A/N: Well, the night before I have my first college class and what am I doing? Not sleeping, nope siree, I'm here. This story's characters, the X-men, all have the EVO backgrounds (except Remy), but it takes place when they're grown, so picture the 90's cartoon look (except for Rogue, as she is based on the newer legacy comic version). Unless you want to picture them however! Because you can always do that, too :)

Anna worked hard at the institute. Professor by day and nurse by night. When she wasn't being an X-Man, of course. The nurse gig was a new occurrence. The hospital wing had just opened up. It didn't have much staff yet. Or that many patients, either. She'd absorbed a nurse once, anyway, so she felt obliged to volunteer.

Truth was, she was almost giddy to. Being a nurse had been so completely not an option for the longest time because being near people all day would inevitably lead to an accidental touch sometime. She felt compelled to do it now to see what she'd missed out on.

Not for the last time she thanked her stars and garters, as Hank would say, that Xavier had helped her learn how to control her powers.

Anna went her usual 'rounds' as she did every night, walking around an empty wing of empty white beds. She was one of the few who didn't mind how damn near deserted it could get during the night. That was why she was almost always the one to work the late shift. Even during the day it was pretty slow, with a broken arm here or there from Logan's crazy training courses. And that was with the X-Men running around battling people. So far, Anna felt she was more of an orderly, stocking and restocking supplies.

With what felt curiously like disappointment, Anna had come to realize that this might have been the perfect job for her. Long sleeved scrubs and hospital gloves would have kept skin-to-skin interaction pretty much nonexistent.

She was counting the needles, wondering how many she'd have to bring back from the stock room so that the little box in room 8 would be full, when the automatic double doors slammed open.

Anna gave a little screech and nearly jumped out of her skin. Somewhere inside of her, Logan's personality growled.

Jean came rushing in with what looked like a child in her arms. Logan and Scott followed.

Anna showed them to a bed and ordered Scott to dial Hank and get him out of bed. Jean set the boy gently on the bed. She looked horrified.

Anna looked and saw why. A small boy, no older than 10, was lying unconscious. Everything about him seemed delicate and angelic. Except his arm. It stood out in angry contrast. What looked like a serious burn marred his right side from the tips of his fingers all the way to his shoulder and left his skin raw, bloody, and partially melted away. Anna could see cords of muscle and bits of bone.

"What happened?" Anna demanded while giving him an IV at his left elbow.

Jean's voice was slightly panicky. "We had reports of an anti-mutant mob in the city. We got there and this little boy was there. They were chasing him and—" Jean broke off as if she might start crying.

Scott spoke up, now off the phone with Hank. "There was some sort of explosion. Broke up the mob pretty quickly. We found him like this."

Anna was horrified. "They would really bomb an innocent kid like this?" Her accent got a little thicker.

Scott's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure what happened."

Logan stayed silent through it all.

Hank arrived and started examining the boy. He ordered Jean and the others out. All they were doing was standing around.

Anna started sedating the boy for pain. It wasn't always the best course of action, but he would definitely need it with those burns. And also because not many people would wake up to a large blue creature examining them and be fine.

Hank nodded at Anna in approval of her actions. "Good, Rogue. He'll need that for the pain. As soon as I finish bandaging him, he should be fine. I'd say he's just narrowly missed needing a skin graph. The burns are pretty bad and they'll leave scars, but he was pretty lucky if he was in some sort of blast. There's hardly any shrapnel in his wound at all, so small chance of infection. Although, some of the muscles in his hand may be compromised. With therapy, he'll most likely regain full or moderate use."

Anna listened to his assessment with relief. She didn't want someone who looked so sweet and innocent to suffer more at the hands of monsters.

She frowned a little when he called her Rogue. It had been a long time before she'd trusted them with her name, and most were still in the habit of calling her by her old name. She didn't mind, not really. But sometimes it seemed like she would forever be Rogue, the girl who couldn't connect because she couldn't connect. The girl everyone should keep their distance from. Even now that she had her powers under control, she was still Rogue. It seemed like maybe being Anna was a fool's dream and she would never be the person she'd been before again.

"The bandages will need to be changed every two hours for the first few days and his meds need to be administered intermittently." Hank's words broke her out of her reverie.

"Ah'll be happy to help out an' take the first shift, Dr. McCoy." Anna said, accent heavy as she beamed at the peacefully sleeping little guy.

"Are you sure, Rogue? It'd be unfortunate if I had to wake up the other nurses at this hour, but I'd do it if you need help. After all, there are nurses with real-" He cut himself off.

Anna almost rose her eyebrows. Didn't he understand that when she touched she got everything? For all intents and purposes, she did have real training. "Hank, he's the only little guy in the whole hospital ward and recruitment is literally in the same building, just a call away. I'll be fine." She made sure to make her voice even and accent-free. Some people didn't take her as seriously when they heard her southern drawl. It was only recently she'd decided to let it slip back into her voice at all. She was wondering about that decision as well. Maybe she just wasn't the same person anymore. There was too much of other people in her for her to just be herself.
Hank finally left after Anna reassured him a few billion times and all but pushed him out of the door.

Anna was just about to change the boy's bandage when his eyes popped open. She gasped and her eyes widened in shock. Staring at her were some of the most unnerving eyes she'd ever seen. They were like two tunnels that led into a black abyss with deep red wells shining like bloody rubies to lure you in.

The boy shrank away like her reaction hurt him. He braced himself. Against what, Anna didn't know. "Who are you?" He asked in a pitiful voice. "Where am I?" He had some sort of southern accent, she noted.

Anna withdrew her gaze to attend to the boy's bandaged arm. "With the meds I gave you, you shouldn't be awake, let alone lucid." There was no way his body could have processed all the drugs she'd given him. She started to peel away the white gauze over his arm. "Does this hurt?" She asked.

The little boy nodded, but he didn't look like he was about to cry.

She looked at him again, but made sure to school her face into impassivity. "Ok, I'll get you something for that in a minute. You're in a hospital. You were hurt in an explosion. Do you remember?"

He nodded and looked away quickly.

Anna finished peeling back the dressings on his wound. She almost whistled at the sight. "Wow, you look a lot better, sugar." He had somehow healed much faster than Anna would have guessed possible. The burns were already starting to scab, and there was much less seepage than would be expected. It was nowhere near Logan's ability, but she was still impressed. This must have been part of his mutation. At this rate, he probably wouldn't scar at all.

"You from Louis'ana?" He asked in a small voice.

"Nah, kid. Mississippi. Is Louisiana where you're from?" The kid clamped up and Anna bit her cheek to keep from being irritated. Typical male; all take, no give.

"Ah'm the nurse on duty tonight and Ah'll be takin' care of you." He still didn't say anything, so Anna gave up. She finished freshening up his arm and looked at him as if she were examining him. "Do you need anything?"

"Well," he drew out. "'M kinda hungry."

That startled a laugh out of Anna. "Kid, you have one fast metabolism."

"Name's Remy, not kid." He said suddenly.

"Sorry, sugah," Anna said. "Bad habit I picked up from someone I know. I'm going to go get you something to eat."

Remy's strange eyes followed her as she left his bedside.

She turned around, her eyebrows scrunched. "I shouldn't leave you alone. I'm goin' to call someone while I run out and get some real food."

Remy's eyes widened with fear, but he didn't argue.

Anna came back a little while later with a plastic bag that contained two piping hot Styrofoam containers filled with some good ole southern comfort food. Logan was in the chair next to the bed and giving the kid a rather frightening stare. She hit him in the back. "Geez, Logan, you didn't do that the whole time, did ya?"

He grunted and she rolled her eyes. "I'll get going." Logan stood and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He was the only one who'd willingly touch her, even after her ability to control her mutation. And he seemed to understand that she craved human touch. "Call me if you need any help." He glared at the kid from the corner of his eyes. "I'll be around." Then he stalked off.

Anna shook her head. Even given Logan's antipathy for strangers, that was a bit much. She sat in the newly vacated chair and grinned at Remy. "Sorry I was gone so long, Remy. I went out to my favorite place in the whole city." She handed him one of the containers and her eyes were twinkling. "Chicken fried steak with country gravy and biscuits. Served with a side of fluffy garlic mashed potatoes and crunchy, crisp green beans." She paused, and said, as an afterthought, "Oh, and some sweat tea for drinks."

She went to the fridge to get the aforementioned tea and when she came back, she found him staring lovingly at his food and laughed.

"This food looks really good, Ms. Rogue." Remy said politely.

Anna was a little started. He had to have heard someone call her that, but the only person who possibly could have said it was the doctor. She recalled the boy was unconscious. That couldn't be right. "Oh, sugah, call me Anna. That's my real name, anyway. I think." Before he could ask what that meant, she barreled on and didn't give him the chance to respond. "I didn't want to feed you just anything, Remy. Why aren't you eating anything if it looks so good, kid?"

Remy looked forlorn. "I'm having a hard time, Ms. Anna." His burned up arm twitched and Anna winced.

"Of course! Ah'm such an idiot!" She quickly spooned a heaping lump of mashed potatoes onto the plastic fork and slid it into his waiting mouth. Something about the mischievous way his eyes sparkled made Anna catch on. That or the completely over satisfied way he seemed to savor the potatoes. Her mouth dropped open and she gave a half-amused, half-incredulous laugh. "Why you little swamp rat! You made me do that just so I would feed you."

His eyes widened with false innocence. "I don't know what you're—"

"Save it, swamp rat!" Anna said, not nearly as disgruntled as she pretended. "Yah can use your left hand from now on." She blushed at her choice of words, but reminded herself a little kid like Remy wouldn't get the other meaning that might have had.

"I couldn't help it, Anna. You're just so pretty." Remy said as he picked up the fork and stabbed at his chicken. He shoveled the food into his mouth at an alarming rate.

Anna smirked. "What are you, 10? That's just a little on the fresh side for me, Remy."

Remy stopped eating to stare at her, hard. Anna was shocked at his intensity. "I like the way you say my name." She gulped at his words and shifted a little uncomfortably. "'Sides," Remy said as he looked away and continued eating. "I'm only 8. I don't tink dat's legal."

Anna was surprised he was so young, but she couldn't help but smile. "We've gotta abide by the law, I guess."

"I don't, usually." Remy said and didn't elaborate. "I only say dat for you. You seem like a good girl."

"Girl?!" Anna exclaimed.

Remy looked up quickly, wondering if he'd offended her. "Non, non, woman." He corrected himself. "A wonderfully grown belle femme." His eyes seemed to rake her up and down.

Anna ignored that. He was only eight. He couldn't really be checking her out, could he? "You know French, Remy? Must be one of those Louisiana Cajuns I hear so much about."

Remy didn't bother to confirm her statement. She'd already figured it out. He took a swig of his tea and grimaced.

"I know, it's not as good as the stuff they have down south, but it's better than nothing." She took a sip of her own tea. He finished his entire plate and Anna took his garbage.

"You're done?" He asked, looking at her half-full plate.

"Yeah, it's too much for me."

"Could I have dat, please?" Remy asked, making puppy eyes.

Anna blinked. "Of course." She placed the plate on his lap for him to dig into. "You're still hungry?" She said, surprised. Clearly, he was, as he didn't even bother to look up from his food to answer.

She smiled and left to get more bandages. It was about time they be changed.

When she came back, he'd finished her plate, too. She threw away the garbage and washed and gloved her hands to examine his arm, giving him more pain meds first. She peeled back the white layering and exchanged it gently and efficiently. She didn't comment that it was already at least a day's worth healed in only a matter of hours. She had a feeling him being a mutant wasn't exactly something he wanted to talk about. Fine by her. She still had days where she resented her x-gene.

"It's really late, Remy." She said instead of questioning him. "And I gave you some pain medication that should make you pretty sleepy." She turned off the lights.

"Wait!" Remy called out. "Please don't leave me."

"Of course I won't." Anna said. "I'm still on my shift."

"No," Remy said awkwardly. "I meant…don't leave my room. What if dey followed me here?"

Anna really looked at him then. He was looking away as if he was embarrassed, but she could see that he was honestly afraid. "Alright, Remy. You should know you're safe here, but I don't have anything better to do. I can stay in your room with you tonight. Just let me go get some stuff real quick."

Remy nodded and Anna left.

She came in with extra bandages and pain meds for when it was time to change and drug him. She also had books. Remy gave them a look of distaste and seemed worried, like she was going to make him read them or something. He asked her as much and she laughed. "No, these are for me. I was thinking I'd read them to you."

He seemed weary, but once Anna started he became delighted. Especially when she started on Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss.

"'You're on your own and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go. You'll look up and down streets, look them over with care. About some you will say: I don't choose to go there…'" She was sitting on the side of his bed and turned so he would be able to see the pages. He scooted closer to her so he could examine the pages with a scrutinizing eye. She continued..."'Oh, the places you'll go! Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best! Wherever you go, you will top all the rest! Except when you don't…because sometimes you won't. I'm sorry to say so, but, sadly, it's true that bang-ups and hang-ups can happen to you…'" Anna's voice rose and fell with the tone of the passage, but kept flowing with the rhyme perfectly.

Remy listened with great intent. Anna had a sneaking suspicion that no one had ever read to him before and that made her sad. She kept the sadness out of her voice, though, as she read Dr. Seuss and Mercer Mayer and some of the less disturbing Grimm tales. But his favorite was the first she'd read, and he made her read it two more times before he finally yawned so largely that his mouth couldn't open up wide enough. She ordered him to get some rest.

"Don't leave me," he said sleepily as his eyes slipped shut.

She had a feeling he was already half asleep and dreaming when he said that, but she replied anyway. "I won't." She kissed him on the forehead.

And she didn't. She couldn't.

She said she'd take the first shift. But she ended up taking the second, and third.

It was his second night in the hospital. It had gone much like the first, them laughing and talking. They even tested out the TV's that had just been installed in the patient rooms and found out he really liked the nature shows. She may even have given him a wheely bed ride and raced through the halls with him laughing like a loon in his bed and her giggling as she held onto the bedrails. She told him she used to do it with shopping carts all the time when she was young.

She read to him again, just as she had last night. She yawned loudly and she closed the latest book. "Alright, bedtime." She stated and his eyes closed without protest. "I've got to go." She told him, not sure if he was awake. "I—I should be able to come back tonight." She promised. Once she'd spent a shift off, they'd probably let her back in.

She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. Her eyes flew open when her lips met another pair, these ones smaller and softer. It lasted a good two seconds more than was appropriate before Anna recovered her wits and pulled away. Her face was pink. She opened her mouth, not sure if she was going to tease with him, flirt, or chastise, but he responded before she could say anything.

"It was for if I nevah see yuh again." He said in a small voice.

Anna's heart melted a little. "In that case, we better get another one in." She leaned down to kiss him on the mouth firmly for only a second. She hadn't meant it in a romantic way, but she could tell, even in the dim light, that Remy was blushing something fierce. She turned to walk out of the room and paused at the door. "Remy," she said slowly, drawing it out. "Ah know we'll see each other again."

And then she was gone.

The lack of sleep was hardly bothering her, but she knew the order was going to come eventually. It had come from Xavier himself, so she knew she had better not ignore it. Guess it's not okay to work for over 24 hours straight. She really wanted to just sleep in one of the double rooms with Remy, but she knew that'd make her look even crazier. And people already walked on eggshells around her.

She decided with a heavy heart to just go to her room and rest up. Maybe later she could even find some more books in the school library than there had been in the hospital waiting room. Remy had really seemed to like it when she'd read to him. She hadn't realized how lonely she'd been until she had some good company to shake things up.

She could come back when she wasn't a walking zombie.

But when she came back little Remy was gone. He somehow snuck out in the night without anybody noticing.

That alone rose up a lot of questions, especially for Logan, who didn't have a trustful bone in his body. The professor tried using Cerebro to find him, but every time he got even the slightest bit of a lock—which was hardly ever, the kid was slimier than a mudpuppy on the banks of the Mississippi!—the kid was on the move again. Since Charles couldn't send a team to scour a city for a kid that had probably moved on, there wasn't much anyone could do.

That nagged at Anna's conscience. How could anyone let a little kid alone on the streets? She felt pretty sure he didn't have anyone. It took her a long time to forget him and forget that he might be out there, but she did eventually. Her life was filled with people who needed care, attention, protection…but he'd always be the one that got away. The one that maybe didn't need anyone's saving.