xp_logs | Kurt and Madelyn, Tuesday morning

Still reeling from Moira's news, Kurt goes in search of some friendly advice, and gets it.

After the excitement of Seattle - and all of that the bad kind - it was almost a relief to come back to the mansion and lose herself in the mundanities of mansion life. Or at least until the next disaster happened.. Madelyn was just finishing off filling in some charts before ending her shift for the day when a familiar voice was heard around the door.

"Madelyn? Are you here?"

"In my office, Kurt." She looked up and smiled as he came in. "Hey, you."

"Good morning." He smiled a little in return.

"So, what brings you down to the Domain of the Red-Headed Wenches?" she asked, joking a little. "It's been a while since I've seen you down here."

"Do you have the time to walk with me a little, before your next shift?" Kurt asked, almost tentative.

Madelyn gave him a curious look, but nodded."Sure, hon. I think I'm due for a bit of downtime." She hesitated, and then asked, gently: "Is something wrong?"

He swallowed. "...You could say so, yes. A recent discovery..."

This seemed serious. He'd gotten so quiet, since the incident with Amanda, and they'd been so busy she hadn't had a chance to catch up. "C'mon outside and tell me about it," she said, taking his arm and pulling him along slightly. She kept up a steady chatter about anything but the school or the team or his personal stuff, until they were outside. Selecting a bench, she sat, waiting until he had sat down beside her before turning to him again. "Tell me?"

There was a long pause, because how do you say a thing like that? Then, slowly, "...I know who my birth mother is."

"And somehow I doubt this is going to be a Rockefeller special," Madelyn muttered to herself. Just once, once, she wished things would be what they seemed. Normal. "Who?"

He winced at that, a little, but there was no more putting it off. "...Mystique."

Now it was Madelyn's turn to wince. "Oh, hon, no..." She reached over and took his hand in both of hers, all the while mentally kicking herself. She'd seen the files, the pictures and in hindsight the resemblance
was unmistakeable. "What... what are you going to do?"

He shrugged slightly. "Visit my mother. Margali, I mean, not... She may have more answers."

"If anyone would, it'd be her..." Madelyn searched for something to say, not really sure what. 'So, your
parent's a bad guy,' was probably a bit flippant, even with the number of people in the school in that situation. "I'm sorry that it turned out like this... I mean, I know you wondered, but finding out who she
is..." She squeezed his hand wordlessly. "When do you think you'll go? And for how long?"

He squeezed her hand back, grateful for the contact - and the continued acceptance. "As soon as I can.
For... a week, perhaps two. Perhaps a little longer."

"I'll miss you, but take as long as you need, hon," she told him. Then after a long pause, she suggested: "Maybe you should talk to Wanda about this? When you get back? If someone would understand what you're going through, it would be her, and I think it would help." More than she could, really. More and more lately Madelyn felt completely out of her depth, choosing to isolate herself in the medlab where she
knew what was going on than deal with people. Even Hank.

Kurt nodded. "I think... yes. I know I should. I will. And I will be back."

"That I didn't doubt," she told him with a brief smile. She sat quietly, holding his hand, enjoying the chill wind on her face - she'd been inside so much lately her head felt stuffy - before saying, slowly and thoughtfully: "Kurt... you know no-one will blame you for who your mother is, what she's done, don't you? You never even knew her, so you can't be held responsible for what crimes she's committed."

"I know that... her choices are her own", he said slowly. "And not mine. But I know that there are those in the mansion who have suffered at her hands..." And I look like her.

"Then they'll deal. The same as they've had to deal with Wanda, with Remy, with Tommy, even. Xavier's is the last place that should judge someone by their DNA, not their deeds, and you've never been anything more than a kind and caring man." Madelyn's tone was almost fierce. "The school's your home, now, Kurt. Don't let Mystique make you feel it's not."

He turned to smile at her, slightly. "If I ever feel so, it will not be because of her, I am almost certain. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied, heartened by the smile, however short-lived. "So, you go home to Margali, ask her what she knows... what then? Please don't tell me you'll confront Mystique about this - we've already had to patch up enough people after incidents with the Brotherhood this year."

He stiffened at the thought of going near Mystique, then consciously relaxed. "No, I... do not think I will be doing that. I would rather not speak with her again."

Madelyn relaxed herself, although in real relief at the thought that she wouldn't have to see Kurt mangled the same way Remy had been. Then something registered. "Again? You've spoken to her before?"

"Once. More than two years ago, now, before I ever came to the mansion but after I met Jean and Ororo. During the incident with Stryker."

"Oh." Madelyn hadn't come to the mansion until a few months after Jean's 'death'. "How did she... what did you think of her?"

"I... she confused me. I asked her why she and Magneto did what they do, and she said... she had what sounded like a good reason."

"They usually do. That's what makes them so dangerous."

Kurt nodded. "I do not know if I would have gone with them, had they asked. But they did not."

"The ends doesn't justify the means, Kurt, and you know that. Whatever their reasons, their methods are wrong." Amanda's name went unspoken. "You wouldn't have been one of them, and I think they both knew it."

"She must have known", Kurt said quietly. "My skin, my eyes... but she said nothing."

There wasn't a lot to be said to that, and Madelyn squeezed his hand wordlessly. "Perhaps Margali has answers?" she suggested at last.

Kurt nodded, resigned. "I hope so. I will go to see her as soon as may be."