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Disclaimer: The characters are not mine except the extras. They belong to Marvel, I am just borrowing them for a time.
Title: Yesterdays Secrets
Rating: Who knows!
Authors Notes: This fic has been long in the writing but it is my favorite. I hope you all enjoy it cause it a long one.



“SSSH little one. Everything is going to be alright.” Ororo Munroe murmured to the tiny little baby in her arms. Born premature twenty-four hours before, the baby was finally drinking her formula. They could all breathe a sign of relief. She wasn’t out of danger yet but it was a start. Ororo gazed longing at the trusting face nestled in her arms. Maybe she could…..
“Don’t even think about it, Dr. Munroe! There’s no way you can keep that baby!” Ororo turned to the approaching figure of her slightly overbearing nurse.
“We can’t just hand her over to those people! How do we know they will be able to care for her?”
“They’re her family. And it’s what the child’s mother wanted. We have to respect that.”
“I know. It’s just…”
Softening her voice the nurse placed a chubby hand on her arm. “There was nothing you could do for Zondi. You saved her baby. She was grateful for that. You can’t save them all, Ororo.” She reached for the now sleeping baby in her arms. Back to her clipped tones, she gazed up at Ororo. “You need to get some rest, doctor. You’ve been here for over twenty-four hours! You can’t help anyone by making yourself sick.”
Ororo smiled affectionately at the older woman. “Yes mother! But only if you call me if there’s any change.”
“You have my word. Dr Thompson and I can manage just fine for a couple of hours.”
“ Ok, ok I’m going.” Ororo left shaking her head. Carol Adams was truly a god sent. The motherly brunette ran the clinic with an iron fist. To think she had been intimidated by her! Now she depended on her, as a great nurse and friend. Especially since they were the only two English-speaking women for miles.
Carol watched the young doctor leave and wondered again why such a beautiful woman would want to hide away here in Africa. She had no doubt that’s what Ororo was doing. She sensed it. Over the two years they’d known each other Carol had tried to get the young woman to confide in her but Ororo kept her secrets well. The striking black woman was to good at evading her questions. Not that it was any of her business but she worried about her. Then there were also the twins to consider. Those children needed a father. If theirs was some dead beet father then he didn’t deserve Ororo or those adorable kids! So why was it Ororo was still pining for him? Carol signed. The mystery of Dr. Munroe would have to wait. The squirming child in her arms needed her attention.
Ororo felt like sleeping for at least a month! She was practically dragging herself down the dirt road to her hut. She almost walked into a loom standing near a hut she was so tired. Oblivious to all the activities around her all she could think about was her bed. The preparations were already underway by the village women for the evening’s meal. Fire under iron pots, children being urged to bring in animals, women cleaning washing their huts. Most of the men left the village at dawn to hunt for food, while others herded longhorn cattle. The women were left behind to farm the crops high on nearby hills, take care of the children, make any repairs to the home and have the food prepared!
The village was built at the base of several rolling hills covered by lush tropical vegetation. In the center stood a large hut where the chief and his family lived. The solid structure made from dried mud and reed stood strong and unmovable. The bottom part was a circular mud wall was covered inn plaster, when dried turned as hard as bricks. Covering the top was a large hand sewn canopy made of dries reed. There was only one opening in the large structure, a doorway in the front. The center hut was also used for council meetings, celebrations by the elders. Smaller versions of the large hut were scattered all around the perimeter of the hills. Except for several tall trees and surrounding hills there wasn’t much growth. The soil was instead used for building and crafting.
Ororo greeted them as she passed by. They returned her greeting by calling her the Swahili name they had given her, Nandi. She had learned it belonged to an African queen from the Zululand in the lower South. The queen was banished from her tribe when she gave birth to a watoto boy. The Zulu king other wives were jealous because they couldn’t have sons. They pressured the king to banish her and her son. The proud queen raised her son in exile and made sure he received the kind of training and guidance a future king was supposed to have. Queen Nandi was later rewarded for her endurance when her son became the greatest Zulu king that ever ruled! The name meant a woman of high esteem. When Ororo heard them calling her by that she was always filled with so much pride that they had that much faith in her.
It never ceased to amaze Ororo of the beauty, strength and dignity of the women. The younger one were bare chested, while the older or married women wore bodingi’s. The one-piece dresses were made in bold colors and patterns that caught the eye. Most, except for a few wore handcrafted necklaces in different lengths to cover their breasts as well as to attract available males. Many wore several bangles adorning both arms and ankles. Women, men and children wore intricately crafted bands on the head. The young women wore multi-colored print skirts that reached above the knee. From birth until womanhood it was the custom for them to wear their heads bald. Once they reached womanhood they were aloud to grow their hairs. Most kept Afro’s. The rest wore their hairs in beautiful braided creations. When the girls reached sixteen a ritualistic ngoma; dance was performed. The women were to dance around a campfire in front of the men. This enabled the men to choose a wife to wed. Because there were more women then men it was also the custom that a man could take as many wives as he choose.
When Ororo finally made it to her hut, Yaa was filling a tub of warm water for her. It was exactly what she needed.
“Bless you Yaa.” She murmured behind a yawn. Yaa was a sixteen-year-old girl from the Amboni tribe. Reneged soldiers had burned down the village. Her family had perished in the fire. Ororo had treated her when she was brought in with a gunshot wound to the chest. Yaa was left for dead after she had been raped, beaten and then shot. Only three people had survived the attack on the small village. Since her physical recovery a year ago the girl has attached herself to Ororo and the twins. Plagued with nightmares, Yaa refused to talk about what happened to her. Instead she devoted herself to taking care of Ororo and her children. Yaa helped her learn her language and in turn Ororo taught her English.
Quickly disrobing, Ororo eased into the tube. This was heaven! “ This is wonderful Yaa. Asante Sana.” She said as she sanked lower into the relaxing water.
“I finish chakula, Nandi.” Yaa said before she raised the zebra skinned flap at the door. Ororo’s stomach rumbled at the mention of the delicious food she was preparing outside.
Ororo signed heavily as the tension slowly left her limbs. She glanced around the hut they all shared together. They didn’t have much in it except for a trunk with her and the twin’s clothing, three bed rolled cots stacked in a corner, hanging mosquito nets dangling from the ceiling and a small dressing table given to her by her mother. A long time ago. Ten years since she’d seen her mother. Ten years since she had even spoken with her. She could almost hear big mama’s cutting remarks the day she had packed her things and never looked back. The day that had started out as the happiest day of her life. The day she brought home a white man to big mama’s dinner table.
“Is you out of your damn mind, girl!” shouted big mama angrily. At three hundred pounds Big Mama was an impressive sight but now outraged beyond belief she seemed to tower over the table. “Your life ain’t hard enough that you got to mess it up with a white man!”
Ororo stared down at her plate. She could feel the sharp daggers coming from her mother eyes. She couldn’t do this! She had never seen Big Mama this angry before! What was she thinking! That’s when she felt a slight squeeze of her hand under the dinner table. She turned worried eyes to Logan Hunter. She stared deep into the blue depths of his eyes and remembered why they were here. Why she was sitting there listening to her mother rip her to shred without a word. She loved this man. The man that for the past three years she had kept secret from her family. This man she had agreed to live with until she had finished her residency.
Her man!
Finding strength from his love, she turned angry, disappointed eyes on her mother. “How would you know Mama! From the moment we walked in here you haven’t stopped! Damn you haven’t even looked at Logan to see the kind of man he is! All you see is color! I love this man, Mama! He’s my future. Why can’t you for once stand behind me?”
“Don’t you dare sass me girl! I knew sending you to that fancy college would change you but not like this! You think you to good for your own kind now that you gonna be a doctor! I got news for you little girl do you really think white boy here would have anything to do with you if you weren’t gonna be a doctor!”
“His names Logan!”
“Mrs. Munroe” interrupted Logan. His eye bore a warning to the older woman but his voice remained calm. “ I promised Ororo I would stay out of this and let her handle it. But I can’t do that any more. Lets get one thing straight. I love your daughter. I want to marry her and if I had my way we would be. I’m sorry this is a bit of a shock to you but I’m not going any where.” Ororo stared at Logan until she felt the tears slide down her face. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
“You hear that Mama. He loves me!”
“How long will he loves you when people start looking down on you? When your own kind start to calls ya a sellout! Or when your yellow babies come home crying cause society says they don’t fit nowhere! Look it you, all high and mighty with your styled white hair and blue eyes. Do you think they gonna except you cause of that? Baby I got news for you! They didn’t accept it from me and you got them from me! So wake up baby girl before its too late!”
A deep growl like a wild beast escaped Logan’s lips. He clinched his hands into fists and stood up to face Oror’s mother. Enough was enough!

“Nandi jeep! Remy Lébeau comes!” Yaa shoke her awake. Ororo sat up with a start, splashing water everywhere. She’d fallen asleep in the tub! “Yaa what is it?” She asked as she stepped out of the now cold water. Grabbing a towel to dry off, she turned to the excited girl.
“Remy Lébeau comes.” She repeated. Ororo signed. Just like Remy to show up when she could barely keep her eyes open. She sent Yaa out to see if he brought any supplies with him. Before Ororo could put on a pair of khaki pants and white tee shirt Yaa was back to report that he had and that Remy also had company with him. Two bazungus. White men?
Who could they be? No doubt probably more corporate big wigs coming to check out their investments! Damn. She didn’t need this right now. On a couple of hours sleep those stuff shirts were hard to take. But without any sleep? She wasn’t responsible for what was going to happen! Quickly she ran a comb through her white hair and put it in a ponytail. She turned a longing stare at her cot and signed heavily. Better get this over with.
The first thing she saw when she raised the flap was the back of a deep red headed woman. Attired in an unsuitable white two-piece suit with a to-short skirt, matching high-heeled pumps adorning her feet, she was being aided from one of three jeeps. Even where she stood Ororo could tell her attire was expensive. Painted on but expensive.
Great! Couldn’t these big wigs go without there mistresses for one day! They didn’t have time for this. If only Hank were here he would gladly handle this. She listened half amused as the woman very loudly voiced complaints of being forced to ride in a jeep without air conditioning. Who is she complaining to? Ororo moved her gaze to the woman’s companion. The bazungu was turned away from her and the woman’s ongoing tirade. Instead Ororo could hear his deep authorative voice giving instructions to a couple of eager youths unloading crates from the jeeps. Something about that voice seemed familiar but she couldn’t think why. It didn’t help that she was staring at his broad shouldered back. Well above average height, he towered over the others. His blue black hair partly hidden under a baseball cap, brushed the collar of his shirt. The denim shirt and jeans he wore outlined a muscular body of above average height. Of their own violation her eyes wondered down to his backside.
She smiled.
Not bad for a stuff shirt.
There was something about this guy that was making the small hairs at the back of her neck stand up. What was it? Before she could continue her scrutiny of the stranger, she was suddenly lifted off the ground and swung around in a bear hug. Remy! She had been so into the stranger she had not seen him approach.
“Remy put me down, you big oaf! What are you doing here? We weren’t expecting you until next month!” she laughingly asked when he finally set her down again.
“Yes, but I decided to check up on my favorite Doc. Is that a crime?”
“Not if you brought supplies with you”
“Oh you only like seeing me for what I bring. To think I thought it was because of my wonderful personality!” he teased.
“Whatever gave you that idea?” she grinned.
“Well I guess I can take me and my packet of letters back to the states then.” He pulled out a small stack of envelopes from his shirt pocket and waved them away from her. She made a grab for them and missed.
“Remy! Give me those letters or I’ll tell your wife about the monkey incident!” Ororo smirked. It wasn’t everyday a big, six foot Cajun, ex-jock had a monkey fall in love with him to the point of following his every move. There was a lot to be said about all that charm Remy alluded!
“You wouldn’t!” he stared at her in shocked amusement. “Yes you would. Here blackmailer.”
“Why thank you” she glanced quickly through the pile. “You mind telling me what you doing here so close to your wife’s due date?”
Remy groaned. “Don’t you start too. Rogue is quite capable of having this child without me. But for your information she encouraged me to take this trip.”
“Oh I get it! You were driving her crazy so she kicked you out the door!” Remy grimaced. His unusual pale eyes looked wounded
“You wound me Chére. That’s not what happened. I happen to be here for the day to show my new partner the lay out.”
“Partner? Since when?”
“Since we’re expanding my dear doc. And before you bombard me with questions, I have one for you, Why is it I’ve been here for a whole twenty minutes and I have not been attacked by my two favorite munchkins?”
“That’s because my wonderful children are not here. They cajoled Hank into taking them to Kenya. You’ll see them later tonight.”
“Poor man. I almost feel sorry for him. But as much as I would love to see them I won’t be staying. I’m just here to drop off supplies and return to my lovely wife.”
“How much time?”
“Less then three hours.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Right on time. Here comes our new team player.” Full of curiosity, Ororo turned around. Her gaze fell on the approaching couple. Dear god no! All the blood drained from her face. It couldn’t be! Please, please god let her be dreaming! The man walking toward them with confident, long strides was her ex-fiancé, Logan Howlett!
“Hello Ororo.” Intoned his deep voice. Ororo suddenly felt light headed. Her world swam before her just as darkness enveloped her into unconsciousness.





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