****************** 
Title: When Time Stands Still 
Author: Gladys Hammonds (Supersoul@aol.com, 
Citizeng@ix.netcom.com.)
URL: http://members.aol.com/~supersoul
Disclaimer: This story refers to characters who are trademarks 
of  Marvel.  This is an unauthorized work and no profit 
is being made.  The story is copyright to me, Gladys 
Hammonds.

Eagerly awaiting comments of all kinds.
December 1996

****************** 


Nathan Summers was a man of action who'd never 
lacked courage. Until now.
	
He eyed his nemesis, a sleek copper-skinned woman  
relaxing in a lawn chair, laughing under a cheerfully 
bright sky.
	
For the life of him, he could not work up the courage
to give her a kiss.
	
Silouetted by the sun, a coppery statue with a mane 
of white hair, Ororo Munroe sat yards from him, 
seemingly unaware of his gaze. Though they lived in 
the same Westchester mansion that housed two 
teams of mutant heroes, they danced on a tightrope  
between friendship and romance and he was at a loss 
at how to proceed.
	
She leaned to catch the words of his father Scott, her
silvery  hair gleaming in the sun. Nathan winced at his 
quick stab of annoyance. His bond with his father was 
another tightrope, a more complicated one. Though 
Scott had known her longer, for they were both team 
leaders for the X-Men, seeking his advice on winning 
Ororo was out of the question.
	
"It's nice to be alone, you and I.  There have been 
many times these last few weeks when I longed to 
talk with you, but there always seemed to be one 
crisis or another to attend to."
	
Frozen in reverie, he had missed Ororo's approach. 
She sat gracefully in a chair next to him, shielded 
from the sun by the blue-striped picnic tent above.  
The other chairs around the table were deserted.
	
"I have interrupted your thoughts," she said. "Do you 
want me to leave?"
	
He caught his breath.  
	
"Right now, more than anything, I want you here and 
now - to sit here, I mean."
	
She grinned mischievously.
	
"I understand what you mean, Nathan Summers.  I
understand exactly what you mean."
	
Her expression was bemused, but warm. Her slender 
brown  fingers touched his silvery metallic hand.
	
He felt an electric charge that startled him. Feeling in 
the right side of his body tended to be muted, for it 
was metal, not flesh, legacy of a bizarre  mutant virus.
	
"I truly wish to know you better," she said. "I had 
hoped that was your desire as well," she said.  "If I am 
mistaken..."
	
"Ororo, you aren't mistaken. I've thought of you a 
great deal, but I'm a man who finds it hard to admit 
my feelings."
	
"Yes, an official genetic trait of the Summers male. 
I've observed it in your father Scott, in his brother 
Alex, and their father Corsair.  That's no surprise to 
me."
	
"It always surprises me to be compared to my father."
	
As a toddler, Nathan had been cast forward in time,
coming to manhood thousands of  years in the future. 
By the time he'd returned, a seasoned warrior 
decades older than his own father, his mother was 
dead, his father remarried. Love and respect between 
the two men clashed with memories of abandonment
	
"I think I'm like you in my own way, Nathan.  When 
you serve as leader, you  control your emotions for 
the good of the team. It becomes a habit, if not a 
crutch.  But that self control comes with a terrible cost. 
	
"I lost Forge, a man I loved, because of my self 
control and devotion to duty. I drove him away without 
realizing what I was doing."
	
It was sunny and bright outside the tent where they 
sat.  Cheerful babble floated in the background - the 
ebullient voices of young men and women untested 
by trouble, the exuberant joy of those who had seen 
far to much of it and were desperate for relief.
	
"If we could truly be alone, there's much I'd like to 
share with you," she said quietly.  "I admire your 
strength, Nathan Summers."
	 
A man of stony reserve, he was startled at her 
forthrightness. He was intensely aware of her scent, 
the tenderness of her skin, sleek and dark in the tiny 
bikini she wore. He thought the  rhythm of her 
breathing had speeded up to match his own.
	
He had never touched her, except for the briefest of 
moments, but he was keenly aware of her as she 
faced him.
	
She leaned forward quickly and kissed him.
	
His armor dissolved. He felt her goddesslike self 
control dissipate.  Warm lips teased the dignified 
commander out of him leaving an eager passionate 
boy.  His  response stripped the shell of the elegant 
woman aside, finding a pagan, impulsive female.
	
The sun had been bright around them. Now it was 
brighter still, a consuming gleam that they both 
seemed to dissolve into. The intensity made him 
dizzy.
	
When his awareness returned, they were no longer 
on the lawn of a mansion, under a picnic tent, with 
friends laughing in the background.
	
They were alone under a nighttime sky pierced with 
stars in a serene, isolated, self contained place.  It 
was empty, a cosmic void,  yet as soon as you 
thought of something you needed, it appeared out of 
the shadows. A dimension where time stood still, 
triggered by a single kiss. 

	
As before, they were seated at a small table. 
	
"This is splendid, Nathan. A beautiful place. It's 
wonderful to be here alone with you."
	
"Don't you wonder where we are, how we got here? 
Suddenly we're transported from the mansion into 
God knows where.

"Why are we here?"
	
"So I can talk to you and become closer to you, and 
most of all, make love to you. Didn't you know how 
much I want you?"
	
She moved around and slid into his lap, sliding her 
hands across his shoulders, luxuriating in the feel of 
his well muscled back.
	
"I love the feel of your skin."
	
Stirred by her delicate touch, he succumbed to the 
odd  turn of events.
	
"I can't feel as well on my metallic side as I can with 
my flesh. Slide over."
	
She did as he asked, then placed her hand at the 
center of his chest, just where flesh merged with living 
metal.
	
"I love the difference when I touch you.  You feel soft 
and hard at the same time." She smiled. "A delicious 
feeling."
	
His arms went around her slender form. He wanted 
nothing more than to revel in the embrace, but the 
dutiful part of his mind interfered.
	
"Aren't you worried this is some kind of a trap?"
	
Her answer was to stretch against him like a cat 
purring in contentment, rubbing her cheek against  his 
neck, leaning into the hollow of his neck and shoulder.  
Even his techno organic limbs felt her warmth.
	
"It's obviously a refuge. A place for two people who 
need each other. Outside time.  Why question it 
Nathan? We know we both need to be here. I know I 
do, and I can feel that you do as well." She stretched 
languidly against his thigh.  "Let's not wait any longer 
Nathan. Let's not keep asking questions. Let's just ..."
	
He devoured her with his lips and body, slipping 
easily into a cushioned bed, and she could say 
nothing more.

	
It was later.  Again he saw her silouetted against the 
light, a sheet half wrapped around her, sliding off her 
shoulders, tantalizing him with her half revealed body.
	
"How long have we been here Ororo?" 
	
"Thinking like an X-Men commander. Worrying about 
the troops, as always."
	
"I don't trust things I don't understand."
	
"Time doesn't matter here, Nathan."
	
"You speak as if you understand this place perfectly, 
Ororo.  I don't like to be kept in the dark, even by a 
woman as beautiful as you."
	
She sighed at the edge in his voice.
	
"Careful, or we'll leave before it's time, and I'm not 
ready to. At home,  we cannot allow ourselves to 
relax. We expect murder while we sleep, while we 
eat, while we play.  Ready for action or disaster at a 
moment's notice. I know you thrive on that kind of life, 
Nathan, you truly do."
	
He began to protest, but she silenced him with a 
finger to his lips.
	
"You are more alive  in battle than at any time in 
your life, save for the few intense moments we shared 
a moment ago.  You thrive on combat. So does your 
father Scott. But I lead the team because the X-Men 
need me.  It's my life, but  a life  of constant warfare at 
is not one I would have chosen for myself."
	
"I've seen you in battle, Ororo. You're no reluctant 
warrior."
	
"I know.  I fight ruthlessly and when the fracas is
over I am shocked by that woman who revels in 
destroying her enemies.  I  claim to revere life but I 
easily delight in taking it.  I do not understand this 
about myself. Foolish of me."
	
She was pensive when she spoke again.
	
"I need a friend, Nathan."
	
"You have friends. You're surrounded by people who 
love you - Hank, LeBeau, even Logan. You're the 
most nurturing womanI know."
	
"My friends lean on me, and I'm glad of it, but I need 
someone I can lean on as well, a friend as well as 
lover."
	
She gave him an appraising glance.
	
"What does your colleague Domino mean to you?"
	
"Dom, she is, we are, she's the best soldier I've ever
fought beside; she's saved my hide more than I care 
to admit."
	
"You know I'm not speaking of her skills as a 
mercenary. Are you even honest with yourself about 
her?"
	
"You shouldn't bring her into this, Ororo."
	
"If we are friends, the truth won't hurt. She's more to 
you than a comrade in arms, isn't she?"
	
"I've never dreamed about her the way I enjoyed you
just now. Our bond was forged in countless battles;
We've saved each other's lives a thousand times.  
That is love, in a way."
	
"Then I understand. I have no right to be jealous in 
any case.  I don't think Forge and I can make our 
future work, but I admit I don't like the thought of him 
out of my life.  I suppose that seems pretty confused. I 
want a man in my life, but I won't give up the X-Men 
for it."  
	
She nestled against him. "I thought you had relaxed, 
but again, you seem tense."
	
"Ororo, tell me. You have been here before, haven't 
you? Explain it to me."
	
"Jean told me about this secret place long ago, when 
she was first possessed by the Phoenix Force. A 
private dimension where she brought Scott to escape 
from the demands of the team.  You know him, he 
could never relax if he thought the X-Men needed 
him.  It is a place for lovers, where time stands still. 
I've never truly understood how it works. Perhaps 
somehow she passed the gift to come here to me."
	
"Passed it on to you," he repeated. Something in her 
eyes, a slight apprehension, alarmed him.
	
"Who did you bring here? Was it Forge?  You said 
you drove him away with your coldness. But if time 
stands still here..." 
	
'"I was unable to bring Forge here.  I tried, but I never  
could. Perhaps it does not work with someone 
untouched by the Phoenix Force. This place must be 
part of it, a part willed from Jean's need to spend time 
with Scott, alone and unencumbered."

"But you've been here with a lover before, Ororo.
Tell me who you were with."

He sensed her unease by the tension in her eyes, 
but her eyes did not waver.
	
"I have said enough." 
	
"I have to know."
	
"Nathan, you are so like him."
	
Then he understood.

She shared her memories as  freely they had shared 
each other.
	
"It was the evening of Jean's funeral.  Kurt, Logan and 
the other X-Men had disappeared into their rooms in 
the mansion. Professor Xavier had locked himself into 
his study.  I came upon Scott on the third floor 
balcony, rigid as a statue, staring at the full moon 
glowing overhead, the place where Jean had died.
	
"When I stood beside him, he was silent at first, and
I wasn't sure he even knew I was there.  Even when 
he spoke it was to her.
	
"For years I loved you, Jean. I wanted you and I 
tortured myself about it.  I was afraid you didn't care. 
I thought I didn't deserve you. Jean, you taught me 
about love, you made me live. Jean, don't you know 
that if you die, I might as well be dead too." 
	
He turned to me,  his face haggard and confused.
	
"Scott, it's me, Ororo, not Jean."
	
"I can't lose her. I don't know how to live without her. 
Don't you understand I'm dead now, a walking corpse. 
I need to be with her again. We spent our last 
moments together in battle." 

The thought made him furious. "Our last memories of 
each other, the X-Men at war. As usual."
	
"Despite his glasses, I could see he had been crying.
Impulsively, I kissed him, but he'd turned his face
abruptly, and it was not the quick peck on the cheek 
to console a friend, as I intended. He covered my 
mouth with his own and, and I did not pull away.
	
"Then we dissolved into the brightness, emerging in
this dimension of no time, no place, no reservations, 
no inhibitions.
	
"We've here again, Jean. Another chance to be alone
with you. I knew you wouldn't leave me, not without 
saying goodbye the way two lovers should."
	
"I told him again:
	
"Scott, I am Ororo, not Jean." 
	
"He pulled away and panic returned to his face. 
The spell started to waver. But before we could return 
home, I  heard myself say:
	
"Call me what you like. Let time stand still. Have your 
memories until you can call me by my own name.
	
"Even then I couldn't tell if he understood me.
	
"He picked me up and carried me in his arms to the
cushioned bed, eagerly murmuring Jean's name as 
he kissed me. I knew he would not be able to say my 
own name very soon. It pleased me:
	
"Take all the time you need, Scott. I wish to be with
you a long, long time."
	
"Later,  a long time later, he understood what he had 
done."
	
"I had no right to use you. Grief is no excuse."
	
"There was so much defeat in his voice, so much 
pain.
	
"You have no cause for shame, and neither do I. You 
satisfied your need for her and you satisfied me."
	
"She's gone for good.  Jean's dead. I can't deny it any 
longer."
	
"I pray to the goddess you remember the gift she 
gave you - she opened your heart to love.  You are a 
loving, vital man, Scott, not a walking corpse. You 
have an affinity for self-doubt - do not give into it."
	
"You are an extraordinary woman, Ororo Munroe."
	
"He kissed me on the cheek, innocently, like a friend.
	
"Then the bright light consumed us, returning us 
home."

	
"I only wanted him to have his memories of Jean."
	
He felt like a pathetic bit player in a shameless 
interdimensional soap opera. Father and son, lovers 
of the same woman.
	
"You're a liar, Ororo."
	
She smiled to herself.
	
"I wanted the passion of this special place Jean
had described to me. He called me Jean as we loved 
each other, and I enjoyed every frenzied minute of it."
	
"We returned  and  never spoke of it again. Scott left 
the X-Men soon after, and when we saw him again, 
he had married  your real mother, Madelyne Pryor.  I 
don't believe he even remembers."
	
Slowly she said, "I remember."
	
"Nathan, take your hands from my shoulders, you're
hurting me."
	
"What do you think you are doing Ororo -  comparison 
shopping, satisfying your  idle curiosity? Genetic traits 
of the  Summers males - any others you've slept with, 
Ororo?"
	
"Had I done so, I would owe you no explanation."
	
He swung around to the edge of the bed and began 
dressing, pulling on boots, belts, buckles, weapons 
that appeared at the will of its owner.  Girding himself 
with armor.
	
"No,  Nathan, I'm not ready for you to leave."
	
"It's time for us to go, Ororo. This is finished."
	
"I am not finished; neither are you. You're not as 
angry as you pretend.  What does being shocked 
have to do with what you really need?  It's your pride 
that's angry, not your heart."
	
"The both of you - you appall me Ororo. You and 
Scott both."
	
"Scott needed me because he'd lost a woman he'd
loved since he was a boy.  And you Nathan, you have 
lost your son,  your wife, your mentor Blaquesmith, 
even the mother you never knew, and you haven't 
shared your grief with anyone.
Let me help you, Nathan."
	
"I can live without your help."
	
"You only pretend to handle it. You pretend you have 
no need to cry."

"I'm a warrior, Ororo. We don't cry. And I don't care to 
share women with my father."
	
"I only told you what you insisted upon knowing.
Will you now reject your father as your son rejected 
you?"
	
"Leave my son out of this, Ororo. You have gone too 
far."
	
"You are foolish Nathan Summers, foolish not to let 
me help ease your suffering. You bury it, suppress it, 
ignore it, turn it into the armor and the weaponry you 
are so fond of. Let me console you, relieve you of 
your pain."
	
She moved toward him and took the shirt he held 
from his hands and brushed her lips across his face. 
She looked into his eyes and for a long still moment 
he could hear nothing but the beating of both their 
hearts, rising and falling in unison.
	
"This is a place where people can love each other 
without consequences, madly, foolishly," she said. 
"For once we can abandon pride and dignity and 
stifling self-control and give way to passion.  Why not 
enjoy it while we can?"
	
He grabbed her shoulders roughly, intending to 
protest, but as he touched her and gazed again at her 
body, her breasts, her hips, and hair, and legs under 
the sheets and then quickly entwined with his own, he 
could do no such thing. Instead he pushed her onto 
the soft cushions of the bed and covered her her with 
his body, leaving her sighing underneath.
	
"When we're done, you tell me who's best, Ororo,"
he whispered, "me or my father."
	
"Why do we ever have to go?"
	
They were lying side by side, gazing at stars against 
a night sky of deep blue.
	
"Because we have work to do, because our friends 
need us," he said, stroking her face with his fingertips. 
"We can't hide away forever." 

"You sound as though you've had enough of me, 
Nathan."
	
"That will never happen, Ororo. Are you
absolutely sure you have been here with no one 
else?"
	
"I wanted to share this place with Forge, but I never 
could.  I know now that I am not the catalyst. This is a 
lost dimension of the Phoenix Force.  The Phoenix 
knew Jean's love for Scott, which he displaced to me 
when he brought me here. Madelyne Pryor was 
brought to life when the Phoenix Force found her;  
and you are her son. That is why I cannot share this 
with anyone else, and why you could share it with 
me."
	
He spoke slowly, hesitation in his careful words.
	
"You will not come here with him again?"
	
"That memory had no place in my life by the time I 
met you, Nathan. I had shut it out, walled it up, thrown 
it away.  But we came here and idiot that I was I told 
you all about it with every foolish vivid detail, 
guaranteed to make you angry. I could not keep the 
truth from you.  I did not mean to hurt you Nathan." 
	
He saw her as a woman who shared her body freely  
with whom she chose and never asked for absolution.
	
Until now.
 	
The truth of his heart was that he loved her,
the woman who took his breath away sitting in a lawn 
chair, the woman who complimented the ugly metallic 
flesh he was cursed with, the woman who was eager 
for battle but preferred peace, the woman who freely 
consoled his grieving father, the woman who was 
truthful enough to admit she enjoyed it, aliases and 
all, the woman who craved him as a friend and lover, 
the sensuous woman who coolly led the X-Men into 
battle with the father he scarcely knew and needed to 
forgive for sending him two thousand years into the 
future to cure his techno-organic virus.
	
Life with the X-Men was way too complicated, he 
thought.

"I want nothing more from Scott but his friendship, 
Nathan"
	
He felt a profound sense of satisfaction. 
	
"From you, Ororo, I want all you have to give of your 
love. It's time to go home."
	
She sighed deeply.
	
"If we must."
	
She slipped both her hands into his own and slid on 
top of him, facing him.
	
"Nathan, I love you.  But you won't remember this 
timeless place."  Then she kissed him.
	
The brightness enclosed them before he could 
respond.
		
Ororo Munroe grinned mischievously at Nathan 
Summers across a picnic table on the lawn of the X-
Men's Westchester mansion.

"I hope I was not too forward."
	
Surprised by the abrupt kiss, he stammered to reply, 
but she interrupted.
	
"I must join the others for the softball tournament. I 
trust that we will talk again. And Nathan, you and 
Scott have a lot in common, but I'd say that you are 
indeed the best there is at  what you do."
	
She was gone quickly.
	
"What did she mean by that?"  he thought,
	
He'd barely moved, but he felt enormously pleased 
with himself.  Why had he been so nervous? He'd 
been as scared as a schoolboy to let her know that he 
cared for her.  
	
But she had kissed him, so swiftly that no one else 
seemed to notice. The kiss still tingled on his lips.
	
Things would work out between them, he was sure of 
it. There would be challenges, of course. Time for 
love in the lives of the X-Men was always in short 
supply.
	
"Ororo's quite a woman, isn't she?"
	
His father Scott stood behind him, straining to bridge 
the distance.

"If you care for her, don't let her slip through your 
fingers while you decide what to do." He smiled 
ruefully. 

"Jean taught me that long ago.  If only time could 
stand still for people in love."	
	
Nathan turned his father's words over in his mind. 
"If only time could stand still..."  
	
Something about those words rang true.
	
If there was such a place for him and Ororo, 
forever would not be time enough.



******************
******************