Scott prowled the halls, enforcing the school night curfew and making sure everything was locked up tight. He had nothing better to do, as Jean would not be back from her conference until tomorrow afternoon. As he paused at the end of one of the dormitory halls, he noticed a faint, flickering light coming from the open doorway of one of the rooms. Someone was either playing with a flashlight or reading after hours. Either way, lights were supposed to be out. He strode down to investigate but couldn’t help a small smile when he realized whose room it was.

He paused at the doorway to knock, ever the gentleman when entering a lady's room, and was greeted by a laugh from under the tent-shaped sheet and stuffed animal configuration on the bed. He turned on the light and entered. Down came the hiding place as Megan's tousled brown hair, yellow eyes, and impish grin came out from under the covers.

"Oh, good! Someone to tell me a story!" she giggled.

"Megan," Scott warned, but he returned her excited look with a grin. "You had one already, didn't you?"

She grew serious. "No, sir. Logan isn't here and my parents didn't call."

"I'm sure they're okay," Scott said quickly, knowing Megan's mother was in remission from cancer.

Megan laughed again. "Of course!" She lowered her voice in a whisper, "They're out on a date, you know. Holding hands and everything!"

Her eyes twinkled merrily at the thought and Scott bit back a laugh. The eleven-year-old was certainly growing wise to the ways of the world, in her own innocent way.

"Lights out, now. You'll have to make do with a story tomorrow."

The loveliest pout appeared on her face and, even though she didn't say a word and was putting the flashlight and book away peacefully, Scott knew he had been defeated. Where did women learn this stuff? He sighed and approached the bed.

"Okay," he said as he perched on the edge of the pretty yellow coverlet at the end of the bed, moving a few stuffed animals to make room, "what kind of story did you have in mind?"

She eyed him. "Can you tell fairy tales?"

Scott nodded, mind racing. "Once upon a time…"

"Logan lets me help him with the words, you know."

"So I've heard. Once upon a time…"

"I wonder where he is."

"Who, Logan?" Scott thought back. "He's out with Rogue. They should be back any minute. If you want to wait for him…"

"No, sir." She shook her head and then her yellow eyes widened. "They're on a date?"

Scott nodded and began again. "Okay, once upon…"

"I wonder where they went." Megan leaned back into the pillows and looked thoughtful. "They've been dating for a while, right? Holding hands and everything. I've even seen them kiss each other."

"Right."

"I wonder when they're going to get married…"

"I wonder that, too. Did you want a story or not, Megan?"

She blushed. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I was just thinking out loud."

Scott smiled softly, an idea for the story now in his head. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who ran a way from home." Megan's eyes showed he had her attention now so he continued. "She lived in a small castle in a very hot, tropical land and decided to travel north to see some snow."

"Why did she run away?"

"She found she couldn't touch anyone without hurting them so she went somewhere where she could wear a lot of clothes and no one would realize she did it so she wouldn't hurt them."

"This sounds familiar…" Megan said doubtfully.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing." She blinked innocent eyes at him.

"Okay," Scott said, not quite understanding the small, knowing smile on Megan's face. "She ran out of money and ended up in a small…place to eat but all they served her was water because she didn't have anything to pay with. She was alone and scared and didn’t' know who to turn to for help. A man was in the place and he had a fight with another man so they made him leave. She realized he was alone like she was and could protect her so she…"

"Did he kick the other guy's butt?"

Both eyebrows went up on that one. "Where did you hear…? Ah, Logan. Never mind." Megan giggled and he continued. "Anyway, she hid on the back of his carriage before he drove off but he discovered her and let her ride on the seat with him. He gave her something to eat and they talked until they were attacked by a big man…"

She frowned. "What was his name?"

"Whose?"

"The big bad guy."

Scott thought for a moment but didn't see any harm in using a real name. "Sabretooth."

To his surprise, her mouth opened in astonishment. "Sabretooth? There really is a person named Sabretooth?"

"Well, yes," Scott said uncomfortably. The story was not going as he had planned. "There is but he…"

"Sir Sabretooth! I knew it!"

"Knew what, Megan?"

"If there's really a Sir Sabretooth, then the man with the carriage must be Sir Sidney and the princess is Princess Mary," she said smugly. "Let me guess, Sir Sidney kicks Sir Sabretooth's butt and he and Princess Mary go to live in a big castle in New York, right?"

Scott frowned now. "Well, if that's what you want to name them, that's okay. Actually, no, Sir Sidney did not kick Sir Sabretooth's butt. Sir Lancelot blew Sir Sabretooth away when he hurt Sir Sidney and he and Lady…Guenevere took Sir Sidney and Princess Mary to their castle." There, he thought, I can't get in trouble with that.

Megan laughed, immediately figuring out who the new players were. "And Sir Lancelot is married to Lady J, who has red hair, right?"

"Well, they aren't married yet…" Scott finished lamely, realizing the child had seen through the story too well. He cleared his throat and decided to salvage the story without continuing with real-life events. "You see, Sir Sidney and Princess Mary…"

Logan entered the room. "You still up? Had your story for the night, Megan?"

"Oh, yeah! Mr. Summers told me about…"

"A fairy tale," Scott quickly finished. "Just a fairy tale."

"A fairy tale, huh?" Logan began.

"Some fairy tales do come true, you know. You remember when you told me about Sir Sidney and Princess Mary, Logan? You were talking about you and Ro…"

"Okay, Megan." Scott stood and bent over to tuck her in.

"I mean, Mr. Summers, you an Dr. Grey are going to get married someda…"

"Goodnight, kitten," Scott growled warningly as he kissed the child on top of her head.

She giggled. "That's just how Logan does it!"

"Do tell. Lights out," Scott said with determination, pushing Logan from the room and making sure the light stayed off behind him as they left. A small, delighted giggle could be heard in the darkness.

"She's dangerous with fairy tales," Scott said with a laugh as they continued down the dark hallway.

"No more so than any other woman," chuckled Logan. "Sir Lancelot, huh?"

Scott blushed. "Oh, you heard that. It's better than Sir Sidney, anyway."

"Yeah, well, I've learned a lot since telling her that first tale. If you're going to take on the role of substitute, you'd better do the same. She's sharper than she looks."

Scott smiled to himself in the moonlight, thinking of the future when he and Jean would be married and maybe have kids of their own to tell bedtime stories to. "Yep, and she's got some very good ideas."

End