~~She rolled over in their huge bed, nestling closer to him, instinctively seeking the heat from his body. The New Mexico
nights were cold, but his skin was hot against hers, a side effect of the abilities that had alternately tormented and delighted him his entire life. She really didn't mind- she'd slept beside this man long enough to be accustomed to the heat.
      She studied his profile in the dim light the desert stars provided through the windows. Fine, silky blond hair, a proud nose, chiseled features- he looked like any number of the male models that populated the GQ magazines he insisted on subscribing to even here in the desert. Mmmm, he was handsome, she thought for the thousandth time, taking his hand in hers, shivering at the memory of what those hands could do. . .
      The warm cotton sheets were soft against her bare skin, and she shifted slightly, savoring the indulgence of the purely physical sensations she was experiencing. Running her fingers lightly over his muscled chest, she delighted in the normalcy of it all. In spite of the fantastic battles they'd fought, the technicolor manipulations they'd suffered through, she'd finally attained her heart's desire. She was safe, with the man she loved, doing an exciting, fulfilling job she loved. She knew who she was- there was no more wondering about who or what she might have been.
     Sensing her movement, he draped a muscled arm around her, drawing her closer to him. Blue eyes opened sleepily.
    "Having trouble sleeping?" His quiet voice asked through a yawn. They'd both had more than a few sleepless nights when they'd first come here.
    "Not anymore," she answered honestly. Raising a hand to his face, she lightly traced the outline of his strong jawline, pressed herself even closer to him, delighting in his body's reaction to her. "How about you, Alex?" Her voice was light, playful. "Want to go back to sleep?"
     She sensed rather than saw his answering smile. Brushing a lock of green hair away from her face, he lowered his face to hers. "What do *you* think?"
     Still sheltered in the curve of his arms, she arched her back in pleasure as he nuzzled her neck, hands skillfully moving over her body. "I think I love you."
     "I love you, too, Lorna," he whispered hoarsely, then went on to show her just how much~~
 
      Lorna Dane moaned in her sleep, caught in the throes of yet another erotic dream. "Oh, Alex," she whispered, lips parted in ecstasy, tossing in her huge empty bed. She saw, she felt flashes of his hands, his mouth, their bodies twined together- and then, without warning, the images shattered as her whole life exploded in a ball of burning fire in the sky. She watched, horrified, unable to turn away as chunks of the plane fell to the earth. She tried to use her magnetic powers to catch them, but she couldn't get them all, they were falling too fast, and they were burnt, and Alex was burnt, and Alex was dead, and she would never see him or feel him again and he'd never know how much she still loved him-
     "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She woke up, screaming, pulling the blankets closer to her, unable to bear yet another freezing night alone. New Mexico, again- Dammit, why did she always have to dream of New Mexico? Why did she always remember the place where they'd been happiest, far away from the X-Men and the cause and the fight for mutant rights and X-Factor and everyone else but themselves? Why, of all the places they'd been, all the things they'd seen, did her dreams always return her to their small house in the desert?
     With a flick of her powers, Lorna moved the thermostat in the hall up several degrees. It was cold in her house alone. She lay back down in the quilted comforters, long limbs curled up into a small ball, unable to get warm. She didn't sleep.