"You must focus, keep your eye on the target, your mind on the people around you,"

"Easier said than done," Samantha is stood very still, her feet wide apart, her hand stretched out, pointing at a dummy with several tears and burn marks, clearing having seen better days.

She's under the mansion, using one of the training rooms the professor had installed, the man himself sat off to the side.

"I can't do it," she sighs, body relaxing as she lowers her hand, "I'm having an off day,"

"We can not afford an off day in the field," Xavier reminds her, causing Sam to cross her arms over her chest, stepping together and glancing at the man

"Fine," she gets back into position, this time, her hands by her side. She takes a breath, letting the psyches back into her mind, she had learnt to control this part of her mutation at least, able to keep others' feelings at bay most of the time.

Different feelings come to her, boredom, joy, irritation, love.

She tries channelling them, letting them run through her and out through her hands, but there's nothing.

She hadn't successfully transferred anything in days. And yet she was still forced to train.

"It's not working!" she flings her right arm up in exclamation, letting the emotions bubble up inside her, pushing against her chest before pushing them out.

The dummy shoots back with powerful force, slamming against the wall and rattling to the ground.

"Oh,"

Xavier laughs slightly, wheeling himself closer "You're turning raw, unfiltered emotions into kinetic energy Psi, it's not easy. Give it time, keep practising,"

"I'm having an off day, I told you," she sighs "I just need a day or two to recover, catch up on some sleep,"

Charles raises a light brow "Nightmares?"

"No...something else," Sam gulped, she knew she should tell him about what she'd been feeling, but it was too confusing, and she wanted to understand it for herself before it became a teaching moment "I'm going to get some air, maybe take some time by the lake," she starts to walk off.

"Perhaps once you're feeling better, we can focus on you using your own emotions to create the force,"

Sam snorts "Yeah if we ever fight a bunch of robots, I'll give you a call," she feels the professor's disappointment, but she pushes it back, glancing back at his solemn face before stepping out into the basement hallway.

He'd said he never looked in their minds, but Samantha could never quite believe him, his presence in her psyche often far too strong, his presence in Jean's the same.

Maybe one day she'd bring it up, not now though, she had places to be.

Continuing down the hallway toward the elevator, she stops outside her isolation room, eyes lingering on the door handle for a little too long to be casual. She rarely used it now, only on desperate occasions.

But even inside there, she still felt him.

It was an ongoing presence, something she couldn't ignore. Six months after his departure, and Sam could never push him away, often slipping into nightmares and memories that weren't her own, nor did they belong to anyone in the mansion.

No one had heard from him in months, he even missed Scott and Jean's wedding. And yet Sam knew he was out there, alive and dreaming, a constant gentle pressure on her chest.

She turns back down the hall, and when she blinks, a white wolf stares back, its eyes wide, but calm.

Another blink and it's gone, never truly being with her.

"Sam!" Storm greets the woman as she enters her bright classroom, sunlight streaming through the high windows. The blonde wears a dazzling smile and has a clipboard grasped to her chest.

"Ororo," Sam nods her head, a gesture to let her know it was okay to enter the room

"You're still able to chaperone the museum trip next month right?"

"Yep!" she waves at a stray student, who quickly runs into another hallway, Sam rolls her eyes but lets a small smile appear at the familiarity that came from being around Storm. She walks towards her oak desk, mentally preparing her to-do list for the day. "Oh, have you heard from Beast yet? He said he'd drop by and give my students a talk, but he never answers his phone,"

"Afraid not, I can flag it with the professor if you like?"

"No no, I'm sure he's fine, just busy," Sam sits in her leather chair, watching her friend lean on the desk facing her

"We've all been a bit scrambled lately, give him some time,"

"Hm," Sam nods in agreement "We didn't realise how much Scott does to keep this place from falling apart until he and Jean went on their honeymoon,"

"Don't," Storm rolls her eyes "He's still harassing me for the training log reports from when they were gone,"

"He needs another honeymoon," Sam mumbles and Ororo laughs, picking up on the implication

"You tell the professor that,"

"Ew, I'd rather tell Scott himself,".

By the evening, Sam was near exhausted, using her powers so abruptly in her session with Charles had taken a lot out of her, and then she'd been on her feet all day, teaching students and stepping in when Gambit nearly broke another vase with a playing card.

She knew he did it deliberately.

Opening the door to her bedroom, she doesn't pay much attention to her surroundings, kicking her boots off and swapping her cardigan for a long fluffy robe. She turns to turn on her floor lamp and -

"Jesus Christ!" she flinches suddenly, seeing a female figure sitting on her bed.

"Sorry,"

"Jean, what the hell!?!" Sam's hand flies to her chest, taking deep breaths as the other woman smirks

"I thought you saw me,"

"Obviously not!" Sam sighs, and collapses on the bed next to Jean "Why're you sneaking into my room?" she asks, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Needed to talk..." Jean admits and Sam sits up again, not just hearing the anxiety in her friend's voice, but also feeling it. She lets Jean's emotions prod at her.

"Can I-?" she doesn't need to ask, Jean nods and Sam allows the anxiety to enter her, swirling around her own body, her eyes widen at the sudden intensity "Okay...You definitely need to talk to someone,"

Jean lets out a small laugh, glancing at the brunette "I am," she takes a deep breath "I feel like something bad's going to happen...I have these nightmares and my powers fly off the rail, and the whole room shakes,"

Sam takes her hand, rubbing soft circles as she continues, her body starts to adapt to the new emotions, trying to separate them from her own but keep them inside.

"Scott's worried, and I'm worried," Jean snorts "Something bad is coming..." Sam's stomach drops, "and every time I think about it I can-" she gasps, tears welling in her eyes, Sam feels the panic circle her heart, getting out of control, she tries to calm Jean, but all she gets is waves of panic in return.

"I can hear them all...Something-"

"Jean," Sam grasps her hand tightly "Jean listen to me, focus on my voice," she only gets panicked breaths in return, and her own breathing starts to stutter. She couldn't push Jean away, she needed to calm her down. Sam quickly kneels in front of the redhead, her hands grasping at her cheeks, keeping her gaze on her own eyes.

"Jean,"

"Something bad..." The floor rumbles, and on her vanity, Sam's perfume starts to clash together. A soft orange starts to glow in Jean's eyes.

Sam shuts her own eyes tightly, trying to send a calming wave to Jean. It fails, over and over again, and Jean's fear overcomes her, causing Sam's body to shake.

"I can't control it-" Jean screams and Sam gasps, her eyes flying open.

'God I hate him,'

'Why does the professor set such hard homework'

'I want my mom'

'Will humans eve-'

'Why do'

'I-'

'She-'

'You-'

Hundreds of voices fill Sam's head at once, it's so sudden, so quick that she can't process it. Before she can even think herself, she pushes Jean's psyche away just as the other woman shuts her eyes, falling back on the bed.

Sam screams, and her head hits the floor.