16311/The Apple Trip Part II: Re-Appleing

The Apple Trip Part II: Re-Appleing
Date of Scene:	12 November 2023
Location:	Grey Household
Synopsis:	The apple saga continues, Owen and Jeepers invade, and Rogue is properly initiated into the Clan Grey!
Cast of Characters:	Jean Grey, Rogue

---

Jean Grey has posed:
Last time, on the Apple Rangers:

Jean and Rogue had taken a fall drive up to see her family in the quaint hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson, an hour or so further north from Xaviers. The outing provided a chance to enjoy various upstate New York cliches, from enjoying the fall colors to going apple picking at a local orchard, accompanied in the latter by Jean's sister Sara, her husband, their kids, and at least one of her random brothers. Who can even keep track which one.

After securing a fairly ludicrous supply of said fruits, they turned around to head back to the Grey household. The plan was for a nice family dinner, after which they'd stay over, do a little more sightseeing, and drive back the next day!

Now!

The last car has just pulled back into the driveway. With all the various Grey clan present, it was crowded even before they left, and yet now there's an extra truck parked among the whole bunch. Sara takes the kids in directly (they're a bit stir-crazy from the car rides), leaving her husband, brother, as well as Jean and Rogue to handle the apples.

The menfolk grab what they can (long having given up on competing with Rogue!), while Jean pulls one out herself. These are all coming from Sara's: there's no sense in unpacking the Xaviers SUV, since those apples are destined to head back to the school for some Thanksgiving pies!

Waiting for Rogue to get whatever's left from her sister's car, she finally turns to head inside, taking note of the extra vehicle. "Oh good, looks like he made it."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had left her jacket inside of the SUV that she and Jean took to get here, though she did have her phone in the front pocket on the right side of her hip. Dressed in her blue jeans, and her dark forest green sweater of a thin material, one that is formfit and quite lovely soft, the Belle pulls out three boxes of apples that she carries in front of her with relative ease. The only issue is balancing them, but she managed that with her chin on the edge of the top one.

She's on her way to the house, when Jean notices Owen's truck, and Owen himself appears on the sidewalk, with Jeepers on a leash. Owen dressed in a black denim jacket, jeans and a pair of worn cowboy boots, Jeepers wearing a black sweater with his signature doggy aviators on his nose, secured with a special strap that goes behind his neck, the dog is happily panting, as the man leading him smiles to the newly arrived. Owen is quick to lead Jeepers to his daughter, to catch up with her. "Quite a load." He says, his voice casually happy as he peers over the edge at the massive amount of apples. "Good god, ya'll are going to be making more pies than anyone will know what to do with."

Rogue snorts a light laugh, as Jeepers frantically wags his tail at seeing his people suddenly here at this random place of new smells that he's never been to beffore.

Jeepers is happily expressing how this is the 'best day ever' with his canine body language!

Rogue joins Jean at the front door, and skips her way up inside, Owen and Jeepers pausing at the threshold. "Dogs okay?" Owen asks Jean, with that warm smile touching his face. "Good to see you, Jeanie. You look great, as ever." He says to the redhead, as Jeepers stares up at Jean from behind his sunglasses, happy doggy face and tail wags as he waits for permission to enter the Grey House.

Rogue is already advancing onward though, on her way toward the kitchen where other Grey's start to take the boxes of apples from her, continuing to chide her on her ability to carry so damn much without even breaking a sweat.

Jean Grey has posed:
Glad you made it!" Jean calls when she first spots Owen out there walking the dog, grinning over her own box of apples as he takes note. "This isn't even the half of them. We've got a whole school to feed, after all, and we always do some baking with the students as a fun activity before turkey day. I think you're in for a preview of it now." Indeed, they're about to get the origin story for Jean's fondness for baking.

Once they're up at the door, she has to pause a moment to hold it open, juggling her apple box in a way that suggests the teeter-totter balance on one arm might be power-assisted, because she just -has- to give Jeepers some initial scritches before she encourages them both inside. "Oh, dogs are more than OK. We had an Irish setter growing up." Evidently even their dogs were redheads!

"And Roger," that's the oldest brother, "has a couple of labs. I keep telling my dad he really ought to get another dog, but he's worried about keeping up on the walks - bet we could find them an older shelter dog, though." Regardless of the explanation, it's clear that this is a pup-friendly house, and no sooner than Jeepers is ushered inside, he'll have not just a realm of new smells to enjoy, but the high-pitched and excited admiration of Sara's kids, who are instant fans!

"Play nice you two..." Jean tells them, putting on her teacher voice for a moment, while following Rogue toward the kitchen where the apples shall be deposited. It should be no surprise that things are already set up in there waiting for them, a large space cleared and already flower-dusted as her mom is busy rolling out dough, while several other pie tins sit ready. They've got a whole assembly line set up here, and it's not hard to see where Jean learned her skills...

"Make yourself home however!" she calls back, if Owen hasn't caught up, while catching up with her mum. "Hi mom, where's dad?"

"Oh he's in the den, avoiding the chaos..."

Rogue has posed:
"Good to hear it." Owen says as he leads Jeepers through the front door, pausing just inside as he lets his eyes initially roam around the lovely home. "Every good house needs at least one good dog." He adds with another smile for Jean as she greets Jeepers, who is just a ball of energy as ever. When the kids arrive to greet the new dog, Owen leans down to detach the leash and gives the kids words of encouragement to show the dog around, and thus they're off, with a yellow furred tail wagging rapidly in their wake.

Owen tucks the leash in to his inner jacket pocket as he nods slowly to Jean's hospitality. He starts to roam a bit, letting his eyes focus on the family photos and such.

Rogue helps out in the kitchen, depositing those boxes and sharing a few words with Mamma Grey before she pushes the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows, and takes a step back. She has a pair of gloves tucked in to her left hip pocket, not expecting to be afraid or upset here today, she thusly has her power control on-check. Jean knows all too well that it gives Rogue headaches the longer she has it up, and that she'll likely be suffering later tonight for it... But she likes to feel 'normal' in these kind of moments, and thus claims it's 'worth it.'

"Do I need t'go get your dad outta his office?" Rogue asks Jean with a grin. "He loves me. I'm sure'a it." She says, as she accepts a drink handed to her by Jean's brother-in-law. "Ooo. Even better." The southern gal states before raising the drink up to her lips for a sip.

Owen strides in to the room then to stand beside his daughter, giving her back a soft pat before offering his hand toward some of the family, introducing himself at first, before Rogue steps in to do it as that is more appropriately polite!

Jeepers is already rushing through the kitchen with a toy in his mouth that he's found somewhere, and has claimed.

Jean Grey has posed:
"Nah, let him be. It's part of the natural order around here," Jean explains, with a bit of a grin. She's got to teach Rogue the social habits of her whole big crazy family sooner or later. "Lets the kids run around without being in his hair. They can have the TV on in the living room for cartoons or whatever if they want, and he's got one the den, if they want the game on or something else."

After Paul hands Rogue that drink, he chimes in after Jean on the OTHER reason the den is the preferred 'grown up' retreat area: "A TV and a BAR. C'mon, let's grab your dad and say hello."

And so, rather than a mission to extract dad from his sanctum, they soon organize a trip in there to join him. It's a smaller space than the living room, but definitely warm and inviting. Calling it a 'man cave' would be a bit off: Jean's father, after all, is a professor at the local college that Annandale basically exists for, so it's a bit more upscale than that, echoing something similar to the tastes of the OTHER Professor they know. It goes to figure, as John and Charles were academic acquaintances and friends. Indeed, it's the whole reason that Xavier discovered Jean in the first place.

But yes. It's a nice room with dark wood furniture, a couple comfy leather recliners, the TV, and a full antique bar set against the opposing wall with more stools. John Grey stands behind said bar, waiting to greet their guests. After all the necessary introductions, he only has one real question for Owen: "What are you drinking?"

---

It will be a few hours before dinner, and that time gives everyone ample opportunity to meet and socialize. Old-fashioned or not, there's definitely a bit of a gender divide and the menfolk gather the den, while Jean and Sara get called back to the kitchen to help mom. Rogue, as a guest, is allowed either option!

And it isn't just the pies. Those will go in to bake, of course, but there are other things that have priority, a few rounds of appetizers as well as everything for dinner itself. This isn't -quite- Thanksgiving level madness, but it seems half-way there. Elaine Grey just isn't one to half-ass dinner!

At some point, the worlds merge when Jean comes back into the bar carrying a tray of appetizers (little stuffed baked mushrooms). "How's everyone doing in here? Getting along?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is keeping a mild watch over Jeepers, but he seems to be settled in just fine. The dog has a wealth of experience with kids from the school, afterall. Thus the Belle just enjoys her drink, though she does head in to the den where Jean's father is, Owen asking a few questions along the way about how long the family had lived here, complimenting the house, and so forth. Once he's face to face with Jean's father, he extends his hand to shake, introducing himself again in lieu of Rogue who'd spaced out a bit once more, sipping her own drink. What would follow would be a bit of casual banter, and Rogue would hang back with her dad so as not to leave him with the 'fancy Professor' almost as though the two had discussed this prior to Owen agreeing to come along.

But after answering the question of what he drinks with a simple 'Whiskey." Owen gave Rogue the 'it's okay' signal, and she slipped out of the den to go find Jean and her sister, and to get a refill on her drink.

With Paul joining them in the den, Owen was asked about a ring he was wearing, as it was a baseball championship ring from his time in the Minor Leagues. In fact, it was these stories that Owen was telling to the other men-folk when Jean and Rogue would return.

Owen had described how he'd tried out for the St. Louis Cardinals, but it hadn't worked out, and after he met Rogue's mother, and found out she was pregnant, he separated himself from baseball, indicating that the pair had maybe been a bit misguided in their heated youthful love-affair. It had been Rogue's mother who had convinced Owen to leave baseball, and focus on a family with her. He learned a long time ago to not mention the 'Hippy Community' part though, as that lead down a pathway of conversation that the bearded man didn't really enjoy talking about. Especially since Rogue's mother was still MIA as a result of that life choice...

"Welcome back. Ooo, finger foods." Owen states, as he moves over to what Jean and Rogue bring in.

"Ya'll been gettin' along in here? Found sports to talk about, I take it?" Rogue asks, as her father digs in to the appetizers.

Jean Grey has posed:
John definitely takes it a step down from Charles as far as fancy goes. He's obviously a very intelligent and well-read man, but he's never addressed Congress to speak on the rights of an entire population, nor does he own a mansion big enough to house a school in. These things have tiers, and he's a couple down!

Also, he keeps some pretty respectable bottles stocking that bar shelf. That has to go a ways.

And Jean, for her part, never seemed worried. She's a mind reader, of course, but more than that, she knows her family, and for all the intense crazy that comes from their sheer numbers, in general, they're a hospitable and down to Earth bunch. Really, -she's- the odd one out. Even ignoring the Omega Mutant slash Cosmic Goddess stuff, she's the one who moved away, down to the big city, who modeled in magazines, and who has been out touring the world and escorting Xavier when he speaks to those illustrious bodies. If anyone's fancy in the family... it's her!

"Yeah, we were both comisserating on the fact that the season's done with," John answers Rogue. It's true, sadly. Fall marks the end of whack-a-ball and the start of the pigskin fun! So there's no baseball for them to watch together. This hasn't stopped Roger from putting football on, which he and Paul seem more into. Sara too, when she gets a break from the cooking and the kids comes to bother her husband.

Jean plays hostess a bit, offering around the platter. The mushrooms, Owen will discover, go FAST. They're a popular item, so he better get 'em while they're hot! The backup is a pretty addictive spinach dip recipe, served in a bread bowl (with bread guts for dipping!)

---

The appetizers serve their role, carrying people over for drinks and conversation, until dinner is finally served. The dining room is between the living and kitchen (or maybe it's more accurate to say the kitchen is sort of on the side of the larger dining room), although even then, the size of the full family gathering challenges for table space. A 'kids table' option is definitely invoked here, letting them eat in front of the TV and giving the adults their space.

As for food, well, there's lots of it. A whole roast herbed chicken, a veggie casserole of some kind, potatoes, green beans, you name it. The mini-thanksgiving comparison is hard not to make. "Hope you didn't stuff yourselves on the bread and dip!" Elaine chides them as they're all settling in.

Food is food, and there's more conversation as they eat. Sara has updates about her kids, and Roger on his, although the latter have grown up and moved away at this point, spreading the clan. Bekka is a teacher too, apparnently. Derry again, would supposedly get along with Rogue (Jean, again: "She's from Mississipi! that's not the same thing!").

It's not until the point where people have mostly eaten their fill, and there's discussion of whether they want dessert now or later (Roger, with his belt loosened, votes for later), that Jean finally finds her moment, looking sidelong at Rogue, and reaching for her hand under the table. "So, we wanted to wait until we had a bunch of you together, but we have something to tell you all..."

Rogue has posed:
Owen certainly didn't have a problem with football, and thusly he was quite comfortable with the situation in the den leading up to dinner. Those mushrooms did help too, though he only took a few of them so as not to ruin his appetite.

Out in the living room, Jeepers was sitting on the ground in front of the telvision with the gaming system hooked up on it, he's enjoying a treat that Rogue had gotten out of the SUV for this very reason... keeping the Vampire Hunter Pup busy was a major priority for having brought him all the way out here.

By the time everyone was settled in at the dinner table, Owen had his jacket off, wearing a Cardinals t-shirt underneath it, he'd remained mostly quiet at the table, just enjhoying the atmosphere and the food. He certainly did throw out some compliments for it all as well. Rogue was quiet too, but she was actively sweeping her eyes from one person to the nexst as they talked, while working her way through her own plate of food, small bits taken and enjoyed, chased by more of that white whine she was indulging in from her glass. She knew the underlying goal of this dinner though, and when Jean took her hand, the Belle looked over at her and showed a smile that lit up her face, and she nodded softly a moment before Jean began to garner everyone's attention.

The way Jean went at it though, approached it, Rogue knew they were all already sinking in to the possibilities, and thus she just raised her hand up from under the table to suddenly display the ring glinting in the light from above the table. She let the ring speak before Jean could, but Jean certainly was left to add in the vocalized details.

"Oh shit." Owen said, leaning forward. "Look at that thing. It's blinding me." He says before he smiles over at his daughter across from him at the table, conveying an understanding of what was being announced with a warm expression for her while quietly waiting for Jean to formally announce it. Moments like this were a big deal to him, but equally so reminded him of how Anna-Marie's mother wasn't here to experience it too, which he'd of course not ever bring up.

Jean Grey has posed:
Owen's reaction gets an outright laugh out of Jean. It may be a little less than decorous, but it's very honest, and it makes her smile. "Being totally honest, I didn't spend all that much on it." THAT is a little bit of an inside joke, since she's not about to go explaining what a M'Kraan Crystal is, or why she has a piece of it, or the whole 'I was dead and my soul was inside it and Rogue came in there to get me' or ANY of that bizarre cosmic nonsense. Nope! Nope nope nope. There's a threshold for Jean explaining the weirdness of her life to her family, and this is well over that!

Oh right, formality. "So... yeah! We're engaged. It's weird to say it, but I kind of treat Halloween like our anniversary, so that's when I asked. And no, we're don't have an exact date yet. Given, uh, how strange our work can be, we're going to try and keep it small, close friends and family."

Sara, who's sitting next to Jean with her husband on the other side, was stiffling her reaction to all of it, but once Jean has stopped talking, she springs up from her seat to give her a hug. Then she scootches around toward Rogue, looking at her with arms out and big eyes. "Can I?" Sara is the one Jean has shared the most with, power details-wise, although obviously Jean has briefed ALL of them on the relevant bits of Rogue's, just for safety's sake. But Sara can barely help herself!

In general, everyone is excited. Roger looks a little surprised, but grins as Paul leans over to tell him something. Everyone has congratulations to offer. Although, at the head of the table, one might barely overhear John say something about grandkids amidst all the sudden noise.

"John!" Elaine chides him.

"I- I didn't mean, of course we're-" John sputters out, a little flustered. He's a college professor, a notoriously liberal bunch, so he looks almost ashamed by an implication otherwise. It's just a 'dad' thing that snuck out! "You know what's not what I meant... we're very happy for you. Anna-Marie, you're a lovely young woman and we'd be lucky to have you in our family."

Jean, a little more calmly, just breathes a sigh and shakes her head. "I know what you meant, dad. But, I feel like I shouldn't need to remind you that you in fact have SEVEN grandchildren already, and that's not counting Rachel and Hope. Who, I think, you should really meet. I figured it would have been a lot bringing them this time, especially as they're both from, well, difficult backgrounds." She's just going to leave it at that and not mention any alternate future dystopias or post apocalypses.

"Over the holidays maybe," she muses. "Point is, if anything, we Greys are spreading out to conquer time and space every which way."

Rogue has posed:
"It's beautiful, and I couldn't be more pleased and excited for you both." Owen said, which Jean would know isn't a big surprise. The guy lived on a Hippy Commune with his own wife, prior to her vanishing in a mysterious ritual meant to bring rain and bountifful crop yields to their land at the time. Of course he's cool with it, he's cool with almost everything. He's The Dude.

Rogue stands up to embrace Sarah, spending a moment to explain to her about her powers, and even mentions the headaches, because Sarah has kinda shmoozed Rogue in to trusting her, plus the three glasses of wine... Nevertheless, Rogue is hugging Sarah when she overhears Jean's father's mumbled comment. When she pulls back, and others react to it, Rogue takes her seat again.

"Trust me, John. I didn't see this comin' in my life either. I've been... obsessed with this guy I met in the city shortly after I came to New York. He even moved in with us at Xaviers' place. I thought he was the one for me... in every way possible. But after ... like the fifteenth time he'd run off, come back and professed his undyin' love for me, I realized somethin'. I realized that a lotta people say a lotta things, while very few people... actually come through on what they say."

Rogue looks over to Jean, and leans over against her, shoulder to shoulder. "Jean's been here for me, every time I've needed her. She's kept me from literally losin' my mind..." She says in a serious tone, while taking Jean's hand again in her own. "I love her."

She said all of that while looking right over at the other beside her, but then her eyes go back to everyone else still paying attention.

"You guys are amazin', an' I'm thrilled t'get to spend time with ya. I'm gonna keep Jean safe, an' I know she's gonna do the same for me. Bein' an official 'thing' ... well, that just makes it all the more special." Her free hand reaches for her glass and she picks it up, raising it up in front of her.

"To unexpected love, found in places - and times - where you least expect it."

Owen raises up his own glass then, offering a deep rumbling "Here, here," to his daughter's words.

Jeepers appears between Rogue and Jean's chairs, wagging his tail, his sunglasses having fallen off somewhere, but he's still got his half eaten dog-bone that he's brought to the table to be apart of the festivities.