little shrug. "Her family is close-knit. They visit as often as they can, actually. This," he said, gesturing toward the cars, "is a pretty regular occurrence." He paused, looked Kurt and Logan over, and then smirked. "Don't worry — the police car belongs to Anton. Those two little girls you met are his," he tried to explain.

The two of them took a moment to just think it over before they nodded and followed again, though they still looked wary.

Before they even got to the doorway, the front door burst open as both of Annie's nieces came running out, pulling behind them a little boy that none of the X-Men had met yet who looked incredibly shy about coming to meet the group.

"See? See?" Leslie Ann said as she pointed excitedly at Kurt. "See? I told you. I told you we know Nightcrawler!"

Mary Beth had run right to Scott to be picked up so she could see everything as well and was delightedly giggling as Leslie Ann tried to pull the little boy over to come meet Kurt. The dark-haired little boy very shyly opened and closed one hand Kurt's way with a quietly whispered, "hi."

Kurt smiled back kindly, careful not to show too many teeth and frighten the boy as he crouched down to greet him. "Guten Abend, young man," Kurt said delightedly before he extended his hand to shake it if the boy was up to it. "I'm very happy to meet you."

The little boy looked completely starry-eyed as he stared at Kurt and very carefully, and quickly, seized Kurt's hand in both of his to shake it once before he darted behind Leslie Ann, grinning the entire time.

"He's my favorite X-Man too," Kate told him with a grin.

"Well, I like Iceman," Leslie Ann said matter-of-factly.

"We'll be sure to send him next time we need Scott's help," Logan promised.

"Leslie Ann, you let these poor people come inside before they all freeze to death," called out a voice from the doorway as Annie's sister came looking for her girls. She shook her head and looked apologetically at the X-Men. "They just don't listen sometimes," she said with a teasing smile. "Come on in. We're still making s'mores by the fireplace if you want somethin' sweet."

"We wouldn't want to impose on your family gathering," Kurt said quickly. "We're just bringing Scott back."

"Oh, honey, you're going to have to learn. In this family, we don't turn away friends to the cold without a little something to warm their stomachs first," she laughed. "Besides, it's high time we met Scott's family. Lord knows he's been swamped with little Annie's."

Leslie Ann seized Logan's hand. "Make a s'more with me!" she instructed him.

"That's ... really more something I think Kate is good at," Logan said with a little smirk.

"It's true. I make the best s'mores ever," Kate said, nodding seriously, and Leslie Ann took that as an invitation to grab hold of Kate and drag her inside too, as the very quiet little boy just sort of hung back, within sight of Kurt but still too shy to approach again.

As soon as the X-Men came into the house, Annie met them inside and very graciously tried to introduce them to everyone so they didn't feel left out. The girls belonged to her oldest sister, Rachel Wright — whose husband, Anton, was the one with the police car parked outside. Anton was a few inches taller than Scott and much wider — a big, African-American officer with a smooth Southern voice and a smile like the rest of the family. And the shy little boy, Annie explained, was her other sister's. Little Aman was staying with Annie's parents while her sister, Teresa, and her husband, Craig Sanders, were down in Honduras to finalize another adoption - they had adopted Aman from Ethiopia a few years earlier.

As for her parents, Evelyn and Douglas Hale, it was clear they were absolutely wrapped around little Aman's finger when he came running over to hide in his grandfather's lap and whisper instructions to tell Kurt that he was very, very excited to meet him and that he thought his ears were really cool before he blurted out, "If I wish really hard, could I grow a tail too?"

As Kurt delightedly answered all of Aman's questions — through his grandparents half the time — Annie made a point to come over and give Logan a mug of hot coffee. "I'm glad you're back safely," she said with a genuine smile. "Scott said you were in trouble."

"I'm sure he did," Logan replied, glancing Scott's way. "Though I really just needed a ride more than anything. Hitching wasn't an option."

"To be gone two weeks just for a ride?" Annie's eyes sparkled as she smiled at him. "I'm sure you're leaving out all the best details."

"Probably," Logan admitted. "But it might be better to hear it from Scott's viewpoint. I'm not a very good storyteller."

"I've heard." She smiled wider at him and just laid a hand on his arm for a moment. "It's good to have you back. The whole lot of us were prayin' you'd be alright — and Scott too."

"Scott did great," Logan told her with a little smirk. "He usually does."

She laughed and nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter. "He's good at this job. I think ... if you asked, he'd join up again in a second," she said carefully.

"To be honest, I don't think he wants to uproot you," Logan told her.

She leaned forward and, in a conspiratory whisper, said, "Honey, I've been stuck in this weather that's not fit for beans since I first started teaching. I love those kids, but this is no place for human beings."

"It's a little nicer weather wise on this side of the mountains," he teased. "But Scotty knows the door's always open if he wants to come back."

She grinned wider. "Don't be surprised if I make him move down there, then. It's not Tennessee, but it'll do for starters. Headed the right direction, anyway."

"Plenty of room," he said. "I'm sure he's told you all about it."

"I'd love to see it sometime," she admitted. "He talks about it like..." She leaned back a little further and just shook her head. "Like I talk about Memphis."

"It was home for him for most of his life," Logan said with a nod. "I'm sure if you just say the word, you'll find yourself there a whole lot faster than you think."

"Maybe after school's out," Annie agreed. "I'd hate to leave those kids in the middle of the year."

"Yeah, don't do that," Logan chuckled.

"I would love to come and visit and see how your school is run," Annie said thoughtfully. "I've always wondered what kinds of courses you would offer besides the basics — reading, writing, arithmetic."

Logan just shrugged but kept his poker face. "Oh, you know. Useful stuff. Targeted for the kids in the school."

Annie looked thoughtful for a moment before their conversation was interrupted by Kate, who had Leslie Ann on her hip and was grinning ear to ear as Leslie Ann insisted that Aunt Annie had to have a Hawkeye S'more.

"Kate here teaches archery," Logan said with a smirk. "I'm sure she can fill you in a little better than I can."

"I did notice the quiver and bow when you came last time," Annie said with a soft smile as she took the sticky offering from Leslie Ann.

"It's the best thing in the world," Kate said with a wide grin. "Pretty sure everyone should be an archer. But I'm biased." She nodded at Leslie Ann, who giggled at some hidden joke the two had already come up with as she held out another s'more to Logan.

"Hawkeye S'more," she told Logan. "Extra chocolate."

"Thanks, lil' darlin'," Logan said with a crooked smile her way as he took the mess from her with a slightly scrunched up brow.

"You can clean up in the bathroom down the hall if you need it," Annie said with a little laugh. "I'm sure we're just going to have to throw these kids in the tub later tonight anyway, but no sense in you goin' home all sticky."

"Appreciate it," he replied before he abandoned the sticky mess and quickly slipped from the room.

It was difficult for the X-Men to leave the little family gathering as easily as they would have liked, as Annie's family just seemed delighted to have them around. Anton and Noh had fallen into deep conversation as soon as Noh had admitted to having a hard time finding ways to protect Earth - and Anton had just started trading stories with him from his time on the force. Jubilee and Kate were dubbed the sugar queens by Mary Beth and Leslie Ann and were absolutely not allowed to go anywhere without one or both of the girls following them — all while the bamfs tried to join in the fun as much as possible, complete with sugar and giggles. And after Aman had fallen asleep in his grandmother's lap, Kurt had been genuinely delighted when Douglas had mentioned, in passing, an "old war buddy" before Kurt got out of him that he'd served in Vietnam. From there, it was a matter of trading stories as Kurt tipped his head Logan's way and tried to get his friend to join in and see if their experiences overlapped at all.

Logan was easily coerced, and the two of them swapped details on where they had been, though it was clear pretty early on that — until Logan started giving details — Douglas didn't entirely believe that he'd been there. It had turned out they'd been stationed in a few of the same places - just not at the same time, and once that was established, they started tearing down the people that had run the different camps. But Kurt wasn't a bit surprised Douglas asked how far up the ranks Logan had climbed when Logan quickly answered that he wasn't a damn officer if that's what he was asking. "I didn't let them put me higher than sergeant."

"Never went higher than corporal myself. Too busy gettin' the real work done while the brass talked," Douglas said with a smirk.

"Where's your family from?" Logan asked. "Sounds like a little bit further south than Anchorage."

"Grew up in Sarah, Mississippi, myself," Douglas said with a smile. "But we come up here for Annie often enough to get used to the cold. She got her first teaching job out here, and Rachel moved up to watch out for her baby sister, and, well, you know how it is once you put down roots."

"Smart move, buncha roughnecks up here," Logan replied.

"Well, it helps that Anton's on the force," Douglas said with a little smile. "Folks 'round here know not to mess with the Hale sisters." Logan smirked at that and just nodded his head.

Douglas leaned back a bit and tipped his head at Logan before he said. "It's gettin' late. You'd best get movin' before dark hits." He reached out to shake Logan's hand. "But I appreciate you letting an old man reminisce for a bit."

"Any time," Logan replied. "Not too many talk about it from that war."

Douglas waved his hand. "There's always a war to talk about," he said.

"No kidding," Logan agreed.

"You ever get tired of the one you're in, look me up," Douglas added.

"I'll consider that, but all I've ever done is fight," Logan told him. "Gotta stick with what you're made for."

"Used to think that myself when I was closer to your age," Douglas said with a little nod. "But you get real tired of it after a while."

Kurt couldn't help but snort into his hand, and Logan just broke out into a broad grin, chuckling a bit to himself. When Douglas frowned their way, Logan just waved it off. "I appreciate the compliment, but ... I'm pretty sure I gotcha on years. You should ask Scott about it some time. He used to like some of my older war stories if how often he was sitting in during history was any indicator."

"Seems I may have to," Douglas said, shaking his head. "There's still a lot about that boy's past he doesn't say — but you don't pry into those things. It's not done."

"He's a good kid," Logan said quietly to Douglas as he leaned in a bit. "Been through the wringer a lot worse than he should have. Not too many people I trust more'n him."

Douglas laughed quietly. "That's a strong endorsement — and a good one, considering he's marrying my baby girl," he said frankly. "You keep him from dyin' before the wedding day, won't you?"

"I'll keep him from dying well after it too," Logan promised. "Might piss him off when I do — but it's for his own good. He'll figure that part out eventually."

Jubilee bounced into the middle of the two old soldiers and pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. "Hi," she said to Douglas with a broad smile before she threw her arm over Logan's shoulders. "We are going to have to get moving — or those sweet little girls are going to find new and exciting ways to somehow add MORE sugar to those s'mores." She leaned toward Douglas with her hand on one side of her mouth as she stage whispered. "I may have planted the idea of using marshmallow Peeps instead of regular marshmallows?" She cringed dramatically as she pulled her shoulders to her ears. "Oops."

"I'll - get this one outta your hair before she starts on property damage," Logan said with a smirk as he dragged Jubilee off, with her bouncing in place as she waved at her tiny admirers, blowing them kisses and promising to come back with some 'out of this world' sweets. Though Logan had to laugh at that one as the girls squealed with delight.

"And they say I'm a bad influence," Logan whispered to her.

"Don't forget, Leslie Ann," Kate was saying as they headed out the door. "The bamfs love pretzels. Remember this. Pretzels. Your little Penelope-bamf is going to need pretzels."

As they were headed out the door, one of the bamfs reappeared holding another little fuzzy blue doll. Kurt thanked him and ruffled his hair before handing it to Evelyn. "For Aman," he told her. "If he'd like it, that is. It's not fair for him to be the only one without."

Evelyn positively beamed as she took the doll and reached up to pinch Kurt's cheek. "You have just made his day," she told Kurt. "I'll make sure he's tucked in with it." With that, she also wrapped Kurt in a warm hug.

After several rounds of goodbyes that took far longer than normal because Annie's family kept insisting that they promise to come back — the group of now well-fed X-Men finally made their way back to the mansion after being gone for so long... and it didn't take long at all for the picking to start up.

"So how long are you two going to wait?" Jubilee asked Kate. "I mean. You both were exceptionally good. And I mean — like — I am the glitter queen? But I am SO not getting close to THAT glitter. You two are leaving a star trail."

Kate snorted at her and rolled her eyes. "I'm only four and a half," she said with a smug look Logan's way as he just started laughing. "I'm too young to have that glitter problem."

"Well ... four and a half mentally sure," Jubilee said. "But the rest of you? Watch out."

"Uh-huh." Kate smirked and leaned back as she tried to fend off some sticky marshmallowy bamf hugs. "See, at least I have a reason to have practiced," she said, pointing at the bamfs. "You? You are just asking for it. Or have you and Marvel Boy not figured out your birds and bees yet?" she teased.

"Young lady Bishop," Jubilee said in a snooty tone. "I have that whole issue well in hand, thank you so much for your concern. Where you are four and a half, I am WELL beyond you." She accentuated her point by sticking her tongue out and crossing her arms.

"Yes, exactly," Kate countered. "You're at least old enough not to be siblings with Scott's little nieces." She grinned wickedly. "Which makes you, my friend, the glitter queen."