Pack Loyalties
By Creed Cascade and Echo's Revenge

Living with two smaller and just as stubborn versions of Wolverine was proving to be very tiring, but always interesting. They seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble. Only last week they had decided it was a good idea to moon Jean. Now, Scott could just tell by the look on Gambit face that the boys had done something else. Hank was still a babysitter, but the boys had adopted Remy as a pseudo older brother for some reason.

Scott felt he sometimes had three kids to take care of instead of just two.

"They did what?" Cyclops sighed.

"Dey overflowed da toilets on da second floor," Gambit confessed.

"Do I want to know how?" Cyclops asked. "Or how you were involved?"

"Moi?" Gambit gasped to profess his innocence. "Why would ya think Remy was involved? It really was cute… they was fascinated with da swirling water and kept throwing things down until it clogged. Still don’t know how they got da shower curtain down da can."

"Come on," Cyclops said getting up. "You're going to help clean this up." He was hoping they could get it cleaned up before anyone noticed. Xavier of all people seemed to enjoy giving him a hard time about the kids' antics. Xavier had said something to the effect that they were not nearly as bad as Cyclops had been when he'd first come to the mansion. "They are still up there right?"

"Ol’ Hank got ‘em by the scruff of their necks and he’s tryin’ to be a bad ass, but ya know how he is with those kids," Remy laughed. "They called him a mean ol’ Big Blue Bear with those mini Wolverine scowls…"

Cyclops laughed picturing that but had pushed the smile off his face when he got to the bathroom. As soon as he walked in the boys stopped wiggling in Hank's grasp. "Boys, you were supposed to be playing with Hank and Remy, not flooding the bathroom." It was hard to be harsh with them, but they were starting to get out of hand sometimes.

"They said they were going to the bathroom and the next thing I knew, water was flooding under the door," Hank tried to explain. His blue fur was soaking from his knees down and, while no one would dare tell him that he smelled like a wet dog.

"We're sorry, Beta," Zeta said. "We didn't mean to make a mess."

"Are you mad at us?" Epsilon added.

"No, I’m not mad at you," Cyclops said. "But you’ll have to help me clean this mess up while Bear dries off."

"Okay," both boys said squirming out of Hanks' hands to drop to the floor. They seldom misbehaved around Cyclops and never around Wolverine, but if neither of them was around it seemed to be a continual game of pushing their limits.

Scott grabbed some towels and started to mop up the water. "Can you tell me exactly what was going through your heads?"

"We wanted to see how strong the toilet was," Zeta said. "Gumbo told Epsilon not to fall in and we wondered if we could get sucked away."

"Fall in?" Cyclops repeated in disbelief and turned back on Gambit. "What exactly did you tell them?"

Epsilon tugged on Remy’s sleeve. "Tell Beta about the alligators, Gumbo…"

"Remy don't think Cyclops want ta hear 'bout dat now," Gambit said clearing his throat and backing toward the door. "Remy was just tellin' some stories." His retreat was stopped when he backed into Wolverine who had just come up looking for his boys.

"What kinda stories were you tellin’ my boys, Cajun?" Wolverine said, his arms crossed over his chest.

Cyclops shook his head no when Epsilon looked ready to speak up. He wanted to hear Gambit try to explain this without any help.

"Ya want da truth?" Remy said. He knew lying to Wolverine was a very stupid idea. "Remy just wanted ta see them smile."

Wolverine looked around the waterlogged bathroom and at Zeta and Epsilon who looked worried they were in trouble again. "Follow me boys," he said making it clear he was including Cyclops. "Remy here is gonna clean up the mess his stories caused."

"Wolverine, you’re still gonna let Remy play with da kids, eh?" Remy asked quickly.

"Yeah, maybe we'll just have to ask Hank to baby-sit you at the same time. Don't want you getting my boys in trouble. Some people in this house don't need anything else to complain about." Wolverine said.

"I won’t let it happen again," Gambit said desperately. He’d found a connection with these kids that he hadn’t found with anyone in a long time.

"We like playing with Gumbo," Zeta said. "He's not all grown up like you and Beta. We'll be really good with him."

"Hey now, Remy’s a grown up," Remy protested.

Both twins just laughed and pulled Cyclops over to Wolverine. "Can we have supper now, Alpha? We know Beta forgot to eat again and he's hungry."

At Wolverine’s low growl, Scott tried to protest, "Hey I had to go over strategic plans for our next mission and designs for a possible expansion to the Danger Room…"

"Cyke, you know the boys or I will bring you food when you're busy," Wolverine said as they walked toward the kitchen. "I don't want you skipping meals just cuz you're working in your office."

"I’m getting fat," Cyclops complained. Since the boys had shown up he’d been eating more than he regularly ate since they were ravenous bottomless pits.

"You're not fat," Epsilon said as both boys poked him. "You're just getting bigger from all that training we do, and Alpha likes that you can..."

Zeta put his hand over Epsilon's mouth. "Xavier told us not to talk about that stuff until we're older," he hissed reminding his twin of their last session with Xavier concerning proper conduct in the human world and anything else they were confused about.

The twin’s language skills had improved almost immediately after being around people, but their social skills were also slowly getting better. Xavier was helping them create shields and control their psychic abilities while Scott and Wolverine trained them psychically.

"Sides maybe I like a lil’ meat on my men…" Wolverine snorted, patting Cyclops ass fondly.

Cyclops just growled back. He'd been doing a lot more of that lately. The first time he'd growled in the middle of a meeting there had been a few bitten off chuckles.

"Can we go to bed right after we eat?" Epsilon asked. When Beta started to growl too he always wanted to play with Alpha.

"Volunteering to go to bed early?" Cyclops smiled as he pulled out roast beef from the fridge. The boys were still eating more meat than anything else and it had to be rare, but at least it was cooked. "Now I’ll give you some nice rare roast beef, but you have to promise to eat all the vegetables I give you, just like Alpha will too, right Alpha?"

"Right," Wolverine growled. "It's a good thing the boys decided they want to go to bed early today."

Cyclops plopped a plate in front of Wolverine and smiled at his lover. "Eat your carrots, Alpha."

It was entirely to easy to get Wolverine worked up sometimes, Cyclops thought, and after that crack about his weight he deserved it. Plus, sometimes it was fun to have him a little more aggressive. He grinned as the boys exchanged looks. They knew what was going on and, even if Wolverine didn't realize it, he knew the boys had offered to go to bed early for just this reason.

Even if they started in their own bed, Wolverine and Cyclops would always wake up with the boys in their bed. Xavier assured them when they were ready for more space, they would let them know. Considering their rough past, Scott was willing to put up with a lack of pillows and small feet in his back for their comfort.

The boys worked their way through two bowls of ice cream while Cyclops and Wolverine cleaned up the kitchen area. "Only thing they like better then meat," Wolverine said nudging Scott to look at the boys eating single-mindedly.

"We really shouldn’t be giving them too much sugar," Scott said softly. He smiled at the image they made with pink strawberry ice cream moustaches.

"They don't eat junk food like the other kids here. One bowl of ice cream a night won't hurt them," Wolverine said. "Boys, wipe your mouths and bring the bowls over here," he said turning around to the table.

"They eat so much now," Scott sighed as he took their bowls and rinsed them out. "Just image how much they’re going to eat when they’re teenagers. Sometimes I wish your remembered what you were like when you were a kid."

"They'll be fine, Cyke. You worry too much sometimes," Wolverine said as he dried the bowls and put them away with Epsilon trying to climb up his back. He looked back over and Zeta was already piggyback on Cyclops looking smugly at Epsilon. He groaned, knowing from the expression on Cyclops' face that they were going to race back to their rooms again. Ever since the time Hank had given them piggyback rides they were always angling for races.

The "race" ended in a tie with the boys bouncing on their own beds. Their room was now filled with toys and they were starting to have the life of children, instead of the trained killers they had designed to be. Scott still insisted that they weren’t allowed to watch television because he didn’t want them exposed to more violence, but the boys were enthralled with music. They’d only go to sleep with a CD on now and their favourite music was an eclectic mix.

"Brush your teeth and go to sleep, boys," Wolverine said while Cyclops turned their CD player on. "Beta and I are playing tonight so stay in your room until we're done." He and Scott had both been uncomfortable, Scott more then him, about not locking the door between the bedrooms, but the one time they'd tried that had resulted in a slashed open door.

Scott still had never thought he could this open with children, but Xavier had counselled him that every parenting situation was unique. The twins hadn’t been raised with the normal social mores as other children, so it was better to be truthful with them than to lie.

As soon as they were in their own room Scott tackled Wolverine onto the bed. "It's about time. You've been growling at me for the last two hours," Scott said pulling Logan's t-shirt up. "Was beginning to wonder if we'd make it back to the room."

"Goin’ all feral on me, Cyke?" Wolverine laughed, letting the smaller man have his way. "Thought that was my job."

"Beta's expected to challenge the Alpha sometimes isn't he?" Cyclops asked grinning as he got the shirt off. "Plus, I think it's time I staked my claim a little more visibly." He licked along Wolverine's jaw line before picking a spot on his neck to mark. He'd been sporting hickies almost non-stop since they'd gotten back and he didn't mind in the least, but he wanted a mark on Wolverine he could look at the next day.. Also, it didn't hurt that he knew doing this was going get him fucked into the mattress in short order.

Logan’s growl started low and became louder. "Challenging me, are ya? Sometimes ya make this too easy, boy."

Cyclops started rubbing their erections together and running his hands over Wolverine's chest. He was almost done and if he didn't get a chance to finish this before Logan took over he was going to be pissed off.

"Na huh," Wolverine growled and flipped Cyclops over on his back. "Can’t have ya cumming now, can I?"

"Nobody's cumming if you don't let me finish," Cyclops growled grabbing Logan's head and going back to what he had been doing.

Wolverine trapped Cyclops hands over his head. "Gonna make you wait for it, Beta."

Cyclops slowly counted backwards from ten while trying to decide if it was worth wasting the fact that the boys were in the other room just to make point.

"Stop thinkin’ so hard," Wolverine scolded. He was already unbuttoning his lover’s pants. "My way lets ya cum twice when I’m in you."

Cyclops didn't bother answering. His moan as Wolverine's hand slid over his erection was answer enough. He kinda hoped Wolverine had noticed he was actually pissed off about not getting to finish marking him though.

Cyclops closed his eyes in frustration and was shocked when he felt cool metal slip over his neck and Wolverine started to nuzzle the chain. It took him a minute to realize what it was, but when he felt the cold rectangles that could only be Logan's dog tags on his chest the annoyance faded. He tried to wiggle out of his pants while getting his hands more actively involved with the proceedings.

"Don't really like these pants, Logan" he ground out when the wiggling didn't seem to work. He hoped it was enough to let Logan know how much the dog tags meant to him.

"Never liked these pants either," Wolverine agreed with a grin and proceeded to rip them up the seam with a single claw.

Cyclops was reaching out blindly with one hand searching for the lube he'd left on the nightstand. As Wolverine's hand retraced the path the claw had taken, pulling off his pants, his hand sent the lamp crashing to the floor. He could barely see in the near total darkness, but he had the lube. As long as the boys didn't come rushing in at the sound of the of the breaking lamp they would be fine.

Wolverine quickly removed his own pants and had Scott stretched as quickly as he could without hurting his lover. Then he had Scott’s legs over his shoulders and was pushing in quickly deep into him.

Cyclops shut his eyes and just let himself feel. There wasn't enough light to see by anyway. He could feel the chain and tags sliding back and making just the slightest sound with each thrust. He knew he wasn't going to last long and started pushing back harder to meet each thrust to make sure Logan was as close as he was.

Logan drilled into Scott hard, his breathing coming in heavy pants as he groaned loudly. He reached out and started to caress Scott’s cock, but was determined he wouldn’t cum with his lover. The wonderful thing about having survived torture was his ability to control his body and he wouldn’t cum until Scott was on his second time. Plus, while he held off he didn't have to worry about his claws.

Scott turned his head into a pillow to muffle his yell as he came. He hadn't even stopped shaking from his first orgasm when Logan's now slow, but deep strokes had his erection coming back.

Wolverine leaned over and whispered harshly into Cyclops ear. "Gonna fuck ya until you cum again… slow and deep… don’t care how long it takes…"

It took another ten minutes before Cyclops felt himself tensing up again. It was exhausting when Logan did this but so good. He knew he'd been moaning and cursing for the last few minutes and if there had been a light on he'd see Logan's satisfied smirk. He loved being able to drive Scott crazy like this.

"So nice when I got ya hissin’ and spitting under me," Wolverine grunted again as he continued his slow torment. "I know you’re close again. Gonna beg me nice for it?"

"Please," was about all Scott could get out by this point so he just repeated over and over. He knew Logan wouldn't touch him when he was about to cum too so he was going to have to speed up.

Logan was able to read Scott’s body to tell when he was past the point of speech. His lover’s body was singing and Logan had very little doubt he could fuck him into unconsciousness.

"Please," he mouthed, no sound coming out. His hand moved toward his own cock without him realized he'd moved it until Logan caught it and moved it back.

"Gotta cum on my cock," Wolverine grunted and started to target Scott’s prostate with every thrust.

It only took a few thrusts a quicker and harder then the pace Wolverine had set before and Cyclops started howling as he came. Wolverine followed his lover and it nearly hurt when he finally allowed himself to cum.

It took a good five minutes for Cyclops to be able to focus again. Logan had already cleaned them up, probably with the shredded pants, and was sprawled half on top of him. Scott smiled when he realized Logan had laid back down just perfectly. He ran his fingers though Logan's hair as he finished the hickey he'd started what seemed like hours ago. "Mine," he whispered when he was satisfied with his work.

Wolverine started to play with the chain around Cyclops’s neck. "I’d be up for somthin’ more permanent."

"Whatever you want," Scott said instantly.

"Not exactly sure what thought yet," Wolverine said. "Better get dressed, the boys we’ll be sneaking in soon enough."

Cyclops took the pair of sweats Logan had pulled out of the drawer and slipped them on. They both made sure there were clean sweats in the drawer they could reach without getting out of bed. "You can come in boys," Cyclops said just a little louder then normal, knowing they'd hear him. "Don't wanna wake up when they come in," he said to Wolverine more quietly. "And this way I can stake my claim in the middle of the nest."

"It’s not my fault that we sprawl," Wolverine laughed, even as he sprawled out on the bed. "Thought it was cute when ya woke up with Zeta nearly laying on top of you."

"Not like the first night when I think they wanted to push me out of bed," Cyclops chuckled..

Just then Zeta and Epsilon came into the room carrying the blankets and pillows from their bedroom. "We didn’t wanna push you outta bed," Epsilon said as he tossed his large feather pillow complete with a Superman pillowcase on the bed.

"I know," Cyclops said. "I just gotta learn to fight for covers in my sleep." He growled at the boys and got giggles in response. They never took his growls seriously, but it was a good way to get them laughing.

Epsilon held up a Superman blanket for Scott. "You can have this one…" Zeta elbowed his brother and gave him the look that they had learned usually meant they were talking mentally. "Oh… you should have one that smells like Alpha so you can sleep better."

<><><><><><>

Cyclops was tempted to burn a hole in the back of his office and escape when Jean came storming in the next day. "What is it?" he asked. He'd finally learned that trying to be nice was a wasted effort with her now and just wanted to get whatever this was over fast.

"Do you know a what those little animals did now?" Jean shouted.

"Don't call my boys animals, Jean. Can you just tell me what you think they did so I can take care of it if needed?" he asked. She was really mad and it wasn't going to take long for the twins to show up and hover outside the door. He'd noticed the madder she was the faster they showed up, but they guarded him from the other side of the door now instead of barging in.

"They destroyed the kitchen!" Jean yelled. "There’s food everywhere… on the floor… the ceiling… hell, they even broke my favourite dishes!"

"Boys," he called out. "Come in here." He had heard them deny Jean's accusation from outside the door. He really just wanted to find out about the broken dishes then he'd take them to clean the kitchen up if needed to.

The twins came into the rooms each bearing a plate. On each plate was something that might have been a mangled sandwich or a reject from a blender. "We made you lunch, Beta," Zeta said. He had flour and what might have been ketchup or jam on his face, making Scott wonder exactly was on the plate.

Scott looked over at the clock. "I missed lunch again didn't I? We can all go clean up after I eat," he knew he was going to eat at least some of it no matter how it tasted. "Next time you can come get me and I'll help make lunch, okay?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise," Epsilon said.

"Thanks," Cyclops said loosing his grin when Jean cleared her throat noisily. "How about Alpha and I teach you how to make some meals tonight? And what happened to the dishes?"

"They got slippery with the peanut butter," Zeta said very seriously. "Just slipped outta our hands. They were pretty and we thought you’d like them."

"See, it was just an accident, Jean. Wolverine and I will help them clean it up after I eat and I'll replace the broken dishes," Scott said motioning the boys over to the desk.

"We put in a whole lot of stuff," Zeta said setting his plate down and the mass on it wiggled. "We know how you don’t like just meat."

"You can't keep covering for them, Scott," Jean hissed from the side of the room. "One of these times they're gonna go too far."

Epsilon held up the plate to Jean. "Beta said we had to be nice to you. Do you want some? Are you so grumpy cause you’re hungry?"

Cyclops wanted to laugh at the look on her face as she fled the meal the boys had made, but he didn't want to hurt their feelings. He made sure his water bottle was full and dug in. It wasn't quite as bad as he thought it would be and managed to eat a decent portion with both boys watching every bite. "Thank you," he said ruffling their hair. "I'll try to remember to eat lunch from now on."

Zeta leaned in and whispered, "We know you’re the beta and supposed to do stuff like taking care of food… but Alpha says you’re special, so we wanted to help you."

"Yeah, well Alpha better remember that," Scott said. "Now let's go clean up the kitchen... you didn't have any help making this did you?"

"Nope, we did it all by ourselves," Epsilon beamed at Cyclops. "And we didn’t play with knives like you said…"

"We used our claws!" Zeta finished for his brother.

When they got to the kitchen Scott saw it wasn't nearly as bad as Jean had made it out to be. It was a mess, but not anything that couldn't be cleaned up easily. He got some rags out and set out cleaning alongside the boys.

"Beta? We saw some other kids today," Epsilon said. They had been kept away from the other children in the lower tunnels of the mansion for the safety of everyone.

"Maybe it's time you met some of the kids here, if you want to?" Cyclops said. He and Wolverine had talked about it and decided they'd introduce them to some of the older kids when they were ready. They still weren't quite sure how they were going to respond to the feelings and thoughts they'd pick up from younger kids.

"We want to play with some girls," the boys said in unison. They hadn't been around women for a majority of their lives and females still fascinated at them. They hadn’t ever been around a girl their own age.

"I'll talk to Alpha tonight. Maybe tomorrow you can meet some of the older kids that are training to be XMen," Cyclops said.

"We can train with them!" Zeta said, peeling dried jam off the fridge.

"Eventually yes, maybe not at first," Cyclops was trying to clean the blender but it looked like they had gotten stuff inside the casing. He decided to just clean off the outside and replace the entire thing as soon as he could.

"Why not?" Zeta challenged. "We’re strong."

"I know you are, I train with you two remember. Don't worry, when the time is right you'll be able to train with all off us. Hurry up so you two can take a shower and clean up. We're going to bar-b-que again tonight and if you two go out there with food all over you like that you'll be covered with bugs," Cyclops said as he finished wiping down his part of the kitchen.

The boys exchanged looks of excitement. "Ribs!"

Cyclops just grinned as he herded them up toward their rooms. He knew if he mentioned the bar-b-que they'd forget to complain about having to take a shower in the middle of the day.

"Alpha’s gonna cook right?" Zeta said after their shower. The boys were starting to pick up on the well-known fact that Scott Summers was a very bad cook.

Both boys kept a straight face while they watched Wolverine sneak up behind Cyclops. "I do get to cook right, Cyke?" he whispered as he pulled Cyclops back against him.

"Are you saying I can’t cook?" Cyclops said with a slight hitch in his voice.

"Not gonna work this time, Cyke. You got me to feel bad about pointing out your lack of cooking skills last time before laughing at me. Not gonna fall for that again," Wolverine said pulling him around for a kiss.

"The boys made me lunch today," Scott said after they shared a kiss.

"Good, I told them to make sure you ate," Wolverine said. "I was expecting them to just drag you to the kitchen though."

"We can make lunch for you, too," Epsilon chirped.

Cyclops sent the boys ahead of them and explained exactly what had happened with lunch much to Wolverine's amusement. "Can't believe you actually ate whatever it was they had made," Wolverine said still chuckling. "They were just trying to make sure you ate though."

"I’ve already drank half a bottle of Maalox," Scott sighed. "I wasn’t going to break their hearts."

Wolverine was checking the meat and Cyclops was playing Frisbee with the boys when he heard Xavier in his head saying there was an emergency and to send the boys to him while he and Cyclops suited up. He was promised a full briefing in the jet before Xavier abruptly got out of his head.

This would be the first time they had gone out together since they’d come home with the boys. "Cyke, duty calls!"

"Both of us?" Cyclops asked looking over at the boys while all four of them headed to the mansion at a run, leaving everything behind.

"Charlie said it was bad," Wolverine nodded. "I don’t like it, but he said he’d take care of the boys."

Cyclops knew the boys would be fine with Xavier. He'd watched them once before and the boys had been on their best behaviour. "Go right up to Xavier's office," Cyclops said as they stopped in front of the elevator to the lower levels. He and Wolverine gave them both a quick hug and pushed them in the direction of Xavier's office.

"Where are you going?" Zeta demanded. He could sense their nervousness, but couldn’t read any facts because Xavier hadn’t told them the exact details yet.

"I don't know yet, but we have to go now," Cyclops said cutting Wolverine's answer off. "We'll be back as soon as we can," he said almost pushing Wolverine onto the elevator.

"Alpha? Beta? Take us with you!" The boys cried out.

Cyclops was torn. He didn't want the boys to feel like they were deserting them. It brought back too many painful memories of his own. "Do you want to stay here, Logan? I have to go with the team, but I can tell Xavier that you're not coming."

"Boys, you know Alpha and Beta are soldiers. Our job is to go out where we’re told and your job is to stay here. I have to watch Beta’s back, ya understand that?"

"It's alright," Zeta said pulling on Epsilon. "We know you aren't leaving us and we'll be good while you're gone."

"Listen to Professor Xavier," Wolverine reminded them. He started towards the elevator and then turned around. "And remember I… love ya, okay?"

"God, Logan, I don't know if I can do this," Cyclops said trying to focus on slipping into the role of team leader after the doors closed. "Kids shouldn't have their parents just take off like this. Trust me I know."

"I don’t trust anyone else to watch over ya," Wolverine said. "They understand."

<><><><><><>

Jean walked back to the front of the jet not knowing what to say. Scott was stable, just unconscious from the blow to the head earlier in the fight. The whole damn thing had been a trap and Sabertooth and his goons had been waiting for them. As far as she knew there was not even an explosive or some new mutant on the loose.

Scott had been knocked out almost instantly. She was sure it was on purpose from the way Sabertooth had started taunting Wolverine about it. She'd followed him as he chased Sabertooth through the alleys, but when he'd been jumped by a dozen men with tasers she hadn't been able to hold them all off. She'd barely made it away herself after seeing Wolverine go down. After the way she'd been treating him lately though she wasn't sure if she wouldn't have been safer captured then here when Scott woke up. She was sure he was going to blame her and she couldn't really fault him.

The intercom chirped and Jean flicked it on. "Base to Blackbird, this is Xavier. What happened up there? The boys are going insane."

"Scott's unconscious. And... and Wolverine was captured. Gambit is pretty beat up too, but nothing serious. We should be back in less then ten minutes. Can you start hunting for any trace of where they may have taken Wolverine?" Jean said.

"I can’t leave the children alone right now," Xavier replied. "Hank had to restrain them."

"Restrain them?" Cyclops snapped from the back of the plane. He'd woken up just in time to hear that. "Why are they being restrained and why are we heading back to the mansion already?"

"They were doing themselves harm," Xavier explained.

Suddenly Cyclops realized who was missing. "Where's Logan?" he demanded wincing as he sat up. "Get the boys near an intercom where I can talk to them as soon as Jean tells me what's going on, Xavier."

"We had to get out there. They were going to take down the Blackbird and then we all would have been trapped," Jean said.

"And you decided to just leave Logan there?" his bit off the rest of what he wanted to say to Jean when he heard the boys over the radio. "Boys, you need to calm down. I'll be back in a few minutes," he said. "Will you be good so Hank can take you down to meet the jet when it comes in?"

The answer he heard was heart wrenching. The boys were screaming and crying for their Alpha.

"If you can get them to the hanger," Scott said slumping into a chair. "If not I'll be up to your office as soon as we get back."

"Beta!" He heard one of the boys crying out now. As the jet was getting closer to the mansion, the boys were able to sense Scott more. They had been vulnerable and scared when they couldn’t feel either Scott or Wolverine’s presence after they left for the mission, but then Wolverine’s anguish had come through. They had started to panic and go into fits.

"I'll be there in a minute," Scott said seeing the familiar scenery out the windows. "Just follow Hank downstairs okay?" He leaned up to turn off the outgoing transmissions from the jet. "Jean, get Remy ready to move. We're going to have to leave him at the mansion. Can Bobby take care of him? I want Rogue and Hank with us when we take back off and Xavier won't have time to watch Remy."

"Scott, you have to leave the rescue to us," Jean said. "Xavier told me the boys are pretty bad. They need you."

"The boys are coming with us," Scott growled. "And I'm not leaving you in charge of rescuing him."

"You can’t bring children on a mission!"

"They're coming. They can find Logan faster then Xavier can, and they'll wait in the jet when we find him. Don't push me on this, Jean. They are scared and can probably feeling everything that's happening to Logan right now. Helping get him back will calm them down," Scott said as the jet touched down.

"So what if they’re upset?" Jean snapped. "It’s better they stay upset rather than getting themselves killed."

"Get Remy off the plane. If you don't want to come on this mission stay here and send Bobby back," Cyclops said not even looking back at her as he stood waiting for the door to open.

Cyclops was almost barrelled over when his feet hit the ground by both Zeta and Epsilon as they threw himself at him. "Beta!" they both sobbed.

"Shh, it's alright boys. I'm here and you're going to help me get Alpha back," Cyclops said sitting down and pulling both of them into his lap. "You can help me find him right?" Cyclops asked ignoring the rest of his team for a minute as he tried to get them focused on the rescue and not their worry.

"Alpha’s in pain," Zeta said, clinging to Scott. They’d be able to sense more when they got closer to him.

"We're going after him as soon as Remy gets settled in the medical ward," Cyclops was rocking slightly while he talked to them. "Then you're going to help Storm get us to Alpha and we are going to go rescue him while you stay on the jet with her, okay?"

"Alpha’s gonna okay, right?" Epsilon asked. His eyes were tearful and imploring Cyclops for reassurance.

"Yeah, he will," Cyclops said praying he was right. "You know how tough he is, and he knows we're going to come get him. Lets go sit up next to Storm se we can take off as soon as everyone's on board." The boys were still tense with worry but now that they were doing something to help they'd calmed down some like he knew they would.

"He’s asking for you," Zeta whispered in the silence.

"Shit, last he saw I was unconscious. Can you boys talk to him like you talk to each other?" he and Logan had talked about it before but Logan hadn't wanted to push the idea. He wasn't too hot on the idea of having two other people in his head like that.

The boys closed their eyes and seemed to be concentrating. "No…" Zeta said. "He can hear us… we can hear him, but he can’t talk back to us. The Doctors made us a little different than him."

"Let him know I'm okay, and we're coming for him. See if he can tell you anything about where he is now and who else is there," Cyclops said.

"He’s in a lab…" Epsilon said. "With something big and hairy."

"Is there anyone else in there?" he asked as Jean and Rogue got on and Storm started prepping the jet to launch again.

"Someone with a bucket on their head," Zeta answered, trying to describe Wolverine’s vision of Magneto.

"Okay boys, I need you focus on Alpha and tell Storm which way to go," Cyclops said once they were airborne. "And tell her when we get close or need to change directions."

The twins guided Storm using skills they had learned during their training at the compound. They were still upset, but showed an eerie familiarity of combat scenarios for a child.

Once they pointed out an old warehouse as the target Storm set the jet down out of sight a short distance away. Scott hugged both boys and kissed then on the top of their heads. "I'm going to go get Alpha. You two stay on the jet and help Storm," he toughened his voice." Don't leave the jet no matter what happens."

"We were trained to kill," Zeta said determined. "You said we could hunt again if you or Alpha were in danger."

"You already helped. Now you're going to do as I tell you, and, I need you here to let Storm know what's going on," Scott kept his eyes on the boys as he stood up.

"If anything bad happens, we’re gonna come after you," Epsilon said. They had every intention of monitoring their Beta’s progress in rescuing their Alpha.

Cyclops looked over the layout of the warehouse and points of approach now that they had scanned the entire building. He was glad Hank had set up the sensors to detect Adamantium at short range as that had given them a location on just where Wolverine was. "Let Alpha know we're coming. ETA five minutes," he said to the boys as he led the X-Men out.

There was always warped push and pull between the X-Men and their enemies. Sure, Magneto and Sabertooth could have killed Wolverine, but that would have brought down the full wrath of X-Men. Instead they were content to torture him in retaliation for destroying their latest target.

Fortunately, they were totally focused on their torture of Wolverine because they didn't think there was anyway they could have been found so fast. In a few more hours the whole thing would have been a trap, but they still hadn't gotten to that point yet. That turned it into one of the easier assaults on one of Magneto's plans. He and Sabertooth retreated quickly when they realized they were not ready to face the X-Men and win.

Cyclops found Wolverine hanging from chains in a basement cell. Knowing that Wolverine healed quickly only made the torture he had endured last longer. The obvious burn wounds and cuts on his chest were still healing.

He held Wolverine up while he cut through the chains holding to the wall. "I got ya, Logan," he whispered staggering a little as his full weight slumped against him when the chains were cut. "The boys are waiting for us."

"Just need some time to heal," Wolverine grunted as they moved down the hallway quickly. "I’ll be fine."

Cyclops nodded but didn't answer. He was using hand signals to coordinate the retreat of the rest of the X-Men just in case there were any traps set for them. He just had to get jet then he could relax and convince himself that Logan was safe.

The entire time they were making their way back to the jet, the boys were talking one way to Wolverine in his head. Because of the genetic bond he shared with the boys as clones, he could hear them through the psychic connection they shared. But Wolverine didn’t have the additional genes that had been spliced into their DNA to enable him to answer them back, just receive.

"The boys aren't happy you made them stay in the jet," Wolverine mumbled. "Not sure how you managed to get them not to leave the jet, but you did good. Took care of the boys and got here faster then I expected."

"I had to," was all Cyclops said. "You would’ve done the same thing."

The jet came into view and they could see the boys in the doorway bouncing back and forth impatiently but not stepping over the threshold. Wolverine and Cyclops both hurried up the ramp.

"Alpha! Beta!" The twins cried, running to help Cyclops settle Wolverine into the closest chair.

"Storm, get us back to the mansion please. You're in charge," Cyclops said to her. Finally done with his duties he wrapped himself around Wolverine along with the boys. "Love you," he whispered into Wolverine's neck as he held on.

"Love you, too," Wolverine whispered back. "All of ya." He was too tired and emotionally stressed to worry about being macho. Sometimes you had to tell people what you really felt.

Cyclops moved his arms so he could hug both the boys without moving his head from where he was nuzzling Wolverine's neck. "Couldn't have done it without our boys, Logan. They found you and followed orders even when they wanted to come after you."

"We know how to follow orders," Epsilon said. "We’re good soldiers."

"Proud of you boys, proud of all three of you," Wolverine mumbled. He was exhausted as his body healed itself and they all quieted down and stayed in the same position until the jet landed back at the mansion.

The boys and Cyclops wouldn’t leave Wolverine’s side the entire time, even after they reached their private quarters. They collapsed into a pile on the bed and fell asleep clinging to one another.

Cyclops woke up slowly feeling that something was different. He cracked his eyes open and realized that for once he was still wrapped in Wolverine's arms and the boys were on either side of them, sound asleep, but still facing outwards and obviously guarding them.. He closed his eyes and waited for everyone else to wake up.

The boys were almost like one person in two bodies and he wondered if they would develop their own unique personalities. Even now, they woke up together and started to grumble at the same time. They weren’t morning people either, just like Wolverine.

"Shhh," Cyclops whispered. "Let Alpha wake up on his own."

"It’s time to wake up," the closest twin to him whispered back with a large yawn and owlish eyes. He till couldn’t tell them apart unless they were dressed in different colours.

Wolverine shifted and draped himself over Cyclops. "It is time to get up," he whispered. "Maybe later we can take a nap while they're playing," he said still trying to get comfortable on top of Cyclops.

"We’re hungry," the twin on Wolverine’s side chirped.

"We'll go make breakfast and bring it back here for you," one said as they started to get out of bed.

"That way Alpha can play with Beta," the other twin agreed. "So Alpha can make Beta feel better. He was frightened without you, Alpha."

"Boys, Alpha and I can play later after we all go eat together," he glared at Wolverine hoping his point about not leaving them alone in the kitchen got across. "Then we have to meet with the rest of the XMen to go over what happened yesterday. After that's all done you two can play with Bear while we play."

"Can we visit Gumbo?" They said in unison. "He hates being in the hospital."

"We'll take him some food after we eat," Wolverine said as they all pulled on some more clothes. He was actually starving after all the energy his body had burned healing.

"He said he’d eat whatever we made him," Epsilon said happily. "Maybe we can make him what we made Beta?"

"Alpha and I will help you make something less messy," Cyclops said as they headed to the kitchen. "You two can take him breakfast and keep him company while I debrief the team."

"Can we have some cookies?" Zeta asked. Scott didn’t like them to have too much sugar, but Logan and other adults had a tendency to sneak them little treats. "Gumbo likes cookies."

<><><><><><>

Cyclops and Wolverine were grinning as they left the infirmary. The twins had made enough food for several people insisting Gumbo needed lots of food to get better. The look on his face when the twins had put both trays of food in front of him had been priceless. As they walked to the meeting, Wolverine wondered if he should point out to Cyclops just what the boys' desire to take Remy food indicated.

"They’re already come so far since we had them," Cyclops said wistfully. "I have a feeling they’re gonna grow up faster than we’re ready for. The boys are going to be handful when they start dating…"

When they got into the briefing room everyone, other then Gambit, was already there. Cyclops had contacted them all during breakfast. He went over everything that had happened the day before. When he got to the part where Wolverine had been captured he made sure not to ask more questions then normal but Jean was still squirming in her seat looking uncomfortable.

The rest of the briefing went swiftly and it was as people were leaving that Jean came up to him. "I need to talk with you, Scott."

"Okay, just let me finish this file for Xavier. It will just take a minute," Cyclops said. "You don't mind if Wolverine stays do you?"

"It’s not like the bitch has a choice," Wolverine growled, coming around the table to stand behind Cyclops.

Cyclops shook his head but didn't say anything. Those two needed to work this out for themselves and him continually calming things down between them didn't seem to be doing any good.

"I just wanted to say I’m sorry," Jean said quickly looking between her ex-lover and the man she had once lusted after. "For everything."

"You don't bother Wolverine or our boys and we're fine, Jean," Cyclops said. "But even if you are okay with this, it may be a awhile before the boys warm up to you."

"They need a woman in their life, Scott," Jean said. "That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about. I think one of the reasons they don’t behave is the lack of a strong female influence to ground them."

"Bitch," Wolverine snarled pulling one hand possessively on Cyclops' shoulder. "I dunno what game your trying to play but you can get the fuck away from all three of my boys."

"What I’m saying is they need a stable, normal family life," Jean said, crossing over her arms over her chest. "Do you really plan on taking them with you when you take off on your next adventure? You need to think about these things. They need a mother."

"You should have stopped with the apology," Cyclops said. "The twins are not your responsibility."

"What, are you going to be their mother?" Jean scoffed.

"Get out before you make it impossible for us to work together," Cyclops said leaning back against Wolverine. "You need to get over whatever your problem is, Jean, because nothing is going to change."

"Things have already changed so much." Jean turned and left the room without further comment.

Cyclops and slumped forward his head in his hands. "I need to find a mission to send her on, Logan. A really long mission that will keep her away from us."

"She pretty much came out and proposed you set up with her and my boys," he groused. "Like they need some woman tellin’ them what to do when they have you."

"I don't think that's what she was getting, Logan. I think that was more like her proposing all three of us together," Cyclops sighed. "I'm pretty sure she was attracted to you before she and I broke up. That's one of the reasons she's so mad about us."

"A threesome?" Wolverine sputtered. "That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind."

"Better not start thinking about it either," Cyclops growled.

Logan leaned down and whispered in Scott’s ear. "One perfect Beta is enough for me."

END.