Disclaimer: I do not own any of Marvel's characters and am using them without permission. No profit is being gaining from this work. All credit goes to their original creators and owners. The X-Men are property of Marvel Comics.  (Did that sound serious enough?)

Rating: R (adult language, mild adult content, mild violence—basically there's cursing, some blood, and a few fade-to-blacks that get a tad bit steamy…)

Summary: Rogue tries to start over away Logan—but can she truly move past the love they shared? (Sequel to "Sometimes it Ain't Enough")

Author's Note: You asked for a sequel, you get it. No flaming. Also, I'm using my creative licenses with Rogue's past—and with everyone else's for that matter. Don't email me saying "that didn't happen that way." I don't care. And if you think it bites, well, blame my cat—she kept walking across the keyboard, so I'll just say she wrote all the bad parts. ;-)

Feedback and Archiving: Feedback is always greatly appreciated. The more the better. And as for archiving, anywhere you want, just email me first and let me know where you're posting my baby… If you want to contact me, my email address is addie_logan@yahoo.com and my AIM screen name is ChereRogueMarie.

Visit My Webpage!: Like this story and want to read more of my stuff? Confused because you read this one before "Sometimes it Ain't Enough?" Just feel like being a nice person and making my hit counter go up? Well, then visit my webpage at https://www.angelfire.com/scifi/addielogan.

 

A Simple Life of Complications

By: Addie Logan

*** *** ***

For a long time I was in love
Not only in love I was obsessed
With a friendship that no one else could touch
It didn't work out, I'm covered in shells

And all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
And all I needed was a simple man
So I could be a wife

I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean
I don't know how it got to this point
I always was the one with all the love
You came along, I'm hunting you down

Like a sick domestic abuser looking for a fight
And all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life

If we met tomorrow for the very first time
Would it start all over again?
Would I try to make you mine?

I always thought I'd be a mom
Sometimes I wish for a mistake
The longer that I wait the more selfish that I get
You seem like you'd be a good dad

Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life
How'd I get so faithful to my freedom?
A selfish kind of life
When all I ever wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life

*** *** ***

Rogue drove straight on through the night. She couldn't stop. If she did when she was still close to New York, nothing would stop her from turning right back around and begging Logan to take her into his arms again. She knew she couldn't do that. She had to be strong this time.

She had to move on.

Rogue had been in love with Logan since she was seventeen years old. From the first moment she'd seen him, she'd been instantly attracted to him. He'd been fighting in a cage, his muscles rippling, his lips curled in a feral snarl. He'd seemed so strong, so masculine, and Rogue had never seen anyone like him before. She'd known she wanted to get closer to him.

Through a strange chain of events, she'd gotten her wish. She'd found out he was mutant, like her, and they'd both wound up at a school for mutants in Westchester, New York. It wasn't long after that that Logan had left her for the first time.  He'd given her his dog tags—his one solid link to his past—and Rogue had cherished them.

Until he'd come back, successfully broken her heart all over again, and she'd thrown them back in his face.

Still, somehow, Logan had convinced her to forgive him, and she'd trusted him again. And again. And again. Eventually, it had reached the point where they'd become lovers, but Logan's habit of leaving her every time things got rough hadn't stopped. She'd given up friendships, an engagement, even her sanity at times, all for the chance to have Logan hurt her once more.

Rogue finally had had enough. She'd been the one to leave this time, determined that she would never go back to him.

Still, the thought of his dark hazel eyes, his muscular body, his husky voice, the way he touched her—it all called her home to Westchester. She wanted Logan, wanted him to hold her, tell her everything was all right, and they were going to make it.

Most of all, she wanted him to make her believe they could work.

But she couldn't believe that anymore. She couldn't fool herself into believing that Logan would be there for her when she needed it. He loved her, and she loved him, but love wasn't always enough. Waiting around for Logan to settle down would leave her nothing but broken and alone in the end. She knew she had to get away before it was too late for her to live a life that wasn't always in the shadow of the Wolverine.

But her heart wanted to go home.

So she kept driving. She drove for almost a day nonstop, ignoring her exhaustion. All that mattered was putting as much distance between herself and temptation as possible. Her original intent was to stop once she reached her home state of Mississippi, but she wasn't far over the state border when she realized she'd never liked it there much to begin with.

So Rogue kept driving until she hit the coast and ran out of road. Not feeling like taking a boat to get any further, she prayed she was far enough, and found a motel.

She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and when she woke it felt as if she had slept for days.

*** *** ***

Rogue opened her eyes and looked around, not sure of where she was. The décor of the room reminded her that she was in a motel, but the location of said motel was another story entirely. Her first thought was to call the front desk and ask where she was, but she didn't want to look any crazier than she probably had after coming in when she'd driven for a straight day. She got out of bed and walked over to the dresser where a few pamphlets advertising local attractions were. She picked one up an read it. Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana.

"Long way from Westchester," Rogue muttered.

She set back down on the bed and turned on the television. The date and time in the corner of the screen revealed that she had left New York three days before. She couldn't believe she'd been able to get so far so quickly, but there she was. All she could think was that it would be just as easy to drive back to Logan.

Rogue shook her head violently, as if she was trying to make that thought go away. She'd worked too hard to get away from Logan—she couldn't let herself go back now. He'd caused her too much pain over the years, and she had to find a way of life where she wasn't constantly pining for him. She had to learn how to survive on her own, escape the persona of the scared little girl who had first arrived at Xavier's School for the Gifted at seventeen. She had to find the strength she'd lost when she'd become obsessed with the idea of Logan loving her.

Rogue flopped back on the bed with a pain-filled sigh. That was all it had been all along—the idea of love. She'd pictured a life with Logan—marriage, children. He'd never wanted that. He wanted someone who'd be there when he felt like taking a break from his normal lone-wolf lifestyle. He'd told her he loved her, and she knew he'd meant it, but it had never been the type of fairytale love she'd craved.

Rogue didn't even want that anymore. If her relationship with Logan had taught her anything, it was that perfect love didn't exist. She'd never be the mom of two kids, living in the suburbs and driving a station wagon with a sticker of a soccer ball on the back. She'd never live the life she would've had if she'd been able to just stay Marie.

Her only chance was to live the life of a Rogue.

Rogue got off the bed and grabbed some clean clothes from her bag, then went into the bathroom to shower and change.

Soon, she was walking out of the motel ready to see what sort of life she could make for herself in Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana

*** *** ***

Almost as soon as she walked outside, Rogue's stomach rumbled, reminding her that it had been a while since she'd had anything decent to eat. She noticed a truck stop restaurant reminiscent of a Waffle House across the street, and figured it would be better than no food at all. At least she could get some coffee.

After she finished eating, Rogue sat in the restaurant for a long time, sipping her coffee and watching the people as they came and went. What would her life be like now? She'd set out to live on her own years ago, when she was only sixteen, and she'd been able to survive, to find a place where she felt like she belonged. But now, what would she do? She was older, and she no longer had the adventurous spirit she did as a young woman. Life on the road, hitching a ride from truck stop to truck stop, actually being thankful for her powers because, for the most part, they kept her from being attacked—she couldn't handle that anymore. Before, she'd felt like destiny had led her to Wolverine and the X-Men, but what now?

Rogue knew she'd have to find somewhere to live, and a job to support herself. She'd cleared her bank account when she'd left, but Rogue knew it wouldn't be long until that ran out. Jean and Professor Xavier had both told her she could ask them for money anytime things got to rough, but Rogue didn't want to be dependent on others the way she had been in the past. She knew the only way she could move beyond all the pain she'd known loving Logan was by starting fresh and supporting herself in a way that she hadn't ever before.

She decided first she'd look for a place to live and use what money she had to pay rent and to feed herself until she could find a job. She wasn't sure what sort of teaching jobs she could find in there, but she decided that she didn't even want to look for one. High school That had been her profession in her old life, and she didn't want anything to remind her of that. This was a fresh start. A second chance.

"More like a fourth," Rogue thought wryly.

Rogue looked at her watch and saw that it was almost noon. "Might as well go out and face the world," she muttered. She stood up, threw a couple of dollars on the table for a tip, paid for her meal at the cash register, then walked out. She drove back to the motel to make sure she could remain checked in for a couple of days at least, then set out on her quest to find a new life for herself.

*** *** ***

Rogue drove around town, getting a feel for the area, before picking up a newspaper and bringing it back to the motel with her. As soon as she was back in her room, she flopped down on the bed and flipped to the classifieds, checking out both apartment listings and job openings.

Two hours and several phone calls later, she found herself to still be homeless, jobless, and very well near hopeless. She shook her head and tried to remind herself that she'd only just begun to look, and these things took time. "Like Scarlet said," she told herself, "tomorrow is another day." Then she added, grumbling, "I just hope tomorrow doesn't suck as badly as today did. Or the day before…"

She took a long bath, then changed into some more comfortable clothes, hoping that if she could relax, she'd feel better. She called for a pizza, and then settled down in front of the television to take advantage of the motel's advertised free HBO.

The movie was just beginning when she turned the television on, and she smiled when she saw it was the Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd movie Where the Heart Is. She remembered watching it years ago with her friends back at the mansion. It had been the night that she'd gained her longstanding nickname "Twinkie Mama" after a comment Bobby Drake had made. Rogue laughed out loud when she thought about how Jubilee had told Bobby he'd never find anyone to date him, let alone have a child with him, and how now, well, Jubilee and Bobby were a couple the last Rogue had heard.

Suddenly, Rogue frowned as she realized that she'd never seen the end of this movie. It had been the night that Logan had left for the second time. She hadn't wanted to watch anymore that night. She'd just sat around, letting herself be brokenhearted.

Rogue realized now all the unnecessary pain she'd put herself through over the years. She'd had friends who'd cared about her more than Logan had ever appeared to, and yet he had been the one who she'd placed above all else. She'd managed to alienate herself from Bobby, Jubilee, and Kitty—her three closest friends—all because of her relationship with Logan. True, with Jubilee and Kitty it had been their treatment of her that had ultimately driven her away, but she wondered now if maybe there was a time when she should've listened to them more.

And Bobby… All he'd ever done was love her, and she'd thrown it back in his face. She didn't regret breaking off the engagement—she regretted ever agreeing to marry him in the first place. She hadn't loved him enough to commit to him that way, and she'd known it even when she was saying yes. Still, she'd gone against what she knew in her heart to be what she should do, and in the end she had caused him so much pain. She hated herself for how she'd treated him, and wished more than anything that she could somehow make amends.

"I hope Jubilee does better by him than I did. He deserves that."

Rogue reached into her purse and dug around for her cigarettes. She knew it was a nasty habit, and one she truly did want to break, but at a time like this she figured she could indulge her cravings. She wondered if smoking was something she picked up from having Logan in her mind. Before she'd met him she'd never been interested in tobacco or alcohol, but after she touched Wolverine that changed.

She smoked her cigarette, wondering how she was ever going to get over him. Although it had been a long time since she'd last touched him with deadly skin, and the majority of his personality traits had long ago faded, some of him still remained. How could you forget someone who was that much a part of you? It was like ignoring the fact you had a left arm and trying to function with only your right.

Without Logan, she felt like half a person.

*** *** ***

Rogue looked around the empty apartment. It was small, but she decided it would do. She didn't need much anyway, since it was just her. She turned to the complex's landlord, who was standing expectantly in front of the door. "I'd like to take a look at the lease," she said.

"Of course, follow me down to the office, Miss…"

"Xavier," Rogue said, giving him the name of the man who had been more of a father to her than anyone she'd ever known in the past. "Miss Xavier."

The landlord smiled, made happy simply by the prospect of another rent check coming in at the end of the month.

And with that, Rogue made her first step towards a real, independent life.

*** *** ***

Rogue sat on the floor of her new apartment eating Chinese food from the carton. At the moment she was without furniture, sleeping on a bedspread and pillows she'd bought from Wal-Mart. She bought a television, a radio, and a phone, too, so at least she could feel connected to the world.

But she ate her chicken lo mein in silence, staring at the too-white walls and wishing she could hear the sound of someone's voice.

His voice.

The only sounds were the hum of the air conditioner, and the crickets chirping in the thick, Louisiana night. All the sounds were steady, unyielding. They just reminded her that she was alone.

Rogue finished her dinner, but stayed on the living room floor, pulling her knees up to her chin for comfort. She kept telling herself she could do this, that she was strong enough to make it on her own.

After all, if she was able to make it from Meridian, Mississippi to Laughlin City, Alberta when she was still a teenager by hitchhiking with truckers, then she could make it living on her own in her mid-twenties. She'd always been strong, and this was just another test of strength.

Still, the loneliness was consuming. She had to hear a familiar voice, had to remind herself that she wasn't the only person left on the planet.

Rogue picked up the phone, deciding that one call to the mansion couldn't possibly do any damage. After all, Jean had still been her friend when she left, and Rogue was sure the redheaded doctor would want to know that she was doing okay. Rogue dialed the main line of the mansion, deciding she'd just ask whoever answered the phone to get Jean for her. It was only a little after seven o'clock there, and she figured Jean had probably gone to the medlab after dinner to clean up, the way she often did. Usually, Scott answered the phone, and he'd be happy to transfer the call down to his wife.

What Rogue didn't count on was Logan answering the phone.

"Hello?"

Rogue froze. It was him—there was no way she could mistake the voice that had haunted her thoughts and dreams for so many years. She'd thought for sure that Logan would've left the mansion shortly after she had, going off to be alone and lick his wounds.

But he was there, and he was on the phone.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

Rogue couldn't say anything to him. He'd recognize the sound of her voice and ask her to come home—a request she wasn't sure she'd be able to turn down. She slammed down the phone and backed away from it as if were something that could bite her. When she'd calmed down some and her breathing returned to normal, Marie began to cry.

*** *** ***

Pain. Blinding light. Laughing. Why were they laughing? It hurt…

Searing heat. More pain. Laughing, chatting… Why did they ignore him?

His bones…fire… Death—it had to be death. Could you hurt this much and live? Could you hurt any more than this?

Yes—there was more pain. Oh, God why? Nothing left to do but scream…

Rogue sat up in her makeshift bed screaming Logan's name. She'd had that dream again—his dream—and the knowledge that Logan wasn't going to answer her cries was more painful than the borrowed memory.

She took a deep breath, trying to slow the rapid beating of her heart. Her whole body felt clammy with sweat, and she couldn't wipe the images from her mind. Logan had known so much pain in his life—was it right for her to cause him more just so she could be safe?

Rogue laid back on the bed, wondering if she could even try to answer that question. She reached over and switched on the radio, hoping that maybe some noise could keep her from thinking questions without real answers.

She stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan as it rotated above her, its pattern of motion never shaking, never wavering. The rhythm of the fan and the music began to soothe her, and soon she was drifting back to sleep.

You're not a stranger to me
And you are something to see
You don't even know how to please
You say a lot...but you're unaware how to leave

My darling lives in a world that is not mine
An old child misunderstood...out of time
Timeless is the creature who is wise
And timeless is the prisoner in disguise

The song changed, and the beginning of the new song made Rogue's eyes open. She told herself to ignore the comparisons her mind was drawing between the man described in the song and Logan. "It's like Jubilee told ya once," she muttered to herself. "You'd see Logan in your mashed potatoes." She tried to concentrate on the soft sound of the music, not the words. She was only reminded of  Logan because she couldn't get him off her mind.

Oh who is the beauty...who the beast
Would you die of grieving when I leave
Two children too blind to see
I would fall in your shadow...I believe

My love is a man who's not been tamed
Oh...my love lives in a world of false pleasure and pain
We come from difference worlds...we are the same (my love)
I never doubted your beauty...I've changed
I never doubted your beauty...I've changed

Rogue rolled over to glare at the radio.  The last stanza stuck in her mind. A man who's not been tamed… We come from different worlds…we are the same.

Those words brought her back to another time, another place. She remembered being seventeen and sitting on a train beside a man she had just met. She could hear the words he said that made her young heart fall for him—"That's a rare thing…for people like us."

It was the first time since she'd been forced to leave her home that Marie had felt like she belonged anywhere. She'd felt that Logan was a kindred spirit—she knew the pain he'd gone through and thought that maybe, together, they could heal each other's wounds. In the end, they'd only made more.

Looking back, Rogue realized how naïve she had been. She'd interpreted Logan's promise to "take care of her" to mean he'd be there for her whenever she needed him, that he'd always be by her side. She didn't know how she could've believed he'd give her more than he had, she'd known his personality, probably better than he had. Rogue knew that Logan had meant it when he'd said he'd take care of her, and in his mind he probably thought he had.

She'd known everything he was, and yet she'd expected more. She was paying the price for it now: alone, curled up on the floor of a small apartment in the suppressive heat of a Louisiana night.

Changed...who is the beauty
Where is my beast (my love)
There is no beauty
Without my beast (my love)

Who is the beauty
Who... (my love)
Ahhh...
Oh...la bête...la bête
Where is my beast

Rogue wondered why she'd even bothered an attempt at a relationship with Logan. She wished she'd just let him go on her twenty-first birthday, when her drunken admission of love had driven him away. She wished she'd never followed him to Canada, never convinced him to start a relationship that at least a part of him resented. She knew Logan was a loner, a man who never wanted to feel trapped by anything. Rogue wanted commitment, and that was the one thing he could never give her.

She didn't blame him for it. He'd wanted to give her what she needed, he just couldn't. Freedom, life beyond the mansion, it was always calling to him. If Rogue had been capable of being there when he needed her, waiting for the times when he wanted to settle down for a while and take a break from life on the road, then things would've worked out fine between them. But Rogue couldn't do that. She wanted more than the life of Logan's beacon of light that occasionally called him back to civilization.

Rogue told herself she couldn't be mad at Logan for not giving her what she needed. He'd told her as much years ago, when she'd followed him up to Canada. He'd told her that she was the kind of woman who wanted a man to commit, to settle down and have a life with her, and that he could never do that for her. He'd told her to move on, to find a love that could give her the home and family she craved.

"I should've listened then," Rogue said aloud.

She frowned. In a way, she had listened. She'd tried to have that sort of life with Bobby Drake, but he hadn't given her what she wanted either. He'd offered her all the Logan never could, but when it came from Bobby, she rejected it. Commitment from him wasn't what she wanted either. She'd wanted a man who could stand beside her and ignite the sort of passion in her that Logan had. She wanted the best of both worlds.

"Prince Charming on a Harley," Rogue thought dryly.

Rogue wondered if her dream of the perfect man for her could ever even become a reality. Did someone who was willing to commit, yet dark and mysterious enough to excite her even exist? She couldn't help but wonder if her destiny was to be alone forever.

Even when the sun had risen, Rogue had not found sleep.

My beauty...my beauty
My beautiful...beautiful...beautiful
Beautiful beast

*** *** ***

Rogue walked into the restaurant with nervous anticipation, wondering if maybe she'd be better if she just turned around and left. She'd never waited tables before, and she wasn't sure it would be a job she'd like. Besides, this place, well, it looked like the sort of place she'd find Logan.

She took a deep breath, and sauntered into the small building, standing as tall as she could. She walked over to the counter, where a woman who Rogue figured was about her age stood. The other woman was tall, with red hair she had pulled back in a ponytail, and bright blue eyes. "Can I help you?" she asked Rogue in an accent that Rogue had decided, after the few days she's spent in this part of Louisiana, to be Cajun.

"I'm lookin' for Jacques Rawlins," Rogue said. "I saw in the paper he's offerin' a job."

The woman looked over her shoulder towards what Rogue assumed to be the kitchen and yelled, "Papa, quelqu'un est ici pour te voir!" She looked back at Rogue and smiled. "He'll be out in a minute."

Rogue looked around the room, and noticed that maybe it wasn't as bad as she'd first judged. Although it was dark and had sort of a rustic look, it wasn't nearly as sleazy as some of the establishments Wolverine like to frequent. She noticed most of the people there could still sit up straight, there weren't any unidentifiable smells, and many people were even sitting down and eating. Rogue even spotted a couple of families. "Maybe working here wouldn't be so bad," she thought.

"You wanted t'see me?"

Rogue looked up and saw a short, chubby man with a balding head and a bushy red mustache. "You're Jacques Rawlins?"

"Yeah."

"I read in the paper you're lookin' for a new waitress."

Jacques held his chin in his hand and looked Rogue over, as if inspecting her. He raised a eyebrow at her hair. "You got a name, mouffette?"

"Uh, people call me Rogue," she said, not wanting to ask what a "mouffette" was.

"Your mama give you dat name?"

"No."

"What name your mama give you?"

"If ya don't mind, Mr. Rawlins, I figured I stopped being' that person when my mama kicked me out."

Jacques stared at Rogue for a moment, and she wondered if he was going to yell. He looked like a man who could get angry easily. Much to her surprise, he laughed. "Ya got a fire in ya, mouffette, and dat's a good t'ing in my book. You ever waited tables before?"

"No."

"Den you're gonna need some practice. Come back tonight—'round eight. Elaine here will show ya what t'do." He gestured a thick thumb towards the girl at the counter.

Rogue nodded. "Uh, thank you, sir. But don't I need an interview or somethin'..."

"Call me Jacques. An' no, no interview… No need. I can tell you're gonna work out jus' fine. Come back at eight an' talk t'Elaine." He gave her a smile before retreating back into the kitchen.

Rogue frowned as she walked out. She wanted a job, but this Jacques character seemed a little, well, crazy. Still, there was something about him she couldn't help but like. She decided just to come back at eight and see how things went.

*** *** ***

"Papa said people call ya Rogue?"

Rogue nodded. "Yeah. You're Elaine?"

"Yup." She pointed to a blonde and then a brunette. "Dat's Trixie and Dat's Brienne. Call 'er Bri. Gabrielle an' Marguerite had de earlier shift. Usually dere's jus' t'ree of us here at a time, but Papa wanted me t'break you in. Where you from anyway?"

"Originally Mississippi, but I've been livin' in New York."

"What brought ya back down dis way?"

"I was havin' some trouble up there."

"Man trouble?"

Rogue frowned. "What makes you ask that?"

"Dat's de kinda trouble dat always sends a woman t'change everyt'ing."

"Why do you say I'm changin' everything?"

"You tol' Papa you ain't never waited tables. Dat's not jus' somethin' you wake up one day an' decide t'do. 'Sides, you look nice, like ya worry 'bout fashion an' stuff, de way dey do in New York. Somet'in' musta gotcha good t'make ya wanna come dis far. I jus' bet it be a man."

"Well, you guessed right."

"Good you came back down here," Elaine said. "Dose men from up North don't do not'in' but break hearts. I know, believe me. Had myself one once—now it's jus' me an' Claire."

"Claire?"

"My li'l girl. She stays wit' my mama when I work. She's six. Angel child, dat one. You got kids, Rogue?"

"No. Always wanted them, though."

Elaine laughed. "Well, don' rush it. Dere great most of de time, but sometimes ya wanna strangle 'em. 'Specially when you're on your own cause deir papa's a good fer not'in'."

Rogue wondered for a moment if that's what it would've been like for her if she'd had children with Logan. She didn't think he'd desert her completely, but would fatherhood actually persuade him to stay in one place for the rest of his life?

"So ya ready t'learn the excitin' skill of waitressin'?" Elaine asked, pulling Rogue back into the present.

Rogue smiled. "Ready when you are."

Elaine grinned back as she led Rogue to the floor.

*** *** ***

Rogue collapsed into a chair once all the customers were gone and the bar had been cleaned. "What time is it?" she asked.

"'Bout five, I reckon," Trixie said.

"New girl havin' problems keepin' up?" Brienne asked, rolling her eyes.

"Leave 'er 'lone, Bri," Elaine snapped. "You didn't look much better your first day eit'er." She turned back to Rogue. "You'll have t'excuse Bri. She t'inks 'cause her papa had more money den de rest of us when she was growin' she's got de right t'be a bitch."

Trixie snorted. Bri rolled her eyes.

Before Rogue could say anything else, Jacques came out, wiping his hands on his apron. "You still breat'in', mouffette?"

Rogue looked up, already used to the nickname. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Ya gonna stick 'round, den?" he asked.

"Yes."

Jacques grinned. "Good. I like ya. Give Elaine your number. She'll call an' give ya your schedule. Ya can go on home now."

Rogue nodded. "Thanks again, Jacques."

"Happy t'help."

*** *** ***

After a week, Rogue was beginning to get the hang of things around Jacques place. She didn't see much of the other two waitresses, Gabrielle and Marguerite, but from what she had seen of them they seemed nice. She liked Trixie and Elaine a lot, and had quickly formed friendships with the two of them. Brienne was another story entirely, but Rogue had managed to stay on her good side—which wasn't really all that good, until you compared it to her bad side.

She was working the day shift one Wednesday with Elaine and Trixie, and slow business allowed the three of them to take a break. "I'd work not'in' but days if de tips weren't so bad before nightfall," Trixie muttered, stretching out in one of the booths.

"Definitely beats runnin' from table to table bringin' drinks," Rogue agreed.

Elaine turned to Rogue. "So, Rogue, what's your story?" she asked.

"I told you the first day I got here," Rogue said.

"Non. You said you're runnin' from a man. Dat ain't no story," Elaine said.

Trixie sat up a little. "Yeah, Rogue, tell us more 'bout you."

"I don't know much about y'all," she said.

"Not much t'tell," Elaine said. "I jus' work fer Papa, and Trixie here is a local gal who never went t'college so she can't get out."

"Most girls our age wan' outta here," Trixie said. "I was too stupid. You, on de ot'er hand, came here willin'ly. Gotta be somet'in' to dat."

"Why didn't you leave, Trixie?" Rogue asked.

"Same as Elaine—got knocked up. Never see my baby t'ough. His papa run off wit' 'im. By dat point my parents had disowned me, so I work here t' support myself."

"You say your mama t'rew you out," Elaine said. "Why'd she do it? You said you never had kids… You do somet'in' else? Drugs?"

Rogue shook her head. "No, nothing like that. I…I guess she just wanted me to leave."

"Is it 'cause you're a mutant?" Trixie blurted out.

"Trixie!" Elaine yelled.

Trixie blushed. "Sorry."

"Why…why would ya say that?" Rogue asked nervously.

"Trixie an' me, well, we were t'inkin mebbe ya were a mutant, an' dat's why you're so secretive 'bout everyt'in'," Elaine said. She added quickly. "It's okay if ya are, we don' judge here. Some of our best customers are mutants."

"You're really not against mutants?" Rogue asked.

Trixie shook her head. "Non. I figger God made every one of us, an' it ain't my place t'judge anyone of His creations."

"Papa taught me t'love everyone," Elaine said.

Rogue let out a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm a mutant," she said, feeling a rush relief at not having to hide that part of herself anymore.

"What sorta powers ya got?" Trixie asked.

"Crappy ones," Rogue muttered.

Elaine laughed. "Can't be dat bad. Not like you're blue an' furry or not'in'."

"Sometimes I wish I was," Rogue said. "My mutation is, well, I can absorb people's personalities and memories just by touchin' their skin."

Trixie and Elaine both looked at her in shock. "But you been touchin' all of us jus' fine," Trixie said.

"That's because I have control over it," Rogue explained. "I used to not. The first boy I ever kissed was in a coma for three weeks. An' my ex—the one I mentioned to you, Elaine—he's still inside my head."

Trixie let out a low whistle. "Merde. Dat couldn't have been good for your love life."

Elaine looked up at the door. "Great. It's de swamp charmer," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Who?" Rogue asked.

"You'll see soon enough," Trixie said. "He's a regular here. Tries to get into de pants of every woman he sees."

"Yeah, an' he's been in yours," Elaine muttered.

"Not jus' mine!" Trixie exclaimed. "Bri's too!"

Elaine rolled her eyes. "Too bad dat one didn't last. Dey deserve each ot'er."

"Afternoon, ladies."

Rogue turned around to see a tall, handsome man with long, auburn hair. He was dressed in nice, obviously expensive clothing, right up to his designer sunglasses. He smiled as he saw Rogue. "I see Jacques hired someone knew. An' who might you be, petite?"

"I'm Rogue."

He smiled an almost-predatory grin. "Rogue. Quite a name for such a lovely little t'ing." He leaned down and kissed her hand. "It's a pleasure t'make your acquaintance."

"I'm sure de pleasure's all hers," Elaine said briskly as she stood up. "Now are ya gonna cut de crap an' order or am I gonna have t'tell Papa you're takin' up our valuable time?

"I'll have my regular," the man said, waving his hand dismissively at Elaine. She grumbled something under her breath and walked off to the kitchen to place the order.

Trixie looked up, her eyes colder than Rogue had seen them before. "Why don't you sit down an' wait fer Elaine t'get your food. Ya know she never makes ya wait long."

"If dat'll make you happy, chère," the man said with a nod, leaving Rogue to go sit a few tables away.

"It would make me happy if you fell over dead," Trixie said low enough so only Rogue could hear. "I don' know what I was t'inkin' wit' dat one. I guess he can be charmin' when he wants t'be."

"What's his name?" Rogue asked.

"Julien Crevecoeur," Trixie told her. "An' it definitely fits. He's a heartbreaker if I ever met one."

"Were you in love with him?" Rogue asked.

Trixie shrugged. "Didn't last long 'nough fer me t'fall, really. But he had me under his spell, I can tell ya dat much. Cried more tears over dat man den I did over de fat'er of my child. It's like he works some sorta voodoo magic t'get himself in ya heart."

"I think it has less to do with magic and more to do with the fact he's gorgeous," Rogue said. He'd taken off his sunglasses, and she could see now that his eyes were crystal blue.

"Don' you go fallin' fer 'im now, Rogue. You got hurt enough by dat boy Elaine said you had back in New York."

Rogue suppressed a laugh at the sound of anyone calling Logan a "boy." For all Rogue knew, Logan could've been a full-grown man when Trixie's grandfather was young. "You're right there," Rogue said. "Bein' hurt by Logan is enough heartache for a lifetime."

"Julien's starin' at ya," Trixie said. "You'd t'ink he'd at least have decency not t'check ya out wit' me sittin' right here."

"Men like him aren't very well acquainted with decency," Rogue said.

Trixie laughed. "Ya got dat right, gal."

Elaine came out of the kitchen and served Julien his meal with a smile. "You just holler if ya need anyt'ing," she told him.

"Sure t'ing, chère," he replied.

Elaine rolled her eyes as soon as she was looking back at Rogue and Trixie. She sat down with them. "You give him de same as always?" Trixie asked in a hushed voice.

"Right down to de spit in his tea," Elaine said.

Trixie giggled. "Don' know what I'd do wit'out you, Elaine."

"Probably keep sleepin' around wit' every boy dat pulls in on a Harley."

"I do dat wit' you around."

"I know, and ya need t'stop," Elaine said, giving Trixie a playful swat on the arm.

Rogue smiled as she watched her new friends, feeling that maybe she'd finally found a place where she belonged.

*** *** ***

"Jean?"

"This is Jean."

"Hey, Jean, it's Rogue."

"Rogue! I'm so happy to hear from you! I was beginning to worry."

Rogue smiled at the sound of the other woman's voice on the line. She was beginning to settle into her new life, but she still missed her old friends. "I tried to call earlier, but Logan answered and I couldn't talk to him."

"That's all right. I can understand," Jean said. "So tell me how you are—where are you?"

"I'm in Louisiana, and I'm fine," Rogue said. "I'm workin' at this Cajun restaurant and bar that's run by this wonderful man name Jacques and his daughter, Elaine. All the other waitresses except one are really nice, and I get along well with the regular customers. My friends even know I'm a mutant and they're okay with it. I'm makin' enough money to support myself and I'm really happy."

"That's great, Rogue," Jean said. "I'm glad you're making it on your own. Nothing down there giving you any trouble?"

"Well, there is this one guy—Julien Crevecoeur," Rogue said. "He's got it in his mind that he's gonna seduce me, and he's not taking no for an answer. It's all right though—Elaine says he'll get sick of me and move on to someone else soon enough."

"You could always put him in a coma."

"Jean!"

"Just a suggestion."

Rogue giggled. "I'll keep that in mind. So what's goin' on at the mansion?"

"Oh not much, just same old same old." Jean paused for a second. "Logan left again this morning."

"Just this morning?" Rogue asked in surprise. "I would've thought he'd left long before now."

"So did I. He told Ororo he was hoping you'd come back."

"I'm not going to," Rogue said. "Not even now that he's gone."

"I know."

"Hey, Jean, I should probably go. This call is gonna cost me a fortune."

"Yeah, I need to go, too. Scott and I are supposed to go out tonight."

"Y'all have a good time," Rogue said. "And tell him hey for me."

"I will. Bye, Rogue."

"Bye, Jean."

Rogue hung up the phone and began to cry.

*** *** ***

Rogue had been working for Jacques about a month when the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen walked through the door. She tuned to Elaine, trying to form a coherent sentence, but all she could manage was, "I want."

Elaine laughed. "Honey, every woman alive wants. Problem is, he's property of Lila Cheney."

"Who?" Rogue asked.

Elaine pointed to a dark haired woman who sat at the table the handsome man had just walked over to. "Dat's Lila Cheney. She's some kinda rock star from what I hear. Pretty wild, too. Not sure how dey ended up toget'er, jus' know dat dere a hot item."

"Do they come in here often?" Rogue asked. "I've never seen either of them before."

"When Lila's not traveling, yeah, dey come in here. Her band tours a lot. Sometimes Remy sticks around when she's gone."

"His name's Remy?"

"Yeah," Elaine said. "Remy LeBeau. Some people 'round here call 'em Gambit. Fits him. He's always takin' chances—an' you'll never find 'im wit'out a deck of playin' cards." Elaine shook her head. "Man's a poster child for vice, but ya can't help but love 'im."

"He seems a little like Julien," Rogue said.

"Julien's like his evil twin," Elaine said. "Remy's a flirt, but he's harmless. Don' take anyt'ing he says too serious, he's jus' playin'. Papa loves him t'death—as if de boy was his own son."

"What do you think of Lila?" Rogue asked.

Elaine snorted. "Hate de woman. I figure Remy could do better, but he's taken wit' her. She's a wild one, an' I guess he is, too—jus' not de same sort of wild. I figure one of dese days he'll want to calm down, an' I don't t'ink she could if she tried."

"How long have they been together?"

"Year or so, I t'ink," Elaine said. "Maybe less, I don't know. Remy used t'come in here wit' her a while back, but I don't t'ink dey were a couple den. Seemed more like—associates. I t'ought mebbe dey were pullin' a job toget'er."

"Pullin' a job together?" Rogue asked.

"Remy's a t'ief." Elaine laughed at the way Rogue's eyes grew wide. "He's not a bad person, jus' trained t'steal. From what he'll tell 'bout where he came from, I figure his papa's Jean-Luc LeBeau, head of de N'walins T'ieves Guild. Remy, t'ough, he not part of de Guild anymore. Don' know what made him leave, but he's turned into a regular modern-day Robin Hood, doin' de whole robbin' de rich t'feed de poor t'ing."

"From the way he's dressed, I doubt the poor sees much of it," Rogue said.

Elaine laughed. "Hey, ya can't expect de man t'live in poverty himself, Rogue. Dis ain't Sherwood Forrest an' he's far from Friar Tuck. But Remy's a good man, wouldn't hurt anyone dat didn't deserve it—not on purpose anyway. He's de most loyal friend you'll ever make, an' he'd never desert ya. Get t'know him 'fore you go judgin' based on his profession."

Rogue nodded. "I'll do that."

Jacques came out of the kitchen and started to approach Elaine and Rogue, but he stopped as soon as he saw Remy. His eyes lit up and he went right over to him. Remy stood up, and the two reunited with a back-slapping hug. They conversed for a moment in Cajun French before Jacques motioned for Rogue to come over there. "You have t'meet my new girl, Remy," Jacques said with his ever-present grin. "She's got a fire in her belly, I can tell ya dat. Calls herself Rogue," he said with a laugh.

Remy looked down at her and Rogue felt her stomach flutter. His eyes were a sensuous combination of red-on-black, and something about his smile made her want to melt. He took her hand and shook it gently. "Nice t'meet you, Rogue," he said. "I'm Remy."

"Nice to meet you, too." Rogue said with a blush. She heard someone cough and she looked over to meet the eyes of Lila Cheney.

"Uh, dat's my girlfriend, Lila," Remy said, looking ashamed from the glare Lila was giving him.

Lila gave Rogue an icy smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rogue," she said with saccharine sweetness.

"Same to you, Lila," Rogue said, mimicking the other woman's fake smile.

Jacques put his arm around Rogue's shoulder. "C'mon, mouffette. You've got ot'er tables t'take care of."

Rogue noticed Remy snicker at Jacques nickname for her, and she reminded herself that she really did need to ask someone what it meant. Remy sat back down. "See ya later, Rogue," he said with a wink.

She smiled. "See you later, Remy."

She walked away, but glanced behind her to see Jacques squatting down beside their table to talk to them for a moment. Rogue looked over at Lila and could tell from the look on her face that Remy was going to get the third degree as soon as Jacques was gone. Somehow the fact that she could make Lila that uncomfortable made Rogue smile. Maybe she would have to spend more time around Remy LeBeau…

*** *** ***

The following afternoon, Rogue came into work for the lunch shift. She smiled to see Remy was there, even if her fellow waitress Brienne and leaning in front of him, shamelessly flirting. And without Lila there, Remy was obviously free to flirt right back. He did it as if it were the most natural response, answering Bri's batting eyelashes with charming smiles, and making the usually cold brunette blush at whatever it was Remy was saying. Rogue rolled her eyes and laughed. The man was definitely an accomplished flirt.

"T'inkin' mebbe you could use some Cajun-style lovin', petite?"

Rogue groaned inwardly. It had been days since she's last seen Julien Crevecoeur, and somehow she'd managed to push him out of her mind. Ever since she'd come to work for Jacques, Julien had been almost relentless in his flirtation. As much as Rogue wanted to just turn around and slap him, she also knew that Julien was a paying customer and Jacques would not tolerate outward signs of aggression towards him. Anything she wanted to do on her own time or behind the scenes—such as Elaine's habit of spitting in his drinks—was completely up to her, but not publicly while she was working.

"Julien, I haven't seen you recently," Rogue said with a forced smile. "I thought maybe you were gone."

"No, I simply had some business t'take care of in Baton Rouge, but I should be home for a while now. Miss me, belle?"

"Not particularly."

Julien laughed. "I noticed you checkin' out Remy LeBeau. Don' waste your time on him, belle. You want a Cajun, go for one dat knows how t'treat a lady."

"I wasn't checkin' out Remy," Rogue said. "Now if you'd excuse me, I have work to do." She started to head back into the kitchen to let Jacques know she was there and get her table assignment for the day.

Julien grabbed hold of Rogue's arm, stopping her in her tracks. "You've been pushin' me away since we met, petite," he said in a low voice. "Why not let me show you what you're missin'."

"I know what I'm missin', and from what I've heard, it ain't much," she said, making a quick glance below his waist to indicate exactly what she was referring to.

Julien chuckled. "Den why not let me set de record straight?"

"Sounds t'me like she got t'ings pretty clear, Julien."

Rogue's gaze darted up as soon as she heard Remy's voice. She had thought he'd been too absorbed in his conversation with Brienne to even notice she was there, but apparently she'd been wrong. He was standing in front of her now, obviously prepared to even fight Julien if need be.

Julien let go of Rogue's arm. "Bonjour, LeBeau. Long time no see."

"Not long enough," Remy said with a smile. "You mind tellin' me why you were harassin' de femme here?"

Julien's grin reminded Rogue of a cat playing with a mouse. "Wasn't harassin' her, LeBeau. Rogue an' I were jus' havin' a little conversation."

"Didn't seem like a conversation she wanted to be havin'," Remy replied.

"No, it's all right," Rogue said. "Julien was about to let me go so I could get to work, right Julien?"

"Sure t'ing, petite," Julien said. "I'm gonna go sit down now. You let Jacques know I'm here."

"I will Julien."

Julien gave Remy a nod and Rogue a wink before sitting down at a table a few feet away.

"Thank you," Rogue said softly, not wanting Julien to hear.

"Anytime, chère," Remy replied.

Rogue gave him one more glance before going back into the kitchen.

*** *** ***

"Hey, Rogue, you all right?" Elaine asked as Rogue grabbed her apron and order pad.

"Julien was hittin' on me again," Rogue said.

Elaine rolled her eyes. "Mon Dieu, does dat boy ever quit? Mebbe ya could talk to Papa 'bout getting' Julien kicked out for good."

Rogue shook her head. "No, he makes your family a lot of money, and gettin' rid of him would be bad for business. Besides, Remy got him to leave me alone today—at least for a little while."

Elaine grinned. "Remy, huh? Must've been nice havin' a man like dat come to your defense 'gainst Julien."

"Yeah, he was a regular knight in Gucci armor."

Elaine giggled. "Well, if Julien gets t'be too much for you t'handle, let me know. Or jus' tell Remy. I'm sure he'd be happy t'take him out back an' show 'im why you don' mess wit' a lady."

"I take it they don't get along very well," Rogue said.

"Not at all," Elaine replied. "Julien annoys Remy jus' about as much as he annoys everyone else, an' Julien t'inks Remy's movin' in on 'is territory."

"So what, they just sit around lookin' for reasons to flex their muscles and try to intimidate each other?"

"Pretty much."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Men."

"Tell me about it," Elaine said. "Sometimes I figure we'd be better of wit'out dem. 'Cept Papa, of course."

"After life with Logan, I'd be inclined to agree with you," Rogue said. She put on her apron and stuffed her order pad in the pocket. "Well, I better get out there. What sections do I have today?"

Elaine checked a chart on the wall. "Two and four."

Rogue groaned. "Great. Julien's in four."

"Want me t'make Bri switch wit' ya?"

Rogue shook her head. "No." She smiled. "Remy's in four, too."

Elaine laughed. "Behave yourself."

"I will. Trust me, the last thing I need to get involved with anyone—especially someone as charming as Remy LeBeau."

*** *** ***

"So where's Lila?" Rogue asked as she brought Remy his food.

"She had t'work," Remy said.

"You didn't go with her?" Rogue asked.

"Didn't feel up to it," Remy said. "Lila's met'od of travel can be a lil'…unnervin' at times."

Rogue raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask what exactly he meant by "unnerving." "Hey, Remy, I wanted to ask you somethin'."

"What, chère?"

"Are you a mutant?"

Remy frowned. "Why you ask dat?"

Rogue shrugged. "Oh, it's just that I haven't met many normal humans with eyes like that."

Remy laughed. "Good point. Yeah, I am. Dat bot'er you?"

"Be a little hypocritical of me if it did."

"You…?"

"Yeah."

"What are your powers?" Remy asked.

"I can absorb other people's personalities and mutant powers through touch. Puts 'em in a coma."

Remy let out a low whistle. "Remind me never t'piss you off, neh?"

Rogue laughed. "That's probably a good idea, LeBeau. How about you?"

"I change de potential energy in an object to kinetic. Makes it explode."

"Nice power," Rogue said.

"I'll show you sometime when dere aren't so many people around. Jacques don' tolerate bigotry in here, but he wouldn't be too t'rilled wit' me provokin' somet'in' wit' a light show neit'er."

Rogue smiled. "Hey, I need to get to my other tables. Thanks again for helpin' me out with Julien."

"No problem, chère. I'm sure you're busy enough wit'out him bot'ering you."

"You're a nice guy, Remy. Lila's a lucky woman."

Remy laughed. "Not sure she'd agree wit' you all de time on dat one. I'm a handful she says."

"Something tells me she probably has a point."

"I didn't say ot'erwise."

"Still, you could be a lot worse." Rogue smiled. "Let me know if ya need anything," she said as she started to walk off.

"Believe me, chère, I will."

The tone in his voice made Rogue blush.

*** *** ***

"Mary Ellen, I know you're here, and I know you're with Pete!"

Rogue looked up as a large man came in, yelling at the top of his lungs. He stormed over to a table and picked it up, throwing it and all its contents into a nearby wall. Rogue could only guess that the frightened people who were sitting there were Pete and Mary Ellen.

"Now Jessie, I tol' you it's over," Mary Ellen said, the tremble in her voice giving away her fear despite her calm demeanor.

"That don't mean I'm takin' no for an answer!" Jessie bellowed, grabbing her by her arms and yanking her into a standing position.

"Get yer hands off of her!" Pete yelled, standing up only to still be dwarfed by Jessie.

Jessie threw Mary Ellen to the ground and started to charge Pete, but was suddenly thrown to the ground. Rogue looked on in shock to see Gambit standing over the fallen Jessie with what appeared to be a bo staff aimed at the larger man's throat. She wasn't sure where Remy had come from—he'd moved so quickly she'd barely noticed him.

"Dis, mon ami, is de restaurant of a good friend of mine, an' I'd hate t'have anyt'ing in here of his be destroyed by de likes of you. Now you gonna leave dis woman an' her date 'lone or am I gonna have t'ram dis t'rough your windpipe?"

Jessie looked up at Remy. At first he considered saying something, but the sight of Remy's almost glowing red eyes quickly changed his mind. "N…n…no…I'll…I'll go."

Remy gave Jessie a predatory grin as he let him off the floor. "Good. Now get outta here an' don' come back. I may not be so gentle next time."

Jessie ran out of the restaurant as Remy calmly went back to his table and lit a cigarette. Elaine helped Pete and Mary Ellen, making sure they were okay, and getting them a new table. Trixie and Jacques ran out of the kitchen and over to Rogue. "What happened, mouffette?" Jacques asked.

"Some guy came in here yellin' about his woman bein' with some other guy. Remy handled it," Rogue explained.

"How did Remy handle it?" Trixie asked.

"Knocked the guy down and scared the hell outta him. The guy ran out—I don't think he'll be comin' back."

Jacques laughed his deep, belly shaking laugh that Rogue thought made him resemble a red-headed Santa Claus. "Dat boy's somet'ing all right."

"The big guy threw a table," Rogue said. "Probably broke some stuff."

"Dat's fine," Jacques said. "Long as no one got hurt. T'ings can be bought again. Where's Remy? I want t'talk to 'im."

"He went back to his table," Rogue replied.

Jacques patted her on the shoulder and then walked over to Remy.

"I wish more guys were like Gambit," Trixie said with a sigh.

Rogue snorted. "Behave yourself, Trixie. Remy was just helpin' Jacques out. Besides, he's got Lila."

"I know, but dat don' mean a girl can dream."

"Go cover your tables."

Trixie glanced at Remy one last time before going back to work. Rogue tried to convince herself that what she was feeling wasn't jealousy.

*** *** ***

Rogue was scrubbing gumbo off the wall after closing when Remy walked out of the kitchen. "Hey chère."

Rogue jumped. "Dammit, Remy, ya scared the hell outta me. Didn't even know you were still here."

"Yeah, I've been talkin' t'Jacques. Sorry I scared ya. Remy forgets how quiet he is sometimes."

Rogue gave him a wry smile. "Good trait for a thief to have."

Remy frowned. "Who tol' you?"

"Elaine."

"You hol' it against me, chère?"

"As long as you promise to never steal anything from me, no," Rogue said with a smile.

Remy smiled back. "Dat's a promise."

Rogue went back to cleaning the wall. She thought back to when Elaine had told her that she thought that Remy and Lila had met while "pulling a job together." "So how did you meet Lila?" Rogue asked.

"Uh, well, workin', I guess."

"Is she a thief, too?"

"Sometimes. Musician mainly."

"Musician?"

"Singer."

"Oh. She seems like the type."

"De type?"

"The type that would want to be in the spotlight."

"You only met her once."

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Remy laughed. "Yeah, chère, you're right."

"So how long have y'all been together?"

"'Bout a year."

"It's serious then?"

Remy laughed again, only this time it had a nervous tinge to it. "What's wit all de questions 'bout Lila?"

Rogue wiped the last bit of gumbo off the wall. "I'm curious."

"I don' know how serious I'd call it. Not plannin' t'put a ring on her finger any time soon."

"You love her?"

"You always dis nosy?"

"Yeah."

More nervous laughter. "You hopin' I'll say no an' den mebbe you'll have a chance?" Remy asked, trying to regain the upper hand on the conversation.

Rogue snorted. "No."

"Den why you care?"

She shrugged. "Jus' makin' conversation."

"How 'bout you? You love anyone?"

"We're not talking about me," Rogue said with a frown.

"Can't Remy be curious, too?"

"No."

"Den neit'er can you."

"Fine. Doesn't matter to me anyway." Rogue walked past him and into the kitchen.

Remy took his duster off the peg by the door and left.

*** *** ***

It was a week before Remy came back to Jacques, and this time, Lila was with him.

"Well ain't she fawnin' all over him," Trixie commented, watching Lila and Remy from the other side of the room.

"Wants t'make sure everyone knows he's hers," Elaine said. "Probably knows how much he flirts when she ain't 'round."

"He flirts when she is around," Rogue said.

"Good point," Elaine said with a laugh.

"He could do better den her," Trixie said.

"Like who? You?" Elaine asked.

"Well, yeah."

"You really like Remy?" Rogue asked Trixie.

Trixie shrugged. "I t'ink he's hot."

Rogue felt nervous, and she wasn't sure why. "Is that it?"

"Well, yeah, I guess… Why, you got a t'ing for Gambit, Rogue?"

"No!"

"You denied dat a little too quickly," Elaine said.

"He's not my type."

"What, you like women or somet'ing?" Trixie asked with a snort. "You can't be breat'in' an' not be attracted to dat man."

Elaine rolled her eyes. "Dat's your opinion, Trix."

"You disagree, 'Laine?"

"I'm not answerin' dat question."

"Dat's a yes."

"Dat's not a yes."

"Yes it is."

"Non."

"Oui."

"Non."

"Um, y'all just keep up you're little middle school argument, and I'm gonna get back to work, okay?"

Elaine laughed. "Sounds like a good idea, Rogue. Gonna get back t'work, too." She started out the kitchen door, but glanced back at Trixie first. "Ain't a yes."

"Is, too!" Trixie yelled at the doors as the shut behind Elaine.

Rogue just smiled and shook her head.

*** *** ***

Rogue was in the bathroom washing her hands when she heard someone come in the room. She looked up and saw that it was Lila. "Um, hi, Lila," she said.

"Rogue," Lila said with a nod. She paused for a second, as if she was thinking, and then said. "I want you to stay away from Remy."

"What?" Rogue turned around, wondering if she was kidding, but saw on Lila's face that she was very much serious. "Lila, I really don't spend that much time with Remy. The only contact I have with him is when I'm waiting his table."

Lila glared. "Seeing how much Remy talks about you, I find that hard to believe."

Rogue blanched. Remy talked about her? Enough to make Lila jealous? That fact made Rogue's stomach start doing flip-flops. "Lila, really, I don't spend that much time with Remy."

"Just stay away from him," Lila growled, stomping into one of the stalls and slamming the door behind her.

Rogue stared at the closed door in shock for a second before leaving.

*** *** ***

Rogue was clearing the plates off one of her tables when Remy walked up to her. "Hey, Rogue, some of us are goin' out later, you comin'?"

Rogue glanced over at Lila. "I don't think I should."

"Why? Jacques said he's closin' early t'night." He gave her his patented charming grin. "What else you got t'do?"

"Catch up on my sleep?"

Remy chuckled. "You can sleep tomorrow. Your shift doesn't start till five."

"How do ya know that?"

"It's on de board by de kitchen, chère."

"Well aren't you the smart one."

"Papa always tol' me I was. Now come on, chère. You never go out wit' us. Even Elaine's comin' tonight."

Rogue looked over at Lila again, and saw the way that the other woman was glaring at her. A sly smile crossed her lips. "Sure, Remy, I'd love to go out with y'all." She looked over at Lila, who was fuming, gave her a slight wink, and then went back to finishing her shift.

*** *** ***

They all went out to a night club a few towns over, and Rogue rode over with Trixie and Elaine. "Where's Remy?" Rogue asked after they'd been there for a few minutes.

Trixie looked out the window and began to giggle. "He's in de parkin' lot wit' Lila gettin' de t'ird degree."

Rogue looked out the window, and sure enough Lila was screaming at Remy in the parking lot. "Wonder what dey're sayin'" Elaine said.

"I have an idea," Rogue said.

Both of the other girls turned to her, a gleam in their eyes. "What?"

"I don't want to sound self-centered or anything, but I think it might have somethin' to do with Remy askin' me to come," Rogue said. "Earlier today in the restroom Lila told me to stay away from Remy."

"She what? Why?" Elaine asked.

"She said Remy talks about me a lot, and she wants me to stay away from him."

"Oooh…Princess Lila's feelin' like mebbe she don't got such a strong hold on her man, non?" Trixie said with a giggle

"She's got a reason to be jealous, I t'ink," Elaine said. "I've seen de way Remy looks at you, Rogue. If Remy was my man, I wouldn't want him 'round you, neit'er." She gave Rogue a teasing grin.

"I just think Lila's overreactin'," Rogue said.

Just then, Lila came stomping into the club, slamming the door in Remy's face. He came in a second later, obviously trying to get her to talk to him, even though Rogue couldn't tell exactly what he was saying. Lila just ignored him and went up to the first guy she saw, laying the charm on thick. Defeated, Remy walked over to Trixie, Elaine, and Rogue's table.

Elaine rubbed Remy's shoulder affectionately. "You all right, Remy? Is it over wit' you an' Lila?"

"I…I don' know. She got mad at me, an' started yellin'." He looked over at Rogue. "She t'inks I got somet'ing goin' on wit' you, chère."

"Remy, if you want me to go…"

"Non, Rogue, don' leave on account of Lila. If she wants t'be dis way, den fine. I'm not gonna turn my back on one of my friends jus' 'cause she says to."

Rogue tried not to break out into a huge grin at that. Remy considered her a friend? "I just don't want to cause any trouble between the two of you…"

"You're not, Rogue. Lila's got her own problems, dey don' have anyt'ing t'do wit' you." He looked over at Lila, who was fawning all over some guy, then back over at Rogue. "Wanna dance?"

Rogue knew he was most likely just using her to make Lila jealous—and the current music taste of the DJ was somewhat outdated and well, bad—but she couldn't bring herself to pass up the chance to dance with Remy. "Sure, sugah."

You need to give it up.
Had about enough.
It's not hard to see,
The boy is mine.

I think it's time we got this straight,
Let's sit and talk face to face.
There is no way you could mistake him for your man,
Are you insane?

Remy pulled Rogue out on the dance floor and over to stand close to where Lila and the other guy were dancing. He held Rogue close to him, pressing her body against his and easily getting Lila's attention. Lila glared at Remy then pulled her dancing partner closer, making a show of rubbing up against him. Rogue, deciding that she couldn't let Lila one-up here, mimicked her movement, making Remy suppress a chuckle at how willing Rogue was to play along.

See I know that you may be
Just a bit jealous of me.
Cause' you're blind if you can't see
That his love is all in me.

See I tried to hesitate,
I didn't want to say what he told me.
He said without me
He couldn't make it through the day,
Ain't that a shame.

Lila glared even harder at Rogue and Remy, then began to make her movements more elaborate, more sensual. Rogue mirrored every thing that Lila did, adding something else to it each time, just to make Lila stew. She could see the anger in Lila's eyes, and it only spurred her on.

And maybe you misunderstood,
Plus I can't see how he could
Wanna take his time and that's all good.
All of my love was all it took

The boy is mine.
You need to give it up.
Had about enough.
It's not hard to see,
the boy is mine.
I'm sorry that you
Seem to be confused.
He belongs to me
The boy is mine.

As Rogue began to strength her efforts to win the impromptu dance-off with Lila, Remy found himself paying less attention to the woman who was officially his girlfriend and more to the lithe figure in front of him. He'd been attracted to Rogue the moment he'd first seen her—something Lila had obviously picked up on—but he hadn't truly wanted her before. Not until then. The fire in her eyes, her iron-willed determination not to let herself be bested made her all the more beautiful to him. Remy suddenly had the urge to hold Rogue and never let her go.

Must you do the things you do
Keep on acting like a fool
You need to know it's me not you
And if you didn't know it girl it's true.

I think that you should realize,
And try to understand why
He is a part of my life
I know it's killing you inside.

Rogue tried to ignore how close she was to Remy and just pay attention to the task at hand. Remy didn't want to dance with her because he was attracted to her—he wanted to dance with her because she was the person who apparently could make Lila Cheney the most jealous. Remy's every touch set Rogue's skin on fire, but she kept reminding herself that this wasn't for her, that he didn't really care about her. Besides, after Logan, how could she fall for Remy? A man like that, she'd be setting herself up for heartbreak all over again.

You can say what you wanna say.
What we have you can't take.
From the truth you can't escape.
I can tell the real from the fake.

When will you get the picture.
You're the past, I'm the future
Get away it's my time to shine
If you didn't know the boy is mine.

Her face red with anger, Lila reached up and grabbed her partner, kissing him fiercely. Rogue's eyes widened. She couldn't do that! What would Remy say if she just reached up and kissed him. A part of her said to just go ahead and do it, that she wanted to kiss Remy so badly, and this was her chance—if he freaked out on her, she could just say it was for Lila's benefit, that it hadn't meant a thing. But no, she couldn't bring herself to do it, couldn't set herself up for that kind of disappointment.

You can't destroy this love I've found
Your silly games I won't allow
The boy is mine without a doubt
You might as well throw in the towel
 

What makes you think that he wants you,
When I'm the one that brought him to
The special place that's in my heart,
He was my love right from the start

Remy could tell that Rogue wasn't going to kiss him, and he could see the corners of Lila's lips turning up in a smug grin, even as she stayed firmly latched on to the man she'd picked up. Remy's mouth set in a line of grim determination. He'd be damned if he let Lila get this one. He grabbed Rogue and kissed her with all his might, holding on as her initial shock passed and she melted into his arms.

Lila had long since stopped her kiss, and Rogue and Remy were still locked in an embrace. Any linger thoughts of Lila had long since left Remy's mind, and all he cared about was holding Rogue. Lila noticed that the attention had turned off her, and she stormed off in a huff, yelling at her dancing partner when he tried to follow her.

The song had already stopped when Remy and Rogue finally pulled up for air. Rogue looked up at him and felt her heart lurch. What she was feeling right then she hadn't felt since…since Logan. Rogue stepped out of Remy's arms. What was she doing? She couldn't let herself fall, not again. "Remy, I…I…I have to go to the bathroom," she said lamely, running from the dance floor.

*** *** ***

"Rogue? You in here?" Elaine walked in to find Rogue, sitting on the counter beside one of the sinks, crying. "What's wrong? Remy said you flew off de dance floor like a cat wit' its tail on fire."

Rogue wiped futilely at the tears in her eyes. "I'm falling for Remy, Elaine, and I can't do it."

"Why not? You'd be better for him den dat Lila."

"I just can't, Elaine! Logan…"

"Logan? Dat man you had in New York? What does he have t'do wit' dis? You still in love wit' him?"

Rogue buried her face in her hands. "I don't know! Sometimes I think I am, and sometimes I think I'm not. But it doesn't make any difference. If I let Remy in, he'll only hurt me."

"You don't know dat, Rogue."

"Yes I do! Men like Remy, like Logan, they're all the same! Dammit, Remy's no better than Julien!"

Elaine frowned. "Now dat's not fair t'Remy, Rogue. I've known Julien an' Remy bot' a long time, an' I can tell you dey're two very different people. Julien knows how t'steal a woman's heart, but Remy knows how t'give his back in return."

"I'm not givin' my heart to anyone, ever again," Rogue swore.

"Rogue, don'. I made de same promise t'myself when Claire's papa left, an' I regret it more den anyt'ing I've ever done. I pushed away every chance at true love I ever had. Don' you do dat, too."

"Elaine, I…"

"Trust me, Rogue."

Rogue just nodded and gave a forced smile.

*** *** ***

Remy was sitting at the table with Trixie when Elaine and Rogue came out of the bathroom. "Lila left with that guy," he said.

"What a bitch!" Rogue blurted out. She put her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, Remy."

Remy smiled slightly. "It's all right. She's doin' dis t'get t'me, and I'm not gonna let her."

"Why don't ya fin' some ot'er girl t'spend de night wit'?" Trixie asked, leaning over the table a little closer to Remy and batting her eyelashes.

"I'm not in de mood for dat," Remy mumbled, ignoring Trixie's obvious advance.

"Remy LeBeau not in de mood for dat?" Elaine teased. "Quick, someone go try t'sell de Devil a pair of skis—he's gonna need 'em."

"Very funny, 'Laine." He stood up. "I'm gonna go out an' smoke a cigarette."

"You can smoke in here, y'know," Trixie said.

"I wanna be outside."

"Mind if I come with you, Remy?" Rogue wasn't even sure why she'd asked that. She was still a little wary to be around Remy after what happened on the dance floor, and she wasn't sure if being around someone who was smoking would be the best idea since she'd decided to quit earlier in the week. But she felt somehow compelled to be alone with him, to talk to him.

"Uh, sure, petite. Come on."

Rogue followed Remy outside and they sat together on a bench in front of the club. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his duster and offered one to her "Smoke?"

"No, thanks, I just quit."

Remy took one out for himself and lit it. "I'm sorry."

Rogue chuckled. "Not as sorry as I am, I'm sure. But I'm sure I'll be happier in the long run. Those things'll kill ya."

Remy took a drag off his. "Oui, but you'd die happy."

"Interesting logic."

Remy shrugged. He stared out into the pitch black night for a few moments before asking. "What happened on de dance floor."

Rogue felt her stomach doing flip-flops. It was the questioned she'd longed for and dreaded ever since Remy had kissed her. "What do you mean?"

Remy sighed. "On de dance floor, 'tween us, what happened dere, Rogue?"

"Nothin' happened, Remy. We were just tryin' to make Lila jealous."

Remy's expression was completely unreadable in the dark. "Yeah." He paused for a moment. "Dat's what I t'ought." He took a couple more drags off his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and stamping it out with his foot. He stood up. "I'm goin' back in. You comin'?"

Rogue started to wonder if maybe she hadn't answered his question in the best way. Sure, her response had been the safest, but did she really want to be safe? Was being alone actually the best way to get over Logan?

As she walked back in behind Remy, she really wished she'd gone ahead and smoked with him…

*** *** ***

A few days later, Remy came back to Jacques's with Lila on his arm again. "What the…" Rogue said as she saw them come in.

"Dey do dat all de time," Elaine said.

"Do what?"

"Break up den get back toget'er. I t'ink dey do it for de make-up sex."

"Elaine!"

"Well, you explain it, den."

Rogue sighed. "You're probably right."

"Course I am. So dey're in your section. You gonna wait on dem, or you want me t'take over?"

"Give you that table? Ha! You know what kind of tipper Remy LeBeau is," Rogue said with a laugh.

"Oh yeah, you're jus' in it for de money."

"Oh hush. I already told you I don't have any feelin's for Remy."

"Rogue, dat's really not gonna work anymore. I saw de way you two were kissin' de ot'er night."

"That was just to make Lila jealous."

"Rogue, really, you need t'be honest wit' yourself. Dat kiss was more den makin' Lila jealous. You were still kissin' when she left de dance floor."

"Elaine, please don't, okay? I am attracted to Remy, but it can’t ever go any further than that. I can’t let myself go through that again."

"Why? Because of Logan? Rogue, you say dat Remy doesn't look like de type t'commit, but he's loyal t'Lila Cheney, an' she treats him worse den de chien."

Rogue looked down. "I…I just can't open myself up like that, Elaine. I thought you of all people would understand."

"Don' use me as you're model, Rogue. I regret de mistakes I made. You know I almost got married once? Dis great guy, Luc. He even loved Claire like she was his. But I called off de engagement 'cause I was scared of fallin' in love again, afraid dat he'd leave me de way Claire's papa did. So I pushed him away. De worst day of my life was when I saw him marry anot'er woman. I t'ought him leavin' me would hurt, but I found somet'ing dat hurt a lot more den dat ever would."

"Elaine, I…I didn't know."

"Don't like t'talk about it much. But listen t'me, Rogue. I'm not sayin' fall in love wit' Remy, but I am sayin' don't let dat Logan keep ya from fallin' in love wit' anyone."

"Just give me a little more time, Elaine."

"I know, Rogue, it's hard."

"I need to go see to my tables, Elaine." Rogue walked over to Remy's table.

"What do you want?"

Remy looked up. "Huh?"

"What do you want? Place your order. I'm a waitress, remember?"

"Just give us the same thing we always have, Rogue," Lila snapped.

"Sure thing, Lila. I'll have that right up."

Rogue turned and stalked away from the table, not even looking at Remy.

*** *** ***

"Chère?"

Rogue didn't have to turn around to recognize that voice. "Customers aren't supposed to be in the kitchen, Remy."

"Rogue, you know I'm in here all de time."

"I have tables to wait on."

Rogue tried to walk out of the kitchen, but Remy stopped her. "Where ya goin', petite?"

"I told you, Remy. I have tables."

"Tell me why you’re mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Den what's goin' on wit' you?"

"Why are you back with her?" Rogue yelled. "Two nights ago she stormed out of a club with some other man because you were talkin' to me!"

"How'd ya know what we were fightin' about?"

"I'm not a moron, Remy. Look, you could do better than her, okay? Lila's a bitch. She doesn't even deserve you."

"Someone better den her? Perhaps you, chère?"

Rogue looked up into his eyes, hoping to see that he was joking, but could tell that he was serious. "Remy, you and I…we can’t."

"Why?"

"I don’t want to be with anyone. I just want to be alone, okay? The only man I ever loved was Logan, and that was nothin' but pain, so love is pain, all right?"

"Rogue…what…" He frowned, obviously confused. "Who was Logan?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." She grabbed a couple of plates that had just come up and shoved them at Remy. "Here's your food."

"Rogue, I…"

"Go away!"

"I'm sorry, chère."

Rogue turned around, not wanting Remy to see the tears that had suddenly formed in her eyes. "Just go, okay?"

"I do care about you, Rogue. We could try it, I t'ink maybe we'd have a chance at somet'ing."

"Go."

Remy sighed and walked out of the kitchen, knowing he'd never convince her to talk to him then.

Once he was gone, Rogue reached and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry Remy," she said softly, "but I just can't take any more chances when it comes to my heart."

*** *** ***

Remy came in with Lila almost everyday the next week, and Rogue found herself actually taking Elaine up on her offers to switch stations whenever Remy sat in hers. Remy hadn't been able to look Rogue in the eye ever since the conversation they'd had in the kitchen, and that, coupled with the smug looks Lila was always giving her, was more than Rogue could take.

Friday nights were always the busiest at Jacques's, and Rogue tended to work the latest—and rowdiest—shift. That Friday was no exception, will all the regulars talking and drinking until all hours of the night. Usually, Rogue enjoyed herself, the atmosphere making it feel less like work, and more like a party. This week was different, however, since apparently Lila and Remy had completely forgotten about the earlier incident at the night club. Every time Rogue walked past, she saw them falling all over each other, being so affectionate it made her stomach churn.

"I'm not jealous," she kept telling herself. "I'm not jealous."

Rogue sighed, knowing that was a lie. Even when most of the people had gone and she was starting to clean up, Lila and Remy were still there. "I wish they'd just go home," she muttered.

"You don' like watchin' Remy an' Lila so happy, chère?"

Rogue jumped, startled. She turned around. "Dammit, Julien, don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry, chère. Didn't realize you were watchin' dem t'de point you lost touch wit' de rest of de world."

"I didn't," Rogue said angrily. "An' I'm not watchin' anybody. I'm cleanin'."

Julien reached out and stroked her cheek. "We bot' know dat ain't true, petite. You were watchin' Remy, wishin' dat was you in his arms, not Mademoiselle Cheney."

"That isn't what I want."

Julien moved in closer to her. "Dat's not true, I can tell. I know de look of a woman in love. Come home wit' me t'night, chère. I'll make you forget all about LeBeau."

Rogue looked over at Remy, wanting him to notice how close to her Julien was, wanting him to react the way he had the first time he had seen Julien hit on her. But Remy didn't look over there, too wrapped up in Lila to see Rogue. Rogue looked up in to Julien's crystal-blue eyes. She needed comfort, and that was what he was offering. Would it be so wrong to accept? It wasn't like she'd be going in with the delusion that Julien Crevecoeur was going to love her forever…

"Just let me finish my shift, and then we can go," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Julien leaned down and kissed Rogue's forehead. "Don' keep me waitin' long, chère."

Remy watched Rogue as she finished her cleaning, told Elaine she was going to leave, then walked out of the restaurant with Julien, his arm draped casually around her waist. He moved away from Lila. "I'm tired. Lets' go home."

He didn't even wait for her to respond as he got up and left.

*** *** ***

Rogue lay beside Julien, hating herself for what she'd just done. She'd thought that maybe a night with Julien could make her forget, at least for a little while. That it could make her forget Remy, forget Logan.

It hadn't. She remembered all too well. And now she had sex with Julien as something to add to her list of things to forget. He'd been anything but a considerate lover, concentrating solely on himself and the act of conquest. The very thought of it made Rogue nauseous.

"At least it was over quickly," she thought.

Rogue climbed out of the bed as quietly as she could, now glad for his loud snoring, since it let her know that he was still asleep. She found her clothes and put them back on, grateful for the fact that they were at his house, not hers, and she had insisted on following him in her car, not driving over together in his. At least she could make a quick getaway.

She sneaked out of his house and drove back to her apartment, hoping that with a shower and some sleep she could forget that night had ever happened.

*** *** ***

When the phone rang a few hours later, Rogue had the urge to kill whoever was on the other end of the line. She'd finally fallen asleep, and for a little while had actually been able to forget. Now, she was miserably conscious again.

She picked up the phone. "Yeah?"

"Marie?"

Rogue felt her heart stop. "How…how did you get this number?"

"Jeannie had it."

"Jean gave you my phone number?"

"No. It was layin' on her desk down in the lab."

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to go through other people's stuff?"

"Marie, please, I just want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you, Logan."

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry…"

Rogue fought the sudden urge just to forgive him and go back to Westchester to try with him one more time. As tempting as it was, she knew if she did that, she'd only be setting herself up to be hurt all over again. "I'm sorry, too, Logan, but this is the way it has to be. We can't be together. It doesn't work."

"But it can work! I know I didn't do you right in the past, darlin', but I can work on that. I can settle down. I'm here at the mansion now, even told Chuck I'd teach gym. I lost everything that meant somethin' to me when you walked out. I need you, Marie. Please, just come home, come home to me."

The sound of Logan actually begging almost made Marie give in, but she couldn't let herself trust him. It reminded her so much of what he'd said to her in the past, when he'd wanted her to come back to him. "I'm sorry, Logan, but home for me just isn't where you are anymore."

"Marie, no, please…"

"I'm sorry, Logan."

"Marie…"

Rogue hung up the phone and unhooked it from the jack, not trusting herself to keep from changing her mind if she heard Logan call back.

*** *** ***

Rogue walked into work that night, drenched from the storm that was raging outside. Her face was tear-stained, and her hair and clothes were a mess. Elaine came running over to her as soon as she saw Rogue come into the building.

"Rogue! What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it Julien? I…I saw you go home wit' him last night."

Rogue shook her head. "It was, but I don't care one way or another about him now." She took a deep breath. "Logan called me this mornin'."

'Logan? What did he want?"

Rogue started crying again. "He still loves me. He…he asked me to come home."

"You gonna go, Rogue?"

"Part of me wants to, but I can't. Logan would only hurt me again in the end, I know he would."

"Rogue, why don't you jus' go back to your apartment. I can call one of de ot'er girls t'come in an' work your shift."

"I...I don't know…I…"

"Rogue, you're in no shape t'be waitin' tables. Jus' go home, get some sleep. It'll be okay. You're strong. You can get t'rough dis. You can survive wit'out Logan."

Rogue nodded numbly. "Thank you, Elaine."

Elaine leaned forward and gave Rogue a hug. "You're gonna make it Rogue, I promise."

*** *** ***

Rogue was about ten miles down the road when the check engine light came on. Another two, and her car was dead. She managed to pull it off to the side of the road, but she was still stranded. She grabbed her purse and started searching for her cell phone. Then she remembered leaving it to charge earlier and never taking it off.

"Dammit!" she yelled. Rogue slumped back in her seat. It was still pouring down rain and now she was stranded on the side of the road. Just then, a car pulled over in front of her. A tall figure got out and walked over towards her door. She looked at him, and could not believe her eyes. "Remy?" she said, getting out of the car.

"In de flesh. You got problems?"

"Yeah, my car just died," she said, although somehow Remy being there made the fact that she was now soaking wet and standing next to her broken car not quite so bad.

"C'mon, I live right up de street. You can dry off dere, an' I know someone who can take care of your car."

"Thank you, Remy."

He just nodded and headed towards his car. She followed him. They made the ride to his house in silence, and Remy didn't say anything at all until they got inside. "Wait here," he said, shutting the door. "I'll get you some dry clot'es." Remy disappeared into another part of the house and came back a few minutes later with a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. "Here. Dis should fit you. De bat'rooms down de hall. You can change in dere and use de towels t'dry off some." Then he went back into the bedroom to change his own clothes.

Rogue walked into the bathroom, wondering at Remy's cold attitude towards her. She knew they hadn't exactly been on the best of terms ever since that night at the club, but she hadn't expected him to act quite like this. She dried off, then changed into the clothes he had given her, trying to ignore the way it made her feel to think about the fact that she was wearing his clothes.

When she went back into the living room, Remy was on the phone, talking in Cajun French. He talked for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone and turning around to look at Rogue. "Dat was T-Luc. He'll take care of your car. Don' worry about a t'ing, okay?"

Rogue nodded. "Thank you."

Remy looked her over, and she could see pain in his expression. "Why'd ya do it, chère?" he asked softly after a moment.

His tone cut Rogue deep. She hadn't heard that much aching in his voice before, not even when Lila had gone off with that other man. "Do what, Remy?" she asked.

"Go off wit' Julien. You tol' Remy dat you jus' wanna be alone, den you went off wit' Julien. Dat hurt, Rogue."

Rogue felt even more ashamed than before for her night with Julien. "I'm…I'm sorry, Remy. I didn't even think you noticed."

"I noticed."

"Julien was a mistake."

"Dat's statin' de obvious," Remy muttered. He looked up and into Rogue's eyes. "You're better dan dat, chère, better dan de type of woman dat would jus' spend a night in Julien Crevecoeur's bed. Or at least I t'ought ya were."

Rogue sat down on the couch, burying her face in her hands. "I am Remy. God, I don't know why I did that. And I'm sorry that I hurt you when I went off with Julien, it's just well, I do like you Remy, I'm just so afraid…"

Remy sat down beside her and took her hands in his so he could see her face. "Afraid of what, Rogue?"

"Afraid of lettin' someone in just to have them leave me alone again."

"Who hurt ya dat much, chère? Tell Remy 'bout it."

Rogue wiped the tears away from her eyes. " Do you really want to hear my sob story?"

"Go ahead, get it out. I'll listen, chère."

"My mother left me first. Or forced me to leave, rather. See, we were really close. I was born in Mississippi, near the river. My daddy was a drunk, and when I was six, Mama left him and took me to Meridian, where I grew up. She didn't get married again until I was thirteen, and for that whole time in between there it was just the two of us.

"My mother was my best friend, and I never thought she'd turn her back on me, but after she found out I was a mutant, well…" Rogue paused for a second, taking a deep breath before continuing. "She tried to blame it on Joe, my step-father. She said he wanted me to leave, didn't want a mutant around. But I know she really felt the same way. I could see the fear in her eyes. She kicked me out when I was seventeen, with nothin' but a duffle bag and a wad of bills that didn't last me any time at all."

"Rogue…I…wow. What did ya do?"

"Well, it's sort of a long story, but I ended up at this place called Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester, New York. It was there that I got to know Logan. I was young and in love, and he seemed so wonderful. But he hurt me over and over again, and I'm so afraid that if I let myself fall for anyone ever again, he'll do to me what Logan did."

Remy gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "Chère, I won't hurt you like dey did, I promise. You mean somet'ing to me. From de first moment I saw you I could tell you were somet'ing special, and de more I've gotten t'know you, de more I've realized how true dat is. And when I kissed you on de dance floor it was more den me tryin' t'make Lila jealous. I wanted t'kiss you, wanted t'know what it was like t'hold ya in my arms. I t'ink mebbe I'm fallin' in love wit' you, Rogue."

"Marie."

"What?"

"My name's Marie."

"Marie. Dat's pretty." He grinned at her. "French, non?"

Marie blushed a little. "Yeah, it is."

Remy reached up and ran his hand through the front of her hair. "Très belle," he murmured.

Rogue blushed harder. "Remy…" She tried to come up with something, anything, that would give her a reason to end whatever it was that was starting right then. "You're with Lila."

He moved closer, and she could tell he was going to kiss her. "Forget Lila. I'd take you over her any day, chère."

"Remy, we…"

He silenced her with a kiss, pulling her against him and making her melt in his arms. She moaned against his mouth, and he pulled her up so she was sitting in his lap. After a moment, he moved his lips so he was kissing her against her neck and collar bone. "Do you want this, chère?"

All she could do was moan "yes."

He picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. "Bedroom?" he asked, wanting to make sure one more time that she was okay with what was happening.

"Remy LeBeau, if you take me anywhere else right now, I'd have to kill ya."

He smiled and carried her off.

*** *** ***

Remy held her in his arms, trembling as he placed tender kisses on her hair. "I love you," he whispered, pulling her closer.

Rogue froze. Love? No, he couldn't love her. She couldn't love him. She had thought for a moment that she'd be able to move on with Remy, to have a relationship, but she knew it wouldn't be possible. It would turn out badly. All her attempts at love did. She lay there in his arms, relishing the feel of his warm, strong body and wishing it could be real to her.

Eventually she slid out of his arms, hoping she could get away before he woke up and convinced her to stay. She went into the bathroom and slipped on her wet clothes, not wanting the comfort of Remy's warm clothes.

Rogue stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. "Sneaking out of a guy's house two nights in a row, Marie," she scolded herself. "And not even the same guy both times…" 

She started to leave then, but knew she had to leave something, something that maybe could make it okay. She found a piece of paper and scribbled on it, "I'm sorry, I just can't," and left it on his bedside table.

She walked about a mile up the road to a gas station and called Jacques's. Elaine answered.

"Hey, 'Laine, it's Rogue."

"Rogue? What's goin' on? You sound upset…"

"I'm at a gas station—the Shell station down the road."

"Rogue, why are you at de Shell station?"

"It's a long story—but basically, my car broke down and then I slept with Remy."

"You what!?"

"I told you, it's a long story."

"You need me t'come get you, Rogue?"

"Please."

"I'll be dere in a few moments. You gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Be right dere, Rogue."

The phone clicked and Rogue hung up her end. She sat down on the curb and waited for Elaine.

*** *** ***

"Okay, so explain t'me how your car breakin' down leads t'you sleepin' wit' Remy," Elaine asked once she had Rogue in her car.

"I'm not quite sure. He found me on the side of the road and then took me back to his place. One thing led to another, and well, we ended up sleepin' together."

"So why aren't you still dere? Did he make ya leave?"

"No. Actually, he said he loves me."

"He what! Rogue, why did you leave? Remy wouldn't have said dat unless he meant it. He never even tol' Lila he loved her."

"What? How do you know that?"

"He tol' me. Said she got mad because he wouldn't say it, but he couldn't tell her unless he knew it was absolutely true."

"But he's known her for years, and he's only known me a couple of months…"

"Rogue, you're eit'er in love, or you're not. Wit' you he is, wit' Lila, he's not."

Rogue stared at the window and away from Elaine. "Can we just talk about something else?"

"Yeah, sure." After a couple of minutes of silence, Elaine switched on the radio.

"You listen to talk radio?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Always pictured you as more of a country fan."

Elaine wrinkled up her nose. "Ew. No, I like t'keep up wit' de world. Not much happens here."

Rogue laughed. "True, but that's one of the things I like about this place."

"And in other news, convicted mutant terrorist Erik Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, escaped from prison today. His accomplices are believed to be two dangerous mutants, known as Mystique and Sabretooth…"

"What!" Rogue screamed. "No! Tell me I did not just hear that!"

"Rogue, are you okay?"

"No! Magneto cannot be out! He was in a maximum security prison! Why didn't they watch him better! Didn't they know how badly he wanted out? And Mystique!? Did they just let her walk in, I mean, she can shape-shift, so weren't they keeping an eye out for that?"

"What are ya talkin' about?"

"Do you remember hearin' a few years back about Magneto attacking the UN conference and trying to mutate the world leaders?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember how the news reports said than an unidentified mutant girl was in the center of the machine he was usin'?"

"Yes."

"That was me."

Elaine's eyes grew wide, and she had to remind herself she was driving. "Dat was you?"

"Yep."

"Mon Dieu, no wonder you're freakin' out."

"Why can't anything go right for me?" Rogue asked. "The past two days have been terrible, and now this. Dammit, I'm probably gonna have to go back to Westchester now."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have any assurance that Magneto won't come after me again. There are these people back in Westchester—the X-Men—they can keep me safe."

"De X-Men? I've heard of dem. Some mutants call dem saviors, say dey protect dose dat no one else will."

"I’m one of them," Rogue said. "Or at least I was."

"Wow. Dere's a lot we don' know about you."

"I'm a rogue. My life's full of secrets."

*** *** ***

Elaine dropped Rogue back off at her apartment, and she immediately called the mansion.

"Xavier Institute, Scott Summers speaking."

"Scott, it's Rogue."

"Rogue! Did you hear about Magneto?"

"Yes. That's why I'm callin'. Do I need to come back to Westchester?"

Scott thought for a second. "I don't think you need to right away. We're still not sure what Magneto's up to, and he's probably going to need some time to regroup. Just keep in touch with us, and we'll let you know if you need to come back up here."

"Good. I'd really rather stay here for as long as I can."

"I know."

"Keep me informed, Cyclops."

"I will, Rogue."

*** *** ***

Remy wasn't even sure why he went back to Jacques's the next day, except maybe that it was where he always went. He knew Rogue would probably be working, and he wasn't sure if he had the strength to face her after what had happened the night before.

But the person he really didn't want to face was Lila.

"Where the hell have you been, LeBeau? I've been trying to call you all day."

"What are you doin' here, Lila?" Remy asked, obviously annoyed. "You never jus' come here wit'out me."

"I was looking for you. What, are you avoiding me now?"

"Honestly, yes."

"What?!" Lila yelled. "How can you be avoiding me?"

Remy didn't even bother getting up from his seat. How could he have not realized just how much her voice tended to grate on his nerves before. "Because I wanted to figure out de best way to dump ya before I saw you again."

"You wanted to what? You can't dump me, Gambit."

"I can, and I am."

She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him. "Why?"

"I don' love you."

"When did you care about love, Remy?"

"When I found it. I'm in love wit' Rogue, Lila."

Lila said nothing, but just reached across the table and slapped Remy as hard as she could before storming out of the restaurant.

"Dat looked like it hurt."

Remy looked up. "Oh. Hey, Elaine. Rogue workin' tonight?"

"Yeah, but she's hidin' in de kitchen hopin' you'll go away."

Remy sighed. "Merde, what did I do?"

"She's jus'…relationship shy," Elaine said, sitting down beside Remy.

"I know dat. She tol' me last night. But I guess I figured dat I could help her wit' dat. I love her, Elaine."

"Dat's what Rogue tol' me—dat you love her. She's, well, emotionally unstable. Go talk t'her. Mebbe ya can convince her dat you're gonna stick around."

"Ya t'ink she'd listen?"

"You won't know unless ya try, Remy. Go talk to her."

"Okay."

"Good luck."

Remy patted Elaine's hand. "T'anks, chère."

*** *** ***

"Rogue?"

Rogue froze. What was Remy doing in the kitchen? "Remy."

Remy reached out and took hold of her shoulder, turning her around to face him. "Why did you leave me last night, chère?"

Rogue tried to steady her emotions, not wanting the pain in Remy's eyes and voice make her fall. "I'm sorry. I just…can't."

"Dat's what de note said, and I still don't understand why you can't. An' please don' tell me it's because of Logan."

"Part of it is…"

"Marie…"

Rogue felt the last of her resolve slipping when he said her real name. "Remy…"

Remy grabbed her and kissed her, not letting her go until she responded to his touch. "Tell me you want dis, Marie," Remy said as he pulled away. "Tell me you want me."

"Remy, I…"

Before Rogue had a chance to respond, someone screamed from the main part of the restaurant. The scream was followed by a roar, and Rogue froze. "I know that sound."

"Rogue?"

"It's Sabretooth."

"Who?"

Suddenly, the door flung open, and a huge, hairy man came bounding in. "There you are," Sabretooth growled at Rogue. Rogue screamed, and Remy immediately moved to put her behind him, three cards appearing in his hands seemingly from thin air.

"I don' t'ink so, Kitty-Cat."

Sabretooth growled, fangs glistening, but Remy stood his ground. "Remy, get outta here," Rogue said from behind him. "He's gonna kill you."

"I'm not lettin' him get you, chère."

"So this is your man now, Rogue?" Sabretooth teased. "And all this time I thought you were Logan's piece of ass."

Gambit charged the cards he'd been holding, and threw them at Sabretooth, hitting him in the eyes. Sabretooth roared and lunged blindly towards Gambit and Rogue.

"Run, chère," Gambit said.

"Remy, I can't leave you!"

"Go! I'll be fine."

Rogue knew Remy was right, that she had to get out of there. She nodded and ran out of the kitchen, praying that Remy would indeed be fine. However, she ran straight to Magneto, who was waiting for her with a rag dipped in chloroform. He grabbed her and covered her nose and mouth until she slumped in his arms.

"Creed, come on, we've got her!" Mystique yelled as soon as she saw that Magneto had gotten Rogue unconscious.

Back in the kitchen, Gambit heard Mystique as well. "Non," he mumbled, his concentration breaking. Sabretooth used the distraction to knock Gambit hard across the face, sending him into a wall. Gambit could feel his consciousness slipping away, but he forced himself to stay awake and stand up instead. He had to save Rogue.

Gambit pulled his bo staff out of his duster pocket and ran at Sabretooth with the and pushed the staff into the monster's chest, inches away from his heart. Sabretooth gave a roar and smacked Gambit again, this time knocking him out.

Sabretooth pulled Gambit's bo from his chest and threw it down to the ground. His wound already healing, he went back out into the restaurant, where frightened customers were hiding under tables hoping these strange people wouldn't kill them.

"Took you long enough," Mystique snapped.

Sabretooth just growled at her as he took Rogue from Magneto, threw her over one shoulder, and walked out.

*** *** ***

When Remy came to, Elaine, Jacques, and Trixie were all crouched around him. He blinked a few times, bringing the world into focus. "Where's Rogue?" he asked.

"Dey got 'er," Jacques said with remorse.

"Did dey kill 'er?"

"I don't t'ink so," Trixie said. "I t'ink dey jus' knocked her out. Dey took her wit' dem."

Gambit hung his head. "I should've been able t'protect her."

"Remy, dose people meant business. Dere was no way ya coulda saved Rogue from dem," Jacques said.

Remy forced himself to stand up, ignoring the pain. "I gotta find her. Who knows what dose bastards'll do t'her."

"Ya can't jus' go look for her," Jacques said. "You have no idea where she is."

"I do," Elaine said.

Remy turned to face her. "Where?"

"Dose people dat took her—dey were Magneto an' his people. Rogue tol' me she's part of de X-Men, an' dat Magneto kidnapped her once. Almost killed her."

Remy's face turned ashen. "I have to get to her den. Dey might try t'kill her again."

"I agree we got t'do somet'ing, Remy, but what? Dese people, dey're maniacs. What can you do?"

"I gotta find de X-Men," Remy said. "I've heard of dem before—secretive mutant group dat works t'help fight terrorists and push pro-mutant legislation, or somet'ing like dat. If Rogue was one of dem, dey'll know what to do t'help her."

"But no one knows where de X-Men are," Elaine said.

"Rogue tol' me she spent some time at some place in Westchester, New York. If she was an X-Man, den dat's probably where dey're headquartered," Remy said.

"What are ya gonna do about it, t'ough?" Trixie asked.

"I'm gonna go dere an' try t'find de X-Men, let dem know dat Magneto's got Rogue, an' hopefully help dem save her."

"Dat's an awfully broad plan, Remy. An' a little rash. How you know dey're in Westchester?" Elaine asked.

"I'm just gonna have t'take de chance," Remy said as he started to run off. "Dat is what I'm best at, after all."

*** *** ***

Rogue struggled futilely with her chains. "Why did you kidnap me again, you fuckin' bastard!" she yelled at Magneto. "Your damn machine is broken! You don't even have any use for me anymore!"

"That's where you are wrong, my dear," he said. "All the while I've been in prison, Mystique's been busy having another one made. This time I'm going to mutate all of Washington, D.C., and no one's going to stop me."

"You're an idiot. Only a moron would recycle the same plan twice like that. Especially seein' as the plan was ridiculous in the first place."

"You need to learn when to bite your tongue, child."

"Yeah, and you need to learn how to stop being a freakin' moron."

Magneto just gave her a disgusted look and stomped off, his cape waving behind him. Rogue slumped in the corner of her cell and hoped someone would rescue her.

*** *** ***

Remy got out of the cab in front of the gates of a huge mansion, hoping the cabbie had been right on the location of Xavier's School. He'd expected more difficulty in finding it once he flew into New York, but he hadn't had any trouble at all.

"Mebbe de Saints are on Remy's side f'once," he muttered. He walked through the iron gate and up to the front door, which swung open before he had a chance to open it. A beautiful, redheaded woman stood in front of him.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Jean Grey-Summers. How may I help you?"

"Uh, I'm Remy LeBeau—a friend of Rogue's."

Jean could sense from his emotions that something bad had happened. Her breath caught and her eyes grew wide. "Where is she? Wait, come inside. We can talk in here."

Jean led him to a room inside. Another man walked into the room, and Jean said, "Scott, something's happened to Rogue."

"Dammit. What?" Scott asked.

"I'm not sure yet. He says he's a friend of hers." Jean gestured to Remy.

A woman with dark skin and white hair came in after Scott. A fourth person came into the room after her, and something about him made Remy uncomfortable. The man was glaring at him, with an unlit cigar hanging from between his teeth.

"Remy—right?" Jean said.

"Oui," he said, looking around at the strange assortment of people who had gathered.

"Remy, what happened to Rogue?" Jean asked.

"Magneto got her. I tried t'stop 'im, but I couldn't."

Suddenly, the glaring man launched himself across the room, with what Remy thought must be metal claws shooting out from his knuckles. The man pinned Remy to the wall with the claws and growled, "You let that fucker get Marie?"

"Logan, let him go," Jean said. "I'm sure he did the best he could. This isn't his fault."

Logan pulled his claws back in with a growl and stepped away from Remy. "So dat's Logan," Remy thought, finally having a face to go with the name Rogue had always said with such pain.

"We must let the Professor know that Magneto has Rogue," Storm said, speaking up for the first time since she'd come into the room.

"He already knows," Jean said. "He's already gone down to Cerebro in an attempt to locate Rogue."

Remy jumped about a mile when a young woman suddenly walked right through the closed door. "Hey, you guys, turn on the television now," she said, her tone grave.

Jean looked at the television and it suddenly blinked on. Remy recognized the man on the screen from the attack at Jacques's. It was Magneto.

"Greetings Brothers and Humans," Magneto said. "I am taking over the United States of America. You have twenty-four hours to recognize me as President, or I will mutate all of Washington, D.C. And do not even think of attempting escape. You will be sorry."

The screen suddenly switched to footage of statues flying from the ground, crushing fleeing cars and people. Groups of soldiers led by Magneto and Mystique flooded the city, sending people into panic. Sabretooth rampaged, killing people and destroying national monuments.

"Turn it off," Jean said after a moment. "I can't watch anymore." Scott pulled her to him, trying to soothe her.

"We had some idea that the Brotherhood might be growing in number, but not to this degree…" Scott said.

"We let our guard down," Storm said. "We believed that with Magneto in prison this could not happen."

"Well, it has happened, 'Ro," Logan said. "And Rogue's in the middle of it all."

"Y'all are de X-Men, right?" Gambit asked, finding his voice.

"We're the senior members of the team," Scott said.

"So you can do somet'ing about dis. You can save Rogue."

"I  hate to say this, but I don't know how much good we'd be against the army Magneto has compiled," Scott said.

"So what, you're jus' gonna let him kill Rogue?"

"Like hell we are," Logan said. "Look Cyke, this may be a suicide mission, but we can't not try at least. Marie's in trouble. We gotta go after her."

"Logan is right," Storm said. "And it is not only Rogue in danger, but the whole country—if not the world. Is it not the job of the X-Men to fight this?"

Scott nodded. "Then we better get going. We don't have any time to lose. Jean, contact the other members of the team and tell them to suit up and meet us in the war room."

"Um, pardon me, but could I join you?" Remy asked.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Scott said. "This is a dangerous mission and…"

Before Scott could finish his sentence, Remy had grabbed five cards from his pocket and thrown them all simultaneously at the wall, each one hitting the same spot and dissolving with a small explosion.

Scott cleared his throat. "Uh, let's see if we can find a uniform your size."

*** *** ***

Remy moved his limbs around in the tight-fitting leather uniform. "Mon Dieu, how do dey move in dese t'ings?" he wondered out loud.

"You get used to it," Logan said, walking in.

Remy looked up. "I'll jus' take your word on dat."

"You Marie's boyfriend?" Logan asked.

Remy thought about that question for a moment, not quite sure how to answer, but opted for just a simple, "No."

"You sure about that, kid? You seem awfully fond of her, comin' all the way up here just to save her."

"Rogue means a lot t'me."

"You love her?"

"Dat's none of your business, homme."

Logan snarled. "What if I make it my business, gumbo?"

"You can finish the pissing contest later," Scott said, pulling Remy and Logan back into the present, "Right now we have to save Rogue."

Remy grabbed his duster and put it over his leather suit. "Why the hell are ya botherin' to put that thing on?" Wolverine asked.

"Pockets," Gambit said with a shrug. Logan and Remy gave each other one last glare before following Scott into the war room.

*** *** ***

Remy did his best to pay attention as Scott gave the briefing. Everything seemed so surreal to him. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since he'd been in Louisiana, a little emotionally distraught, but otherwise okay. Now he was standing in a war room, dressed in leather, watching the strangest map he'd ever seen.

"Remy?"

Remy looked up when Scott said his name. "Yeah?"

"You have any sort of nickname or anything that you could use as a codename?"

"People call me Gambit."

"That works. Use it in battle to keep your identity secret. As for the team, I'm Cyclops, and this is Storm, Wolverine, Iceman, Pyro, Jubilee, Colossus, Shadowcat, and, well, Jean."

Jean gave a small smile. "My old codename was terrible," she explained, "And I haven't been able to settle on anything I like."

Gambit nodded, trying to get all the names straight in his mind. Storm patted his arm. "It will be fine, Gambit," she said softly. "We will save Rogue."

As the X-Men went towards the X-Jet, Wolverine noticed all the sympathetic looks and words of encouragement the team was giving Gambit. What did they know about this guy, or his relationship to Marie? Jean had said she didn't sense any threat from him, and that he did genuinely care for Rogue, but Wolverine still didn't trust him. Sure, Remy had said he wasn't her boyfriend, but Wolverine didn't believe that. Not that it mattered. They'd save Marie, and then she'd be his again. Wolverine knew this Remy character would stand no chance up against him. Marie would forget about Remy as quickly as she had about Bobby.

Wolverine smiled as he strapped himself into the jet. They'd save the world again—and Marie—and then he'd have her back for good.

*** *** ***

Rogue tried to drown out the sounds of terror and death that seemed to be all around her. She couldn't tell where she was, but she knew something horrible was taking place. She kept pleading with herself to wake up, to make this all a dream, but she knew it was horrifically real.

She was even more certain that she was going to die than the first time Magneto captured her, when she was seventeen. Then, she had been afraid, but somehow she'd known that Wolverine would save her.

She didn't know that this time. Wolverine didn't even know she was there, and if he did, why would he care? He'd probably gone off to Canada somewhere to work out his aggressions in a cage or a bed. Or both.

Rogue kept thinking about the last time she'd seen Remy. She hated to imagine what Sabretooth must've done to him. He was probably dead, she decided, and it was all her fault. She couldn't forget the way he'd looked when he'd asked her to be with him, to tell him that he was what she wanted. She hated herself for leaving that night, for not just staying in his arms. At least she would've had more time with him before…

Marie didn't even want to think about it anymore. She buried her face in her hands and cried.

*** *** ***

"So, Gambit, what do you do?" Kitty asked, trying to break the uneasy silence in the X-Jet on the flight to Washington.

"Like as a job ya mean?"

"Yeah."

"I'm a t'ief."

The X-Men all gave him these little, shocked glances, and Logan made a sound that could best be described as a disapproving growl. "Oh," Kitty said softly, obviously embarrassed she'd asked.

"So how do you know Rogue anyway?" Bobby asked, curious about how his former fiancée could have ended up with a Cajun thief.

"She was a waitress at a place I go to a lot," Remy said.

Logan growled again. "Marie's been waitin' tables?"

"She liked her job," Remy said.

"She did, Logan," Jean said.

"How do you know that, Jeannie?" Logan asked.

"Because I've been in regular communication with Rogue ever since she left," Jean said.

Logan had figured that Jean had known where Rogue was, since she had had her number after all, but he hadn't thought that Jean had known that much about what Rogue was up to. Why didn't she tell him? Did she know how badly he wanted to find Marie?

"You knew Rogue was workin' in some dive, waitin' on men like him and you didn't do anything about it?" Logan asked Jean.

Jean sighed, exasperated. "If I had thought that what you're implying was the case—which I know it wasn't—I would've attempted to convince Rogue to come back to the mansion, but even if I had seen the need to do that, it would've been a waste of my time seeing as she is an adult and capable of making her own decisions."

Logan didn't say anything, but the look he gave Remy convinced the younger man that Wolverine would kill him in a heartbeat if given the chance.

They made the rest of the trip in silence.

*** *** ***

"So do we have any idea where they're keeping Rogue?" Iceman asked.

"Well, I'd have to go for the Capitol Building, seeing as the top is ripped off, and somethin' that looks a lot like that machine Magneto had on Liberty Island is there," Wolverine said. Iceman gave him a dirty look.

"Hold on everyone, I'm putting her down," Cyclops said.

Everyone held on to the arms of their seats until their knuckles were white, and Gambit decided to take a clue from them. Cyclops set the plane down, and the whole cabin shook. "He's not the best at landings," Jean whispered to Gambit.

"Uh, again, sorry," Cyclops said. Gambit couldn't help but smile a little. There was something about these people that made them strange, and yet so normal at the same time.

Cyclops unhooked himself from the pilots seat and stood up, turning around to face the other X-Men. "Okay team, presumably Magneto is based in the Capitol Building. We break in, find Rogue, get her out, and destroy Magneto's mutation machine. All reports at this point say that the military has been mobilized to take out the troops Magneto has gathered, but I believe if we can weaken him here, we can help prevent this from escalating into a full-scale human versus mutant war."

The X-Men all looked at him and nodded, their faces grave with determination. "All right team, move out," Cyclops said.

The X-Men moved on Cyclops's command, using the cover of night to sneak towards the Capitol. Gambit was amazed at how well they moved as a team, seeming more like a single entity than individuals. Even Wolverine seemed in sync with the group.

Once they reached their destination, they found themselves faced with Magneto's guards. At the sight of the X-Men, the guards began to fire. Colossus stood in front of his teammates blocking the bullets. Iceman froze the ground under their feet, causing the guards to slip. Jean sent out a telepathic bolt and finished the job, knocking them all unconscious.

"Well, that was relatively easy," Jubilee said.

"Makes me realize why people always say 'a lil' too easy' in movies…" Gambit muttered.

"Door's locked," Cyclops said. He started to blast it in, but Gambit stopped him.

"Non, dat will make too much noise. Let me do it."

"Quickly, Gambit," Cyclops conceded, stepping away.

Gambit pulled a set of lock-picks from his duster and quickly got the door open. "Um, you just broke into the Capitol Building in less than a minute," Jubilee pointed out.

Gambit shrugged. "Like I said, petite, I'm a t'ief—an' a good one at dat."

"Right now, I'm glad you are," Jean said. "That was amazing." Gambit winked at her, and she blushed. Scott bristled.

"So are we going in or not?" Pyro asked.

"We’re going in," Cyclops said. "Keep alert."

Inside, the Capitol was in shambles. Wolverine ran his fingers over a set of five marks on one of the walls. "Sabretooth's handiwork," he said.

"Is he de big one wit' all de hair?" Gambit asked.

"I take it you've made his acquaintance," Wolverine said sarcastically.

"He's de reason I couldn't save Rogue," Gambit explained.

"I was able to save her once after fighting him and sticking my own claws through my chest," Wolverine said.

"Boys, behave," Jean scolded. Gambit noticed how quickly Wolverine's temper fizzled when Jean talked to him.

"Wonder if de Wolverine's got a soft spot for de femme," Gambit mused.

"So where do you think they're keeping Rogue?" Shadowcat asked.

As if on cue, a scream tore through the room. "That was her," Wolverine said.

Gambit turned pale. "She's in pain," he said.

Without another word, the X-Men ran towards the direction of the scream.

*** *** ***

"I told you, I can control my powers now," Rogue said, tears in her eyes.

"Well then stop controlling them, child," Magneto ordered.

"Never. I'll die before I'll let ya use me to kill all those people."

"Have it your way. Mystique, convince her."

"With pleasure," Mystique replied. She pulled out a small gun and shot Rogue in the leg. Rogue screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her leg in pain.

Magneto knelt down in front of her. "Have you changed your mind? You'd be amazed how many places you can be shot without dying—right away."

Rogue spit in his face. Magneto stood up, wiping his cheek. "Have it your way now, but in the end I will have my way."

Fresh tears were pouring down Rogue's cheeks as she held onto her leg, desperately trying to make the pain go away. "I won't give you what you want. And I know I'll just die in that machine of yours anyway, so why should I give in?"

"My dear, if you give in, then you'll be sacrificing your life for all of our kind. If you chose to make me kill you here, well, you'll just be dying a senseless death, and I know you don't want to do that."

"Burn in hell, bastard."

"Mystique, shoot the other leg."

Mystique drew her weapon, but before she had a chance, something flew across the room and knocked the gun from her hand. "I don't t'ink so," Gambit said from the doorway.

Rogue looked up. "Remy!" she exclaimed, her pain momentarily forgotten at the sight of him—alive.

The other X-Men stepped out of the shadows, ready to fight. Sabretooth stood beside Mystique and growled.

Logan looked over at Marie. She was so happy to see Gambit that she didn't even notice Wolverine was there, and that hit him hard. Suddenly, he caught the scent of something frighteningly familiar. He sniffed the air. Blood. Marie's blood. "Rogue's been hurt," he said.

Jean broke her way to the front and ran to Rogue, telekinetically throwing Sabretooth across the room when he tried to stop her.

"Rogue, what happened," Jean asked.

"I've been shot," Rogue replied, wincing in pain. "In the leg."

Jean took a look at the injury. "We have to get you out of here."

"How?" Rogue asked. "I doubt they're exactly just gonna let us walk outta here."

Jean looked up at the battle that had just broken out, and realized Rogue was right. Magneto had obviously alerted his followers, and a small band of them had come up, joining Mystique and Sabretooth in the task of protecting their leader. Jean ripped off a part of Rogue's slacks and tied it around her wound. "Here, keep pressure on the wound and try to slow down the bleeding. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Rogue nodded. "Thanks, Jean."

Jean went to join in the battle, and Rogue watched from the sidelines, wishing there was something she could do to help. Suddenly, she felt herself pulled up off the ground.

"I can see Wolverine wanted with you, frail," Sabretooth said as he held Rogue out in front of him. He caressed her body with his eyes, licking his lips.

"Put me down," Rogue pleaded, the pain in her leg amplifying.

Sabretooth just snarled, rubbing her cheek with his claws.

"Pardon moi, Monsieur Chat," Gambit said, coming up behind Sabretooth. "But I believe you better put de femme down 'fore I have t'kill you."

Sabretooth wheeled around to face Gambit, throwing Rogue down and making her scream in anguish. She hit the ground clutching her leg and whimpering, fresh tears stinging her eyes.

Sabretooth roared, but Gambit stood his ground, ready to lay down his life for Rogue if need be. Sabretooth swung one of his massive paws towards Gambit, but Gambit moved with uncanny speed.

"Missed me," Gambit taunted.

Sabretooth bellowed and charged towards Gambit, who pulled three cards from his duster, charged them, and threw them at Sabretooth, hitting him in the eyes. Sabretooth roared and began to swing blindly at Gambit, who blocked him with ease. But as Sabretooth's eyes healed and his eyesight returned, he began to strike with better aim, and Gambit felt himself tiring. He threw more cards at Sabretooth, but they seemed to just be bouncing off him as Sabretooth became too angry to feel the pain anymore.

Suddenly, Sabretooth's claws connected with Gambit's abdomen. Gambit sunk to the ground. He touched his stomach, then looked at his hands and saw them covered with his own blood. He faintly heard Rogue scream his name, but all he could focus on was the pain. Sabretooth stood over him, ready to strike the killing blow. Gambit prepared himself for death, but it never came. Instead, Sabretooth froze for a moment, and to Gambit it looked as if his veins were popping out of his skin. Then, he fell to the ground.

Rogue ran to Gambit, her leg now healed from the powers she'd borrowed from Sabretooth. She'd pushed his angry voice to the back of her mind, ignoring the borrowed-urge to kill Remy. Instead, she pulled him to her, cradling him in her arms.  He was making little noises of pain, and Rogue felt her heart breaking. "You're gonna be all right," she said soothingly, brushing his hair back from his forehead. "You're gonna be just fine."

Remy smiled at her the best he could, not having the strength to say anything. He coughed, and Rogue noticed blood was coming from his mouth. "Oh God, Remy, please don't die," she begged, her tears forming anew. "Please. I love you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but it's true. I love you…"

Remy just nodded as his eyes closed.

Rogue felt panic grip her. "Remy—no. Wake up, please, just wake up." He didn't stir. "Jean!" she started screaming. "Jean!!!"

Jean came as soon as she could. "What happened?" she asked.

Rogue gestured to Gambit. "Sabretooth got him," she explained. "I stopped him from killing Remy—touched him—but—oh God, Jean, is he dead?"

Jean took hold of Remy's wrist. "He still has a pulse," she said after a moment. "It's weak, but it's there. We need to get him out of here, though. He's fading fast."

Rogue tried to stay as calm as possible, knowing that freaking out wouldn't help Remy at all. "What should I do?"

"Stay with him. Make sure no one gets him. Can you do that?"

Rogue nodded.

"Good. Hopefully, this will all be over soon. The army's down there, fighting Magneto's people, and Scott's trying to get through to the machine so he can blast it," Jean took Rogue's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "It's all going to be okay. I won't let Gambit die."

"Thank you."

Jean nodded and ran back to the battle.

*** *** ***

Wolverine caught the sight of Rogue from the corner of his eye. She was holding a blood-covered Gambit in her arms, crying and murmuring things to him that Wolverine couldn't hear over the din of the battle. Wolverine felt a surge of possessive anger. Marie was his. He would get her back, no matter what it took.

Wolverine snapped to attention when he felt someone kick him hard in the stomach. He recoiled, then looked up to see Mystique staring at him with a look of perverse glee in her eyes. His claws shot from his hands, and he lunged at her, ready to finish what he'd started years earlier. Mystique stood her ground, and right before he plunged his claws into her, she morphed into Rogue, making Wolverine stop in his tracks.

"Why don't ya kill me now, sugah?" Mystique asked, mimicking Rogue's accent perfectly.

"Don't do that…" Wolverine said, trying to keep his tone from being pleading. The Wolverine did not beg—especially not from the likes of Mystique.

"Why not?" she asked, reaching up to stroke his cheek. "Bring up too many memories for you, Logan? I know you can see her over there, crying over another man, holding him to her chest. You wish that was you, don't you? You probably wouldn't even mind being in pain if it meant that Rogue cried those tears for you."

"You're pushin' it, Mystique," Wolverine warned. "You may look like her, but I know you're not, and I would hesitate to kill you."

"You're hesitating now," Mystique purred.

Wolverine snarled and impaled her stomach, the same way he had the first time they had faced off. For a moment, it was Marie's eyes looking up at him, full of pain and pleas, and the image tore at his heart. Mystique sunk to the floor, back in her blue form, and Wolverine shook his head, trying to clear that horrible image of Marie with his claws in her gut from his mind.

It reminded him so much of when she'd tried to stop his nightmare on their first night at the mansion—a memory he wished would fade with all the ones that had been stolen from him.

Wolverine heard an explosion and looked to see that Cyclops had destroyed Magneto's machine. Magneto was lying on the ground a few feet away with Jubilee kicking him while he was down—literally. He could hear her telling him something about the idiocy of messing with one of the X-Men, and how if he did it again she would personally kill him.

As much as Jubilee annoyed Wolverine, he had to admit she had spunk.

"Fall out, X-Men!" Cyclops yelled as Magneto's machine went up in smoke. Most of Magneto's troops were down, and the ones that weren't couldn't ignore defeat. Below the Capitol, a battle still raged, but the X-Men knew that wasn't there place. They'd come to stop Magneto himself, and they'd done that. The army could handle the rest.

Jubilee gave Magneto one more kick before running out with the others. Colossus went over to Rogue and picked up Gambit to carry him out. Wolverine heard Marie plead with Colossus to be careful with Remy, and Logan tried to ignore the sharp pang in his heart. Instead, he just made sure that everyone was out safely before following the team to the X-Jet.

*** *** ***

Rogue stood off to the side as Jean tried to get Remy stabilized on the X-Jet. Marie kept tell herself that he was going to be okay, that Jean was a very component doctor, and she could fix him, but Rogue also knew that Jean could only do so much. Remy had lost a lot of blood, and Jean had said he was going into shock.

Rogue felt a strong hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see St. John. "Hey," he said softly.

She turned around, burying her face in the chest of her old friend and crying. St. John held her the way he would a sister, trying to comfort her in a time when he knew nothing could really give her solace.

From the cabin of the jet, Logan looked back to see Rogue crying over Remy. He growled low in his throat. Gambit shouldn't have even been there. Marie never should've met him—never should've even left. She should've just stayed there with Logan. They could've worked things out, he could've changed.

Logan told himself that for Marie, change would be easy.

"I told you you'd lose her, too."

Logan looked up, fire in his eyes. "Don't," he warned Bobby.

"I'm not afraid of you, Wolverine," Bobby said. "Never have been. And if you ask me, you got what you deserved. I never knew why Rogue even wasted her time with you, and it looks like maybe she's finally wised up. Even a thief is better than you."

Wolverine's unsheathed his claws, and Jubilee jumped up, quick to come to her husband's defense. "Bobby, stop it," she said. She glared at Wolverine. "And you, control your temper. You make a widow, and you die."

Something in her eyes made Wolverine think she was probably serious—though he wasn't sure exactly how she'd go about killing him. He slouched in his seat, telling himself that he was wasting his time fighting with Drake anyway. He wasn't a threat anymore, if he ever even had been.

Remy LeBeau, on the other hand, was definitely a threat to his territory. And the Wolverine had never backed away from a threat.

*** *** ***

Rogue waited outside the medlab as Jean worked on Remy. It felt like torture as she sat for hours, desperate for Jean to walk out and tell her everything was okay. She thought back to before, after the Statue of Liberty, when it had been Logan who almost died trying to save her. She'd blamed herself for that, as she now blamed herself for Remy's injury as well. If anything happened to him after this—if he didn't make it—it would be her fault.

"Rogue?"

Rogue looked up and the desperation in her eyes made Jean's heart break. "Is he…is he gonna make it?" Rogue asked, her voice small and pitiful.

Jean sighed, wishing she had better news. "I have him stabilized, but he went into shock and now he's in a coma. I'm not going to lie to you Rogue, his chances of making it aren't very high."

Rogue burst into a whole new fit of tears. Jean hugged her, trying to comfort her friend. "Can…can I see him?" Rogue asked.

"If you want. He doesn't look very good right now, Rogue. It may be worse for you if you go in there."

"I want to, Jean. Please, let me see him."

Jean nodded, knowing she'd feel the same way if it was Scott laying in there. "Go on, Rogue. I'll be right out here if you need anything."

Rogue went into the room. She saw Remy's pale form lying on the bed and gasped, the pain she felt seeing him like that becoming almost something physical. She walked over to him and sat down in the chair beside the bed, talking his hand in hers. It felt cold and lifeless, and she had to stare at him for a moment until she absolutely sure he was really breathing.

"Hey, Remy," she said softly, reaching up to push his bangs away from his face. She placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "I am so sorry," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I am so sorry. You shouldn't even be here. If it wasn't for me, you'd be back in Louisiana right now, living your carefree life the way you always did before."

Rogue stroked his hand with her thumb. "Just don't die on me, okay? I don't know what I'd do if you died, especially knowing this is all my fault. You have to wake up. You just have to, Remy…"

She was crying too hard to speak anymore, so she just held his hand, silently begging him to wake up and live.

*** *** ***

Rogue was curled up in the chair, asleep but still holding Remy's hand when Jean came in later.  Jean gently shook Rogue awake. "Here, I brought you something to eat," Jean said, handing Rogue a plate with a sandwich and some apple slices.

"Thanks," Rogue said groggily, taking the plate. She took a couple bites of the sandwich, then asked. "How are things in Washington?"

"Magneto's army was neutralized, and Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth were all captured. It's going to take some rebuilding, but I think the city will recover."

"Mystique's alive?" Rogue asked. "I thought Logan gutted her. At least that's what Kitty said."

"He did, but he did the last time he faced her, too," Jean replied. "I think that she may be able to recover from injury when she changes form."

"Wish I could've done that when she shot me," Rogue muttered.

Jean stroked Rogue's hair in an almost-motherly gesture. "Everything's going to be all right, Rogue. You'll get through this."

"I don't know if I'll be able to make it if Remy never wakes up. It's my fault he's there, Jean."

"No, Rogue, it isn't. Don't tell yourself that. It wasn't your fault that Magneto kidnapped you. It wasn't your fault that Sabretooth attacked Remy."

"But Remy was trying to save me when he got involved in this whole thing, and he was trying to save me again when Sabretooth got him. I ruin everything, Jean. Even when I can control my powers, everything I touch is cursed. I ruined anything I ever had with Logan, and now I've gotten Remy killed."

"Rogue, listen to me," Jean said, he voice stern. "First off, you have not killed Remy. As long as he's breathing, I refused to give up hope, and you need to do the same. I haven't known him very long, but I can tell he's an incredibly strong person, and something tells me that if anyone can beat the odds and pull through, it's him. And second, don't you dare blame yourself for what happened with Logan. That wasn't your fault."

"It was, Jean. I pushed him into a relationship when he didn't want one and then expected him to give me more than he was able to."

"You didn't do anything out of the ordinary with Logan," Jean said. "You were young and in love, and you didn't want to give your chance of having the man of your dreams. And Logan accepted the relationship, especially when he came back and broke up your engagement to Bobby. He promised you he'd be there for you, and he fell through on that promise."

"Sometimes I wonder if I should have just given him another chance," Rogue said. "If I'd never left Westchester, this wouldn't be happening now. Maybe I could've been happy with Logan. Maybe we could've worked things out."

"Almost any woman would've left in your situation," Jean said. "Heck, I don't think I would've been able to forgive Scott if he'd run off to see an ex-girlfriend, didn't tell me where, why, or for how long he was going, and stayed away for four months either."

"I did love Logan, though," Rogue said. "More than anything. He was the only thing that meant anything to me." She looked over at Remy. "But now…" Her voice trailed off as she began to cry again. "Jean, would it be all right if I just slept in here tonight? I want to be with him…"

"I'd be okay with that," Jean said with a warm smile. "It would probably be for the best if someone is here when he wakes up anyway."

Rogue felt a little better at hearing Jean say "when he wakes up" as opposed to "if he wakes up."

"Thank you, Jean."

Jean stood up. "If you need anything, let me know. I'm here for you."

"I know."

*** *** ***

For the next three days, Rogue sat by Remy's bedside, barely sleeping or eating, leaving the room only when it was absolutely necessary. Jean came in and sat with her some, but the doctor could tell that Rogue wasn't really up for company. Mainly, Rogue just sat there with Gambit, pleading for him to wake up.

"Rogue?"

Rogue looked up, still holding on to Remy's hand. She rarely let him go anymore. "Jubilee?"

"Hey, um, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jubilee asked.

"Sure, come on in."

Jubilee pulled up a chair and sat down on the other side of Remy's bed. "How's he doing?" Jubilee asked.

"No change," Rogue said. "I over heard Jean telling Scott that if he isn't out of the coma by the end of the week, he probably won't ever wake up."

"Wow. I'm sorry, Rogue."

"Save your condolences for if he actually dies," Rogue replied.

"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Jubilee said.

"I don't know if I'm really mad. Hurt, I guess. Some of the things you said were hard to get over. You were my best friend, Jubilation."

"I'm sorry, Rogue. I was wrong. I feel really bad for the way I treated you. You were right when you said I was putting intentions on your actions that just weren't the case. I guess I didn't understand what you felt for Logan, and it made me angry that you would put yourself through that. I'm sorry. I should've been there for you."

"It's all right."

"Can we maybe put it behind us?" Jubilee asked. "My biggest regret in life is throwing away the friendship we had."

Rogue nodded. "Consider it forgotten."

Jubilee looked at Remy for a moment. "Are you with him now?" she asked.

"Things are sort of complicated between us," Rogue said. "I guess I'll have to wait until he's better for me to figure out where we stand."

"Do me a favor, okay?"

"What, Jubes?"

"Whatever you have with Gambit, don't throw it away for Logan. I don't want to watch him hurt you again."

"I promise you, whatever decision I make in my love life, it'll be what's for the best," Rogue said.

They sat in silence for a little while longer. Jubilee played with the rings on her left hand. "Did anyone tell you Bobby and I are married now?"

"Yeah, I knew. Congratulations," Rogue said. "I'm sure you'll make her happier than I ever could."

"Thank you," Jubilee replied. "I found out yesterday that I'm going to have a baby."

Rogue smiled a little. "I'm happy for both of you."

"Thanks. Bobby and I haven't been married long, but we really wanted a child."

"I remember Bobby talking about wanting kids when we were together," Rogue said. "He said he wanted to prove to himself that he could be a better father than his ever was."

"He will be," Jubilee said.

"I know. And you'll be a great mom."

"Thanks. It means a lot to me for you to say that." Jubilee took a deep breath. "I guess I've always been insecure when it comes to you and Bobby. I used to feel like if you wanted him back, Bobby would've left me in a heartbeat."

"I don't think he would," Rogue said. "Anything we had is long since past. And don't worry—I'd never try to steal him from you."

"I know," Jubilee said. "He just loved you so much. Hard for the woman after to deal with, you know."

"He loved me, yeah, but I doubt he does anymore. We're definitely over."

Jubilee just smiled. She sat in there with Rogue for a while, and Rogue found herself actually grateful for the company.  It felt good to have her best friend back, and Rogue felt like she knew where she belonged. She'd enjoyed her time in Louisiana, but it had never really felt like home.

The mansion was her home, and she knew it always would be.

*** *** ***

Logan stood in the medlab, watching Marie from the window looking into the room where Remy was. He glared at the way she touched Remy so gently, the way her lips formed soft, tender words that even Logan's hearing couldn't pick up. He hated that she was crying, and he hated that she was shedding those tears for another man even more so. She was his Marie, and even when she had left, Logan had been sure that she would come back to him eventually—that he would have her in his arms again.

He hadn't counted on her falling for anyone else. And even if she had, Logan had been sure that he could've wooed her back easily. It certainly hadn't been hard for him to get her away from Bobby Drake. Logan wasn't sure what Rogue saw in the Cajun thief.

"Probably the same thing she saw in you," Logan thought to himself. "Apparently she likes 'em a little rough around the edges."

"You know, if you'd like to be in a coma, too, I'm sure I could arrange that."

Logan whipped his head around, surprised that anyone had been able to sneak up on him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, Jeannie?"

"It means that you're looking like you'd rather that be you in there, just so you could have Rogue crying over you the way she is Remy."

"So what if I do?"

"That's sick."

"I don't need this from you, Jean. I'm havin' to see the woman I love with some other man. That's not somethin' that's easy to deal with."

"How do you think Rogue felt when you were off with Mariko for so long."

"That was different. Nothin' was goin' on with me an' Mari."

"Don't insult my intelligence like that."

"What are you talkin' about?"

"Don't stand here and try to act like nothing happened with her while you were gone. I'm not stupid enough to believe that."

"You readin' my mind or somethin'?"

"I don't need to, Logan. You're not as hard to figure out as you think."

Logan ran his hand through his hair. "Look Jean, I'm not sayin' I didn't make some mistakes with Rogue, but I've learned from them. Living without her has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and I don't wanna have to go through it anymore. I have to get her back."

"I'm sorry Logan, but I think it's too late for that."

"It can't be, Jeannie. I'm not gonna give up that easily."

Jean glanced at Rogue and Remy. "Then I think maybe you better get yourself prepared for disappointment." She walked off, her heels clicking on the tile floor.

Logan turned back to the window. He knew Jean was wrong. He would have Marie again.

*** *** ***

"Chère?"

Rogue jumped. Had she heard what she thought she just heard? She looked at Remy's face and saw that his eyes were open. "Remy!" she exclaimed. "Oh my God, you're awake!"

"I feel terrible," he muttered, his voice rough and groggy.

Rogue ran her hand across his cheek. "You almost died, sugar."

"How…how long have I been out?"

"Five days."

Remy let out a deep breath. "Five. You been here de whole time, chère?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Remy managed a weak smile.

"I'm gonna go get Jean, okay? She's the doctor. She saved your life." Rogue started to walk out of the room, but the sound of Remy calling her stopped her.

"Marie?"

She turned around. "Yeah?"

"Wasn't jus' Jean dat saved my life."

"What do you mean?"

"It was you, too. You tellin' me you loved me 'fore I blacked out. Gave me somet'ing t'live for."

Rogue smiled at him then went to find Jean.

*** *** ***

Two days later, Jean declared that Remy could be moved. He'd still be confined to bed rest and have to undergo medical treatments for a while longer, but he could at least get out of the medlab. The Professor had a room set up for him on the teachers' wing, and Rogue said she'd look after him so Jean wouldn't have to spend all her time playing nursemaid to him.

"You really don' mind havin' t'put up wit' me, chère?" Remy asked as Rogue helped him get situated in bed.

"Hey, you got in this state savin' me. It's the least I can do."

"Rogue, I don' want ya t'do dis jus' 'cause ya feel like ya have to."

"I'm not, Remy. I want to take care of you."

Remy smiled. "So ya gonna wear one of dose white nurses' uniforms?" he asked with a smirk.

"No, but I am gonna give ya sponge bathes," Rogue replied.

Remy wiggled his eyebrows and Rogue broke out into a fit of laughter. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said after she sobered. "I don't think I could handle it if you died."

"You t'ink ya woulda had a hard time dealin'? I'd be dead," Remy teased.

"What is it about you that makes me like ya so much?" Rogue asked.

Remy shrugged. "I'm dead sexy, of course."

"It's refreshing to meet a man as modest as you."

"No point in denyin' de truth."

Rogue leaned down and kissed him lightly. "Love you," she murmured.

"Love you, too."

"You look tired," Rogue said. "Why don't ya get some sleep?"

Remy patted the space on the bed beside him. "Sleep wit' me, chère."

Rogue gave him a puzzled look.

"Not'ing sexual. I jus' wanna hold ya."

Rogue took off her shoes and climbed in beside him on the bed, careful to avoid hitting his bandages. Remy wrapped his arms around her and moved her so her head was resting against his shoulder. Rogue sighed and cuddled closer to him. It had been so long since anyone just held her.

Rogue just lay there for a long time, listening to Remy's steady breathing as he slept, and relishing how safe and warm he made her feel. After a while, she drifted off to sleep, too.

*** *** ***

Rogue woke up still in Remy's arms. He was asleep and she smiled at how peaceful he looked. She couldn't believe how close she'd come to losing him, and just how hard that had hit her. She'd tried not to fall for Remy, but in the end she had anyway. Now all she could do was hope that it didn't end up with him the way it had with Logan.

Her stomach rumbled, and Rogue realized it had been awhile since she'd last eaten. She quietly got out of bed, giving Gambit a soft kiss on his forehead before heading out of the room and down to the kitchen.

Rogue had just opened the fridge when she heard an all-too-familiar voice.

"Hey, darlin'."

She froze. "Hello, Logan."

"You hungry?"

"No, I thought I'd just stand here and look inside the fridge for no good reason," Rogue snapped.

"Marie…"

"To you, it's Rogue." She slammed the fridge door. "I think I just lost my appetite."

Rogue stared out of the room, but Logan grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Wait. I wanna talk to you."

"Well, that's too bad, because I don't want to talk to you."

"Rogue, please, just hear me out."

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say, Wolverine."

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, darlin'. I know I didn't treat you right, but I want to make it up to you. I love you Marie—I always have. Please, don't let this be the end." Logan reached up to caress her face, but she pulled away.

"Don't you fucking touch me," she snapped with a growl that could rival his own.

"Marie…"

"No, you blew it Logan. If you really wanted me, you could've had me before, but you were too absorbed in yourself to see it. I've moved on, and I'm happier than I ever was with you."

"Are you, Marie?" Logan asked, moving closer to her. She tried to back away from him, and soon she found herself up against a wall with his arms on either side of her, trapping her in. Her big brown eyes grew even larger, and she swallowed hard. "Can you honestly tell me that you don't still want me? 'Cause I can smell that that ain't the case, darlin'."

Rogue tried to focus herself, tried to ignore the way he made her feel as if her body was on fire. "It's just physical, Logan, it doesn't mean…"

Logan silenced her with a kiss, pressing his mouth against hers hard until she finally gave in and was kissing her back. He picked her up and put her on the counter, and Marie wrapped her arms and legs around him, giving into the sensations he was causing in her body. Logan began trailing kisses down her neck and Marie arched her back, moaning softly.

It was when his hands traveled down to touch her breasts that Rogue realized what she was doing. She pushed him away. "Logan, no," she said, trying to catch her breath. "We can't do this."

"Why not, darlin'?" he asked, his voice husky with desire.

"Because it's over, Logan—we're over. Just let me live my life, okay!" Rogue hopped off the counter and ran out, refusing to look back for fear that if she did, she wouldn't be able to leave.

*** *** ***

Rogue went back up to Remy's room and found that he was still asleep. Rogue felt guilty as soon as she saw him. He'd almost died saving her life, and she'd gone behind his back and kissed another man. Rogue suddenly felt cheap.

She curled up in the chair beside the bed and began to cry. The soft sound of her tears pulled Remy out of his sleep, and he opened her eyes.

"Hey, chère, what's de matter?" he asked.

He was looking at her with so much love, and his voice was so gentle, that Rogue just began to cry harder. He held his arms out to her. "Come here," he said.

Rogue got off the chair and moved into the circle of his arms, letting him comfort her and soothe the tears away. "Tell me you love me, Remy," she said. "I need to hear it."

"I love you," he said, planting soft kisses on the top of her head. "I love you wit' all my heart."

"Why?" Rogue asked.

"Why what, chère?"

"Why do you love me?"

"Why not?"

"What kind of an answer is that?"

Remy held her chin in his hand and tilted her face so her eyes met his. "I don' know why I love you, Marie, I jus' know I do. Dere's somet'ing about you, petite, an' I know I could never be happy unless you were in my life."

"I don't deserve you, Remy."

"I t'ink it's de ot'er way around, Marie."

"I'm sorry I tried to push you away, Remy. I shouldn't have left that night. I should've stayed with you."

"Don't worry about dat. It's in de past. We're toget'er now, an' dat's what counts."

Rogue just let herself be wrapped up in Remy's arms and tried to make herself forget what had happened in the kitchen with Logan.

*** *** ***

Rogue spent the next couple of weeks focusing on Remy, doing all she could to make him heal as quickly as possible. She tried to avoid Logan, not sure if she could handle another confrontation like the one they'd had in the kitchen.

Remy was in the bed, watching Rogue as she folded towels on the couch across the room. "C'mere, chère," he said.

"Remy, I'm tryin' to fold these towels. Give me a minute."

"Marie…"

She looked up, ready to gripe at him, when she noticed the look on his face. He gave her a wink.

"Remy, you're injured."

"Not dat bad anymore. 'Sides, you kiss my wounds, mebbe ya make dem better, non?"

Rogue quickly forgot about the towels and went over to join Remy in the bed. "You sure you're feelin' better, sugar?"

"Hmm. A little. You wanna make me feel even better, chère?"

Rogue giggled, caressing his chest and kissing the side of his neck. "You let me know if I hurt you, Remy," she purred.

"You're not hurtin' me, chère. Feels good." Her hand traveled down and Remy groaned. "Real good."

Rogue sat up. "Seriously, Remy, are you feeling better? I mean you almost died. Must be hard to recover from that."

Remy reached up and pushed her hair behind her ears. "Really, I'm almost as good as new. Probably be able t'head back home soon."

Rogue pulled herself away from him. "What?"

Remy looked at her, confused. "What's de matter, chère?"

"Did you just say you're leavin'?"

"Yeah. I live in Louisiana, Rogue. I sorta figured you'd come back, too."

Rogue jumped off the bed. "What? You thought I'd just up and leave everything here so I could go back with you?"

"Rogue, what's wrong?" Remy asked. "You've been livin' in Louisiana. I figured you'd be goin' back."

"Well I'm not!" Rogue yelled.

"Well it woulda been nice if you'd tol' me dat!" Remy yelled back. "You left Westchester before, I didn't t'ink you'd really want t'stay here for good."

"The mansion is my home, Remy," Rogue said. "I only came to Louisiana to try to get over what happened with Logan, and I don't think I need to be gone anymore. What I had goin' on in Johnson's Bayou, that was just temporary. My life is here, Remy."

"An' my life is dere."

"Then I guess we just can't have a life together."

Rogue turned around and stormed out of the room.

*** *** ***

Rogue spent the next few days avoiding both Remy and Logan, which she discovered to be quite difficult, especially since Jean had declared Remy fit to get out of bed.

She could hear Gambit in the den, and although she couldn't tell exactly what he was saying, she could hear Kitty and Jubilee giggling at whatever it was. Rogue rolled her eyes. Did he never stop flirting?

Rogue tried to sneak past the den without Gambit hearing. She thought she'd made it, but she was just a few feet past the doorway when she heard him call out to her.

"Hey, chère."

She looked at him and nodded curtly. "Remy."

"I'm leavin' tomorrow," he said.

"That's great. Have a nice life." She started to walk off, but Remy ran after her.

"Rogue, please, don' do dis."

"Don't do what, Remy? Be upset because you're leavin' me the same way everyone else ever has when you promised me ya wouldn't?"

"It ain't like dat, Rogue! I wanna be wit' you. I want you t'come wit' me."

"Remy, this is where I belong. I liked living in Louisiana, liked working for Jacques, but it could never be permanent. I miss being an X-Man. I miss the friends I have here. I even miss teaching. If you go back, well then there's nothin' left for us."

"I don' wanna lose you, chère?"

"Then stay," Rogue said softly.

Remy shook his head. "I can't. I can tell I don't belong here. I'm not an X-Man, Rogue."

"You could be."

"I don' t'ink so."

Rogue looked down. "I love you."

"I know, chère. I love you, too."

"Then don't leave me!"

Remy sighed. "Rogue, dere's no way 'round it. I live dere, you live here. Neit'er one of us is prepared t'give up our life."

"I'm sorry, Remy."

"Me, too, chère."

"Keep in touch, all right?"

"Marie…"

Rogue didn't want to hear anything else he had to say. "Just keep in touch," she said again before walking away.

*** *** ***

The next morning, Rogue watched from the window as Remy got into a cab and sped away from the mansion. She'd told herself that she wasn't going to cry, but as soon as he was gone, she broke down.

"Rogue?"

"Hey, Bobby," she said softly, not turning around.

Bobby walked up and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

She started crying harder. "No."

"I'm sorry Rogue. And not just for Remy leaving. I'm sorry for the way I acted when we broke up, too."

She finally looked at him. "Bobby, no, don't be sorry for that," she said. "I know I hurt you."

He wiped the tears out of her eyes. "It's all right. You just weren't really in love with me. It's my fault for going after you in the first place when I knew you weren't over Logan."

"I didn't sleep with him that night."

"I know."

"You do?"

Bobby smiled. "Well, at the time I was convinced you had, but looking back, I believe you didn't."

"Thanks." She paused for a moment. "Jubilee told me about the baby. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"You really love Jubilee, don't you?"

"More than anything."

"Y'all are lucky to have each other. I'm glad you found someone who can make you happy."

"You'll find someone that makes you happy, too, Rogue."

Rogue looked back out at the place she'd last seen Remy. "I already did."

*** *** ***

"'Ro said the Cajun left."

Rogue glanced up from the book she was reading. "Yes, Remy left this morning."

"So I guess that means you two aren't…"

"A couple? No, we're not. But don't think this is your chance, Logan. You've wasted every chance that I'm prepared to give you."

"Marie…"

Rogue slammed her book a stood up. "No. I've had it with you, Logan. You never want me until you can't have me, and suddenly you'll do anything for me. I'm not fallin' for it anymore, Wolverine. If I really meant so much to you, then you wouldn't have left me every chance ya got. You fucked up. Face it."

"I can't live without you, Marie. It hurts."

"Well, then I guess you finally understand the phrase 'what goes around, comes around.'"

Rogue walked away feeling more alive than she had in a long time.

*** *** ***

Remy sat alone in a booth at Jacques's, nursing a drink and generally feeling sorry for himself. Elaine came over and sat across from him. "All right, LeBeau, what's wrong wit' ya?"

"What make you t'ink dere's anyt'ing wrong?" Remy asked.

"Oh, probably de fact that you've come in here everyday for de past t'ree days an' jus' sat in de back lookin' pitiful."

Remy stared down into his glass. "Rogue ain't comin' back."

"I know. She called me two days ago an' tol' me t'ship up some of de t'ings from her apartment. But her bein' gone doesn't tell me what's wrong wit' you."

"I love her, 'Laine, an' she's gone now."

"So?"

"So? I've lost de woman I love."

"No you haven't." Elaine sighed. "Look, Remy, ya know I love you like a brot'er, but I'm gonna be straight wit' you here. You're bein' a moron. Rogue loves you. You love her. Go up t'New York an' be wit' her."

"I can't," Remy said. "My life is here in Louisiana."

"What life? Remy, I'm sorry, but I don't see ya doin' much of anyt'ing dat ya couldn't do anywhere else. Not like you got a steady job, or kids, or anyt'ing like dat. Hell, you don' even have a dog. You wanna be wit' Rogue, den be wit' Rogue. Jus' get up, stop tryin' t'make your life a bad country song, an' go. What do ya have t'lose?"

Remy thought about Elaine's words for a moment before throwing enough money on the table to pay for his drink and a tip, and then getting out of the booth.

"Good point, 'Laine. T'anks."

"Where ya goin', Remy?"

"Westchester."

"What? I didn't mean right now."

Remy gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, but dere's no time like de present."

*** *** ***

When Rogue went to answer her bedroom door, the last person she expected to find standing there was Remy LeBeau. But sure enough, there he was. "What in the world are ya doin' here?" she exclaimed.

"I love you, Marie," he said. "I love you, an' I can't live wit'out you. If you're in Westchester, den, well, dat's where I need t'be, too. My place is wit' you, chère, wherever dat may be."

"Remy, I…how do I know you're really gonna stay."

"'Cause I am, chère." Suddenly, Remy dropped down onto one knee and pulled a small box out of his pocket. He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. "Rogue, will you marry me?"

Overcome by emotion, all Rogue could manage was a nod.

"Dat a yes?" Remy asked.

Rogue laughed. "It's a yes."

Remy grinned from ear to ear as he stood up and slipped the ring on her finger. Rogue looked into his eyes and he scooped her up and spun her around, laughing as he bent down to kiss her.

They kissed until Rogue heard what sounded like a round of applause. She pulled away from Remy and noticed that all of the X-Men were standing around them, clapping. Rogue couldn't help but blush.

Professor Xavier was the first to come up and congratulate the couple. He rolled up, hugging Rogue and shaking Remy's hand. Before he left, he turned to look at Remy.

"Oh and Gambit, welcome to the X-Men."

Remy grinned. He had found where he belonged.

*** *** ***

By the day of Rogue and Gambit's wedding, no one had seen or heard from Wolverine in months. No one expected him to be there for the ceremony, and when he walked into the reception, Marie felt fear grip her.

Would he try to ruin what was left of her wedding day? He couldn't stop it—she was already Remy's wife—but what would he do?

He approached her table. "Can I dance with the bride?"

Rogue glanced nervously at Remy, who gave her a nod. "Go on, chère," he whispered. "I'll be right here."

She kissed him on the cheek before getting up to go to the dance floor with Logan. Logan said something to the DJ that Rogue didn't hear, and as the song that had been playing faded out, a new song began. As soon as she heard the words, Rogue began to cry.

Oh how you sparkle, and oh how you shine.
That flush on your cheeks is more than the wine.
And he must do something that I didn't do.
Whatever he's doing, it looks good on you.

"Logan…"

"Congratulations, darlin'," Logan said. "You make a beautiful bride."

You look so good in love.
You want him, that's easy to see.
You look so good in love.
And I wish you still wanted me.

"You're okay with me marrying Remy?" Rogue asked.

"Like you said, I gave up my chance," Logan replied. "All I want is for you to be happy."

He must have stolen some stars from the sky,
And gave them to you to wear in your eyes.
I had my chances, but I set you free.
And now I wonder why I couldn't see.

"And how did ya come to this conclusion?"

Logan chuckled. "Wasn't easy. Probably a few guys I mopped the bottom of cages with that wouldn't be too happy with you."

Rogue laughed, too. "I'll send them a fruit basket."

Darling I've wasted a lot of years not seeing the real you,
But tonight your beauty is shining through.
And I never took the time to let you know,
So before he takes you away please let me say.

"One thing, though darlin'," Logan said, tilting her head so he could look into her eyes. "He hurts you, and you let me know."

Rogue laughed, a sound that Logan thought must be the most beautiful in the world. "I'll do that."

You look so good in love.
You want him, that's easy to see.
You look so good in love.
And I wish you still wanted me.

The song came to an end, and Logan pulled away. "You runnin' again?" Rogue asked.

"'Fraid so, Kid."

"Come back someday."

"I will."

Logan kissed her on the cheek. "See ya around."

Wolverine got to the door before he looked back one last time to see Marie going happily back to Remy's arms, every bit the exuberant bride.

He ignored the pang in his heart as he climbed onto his motorcycle and rode away.

*** *** ***

Okay, before you freak and start sending me hate mail, hear me out. There a million stories out there where Wolverine and Rogue end up together and Remy is a jerk who acts nothing like his actual character in the comics, and I for one decided to be different. After all, wouldn't the world of fanfiction be boring if we all wrote the same thing all the time?

*** *** ***

Songs Used:

Song: "Simple Kind of Life"
Artist: No Doubt
Album: Return of Saturn

Song: "Beauty and the Beast"
Artist: Stevie Nicks
Album: The Wild Heart

Song: "The Boy Is Mine"
Artists: Brandy and Monica
Album: Never Say Never/The Boy Is Mine

Song: "You Look So Good in Love"
Artist: George Strait
Album: Right or Wrong