The X-Project

Haller comes across Laurie in the sunroom. They talk about her father



Laurie turned off the ipod, letting her head drop back as she looked up at the roof of the sunroom, dappled sunlight drifting gently down between the various plants that graced its glassed walls. She was still contemplating what to do about the letter from her father.

"I was going to say something snappy, but all that comes up is 'penny for your thoughts', which . . . isn't. I'll just go with hi."

Jim stood in the doorway of the sunroom, his sketchbook under one arm. The tall man gave her a lopsided smile. "Hey. How're you doing?"

"Better now," Laurie replied honestly, gesturing to the seat she was sitting on, it was long enough for several people. "I don't know if my thoughts are really worth a penny though. Possibly some impossible to pronounce foreign currency made out of bamboo leaves but not a penny."

"Then at least they'll make interesting conversation pieces." Jim walked into the room and settled himself in the chair, his sketchbook resting on his knees. "How's your mom doing?"

"Doing much better now that she knows this is the last cycle of radiotherapy. I think it was as much the hopelessness of it all as the disease making her sick," Laurie said, looking at the sketchbook curiously but not wanting to pry. "Dad came through for us there, eventually."

"That's good. That's really good." The telepath traced the spine of his sketchbook with one hand as he studied her face, the movement aimless. "And how're you doing with that? Him, I mean. I know he wasn't exactly . . . close." He knew a little more than that, from Jean and the professor, but nothing broke stride with a student more than advertising the fact you'd been discreetly investigating their family situation.

"What do you draw?" Laurie asked suddenly, avoiding the question for the moment.

Jim raised an eyebrow. "You can see if you want," he said, extending the sketchbook. "This one's just stuff from around the grounds, mostly."

Laurie took the book carefully and held it gently on her lap, slowly moving through the pages. Pictures of hands, some of Lorna and another woman with dark hair who must be Betsy. Professor Xavier, and some drawings of the mansion. She reached the scenes of New York and paused, her hand sketching over the image with the barest of touches. "Zach, my Dad, he's staying in New York. He said he wants to see me, to get to know me. I don't know what to do."

Jim held his mechanical pencil between his long fingers, settling back in the chair. "Well, that's easy enough. Let's start with the basics. Do you want to see him?"

Her father had been right about one thing, the curiosity, the desire to know more about the man who was half of her biological makeup was strong.

"I'd like to," Laurie said finally, slowly turning the page to see another picture.

"So why shouldn't you?"

"Because..."

Because it would hurt her mother, and she'd said she hated him, and...and, because she was afraid of wanting something that wasn't real. Laurie sighed and closed the book, fingers tracing the edges as she offered it back to Haller.

Jim was silent for a moment, then reached out to take the pad.

"You inherited a lot of baggage," he said slowly, returning the book to his knees. "I don't know your dad, or what went on with him and your mom, so maybe it's warranted. It's not a comfortable thing. But you also have to think about what you want. And what you might regret." Jim gave her another one of his half-smiles. "Unfortunately, I can't give you a right answer. There's only the right-for-you answer."

"I want to give him a chance," Laurie admitted, hands folding in her lap for want of anything better to do with them. "Maybe see if he can be a good Dad."

Jim's lips raised in a smile. "Well, that could be good. If he said he wanted to see you, maybe he does, too."

"Yeah, I hope so," Laurie replied, giving Haller a proper look now that she'd made her decision. "You have been eating, right?"

The telepath laughed. "Don't worry, Lorna's still around often enough to make sure there's no wasting." Scooping the sketchbook from his knees, Jim unfolded and stood up. "I'm on my way to the lake. Draw some ducks or something. You going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Laurie replied with a smile. "Yeah, I think I will be."