Season Five (by Kare-San)

These stories are set after the end of Season 4 of X-Men Evolution, Hence the title, SEASON FIVE. As standard disclaimers go, I don't own the characters (I wish I did) but one day I will work for Marvel, you just wait and see!!

The stories do have some more mature themes to them, themes that wouldn't come up in the show, hence the R rating. It's nothing outrageous, but I wanted to be cautious all the same.

 

 

 

Fragile Hearts: Part One

Rogue woke up in a cold sweat, heart and head pounding in synch. She'd thought the nightmares would cease with the defeat of Apocalypse a week and a half beforehand, but as things were she was having no such luck. She could still see his aged face, feel the horrible ripping of the minds she had stolen from her body. She could feel his fury as she sealed him away in the Eye of Ages. Logan said he'd probably been whisked into the stream of time a thousand and one times to reassure her, but she had her suspicions. A mutant that powerful, she believed, could not be defeated so easily. He was out there, somewhere or some when, waiting for her. Rogue looked at her clock. It was two-thirty in the morning.

She got up and went down to the kitchen for a drink, hoping she would be the only one there. Unfortunately fate had other plans. Alex, Scott's brother, who like Tabitha and Warren had joined the other mutant teens at the mansion after Apocalypses downfall, was sitting in the kitchen with an ice pack in his hands.

"Hey Rogue," he murmured, putting the ice pack down and rubbing his hands together for a minute. "What're you doing up?"

"Thirsty," she replied, holding up a carton of orange juice she had retrieved from the fridge. She poured herself a glass, drank it in silence, then nodded at him. "See ya latah."

He nodded, groaning as a spasm of pain racked his joints. The poor kid's powers had been growing steadily, that's why he had finally decided to stay. Scott had been enthusiastic about having his brother back again, even under such stressing circumstances.

Rogue trudged up the stairs weakly when she heard a crack of lightning outside. Through the big windows it lit up the whole hallway. Rogue jumped. She supposed that she had been in such a dead sleep that she hadn't even heard the rain, though she had noticed in on her way downstairs. She hoped it wouldn't wake Kitty up. Rogue's roommate tended to phase through the bed anytime lightning disturbed her from her sleep and Rogue was often times the only other person awake to retrieve her.

The door whipping open startled her even more and four figures with raincoats came trudging in. She recognized who was holding the door open immediately- the big blue hands and lovingly adorned fedora gave it away. It was Beast and Ororo (judging by the white hair) followed by two others, one a large, bulky figure in a poncho, the other a distinctly smaller and scrawnier one than the first. The former had his coat pulled over his head since he had no hood.

"Ororo, my dear, as much as I love you, it is a great tragedy that you cannot fix weather conditions all around the globe, otherwise Peter's plane might have been on time," Beast said.

Rogue now looked upon the scene with added curiosity. Peter? Who was Peter? And why were Storm and Beast sent to retrieve him from the airport? Was he a new student perhaps?

"I am terribly sorry Hank, but there is simply nothing I can do about it," Ororo replied, delicately removing her hood.

"Is not a problem. I am sorry you had for to wait for me," the larger of the two other figures said. He removed his poncho, confirming Rogue's suspicions about who he was from his accent. It was Colossus, a former member of Magneto's elite team. So, his name was Peter. Who then was the other figure? Peter's brother perhaps?

"Don' worry 'bout it homme. I'm jus' glad I didn't have to wait outside for you, non?"

Rogue felt her heart skip a beat. That accent she could recognize anywhere. The last words the voice had said to her were still echoing in her mind.

"You will be fine, Rogue. You got people watchin' out for you."

"Yes, with Peter's flight delayed for so long we were able to leave the airport to pick you up right on time and return before his flight even got in, Gambit," Beast acknowledged.

"Si vou plait, Monsieur McCoy, call me Remy, or LeBeau, whichever suits you best," Gambit said generously, taking his sopping wet trench coat off. It was the first time Rogue had seen him in anything other than his trench coat and uniform. He was wearing blue jeans and a simple black tee shirt which offset the red in his eyes nicely. These were glowing slightly. He looked around and whistled. "Dis is one big house. . . I used t' steal from places like dis."

"

Yes, well I'd greatly appreciate it if you refrain from doing so here Remy. You'll find we are more than adequate at supplying you with a bit of spending money," said another voice, which Rogue recognized to be Xavier's. He had just wheeled in from his first floor study.

Remy looked like he'd just been handed an early Christmas present. "You people give out spendin' money here? Is dere a catch?"

Xavier smiled, "Well you do have to help with the chores."

Remy grinned. "Dat's nothin' compared t' what Jean Luc would have me do. Xavier, mon ami, we have a deal."

It then dawned on Rogue what was happening. Like Tabitha and Warren and Alex, Peter and Remy must have decided after the Apocalypse incident they wanted to be in a safer place. Gambit hadn't been directly involved in defeating Apocalypse, because no one could find him in time, but Xavier must have contacted the both of them afterwards and offered a place to stay. From the looks of it, they had both accepted.

Ororo looked up and saw Rogue standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at them. A concerned look crossed her face. Almost everyone in the mansion knew that Rogue was still having problems dealing with what had happened over the past month or so. "Rogue? Is that you child?"

Remy's head snapped up faster than the others and he winked and blew her a kiss. Rogue blushed and stammered,

"Ah'm fine. . . Ah was jus' a bit thirsty, that's all." She held onto the banister tightly. For some unknown reason she couldn't take her eyes off Gambit.

"Ah, cherie, how nice to see you again, non?" Gambit smiled.

Rogue returned the smile, but a bit nervously. Xavier also smiled at her, but added with a slight frown, "Did you have another nightmare?"

Rogue flushed. She didn't want Remy or Peter to know that she was having nightmares like a scared little girl. Given, they would hear about it soon enough, but this was embarrassing. "Ah. . . Yes," she murmured quietly.

Xavier's frown grew. He opened up his mouth to say something more but Beast quickly interjected. "We have to get the boys rooms sir. I'm sure Rogue's dreams can be dealt with tomorrow?"

Rogue sighed in relief. Dr. McCoy was getting her off the hook. Xavier agreed with him, realizing that he was putting Rogue in a somewhat awkward situation, and gestured towards the boys. "Come now, you must be tired."

Peter followed the professor obediently, with Storm and Beast following behind him. Beast flashed Rogue a thumbs-up and she smiled. He was a great guy. Remy lingered for a moment longer than the rest of them and bowed dramatically to her, but by the time he looked up again, she was gone. Remy looked confused for a moment, but then a wide grins spread onto his face.

"I can play de game cherie," he whispered. "I can play it real well."

*

Rogue shut her bedroom door quietly and leaned up against it, breathing heavily. Her mind was racing. The sight of Remy had made her heart pound faster than her nightmare had and she didn't know why. It wasn't like she 'liked' him or anything. He was just flirting anyway. It was nothing serious. Nope. Nothing she had to concern herself with at all.

If that was so, why was she reacting like this? Why had he deliberately given her the Queen of Hearts card the last time they had seen each other?

There was a simple answer to that. She had gotten him out of a jam. He had said the card had gotten him out of jams before. There, that was the connection. He would have given her the two of clubs if that had been the card that he used last.

Rogue crawled under her covers, but couldn't get to sleep for a while. She listened to her own breathing for an awfully long while, until finally she slipped into another fitful sleep.

*

In the morning Xavier formally introduced the mansion residents to their newest house mates. Peter looked very shy about it but in no time at all Remy was joking around with Kurt and flirting with any of the females that came his way. It was a Saturday morning, so not everyone was up yet. . .and the group of sleepy heads included Rogue. Xavier grew worried as more and more of the students came down in their pajamas but there was still no sign of the troubled female mutant.

Logan noticed Xavier's furrowed brow, took a glance around the room and murmured, "Want me t' see if she's okay, Chuck?" knowing exactly who he was looking for.

Xavier's eyes looked up at Wolverine's face for a moment then he nodded. "Perhaps that would be the best-"

At that moment a weary Rogue began slowly coming down the stairs. Usually she had showered and dressed before she was seen in public, but today was an exception. She had put on slippers and her gloves to reduce the amount of skin she had showing to her normal levels. Logan and Xavier cast each other concerned looks. Rogue was softly moaning and rubbing her temples. When she heard the racket in the kitchen she winced and looked like she was going to flee back upstairs. However Scott came up behind her. "Hey Rogue, sleep well?"

Rogue looked up at him, bleary eyed. "Are ya kiddin'?"

Scott's face suddenly twisted into a frown. "Rogue- are you all right?"

"It's jus' a headache," she mumbled. "Ah. . . .Ah had nightmares again. . ." She mumbled under her breath.

Scott glanced down the stairs hearing Xavier's mental voice call out to him.

Try to get her to talk Scott.

"What about?" Scott said as much to Rogue as to Xavier.

"Ah. . ." She sighed and touched her head. "Ah'm not sure. It's. . .someone else's ya know?" Rogue said in a pained tone. "There's. . . Someone there. A figure Ah don' recognize. An'. . ." she winced, "then all Ah can see is a flash of silvah. . .and red. . .everywhere. . ." She whispered fearfully. Her eyes looked glazed. Her face paled and she seemed to be staring right through Scott. It chilled Scott to the bone.

"Rogue?"

"No. . ." She gasped in a choked whisper.

"Rogue?!" Scott said again.

Rogue twitched convulsively, and then gasped sharply. She shuddered and put her face in her hands.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"They were trying t' kill me. . .or whomever that memory belonged to. They- they missed. . .nicked the shoulder. . .tryin' f'r th' throat. . ." Her hands instinctively flew to the tender spot.

"Rogue it's okay-" Scott began.

"Scott?" Jean's curious tone distracted the two other mutants. Rogue suddenly looked away from the both of them turning red slightly. She knew that Jean and Scott were pretty much dating. Jean probably thought Rogue was trying to make the moves on Scott.

"Jean," Scott said. "Hey. I was just trying to help Rogue with something." Jean? Can you hear me? He asked with his thoughts.

"Oh, I see," Jean smiled. She added silently, Yeah, what's up?

"Sorry," Rogue murmured . "Ah'll jus' head down-"

"No, hang on a second Rogue," Scott said. "I don't want you to go yet." Rogue had a bad dream last night- and it really seems to have shaken her up. Do you think that if I got her to talk about it a little more you could pick up what she's thinking?

Perhaps, Jean replied. But what makes you think I could get into her head? Can't the professor-

The professor's mental voice broke in. Rogue's mind has always been hard for me to get into. When your powers went out of control Jean your mind and Rogue's bonded in a unique way. You may have a window into her mind that I do not.

Rogue squirmed uncomfortably. "Ah- Ah really should go," she murmured. Scott and Jean appeared to staring at each other.

"Rogue, stay," Jean said. "You look really pale. Are you all right?"

"Ah'm fine," she hissed gently.

Jean decided that Rogue didn't feel comfortable with her around. She nodded and said, "Okay. . .but you know you can come and talk to me anytime right?"

"Anytime, right," Rogue echoed. She was getting lost in her thoughts again. That knife. . . The pain shooting through 'her' shoulder. . . The fear of the knife coming down again, not missing this time. . .

Jean reached out mentally towards the girl at the top of the stairs as she descended into the kitchen, and was shocked at the vividness of Rogue's dream-memory. She gasped in shock as Rogue recalled the pain. Rogue's head whipped around and she glared at Jean.

"What the hell d'ya think ya doin'?" Rogue accused, certain of why Jean had reacted badly at that specific point in time.

"I-" Jean began but Xavier cut her off.

"I asked her to help you Rogue. I thought she could relate better than I could," he lied ever so slightly.

"Ah don' need her help!" Rogue said furiously, storming back towards her room. Scott sighed. Jean looked dismayed.

"It's all right Jean," Xavier reassured her. "That was more my fault than yours. She's not angry with you."

Jean wasn't so sure about that, but said nothing. She entered the kitchen. Remy looked up hopefully. "Man, anudder beautiful girl, but not de face I be hopin' t' see," Remy said with a hint of humor. Jean found herself a bit charmed by his comment.

"And who exactly are you looking for?" Jean asked.

"Ma belle cherie Rogue," Remy replied with a grin. "Do you know where she at?"

Jean's face turned grave. "She's not really up for visitors at the moment."

"I t'ought I 'eard her jus' a moment ago-?" Remy said, puzzled.

"Rogue's got some issues she's been dealing with lately Gambit," said Scott, entering the kitchen with a very serious look on his face.

Remy's expression suddenly changed to match Jean's. "Issues? She wasn't hurt by Apocalypse, was she?"

"Not in the final battle," Scott murmured, "but that whole thing with Mystique and Mesmero left her pretty drained." Scott tweaked his glasses. "Your little trip with her did alleviate some of that, but Rogue power isn't the most stable, and neither is her mental state. She's still pretty shaken up."

Remy nodded. "I see."

Their somber mood was broken by Kitty's high pitched laughter. She'd been talking quietly to Peter in the corner, but now the Russian was blushing furiously and she was giggling uncontrollably.

"Forgive us comrades," he said in a husky tone. "I think I have made a mistake. . ."

Kitty was wiping tears from her eyes. Jean looked over. "What's so funny?"

The younger girl couldn't speak for laughing.

Peter said, "I was telling her dat in my homeland we do not have as many condoms as you Americas do to put on our food."

Remy looked like he was about to burst into rolling laughter, much like Kitty. Jean's eyes widened in confusion, and Scott blinked several times behind his glasses.

"Condoms? On our food?"

"Like ketchup and mustard. . ."

Now Remy cracked up, and Scott couldn't help but snicker. Kitty was positively dying of laughter and Logan and Xavier, who had walked in on this very interesting conversation were trying to keep themselves under control.

"Oh, you mean condiments ," Scott said.

Peter scratched his head. "What is the difference?"

"Well, condiments are food and. . . Condoms . . . You use them when you're. . .you know. . .doing something intimate. . ."

Peter looked more confused then ever, then it dawned on him. "Oh. . .oh dear. . ." His face went even redder.

Remy clapped him on the back heartily. "Don't worry about it too much mon ami ," he grinned. "You gave us all a good laugh, non ?"

Peter mumbled in embarrassment. The professor smiled reassuringly at him and coughed gently. "Perhaps we should help you with your English lessons," he suggested in a kind tone.

"Yes. . .yes that would probably be a good idea," the big fellow said quietly. He follow Xavier out of the kitchen. As soon as he was gone Wolverine snickered and speared an apple on his claws.

"I'm goin' out for a ride if anyone needs me," he said gruffly, his shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth.

Kitty, finally catching her breath, said, "Aw, the poor thing. He's such a sweet guy, really. I feel bad about laughing at him."

Scott shook his head. "I don't think he took it too personally."

A few minutes later, when Remy had settled into talking with Kitty, Jean and Scott, his empathic sense kicked in suddenly and he turned his head. Sure enough a troubled looking Rogue, now dressed, came in through the doorway.

"Good mornin' cherie!" He said cheerily.

She didn't look at him. She was holding two painkillers in her hand and she fumbled around in the cupboard for a glass. She filled it with water and downed the pills. The others watched quietly. Rogue seemed oblivious to their presence. For the most part she was. Her head was pounding. She could hardly think above the roar, let alone hear.

Kurt picked that moment to teleport back into the kitchen. He had just taken a shower and was in a tee-shirt with the name of a local band scrawled across it and a air of tattered blue jeans. He looked like he was about to ask them something when Rogue suddenly retched behind him.

Everyone was up out of their chairs immediately. Rogue was over the sink, chest heaving. The memories flashing through her head had taken a more gruesome turn. She remembered a second part to the dream now. She had wrestled the knife away from her attacker, and slashed him across the face. He had then pulled out a gun and taken shaky aim, but she had thrown the knife at him. Her aim planted the metal in between his eyes, and she saw them glaze over and the body pitch forward to land on top of her. . .

She quietly emptied the contents of her stomach, which wasn't much, just the painkillers, water, and the orange juice she had drunk the night before. The latter made her esophagus burn like crazy.

Rogue realized dully that Kitty was holding her hair back for her and Kurt was offering her another glass of water. She took it greedily and sipped it gently, not wanting to upset her stomach even more.

"Are you, like, sick? What's going on?" Kitty asked in concern.

"Ah- Ah killed him. . ." Rogue whispered.

Kurt looked a bit more than startled. "Killed who Rogue?"

"Th' man who-" she touched her shoulder. Kurt looked at it confused.

"Who vhat?"

Scott's voice reached her ears. "The man from the dream? The one who stabbed you in the shoulder?"

Rogue nodded silently.

Remy's hand flew to his shoulder involuntarily. "Stabbed you- killed him?" He suddenly seemed very nervous. "How?"

"Threw his knife. . .he pulled out a gun. . ."

Remy sat down weakly in a chair nearby. Jean glanced at him. "Gambit-?"

"Dese nightmares. . . Dey're from mem'ries of other people, non?" He said quietly.

"Ja," Kurt said quickly. "But how would you know dhat?"

Remy closed his eyes. "Dat's one o' mine," he murmured.

Startled, Rogue turned to look at him. "Wh- what?"

"De man. . .is Julien's uncle. Former patriarch of de Rippers," Remy said slowly. "He hated Jean Luc more den Julien an' I hate each other. . . And dat's sayin' somet'ing."

Rogue closed her eyes and murmured softly, "He kidnapped ya when ya were. . .eleven. . .tryin' t' get revenge on Jean Luc. He planned- he was gonna slit your throat an'. . . And send Jean Luc th' pieces."

Remy shook his head. "Oh no, not pieces. He only had one feature he was gonna send. He planned on gouging out my eyes, and shippin' dem off in a jar wit' a lovely little letter of condolences." His eyes were glazed with the memory. "Managed to slip outta de ropes. . .but he caught on pretty quick. He lunged at me, but I was faster. . . But not by much."

Rogue, looking back down into the sink, mumbled, "Yah shoulder. . ."

Remy continued nodding only slightly at Rogue. "I got hold o' de knife. . . T'ought I could hold de man back. . . He went for his pistol an' I did the only thing dat I could t'ink of. . . I t'rew de knife." He shuddered at the memory of the man, with the look of astonishment on his face, pitching forward. "I got out of dere as quickly as I could. . . But I was covered in blood. . ."

Rogue and Remy's voice suddenly echoed in unison, "I can still smell it."

Remy looked up in shock. Rogue clutched her head. "No. . .why is this happening?"

Jean placed a hand on Rogue's shoulder. "Rogue-?"

Rogue turned around and swatted her away, eyes suddenly blazing with red light. "No!" She shouted again. Jean took a step back.

"Cherie?" Remy said quietly. "What do you see?"

Rogue's eyes widened in shock. She gripped at her shoulder, shrieking.

"It's playing over in her mind again!" Scott said frantically.

Rogue? Rogue listen to me. It's Jean. Can you hear me? The redhead said, reaching out to the southern girl.

She was assaulted by images of fear. She too felt like she was in Remy's shoes at that moment, fearing for his life, the dry mouth, the blood pounding in his ears, the frantic power surging through his veins. Hours later he'd had a huge power attack- blowing up everything he touched. The stress had been too much for him to suppress for long. Once the shock had worn off, the terror had kicked in.

"Cherie," Remy said again, scared for her.

This isn't your memory Rogue, Jean called out, it's Remy's. There's no need to be scared, the psychic said, imposing her image over the image of Julien's uncle.

Rogue gasped out loud and shuddered. Her eyes stopped glowing and her legs gave way underneath her. Scott quickly wrapped his arms around her, supporting her, until he could manage to get her to a chair.

"Jean call the-"

"Two steps ahead of you," Xavier said, wheeling himself in hurriedly. He held out his hands and brought them near Rogue's face. She flinched and shrank away from him.

"It's all right Rogue. I'm going to help you," Xavier assured her. He brought his hands closer to her face. "Tell me Rogue, why are you having this vision?"

"Would Ah still be havin' it if Ah knew?" She said in a hard, bitterly upset tone.

"Rogue, please, help me help you. You have to relax. Don't answer me out loud, answer me with your feelings, your thoughts."

Rogue slowly closed her eyes and tried to grasp her feelings. Fear. She was scared of the way her powers were acting lately. The nightmares, the way she had gone out of control only a little more than a month ago. She never felt quite in control again, there was always that nagging doubt, that fear, that feeling. Xavier felt a deep, fearful thought hanging there. Something she had absorbed from Mystique.

The memory of a conversation.

Mystique and Irene Adler had been discussing what was upcoming in Rogue's life. Irene had foreseen Rogue's power outburst. Irene had warned Mystique that Rogue would play a key role in the future. . . But may not live to see it.

Though Rogue knew she had survived the ordeal in question, and had played out her role, she was mortified by the thought that is her powers went haywire again she might not survive the encounter.

The stress had really been eating away at her since then, and Xavier hadn't noticed. He should have though. The way she had shoved Mystique off of the cliff. . . It had all been adding up until that breaking point. After that, the stress was temporarily relieved by the abrupt trip she had taken with a certain Cajun charmer. After defeating Apocalypse, though, her mind had begun to wander back to that fear since there was nothing else to occupy her thoughts.

Xavier couldn't forgive himself for not noticing.

Last night she had had nightmares again, and the sight of Remy had triggered his memories inside of her. Her fear of death had found a similar memory and latched onto it, playing it over and over in her mind.

Xavier let his thoughts soothe her. He slowly banished the nightmarish image from her consciousness and gently removed the memory of the conversation from her mind as best he could. He knew the feeling of dread would linger, and she wouldn't be sure why, but it was the best for her.

Rogue slumped in her chair. Xavier back out of her mind suddenly. He frowned in a worried way. "She's all right, just exhausted." He said to the other concerned students. His mind picked up a frantic thought and her turned in it's direction. Remy was looking quite pale. "I can assure you, in but a few moments she'll wake up."

Kitty thoughtfully phased her hand through the freezer door and pulled out an ice pack. She rested it on her roommate's forehead. Rogue moaned, a sound that made Remy's heart twist. It was as if her soul was wounded deeply. He shuddered for her.

Rogue's eyes fluttered open, but the world took it's sweet time coming into focus. There was something cold on her forehead. She reached up to touch the source and felt a hand through her gloves. She moved her head slightly and heard Kitty's voice.

"Easy Rogue," she said faintly. "You're, like, okay now."

She tried to ask what had happened, but it came of more of a garble. She tried again. "What-?"

"You basically had a day-mare," Xavier explained. "The memory from last night was so vivid it kept appearing to you, like a vision. . ."

Rogue blanched. "No. . .no more visions!" She said frantically. Jean and Xavier picked up her thoughts easily- they were almost deafening. The last time she had visions from her powers she had begun to go out of control.

"Rogue, it was simply a result of stress," Xavier reassured her. "We've been monitoring your powers and we've yet to find any evidence that another incident like the previous one will occur."

"Didja evah find any evidence that it wouldn't?" She retorted. Kitty drew away from her and Rogue put her face into her hands. "Ah'm sorry. . . Yah right. . . Too much stress an' not enough sleep. . . No wondah Ah'm flippin' out." She leaned back in her chair again, taking the ice pack from Kitty. She put it on her head again

"I can help you sleep better," Xavier offered. "I could ease your mind. . ."

"No!" Rogue said stubbornly. "If Ah always rely on ya, how can I evah get it under control?"

Xavier nodded. He had to admire her spirit. "As you wish Rogue."

Peter's head appeared in the doorway. "Professor? Is everything all right? I. . .I grew concerned." He said turning a little bit red.

Kitty giggled. "He's really quite cute. . . If I wasn't dating Lance. . ."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Everything is all right Peter. I'll be returning shortly," Xavier said. Peter looked unsure, but then ducked away. Xavier turned to Rogue. "Will you be all right?"

"Ah don' know, y'all tell me," she murmured. The professor was about to say he didn't hear her when she said louder, "Yeah, Ah'll be all right."

The professor nodded, brow furrowed for a moment, then retreated back into his study.

Rogue gave out a sigh of relief. Kitty bit her lower lip, seeing her friend shudder. The southern mutant looked up at the concerned faces around her and said irritably, "Hey, can't ya let a gal have a little room t' breathe?"

The others moved back and Rogue got up, still holding the ice pack on her head. With one hand she dumped the water out of her glass, rinsed it a few times, then refilled it with fresh water. She took a few sips, sloshed it around in her mouth and spit it out. She rinsed the sink without looking at it, repeated her drink-and-spit unceremoniously. Rogue again seemed oblivious to the world around her. She could hear the rumbling of voices inside her head. She took a long chug of the water and swallowed slowly, with a great effort.

Scott was about to place a hand on her shoulder when Jean held him back at the last second, shaking her head. Rogue turned around to see them and grumbled. They both looked guilty.

"What?" Rogue snapped. "Don' let me interrupt whatevah yah doin'. No need t' spare mah feelin's."

They both looked at her confused. Remy's empathic sense picked up surges of jealousy and sorrow. Judging by the way Rogue pushed between them and the way Kitty and Kurt looked at each other knowingly, they obviously knew more than the two older mutants. Remy took a small guess, but he was betting that Rogue had a thing for Scott. He was also pretty sure the feeling wasn't mutual.

Rogue moved towards the kitchen door.

"Where are you going?" asked Kitty.

"Outside! Ah need some fresh air!" Rogue replied shortly. Her head still felt a little fuzzy from the 'vision' she had. Kitty made a move as if to go after her, then stopped and watched sadly as her roommate left the house.

"She has it pretty hard," Kitty murmured.

"Ja," Kurt agreed with her. "I only vish ve could do something."

Kitty added, "You know, we haven't even thought about how Gambit feels- it's his memory after all," and she turned to look at where the Cajun had been standing, but he was gone.

*

Xavier was right, Rogue was almost sure of it now. Her vision in the kitchen was just a result of stress. She hadn't been sleeping well and that wasn't helping. Sleep deprived and scared of her powers wasn't the best combination for a healthy lifestyle for her. How could she sleep if she kept living in the nightmarish memories of others?

Rogue leaned heavily on a tree, and then slid down to the ground slowly. She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them, hiding her face in her kneecaps.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone slip an arm around her shoulders and say in a quiet voice, "Cherie?"

Her head shot up violently and she jerked away from him as if stung. "Wha' th' hell d'ya think ya do'n?" Her accent was thick with fear.

"Cherie, please understand. I kno' you're hurtin'. . .an' s'my fault. I wanted t' make sure you're okay." His voice was filled with such sincerity that Rogue couldn't help but relax. He slipped an arm around her shoulder again, but she gently shrugged it off. Instead of replacing it, he let the fallen arm wrap gently around her waist, tugging her closer to him.

Rogue squirmed out of his grasp and stood up, face red and absolute fury in her eyes. "What are ya playin' at Remy?!" She nearly shrieked.

Remy looked wounded. "Gambit ain't playin' at nothin' cherie," he said with a look of confusion. "What you talkin' 'bout?"

"What am Ah 'talkin' 'bout'? she repeated, furiously. "LeBeau, you jus' don' get it do you? Let me spell it out f'r ya. Ah. Can't. Touch. Anyone. Evah. What kind of game you playin'? Y'all can't touch me! Don' even think about tryin' t' convince me ya wanna get near t'me 'cause that's bull shit an' you know it!"

Her fear was wrapped around her so tightly that Remy thought that she would begin to suffocate at any moment. He could feel it building and multiplying. Remy stood up. "I told you I be lookin' out f'r you. Dat's what I'm doing cherie."

"Ah don need help!" Rogue shouted. "Not from ya, or anyone else!"

"You don' need help or you refuse t' ask f'r it?" Gambit retorted. He didn't mean to be harsh, he just wanted to shock her into silence.

He didn't do so well.

"PICK ONE!" Rogue roared. "Ah don' care! What could any o' you do anyway?!"

"We can be there cherie. Dere a lotta people worried 'bout you in dat house. Kurt, Kitty, Scott an' Jean, the professor . . . And there's so many more." He cupped her chin in his hand. "An' me. Especially me."

Rogue took a step back and slapped him across the face. "Don' you dare touch me again!" She shivered. He didn't have fingers on his gloves. He had been careful not to make skin contact, but the sheer closeness of his skin was enough to spook her.

"Cherie," Gambit said in surprise, touching his face. He hadn't read her right with his empathic abilities. It was quite a bit of a shock.

"Jus' leave me alone!" she shrieked. She turned away and began to dart off.

With the swiftness and the skill of a seasoned thief Remy had grabbed her hand, whirled her around and pulled he back towards him. She looked absolutely astonished at his audacity.

"Jus' listen t' me for a second, cherie. I wanna help you."

Rogue tried to pull away but his grip was too firm. "Get offa me!" She tugged at his hand.

"I don' give up dat easily cherie," Gambit murmured. He grabbed her other hand and pulled her towards him. "Especially when I'm determined about somet'ing." His eyes glittered.

Rogue shoved him hard. "Stay away from me!" She said frantically, her heart racing. That look in his eyes. It was so hungry and longing. As soon as his hands were off of her she bolted again.

"Rogue!" Remy cried out as she slipped from his grasp. He didn't mean to upset her. Remy could feel her fear, her doubts wafting off of her like a horrible perfume. He ran a hand through his hair. He wondered whether going after her would be a good thing, then decided that she needed some time alone.

Rogue was breathing in short, harsh, gasps. She couldn't believe him! He was trying to flirt with her! A little part of her was thrilled by the prospect, but mostly she was filled with a impending sense of dread. She ran blindly until she bumped into someone. She shoved him aside and raced back towards the mansion.

"Rogue-?!" Warren blinked as the southern girl pushed past him. Her eyes were filling with tears, and he made a move as if to follow her, but stopped after a few steps. Rogue didn't even notice him.

A few of the younger mutants scattered from her path as Rogue rushed to her room. Ororo, who was watering a plant in the hallway with a small rain cloud, stepped aside in astonishment. Rogue somehow managed to fumble her door open and fling herself onto her bed. Storm slowly entered the room.

"Rogue, child?" Ororo said softly.

"Storm-" Rogue choked. Her eyes were red. She shifted into a sitting position on her bed. Ororo practically glided over the floor. She sat on the bed and began to wrap an arm around the younger mutant, but she noticed that Rogue flinched as her arm came near. Storm let her it fall lightly behind Rogue.

"Do you need to talk about anything?" Storm asked quietly.

Rogue could have talked until her jaw fell off. She put a hand to her face and groaned. "Ah- Ah've had a rough day. . . A rough couple o' nights. . ."

"Your powers are bothering you again?" Storm asked quietly.

"Been bothahin' me since Ah got 'em," Rogue replied mournfully. "But th' nightmares- they're beginning t' affect me. . . More 'n' usual. Th' professor thinks it's stress."

Storm patted her on the back. "Rogue, out of all of the students here you've got the most reason to be stressed. You also have the most reason to be proud of yourself, and your powers."

Rogue knew what she was referring to. She looked up at her. "Ah didn' do anythin'. It was th' little Leech boy's powahs, an' it was Logan's plan."

"But you had to go in there, with Apocalypse, on your own. You faced the creature that had used you like a puppet, and overpowered him."

"Mystique used me like a puppet," Rogue said bitterly.

"And Apocalypse was using her, therefore using you."

Rogue dropped her head onto her pillow. "Storm?"

"Yes my child?" She questioned gently.

"Ah need some time t' think, please," her muffled request came through the pillow.

"All right. I am here for you if you need to talk, as are we all," Storm reminded her.

That reminded her of Remy's comment. She shifted and murmured, "Ah know."

Storm patted her on the back again. She got up, hesitated for a moment, then left the room and closed the door behind her.

*

Remy sat on the roof of the mansion. He was tossing cards into a hat he had somehow placed in a nearby tree. "Damn fool you are boy," he scolded himself. "Let your heart o'erride your head."

"Dhis isn't exactly dhe most comfortable spot ins dhe mansion Gambit," Kurt said, a 'bamf' signaling his arrival.

Remy rolled his eyes. "I t'ought it was one of de mos' quiet places mon ami.," he gave Kurt a wry smile.

"Ja, in most places dhe roof would be pretty quiet, but dhis is a house of mutants Mien frieund." Kurt watched as Remy landed another card in the hat. "Something bothering you?"

"Oh, dis and dat," he mumbled.

Kurt tilted his head curiously. "You know, I've wanted to dhank you for some time now."

Remy blinked. "Fo' what?"

"For making Rogue come back to us."

Remy turned to look at him with one eyebrow raised and a bemused expression on his face. "Seems t' me dat de girl came back to you of her own accord."

"Dhat's not what I mean," Kurt said. "Rogue was growing dhistant from us all. You brought her back to us."

"Huh," Remy snorted. "Guess it was only temporary," he said airily.

Kurt shook his head. "You're wrong. Sure, Rogue had it tough, and she still acts like she's on another planet or something, but she has been talking to us. She was trying to shut out dhe world, but she saved it instead." He held out his hand.

Remy took it up and shook it, but sighed. "I jus' don' see it de way you do mon ami. She don' seem to be any better t' me." He began tossing cards again, landing each one neatly in the center of the hat.

Kurt's tail twisted around behind him. He eyed Remy suspiciously. "So, how'd things go wit' Rogue, you know after dhe kitchen?"

Remy's card missed. He scowled. "Who said I wen' after Rogue?"

"Just a lucky guess," Kurt said, watching the card fall.

Remy tossed another card. It landed in the hat. "Oh, t'ings went real well, up until de point when she slapped me."

"So, is dhat how you got dhat lovely mark on your face? Vhat did you say to her?"

"I don' wanna talk 'bout it," Remy's next card missed.

Kurt gave Remy a serious look. "You know, I've never seen Rogue as relaxed as she was around you in New Orleans."

Remy lifted his gaze to Kurt's face again.

"I'm serious. You know, she probably vill kill me for telling you dhis, but she still has dhat card you gave her." Kurt said. "She bought a little plastic protector for it, and she keeps it hidden in her pillowcase." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was curious about it, so I did a little spying."

Remy tossed a card without looking and it too landed in the center of the hat. "She kept de card?"

"Ja," Kurt nodded. Suddenly his ears pricked up. He turned, stood up and waved.

Remy looked out to where Kurt was looking. There was a dark skinned, and even darker haired, female waving back up to him. "Who's dat?"

"Amanda," Kurt said, blushing slightly. "My girlfriend."

"Ah," Remy smirked. "So you weren't comin' up here jus' to comfort a hopeless thief?"

Kurt shrugged. "Maybe not, but it vorked didn't it?"

"You know what, mon ami? I'd have t' say oui," Remy smiled at him.

Kurt turned on his image inducer and thumped Remy on the back. "Rogue's a tough cookie, but once you dip her in some milk she's a real softy."

Remy rubbed his temple at the strange analogy. "Dat's. . . good to know. . ." He amended it in an mumble, "I t'ink. . ."

Kurt smiled broadly at him and then teleported down to Amanda. Remy watched the two hug, and Amanda briefly kissing the now-human looking Kurt. Remy smiled at the way Kurt acted embarrassed at the contact. Then the two put their arms around each other and walked off.

Remy dropped off of the roof, landing with an expert flare. He took out his Bo staff and began spinning it expertly. Maybe things weren't looking so bad for him after all.

*

Jean and Scott were doing dishes in the kitchen. The dishwasher was full and running, but in a house of so many there were a lot more dishes that were used in a day that any dishwasher could hold, even an industrial size one. Jean was washing and using her telekinesis to pass the washed dishes to Scoot, who then dried them.

"So, how was your shopping spree with Taryn yesterday?" Scott asked.

"Oh, it was great," Jean beamed. "I got a couple of really cute outfits. Taryn had a harder time though." She laughed softly at the memory of her friend trying on six or seven shirts in every color and not finding one that she liked.

"So," Scott coughed, "uh, what would you say to breaking in one of those outfits?"

Jean looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well, uh," his cheeks suddenly matched his glasses. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out to eat, with me, tonight?"

"Scott, I'd love to," Jean smiled. After mentally placing the last dish in the dish drain she tugged off the yellow latex gloves, and pushed some of her hair behind her ears. Scott smiled nervously at her and she returned the smile. He leaned towards her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He stammered something incoherent, but was silenced as she brought her lips up to meet his.

Jean heard a sharp intake of breath and saw someone pull back from the kitchen door out of the corner of her eye. She broke away from Scott quickly.

"What-? Do I have bad breath or something-?" he began, but Jean put up a hand to silence him.

Jean could feel a twinge of embarrassment, sorrow, and, most of all, longing from the person outside the door. She whispered under her breath to Scott, "It's Rogue."

At first Scott was just embarrassed himself, but then he caught the worried look in Jean's eye. He realized then the full implications of what Rogue had seen. Two people sharing a moment, an instant of love, something which she could never have. Not in that way.

Rogue leaned against the wall breathing slowly. She'd finally come to grips with what Ororo had discussed with her earlier, and, much to her relief, she had fallen asleep for a while. She hadn't had any troubling visions, not one nightmare. . . At least not until she came downstairs.

Ya know that Scott an' Jean are a couple ya idiot. O' course they're gonna do that sorta thing! she chided herself. It did come as sort of a blow. She had still, somewhere inside of her, hoped that Scott and Jean weren't going to work out and she would have a chance with him. Obviously, this was no longer the case.

The kitchen was very silent all of a sudden. Rogue didn't feel comfortable being there any more. She Slipped away from the wall and began walking in any direction she could think of, just wandering around the mansion.

Jean felt her retreat and frowned. "She's gone. . . But I'm worried about her Scott. Her thoughts were so. . . Desolate."

A frown also played across Scott's features. He wasn't sure what they could do. "If anyone I know is strong enough to get through this it has to be Rogue," he said truthfully. "I mean think about it Jean. She's been dealing with the voices in her head for almost a year now and she's only had that one incident. . ."

"That's not what I'm talking about Scott," Jean said softly. "Rogue probably could care less about the people in her head, and the nightmares, if all of that stuff didn't remind her of one fundamental thing.- she can't touch anyone without hurting them." She wrapped her hand in his. "Rogue's strong, but she's human Scott. We all are. There are human emotions, human desires that we all have to deal with and Rogue's no exception. The problem is, when it comes to love, or as the case may be sometimes, lust, she has to be very careful about what she does." Jean looked down at their hands.

Scott's eyes sought out where she was looking and he frowned more. They were holding hands, which was such a simple gesture, but neither of them was wearing any sort of glove. Jean looked at him pointedly.

"I understand," he said gruffly. Though he was overwhelmed by the pangs of sorrow that he felt for his female teammate he couldn't help but appreciate the way it made him thankful of the small grace of being able to touch Jean. He stroked her hair and pulled her in for another kiss, this one deeper, expressing his newfound appreciation. Jean's arms wrapped around his neck slowly, feeling guilty at first, but then deciding it was much better to enjoy the moment.

*

Kitty bumped into Rogue on her way out of the bathroom. "Hey roomie!" Kitty said enthusiastically. "How do I look?" She was wearing a light pink top and a denim skirt that looked very cute on her. She had done up her makeup and curled the hair in her ponytail.

"Ya look good Kitty," Rogue said in a tired voice. "Goin' t' see Lance again?"

Kitty flushed. "Yeah, that noticeable?"

"Ya could o' had a sign or somethang, but yeah, pretty noticeable." Rogue nodded. She suddenly squirmed. Out of the original students- Kurt, Kitty, Scott, Jean and Evan,- she was the only one who wasn't paired up with someone. Well, she didn't know about Evan in truth, but he seemed awfully close to that Callisto girl.

"Something wrong?" Kitty asked, noticing a strange look in Rogue's eye.

"Naw, jus' noticin' how cozy everyone is with one anothah," she murmured.

Kitty sensed what was wrong before the words came out of her mouth. "You're lonely."

Rogue shot down her words with a deadly glare. "Ah am not!"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "You could always go look for Remy. He seems smitten with you."

"Smitten? Him? With me?" Rogue stammered. She knew, but it was still harsh for her to hear so bluntly stated.

"Don't pretend like you haven't noticed," Kitty said. "And you like him too."

"Ah. Do. Not!" Rogue said firmly.

"Yeah right." Kitty coughed and it sounded an awful lot like the phrase 'Queen of Hearts'.

Rogue snorted. "Even if Ah did it's no o' yah busi-" she saw Remy coming down the hall and her voice swiftly died, "ness. . ." She muttered finishing her statement.

Kitty phased down through the floor delicately, but not after pinching Rogue's heel so that she jumped forward at Remy. Rogue glared at her disappearing head. "Ah'll get ya f'r this Kitty," Rogue vowed. She tried to make a hasty exit. It was too late. He'd all ready spotted her.

"Cherie, wait!" Remy said. "I wanted to apologize. I was out of line, I didn't mean it."

"Ya said a lot of things t' not mean any of it," Rogue said, a little bit irate about the fact that if that were true, he might not be interested in her at all. She folded her arms.

"I didn't mean t' get you upset," he reiterated. "I meant what I said, and I stand by it."

Before she could think about what she was saying she blurt out, "An' what did ya mean t' say? That whole conversation confused th' hell outta me."

"Well," he said with a lopsided grin, "Firs' I wanted t' say t' you how lovely it was t' see your smiling face last night. Second, I wanted to apologize for your nightmares and your visions, since dey were mine." He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Her arms quickly unfolded and she placed her hands on his chest, ready to push him away. He said in a more husky voice "An' lastly, I wanted to tell you how very beautiful you look right now, ma belle cherie."

The blood roaring in her ears and the pounding of her heart prevented Rogue from hearing the rational side of her that was screaming 'get him offa ya!'. She tensed at his touch, and turned away from his wandering eyes. Her voice cracked as she said, "What do you want from me?"

"Don' want anything Rogue. Jus' mebbe you," He soughed.

She felt her pulse quicken. Her body was betraying her and it made her furious! She looked back at him and their eyes locked.

"Please Rogue," he said, his eyes boring into hers. "Jus' give me a chance."

"No way swamp rat," she hissed.

Rogue wasn't sure exactly what happened next. She felt herself being pushed up against the wall, a hand being clapped over her mouth. Her heart skipped a beat. On some level she noticed that Remy had changed his gloves without fingers for some sort of half glove. His two middle fingers and his thumb were covered. The others fingers he held away from her skin. She tried to protest but her words were muffled. Then all she could do was let out a small 'meep' of surprise as she saw Remy's face come near. He pressed his lips on the backside of his glove, the one that was covering Rogue's mouth. Her face was bright red in a instant. He was, in a sense, 'kissing' her. The sudden longing for him scared Rogue like nothing else that day had. She felt her lips responding to his actions, kissing his glove back. Mortified by her actions, Rogue managed to twist away from his touch.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Rogue gasped. "Ya can't do this t' me- we can't do this t' each other!"

"Cherie. . ." Remy began, breathless. He could feel her passion, and her apprehension.

"Don' call me that!" she said a desperately.

Remy slipped his arm down her side. She was pinned to the wall, basically. Trapped between his arms with no where to go. "Rogue, mon amour," he murmured instead. "It don' matter t' me what you 'can' or 'can not' do. Don' you see? We can work around it. I'm willin', so long as you are."

Mon amour. My love. The words made Rogue tremble. "No," she rasped again.

"Rogue, you don' need t' be scared o' me. I ain't gonna hurt you."

"Ah can kill you with a touch!" she moaned.

He reached out for her with the two covered fingers of his glove and stroked her cheek. She shivered. "I touch you jus' then," Remy said. "Dat didn't kill me. Neither did our kiss."

He didn't say the word kiss like she would have, with the quotations around it, making it 'kiss', unreal, a substitute. "It's- it's not the same," she stammered.

"It don' matter." He leaned towards her. "I could 'really' kiss you. I'm not afraid, Rogue. You know dat."

Rogue's hands traveled at near the speed of light to prevent his lips from touching hers. However, that also allowed Remy to press his body up against hers, since the support against his chest was now gone. Remy's empathic sense picked up on her yearning to be with him. He let one of his hands trace her spinal cord, from the small of her back, up to her shoulder blades, and then down again. Rogue was about to open her mouth to say something more when she heard, "What's going on, bub?"

Remy's arms dropped from around her, and Rogue sighed in relief. Logan was glaring at Remy with suck intensity that anyone else would have peed in their pants. Remy said, "Rogue an' I were havin' a little chat, monsieur Logan."

"'Bout what?" The Wolverine growled.

"S'none o' your business," Remy said with a smile, "but if you mus' know, we were discussin' how hard it is to find a private place to talk around here."

"Oh, really?" Logan's eyes glittered. "You could always try the danger room," his voice was dangerously soft.

"I would, but, you know, it's so hard to discuss things wit' buzz saws an' de like flyin' atcha head."

Logan grunted at him, then turned to Rogue. "He giving you problems, darlin'?"

Rogue shook her head 'no'.

Logan eyed her and then nodded. "All right then," he murmured. "I'll leave you two to 'chat' then, but I'll be within shoutin' distance." With that he stalked off.

Remy once again turned his eyes to Rogue, who looked very shaken up. He sighed. "If you want cherie, I'll go."

His empathic abilities picked up the slightest traces of lust under her confusion and fear. "Ah- Ah" she stammered.

Remy put his glove to her lips again to silence her, and was actually a bit shocked to feel her lips moving upon it. He placed his lips on his side and gently kissed back in response. Her craving for him suddenly increased and she found herself tangling her hands in his hair. He had his one free hand on the small of her back, gently caressing her. Rogue's panic suddenly overwhelmed her, and she broke away abruptly. She pushed him off gently, and then quickly and quietly retreated down the hall.

Remy's eyes followed her, memorizing every feminine curve and move her body made. He put his glove up to his lips and kissed where her lips had been placed. He was winning her over, but her fear of her powers was going to be a big hurtle to jump.

*

"I- I'm sorry that I can't take you any place really nice," Lance swallowed. He looked across the table of the soda shop at his date nervously. Kitty gave him a warm, reassuring smile.

"It's okay Lance. I know it's not easy for you to get a job around here, and I know the money is tight at the boarding house." She picked up one of his hands and rubbed it gently.

"Yeah, well, still, I wish I could take you out for something better than a burger," he said.

"Don't even think about it!" Kitty said. Lance looked at her in a funny way. "Do you know how little junk food they have at the mansion? We only have burgers in the summer!"

They both laughed. He smiled at her, but she suddenly frowned. "What?"

"You looks so. . . Gaunt. You haven't been eating a lot lately, have you? Did you run out of food at the boarding house?" She asked in concerned tones.

"Well, the food bites," Lance said, "so mostly I get my own. . . But I've been a little short of money lately." He suddenly looked nervous.

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I- I spent it on a gift, for you," he said quickly. He began to pull something out of his pocket.

Then the waitress brought their food, and interrupted them. They ate with a little bit of small talk, but not much. Somewhere along the line they both forgot about the gift. After lunch they wound up back in Lance's Jeep. He drove part way to the mansion, then they pulled off the main road. Kitty wasn't alarmed. In fact, she had gotten used to this ritual. They didn't want to risk being seen by the members of either team so they had found a private spot that was all their own. Lance turned off the main engine, but kept the car running so that there was a hint of music coming from the radio. He unbuckled his seat belt and Kitty did the same.

Lance twirl a finger through the curls Kitty had wound in her hair. "I like it this way," he said. "You remind me of Dorothy, or something."

She laughed softly, "Unfortunately I couldn't find my blue gingham dress today," she teased. "Or my little dog."

"You look fabulous all the same," Lance said.

Kitty turned slightly pink at the compliment and kissed him lightly on the lips. His hands found their way to her hips, and he twisted around to face her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, deeper this time. He returned the kiss, then made his way down to the side of her neck. She moaned quietly. He pressed up against her and kissed the hollow of her neck, her eyelids, and then back to her lips again. She found his neck and softly peppered it with kisses. It wasn't until his hands suddenly stroked her inner thigh that she realized anything was wrong.

"Lance," she murmured, trying to catch his attention. It didn't work as well as she hoped. He responded by kissing the hollow of her neck again. It caused another longing moan to rise from her, despite her apprehension.

His body suddenly began to weigh hers down, pressing hers into the seat. She became acutely aware of the fact that she was wearing a skirt. She felt him pulse on top of her, one hand on the small of her back, the other wandering to where it was not welcome. "Kitty," he groaned in a lustful way.

"Lance, no!" she said, phasing her body through his immediately. His head hit the seat roughly, and he grunted. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

"Kitty- I'm sorry," he said, flipping over and seeing her angry face. "I- I couldn't help myself. . . I-"

"This date is over Lance," she said furiously.

He shifted back into his seat. "I'll drive you-"

"I'm walking!" Kitty nearly shouted. She phased right through the car door and began storming down the street.

Lance dropped his head against the steering wheel, hard. He recalled what Rogue had said once, way back when she'd still been in the brotherhood. "Gawd gave men two brains, one up, one down, but he only gave 'em enough blood t' run one at a time," she had snapped at the boys as they were watching one of the many shows with women in slinky outfits. Lance realized with a heavy heart that she had probably been right.

*

"Hello, Kitty! How was- what happened to you?" Jean said as she saw the younger girl come stalking through the closed door of the mansion.

"Lance it like, a total pig, ya know?" Kitty said sharply, her tone hurt.

"In that 'he's a jerk' sense, that 'he's a brotherhood prig' sense, or that 'he's a guy' sense?" Jean asked cautiously.

"Last one, times a hundred!" Kitty sobbed. Jean hugged the girl tightly.

"What did he do-?" Her tone was fearful enough for Kitty to pick up on.

"It's not what he did, so much as what he tried to do," she cried. Jean relaxed a bit, glad that Kitty had escaped any potentially scarring situation, but still feeling sorrowful for the girl. "We were, like, you know, making out and stuff, and then he got all hot and heavy, and I got out of there."

"That's good," Jean said.

"It's horrible!" Kitty countered. "I- I like thought he cared about me!"

"Kitty, you can't help it if he's just another asshole," Jean said.

"But he wasn't supposed to be!" Kitty cried. She stumbled past Jean sobbing, and made her way up to her room. Jean stood there for a few minutes, then the doorbell rang. She turned to look, and she saw Lance.

Jean gave him her best glare, trying to imitate one of Rogue's. She didn't grant him the courtesy of talking to him. Instead she psychically snapped, What do you want?

"I wanted to make sure Kitty got home all right," he said, eyes not meeting her gaze.

No thanks to you, Jean rebuked.

"Tell her. . . Tell her I'm an ass, all right? I understand if she doesn't want to see me again." Lance bent down and placed something outside the door. "But can you give this to her for me? I. . . I meant to give it to her earlier, but forgot." He stepped back away from the door and added, "Of course, I wont be too surprised if I find it in the mailbox later as a melted down piece."

Jean mentally snorted at him. Lance finally met her eyes. His were genuinely sorrowful, and it startled Jean a little. Lance abruptly looked away as she began to stare and then began to walk back to his jeep.

"You know," Warren said, his wings slightly unfurled, "I thought I was going to miss all the drama of New York when I got here. Now I think it may just have been calmer there." He had been standing silently in a corner, watching the scene unfold. Although he hadn't heard what Jean said psychically to Lance, he had a pretty good idea.

"Welcome to the Xavier Institute," Jean said. "Where Murphy's Law is in full effect."

There was a loud crash and a yell of, "Ah'm okay!" From Cannonball somewhere off to their left. Jean shook her head and Warren chortled.

"I can tell."

Jean opened the door as Lance's jeep left through the gates of the mansion. He was going precariously fast, Jean noted. She bent over and picked you the little black box Lance had dropped off. She wondered if giving it to Kitty was a good idea, and decided to wait until a little later, when the girl might have calmed down more.

"Hey, Jean?" Warren said suddenly. "Have you see Rogue lately? She bumped into me- literally- earlier this morning and she seemed really stressed out."

Worry tugged on Jean's features. "I saw her this afternoon. Or rather sensed her. She-" Jean coughed, "- she caught Scott and I kissing."

"You know," Warren said, trying to gloss over the kissing for Jean's sake, "it seems to me she's been acting really tense ever since Gambit got here."

Jean, mind working before her ears was about to say, 'Yeah, Apocalypse really had her wired' when she heard the name 'Gambit'. "Huh?"

"Well he arrived last night, right?" Warren gestured, his wings spreading with the action. "I was talking to Alex. He went to the kitchen for some ice around two last night and Rogue stopped down about a half an hour later for a drink. He came out just after she left and saw her stammering as Gambit arrived. From what Alex saw, he was flirting with her."

Suddenly it connected. "Flirting? And she was responding?" Jean thought about it. Rogue had had Remy's nightmarish visions that morning. Remy had gone after her, if Jean was right, and then something happened, because Rogue bumped into Warren and didn't acknowledge him. She had heard Ororo talking to Beast about talking to Rogue, and then after doing the dishes with Scott, Jean had felt Rogue's longing for something. A longing, perhaps, to be able to touch a certain someone. "It's all making a little more sense now. . ." Jean said.

Logan, who picked up on the tail end of the conversation said, "What's making more sense?"

Jean looked at him and said, "I think Rogue has been so wired today because of Remy."

Logan snorted. "I coulda toldja that Red." He stretched, taking off the leather jacket her wore while on his motorcycle. "You shoulda seen 'em a few minutes ago." Warren's wings folded and Jean's eyebrows raised. Logan gave them a sly look. "I ain't tellin' you anything. I'm not a gossipmonger. That's the elf and the half-pint's job."

Jean sighed. Kitty definitely hadn't seen anything, and Kurt was out with Amanda. So much for that venue. Logan chuckled and went to go get a beer from the kitchen. Warren couldn't help but laugh himself. "I swear, this house, it's a living tabloid. 'Blue Furry Gossipmonger, and Ghost Girl Spy on Untouchable Girl and Demon-Eyed 'Boyfriend''. You know how much money they would pay to be able to print a story like that?"

"I can only imagine," Jean said rolling her eyes. "It would put the 500 pound baby out of business."

Warren laughed heartily.

Logan came back into the foyer and said suddenly, "All right, since everyone has nothing better to do than stand around talking about each other's lives we're having a danger room session tonight. Be there, 6 sharp." He proceeded to walk around, informing all the students.

"Ugh, that'll teach us to talk around him," Warren said.

Jean could only roll her eyes in reply and say, "That's Logan for you."

*

Lance's foot was pressed all the way down on the accelerator of his Jeep. He was absolutely livid. How could he do that to Kitty? He'd been such a asshole. Where was his self control? Did he even have any?

"Stupid fucking idiot!" He shouted at himself, tearing down the road. With his words the ground began to tremble violently. He didn't appear to notice.

Amanda and Kurt were walking down main street when they heard loud honking and some startled shouts behind them. Amanda turned around to look first and gasped. "OH! Isn't that Lance? He's driving like a madman!"

Kurt twisted his neck to get a glimpse. It was Lance, barreling down the road at speeds that would put some race cars to shame. People weren't shouting because of that though. The ground around them was beginning to shake. A few people cried out "Earthquake!"

"Oh man, vhat is he doing?!" Kurt hissed.

Lance's fury at himself knew no bounds. "She was the only good thing you had you pompous moron! She took you back after you tried to kill her and her friends at the school, and this is how you repay her?" The ground lurched suddenly and his foot finally came off the accelerator. The wheel jerked out of his hands. He grabbed onto it in a frenzy of emotion, but the ground bucked again. He saw the car jump over the curb like it was in slow motion. The only thing he could think to do was gesture at the ground, knocking any bystanders out of the way of the car. The whole street was splitting, but Lance could only see the wall looming up in front of him, like an executioner. . .

"Kurt! Kurt he's going to crash!" Amanda shrieked.

Kurt knew that there was hardly any time left. He teleported as fast as he could, praying to high heaven that he'd be able to do something.

*

Jean knocked lightly on Kitty's door. It had been a few hours since the younger mutant had come home. Jean had sat and thought about what might have happened, and thought that she might have finally come up with a logical way to approach Kitty, without appearing to take any sides.

"Who is it?" came the muffled voice. Kitty's muffled voice.

"I'm me," Jean said. "I wanted to talk."

"Door's open," Kitty grunted.

Jean stepped in, holding the little black box Lance had dropped off. She sat on the edge of the bed. "Kitty? I want to ask a favor."

"I thought you wanted to talk."

"I do, but I'd like to know what happened first, if that isn't too personal."

"I, like, told you what happened," Kitty snapped.

"I meant really know what happened," Jean said with a significant emphasis on the word 'really'.

"You- you want to read my mind?" Kitty said, bringing her head up from the pillow.

"If I have your permission," Jean said honestly.

Kitty hesitated, but then nodded. Jean held her hands out around her head and began to 'see' what Kitty had seen, through Kitty's eyes. After a few moments, she stopped.

"You never told him to stop," Jean said gently.

Kitty looked at her in such a way that Jean thought for a second she had sprouted a new head. "WHAT?" She said, totally lost by Jean's comment.

"Kitty, you know how guys are. You only said Lance's name. In the state of mind he was in, how was he supposed to know it was some sort of warning?"

Kitty's jaw dropped. "Are you saying that that was MY fault?"

"No, not at all," Jean shook her head, her red hair cascading over her shoulders. "I'm just saying you may have jumped the gun there, thinking he was out to rape you or something."

Kitty froze. Rape. That was the word that had been choking the tears out of her for hours now. Kitty thought Lance was going to rape her, it was true. Now that she thought about it though, the way she had responded to his kissing, she wasn't surprised that he might have gotten the wrong idea.

"He stopped by to make sure you got home all right," Jean said.

Kitty's heart skipped a beat. "He- he did?"

"And he dropped this off. He said he forgot to give to you." She held out the box.

Kitty opened it with trembling hands. She opened the box slowly. Inside was a silver bracelet, with cats carved into it. Most were playing, but in the center, set away from the others, were two cats curled up with one another. Kitty nearly choked. It was beautiful.

There was a little note taped to the inside of the top of the box. Kitty gently tugged it down and unfolded it. In Lance's untidy scrawl it read:

Kitty-

Don't be mad with me okay? I've skipped a few meals so I could save up enough money for this. I saw it in the store one day and it reminded me of you. I hope you like it.

-Lance

No wonder he had looked so gaunt! Skipping meals here and there, to save up for a present for her. She could kick him! Kitty dropped the note, her hands were shaking so much. She'd made a horrible mistake. Lance hadn't meant to hurt her.

"Oh, Jean," she gasped. "What did I do?"

Jean looked at her. "You can call him. He should have been home for a while now. . ."

The door slammed open. Rogue was holding the portable phone and her face was whiter than either of the rooms current occupants had ever seen it. She was shaking.

"Rogue?! Are you all right?!" Jean and Kitty echoed.

"It's Amanda," Rogue said. Then she stopped, and swallowed hard.

"What? What happened? Is Kurt hurt?" Kitty asked frantically. Kurt was her best guy friend. If anything ever happened to him. . .

"Kurt's okay, but that's not really good news," Rogue said.

Jean scanned Rogue's mind. It was so hard to get a reading from her normally and with her emotions surging as they were now, it was near impossibly. "What's wrong?" she said in exasperation. "Why wouldn't that be good news?"

"Kurt- Kurt was tryin' t' save someone. . . Aw gawd Kitty! Lance was drivin' like a lunatic, his powers were outta control - or something- an'- an' he crashed.," Rogue said, her eyes brimming with tears at the look of horror on Kitty's face.

"Where is he?" Kitty breathed. "How bad is he hurt?"

"They jus' got him to the hospital. It- it took them a while t'- t' get him outta th' wreck," Rogue said, watching Kitty's face turn sheet white. "He's- he's not doin' good at all. His own earthquake flung him into a wall."

Jean wrapped her arms around Kitty, who had begun breathing heavily.

Rogue looked away from them and finally spit out, "They're not sure he's gonna make it."

 

 

To Be Continued. . .

 

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