"You stare at me chere as if you don believe I'm here." Remy smiled softly as they swayed to and fro to in the sun.. Ororo sighed and leaned her head on his chest, letting the feel of nature wash over her.

            "I thought I lost you forever. I…I think in some part of my mind, I had made the decision not to go on." She felt his arms tighten around her.

            "Stormy, I'm sorry."

            "You did what you had to do." Ororo looked up into his eyes and brushed away some hair that was hanging in his face. He had been back two weeks, two blissful weeks where she felt she lived all the joy of a lifetime in a short instance. But somewhere in the back of her mind she felt he wasn't real, this couldn't last, and he would be gone soon enough.

            "I should have come back sooner, but truthfully, I didn't know it'd affect you dis much." Remy wouldn't admit it, but Ororo was his biggest liability. He couldn't let his multitude of enemies know she even existed, for if anything happened to her, he would be unaccountable for whatever he might do.

            "How can you say that?" They had stopped moving, just talking and being near each other, still in their embrace. "Why must you always downplay your role in my life and my happiness?"

            "I make you happy?" He ignored her heartfelt question and smiled down at her. She grinned and rolled her eyes.

            "Of course you do." Remy leaned down and brushed his lips lightly across hers, leaving her feeling lightheaded. His lips continued to her ear as he still held her.

            "I love you 'Roro, you my heart. A man cannot live without a heart." His breath tickled her ear and she shivered slightly. Remy responded with a chuckle.

            "I love you too, thief of my heart." He kissed her finally, a gentle kiss that bore all of his love and adoration for her, and the love between them. They broke apart smiling, and they resumed their dancing in the afternoon sun.

            Jean smiled as she watched from the window of her classroom. Having Remy back had done wonders for her friend's mental health, and Ororo was always seen smiling, and accompanied by the handsome Cajun. And boy was he was handsome. She shook her head when she remembered when he first smiled at her. What a smile.

            "Spying Jeannie?" Jean stiffened and turned around.

            "Logan, I would never stoop so low." She sat down at her desk and arranged papers that were already arranged.

            "Of course you wouldn't. So…have a thing for the Gumbo?" He said it casually, hunkering down into one of the desks in front of Jean's. She glared her green eyed gaze at him, and dropped all pretext of being busy.

            "What are you accusing me of?" Logan looked at his unlit cigar and shrugged his massive shoulders.

            "Not accusing you of anything. You know, I know these things…" he tapped his nose for good measure. Jean's eyebrow rose and she crossed her slender arms in front of her.

            "Perhaps it's a bit off this time." She retorted, standing up and brushing past him. Logan let lose the chuckle he was holding as soon as he heard the door click. She was fooling everyone but him. He saw how she looked at him, and how she always seemed to be around when Remy was, and Remy was always where Ororo was. It was almost comical the way no one saw the big picture.

            But 'Ro deserved to be happy, and she would be, because although she didn't find it with him, he would make sure her love got a chance with someone else.

                                                                        *

            "It's a month well deserved Ororo."           

            "A month…who will take over my classes?" She asked, willing herself to take the time off, no questions asked.

            "We will all take on an extra period of classes. It's not forever, and you've done it repeatedly for all of us. Now it is time we repaid the gesture." Professor Xavier smiled and moved his piece on the chessboard. "Now, where will you go?" She sighed and shook her head.

            "I haven't said that I will." She moved her knight and bit her lip. A month no children, no mansion, no one but her and Remy… Charles smiled and shook his head.

            "It's an order my child." Ororo raised an eyebrow and smiled.

            "Since you put it that way. I guess I'll ask Remy. I haven't been out in a while, and I know he'll love the chance."

            "Then it's settled." They went back to their chess game.

                                                                        *

            "Dis is all!" Remy sang as he closed the trunk to the convertible. Ororo smiled back at him and kissed Scott on the cheek.

            "Don't work too hard." She said, returning his hug.

            "It's only a month Ororo, everything will be fine. Just have fun." Scott said, laughing slightly.

            "I know, I just worry."

            "Don't." Jean smiled and hugged her. "And I hope you wear Remy out." Ororo laughed out loud as Jean hid a smile. She came to Logan and he had his arms crossed.

            "A month. I'm not going to miss you in a month." He said.

            "You're not?" She looked sad and Logan unfolded his arms helplessly.

            "Now look 'Ro-" He was cut off by her jumping up and planting a kiss on his cheek. Logan watched her as she walked to the car, laughing. He couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he turned back to the garage. What was that woman doing to him?"

                                                                        *

            "I do believe dis be our first road trip in a while." Remy said as he drove, his arm around Ororo's shoulder. She leaned against him, her long white hair unfurling in the wind, a beautiful banner above the red car.

            "In many years. I'm glad you accepted a position at the school. We need a French teacher."

            "And someone who knows how to pick locks? Stormy, I don' know why I let you talk me into this." He shook his head and smiled.

            "I just brought it up…" She said innocently.

            "No, you got me right when I was about to orgasm! Dere I was yelling yes and you went wit it." She laughed and kissed him on the cheek, enjoying the setting sun in the distance. They left early in the morning, wanting to get to the Pacific Ocean by nightfall. They were still in the desert because they became…distracted a few times.

            "You twist the truth."

            "An you love me for it." He sighed and enjoyed the deepening night as the sun disappeared over the horizon of the harsh landscape. Cacti dotted her sight and she leaned away from Remy to gaze out onto the land.

            "What is that Remy?" He slowed to a stop and turned his head and squinted. Two people were having a scuffle. Both had outstanding eyesight, and with their mutations night vision came naturally. They could make out a female form, trying to pry herself away from the larger silhouette of a man. Ororo was out of the car before he realized.

            "Roro, it could be none of our business." But Remy knew his plea fell on deaf ears as he followed her down the small embankment and onto the flat terrain. They made it over to the couple quickly, who were stationed beside a campfire and an old dilapidated Winnebago.

            "Is there a problem?" Ororo asked, holding her hands up as she came into the light of the campfire. Remy came closer and stopped beside her, his arm going around her waist protectively.

            "We dought there might be a situation…looks different from the street." He said, looking with distaste at the man. Anyone who would hit a woman wasn't a man to him.

            "Oh, nothing at all…" The woman wrenched her wrist from the man's grip and smiled nervously. She made eye contact with Ororo repeatedly, and mouthed the words help us. Us?

            The act was not lost on Remy, whose arm tightened around her waist. "You should-" Blood frothed up from the man's mouth as he fell forward, Sabertooth stepping out from behind the trailer. The woman wailed and screamed as her husband hit the ground, his life blood draining from the gaping wound in his back.

            "You promised you wouldn't kill us!" The woman begged, running to Ororo, who had the presence of mind to leap into the air once the woman made skin contact. Sabertooth was over in a second, grabbing onto the woman's waist as Ororo pulled desperately with the winds and her hands, trying to pull the woman to her.

            The woman started screaming in fear, but the fear turned to agony as Sabertooth pulled harder. She slipped out of her hands and down onto the ground, where he promptly ripped open her abdomen and left her to die a bloody death.

            Ororo was screaming mentally, but she knew that her and Remy's best hope was to leave the area at the top speed. With her emotional motivation she could have broken the sound barrier, but in the process she would have burned Remy to a crisp, which was not an option.

            Remy's heart was beating in his chest hard as they moved away, hearing the insistent roar of Sabertooth below. They were almost- Ororo screamed and they were suddenly plunging to the earth. As they fell Remy caught sight of a woman with a modified laser cannon. The end glowed pink, and his heart seized. He knew who had them. He tried to position himself so that he could absorb all of the shock, but Ororo wouldn't let him, and as they hit the ground they were thrown apart.

            He could barely breathe, and he struggled to sit up and see where Stormy fell. He could scarcely move, only hoarsely call her name as the sky above him spun around above him. A strange woman with purple hair stood above him and he couldn't make out her face…he blacked out.