SEPARATED HEARTS
Disclaimer:- I do not own the X-Men, Remy or Rogue. They belong solely to Marvel. For accurate info on Rogue/Gambit's history you can go to:-. "The Joker and The Queen" (The Remy/Rogue Road) (Rogue remembers all her past friendships before remembering her first love, Gambit).
This is part of the 'Heart' series. It follows in this order:- "To Steal A Heart", "Separated Hearts" And "A Broken Heart". This is the prequel to the latter.
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8:00 am
A gentle breeze blew through the gardens of a lovely New Orleans home even as an early morning shower had left behind tiny raindrops on the lawn , allowing the smell of freshness to scent the air.
Happily stepping outside the house and on to the verandah , Rogue sat on the porch swing.
"Ah can't remember the last time out here looked so beautiful. All the birds are singing , the breeze is blowing through mah hair, like it used to when I would fly just for the heck of it! Do you hear the birds, hon? "
Rogue patted her swollen belly, " D' you? Oh, ah know, you're still asleep, aren't you? I should be too, ah guess. Hardly got any sleep last night. It's a wonder ah'm up and about this early. But, somehow, I have this feeling that today is a special day. I feel it in mah heart."
Rogue felt a little kick in her stomach and she smiled, 'You feel it too, huh? Your daddy's coming back today. You're just too excited to see him, aren't ya? He's been away for two weeks and it feels like ages instead. But, if he comes back here with another gift for you, I'm gonna deck him! If ah put any more toys in your nursery , there won't be any room left for you! But, he's so happy about us, ah guess ah should give it a day.. And then I'll deck him, " Rogue laughed.
Rogue began to swing , patting her stomach gently while she sang a little tune to their baby.
11:00am
Wiping her hands on a dish towel, Rogue was finally done, "That's that! We're all fed and clean and dressed..only two more hours to go before Remy's here. Ah can't wait to see him."
She watched the clock lazily tick away and said, "Hmm.. Wanna watch some TV? It'll kill some time."
Rogue put the T.V. on and sat back on the couch to watch. Opening her eyes widely in disbelief, she said, "What're you doin', Magnus? There are thousands of innocent people down there! The X-Men will never get down here in time. Ah gotta try and talk him out of this!"
11:30 am
Driving up to a large pier, Rogue could see Magnus hovering over the ships. She hurriedly got out of her car and walked cautiously up to him , from behind.
Calling out to him, she said, "Magnus! Stop this ! You'll hurt thousands of people on those ships!"
Intent on concluding his plans, he didn't look behind to her, but instead magnetized a huge metallic freight container and sent in flying in Rogue's direction.
"I am truly sorry, child," he said as he flung it at her.
It hit Rogue with full force to her front and sent her flying backwards into her car. Her back smashed into the driver's side door and there she became wedged. The freight container to her front and to her back, the car. She lay unconscious.
11:45 am
Paramedics rushed a gurney into the emergency room. Lying on it was Rogue. She was rushed into emergency surgery. A Doctor came out of the room momentarily to speak to the Police Officer who brought her in.
"Do we have her name?"
"Ah, yeah, just got it from her license, Doc. It's Rogue LeBeau."
"She needs to deliver her baby ASAP. We need the husband or father or whatever to sign for it! She's critical and so's the baby!"
"We'll get him here as soon as we can."
"I'm not understating the seriousness of this. We need a signature! The baby's premature. The mother's not responding and we can't wait!"
1:00 pm
Poking his head through the front door of their home, Remy LeBeau called out, "Chere? Roguey?"
Stealthily walking from room to room, he continued, "Don' be mad , cherie. Dis time, I buy a gift for you. It's a motorized tricycle. It sort of big, well, it big, but."
Wondering why he wasn't finding anyone, he searched more earnestly, ".I figure you could ride on it till de bebe ready for it, hein? Chere? Where are ya? Don't be angry, mon coeur, it for you..well, mebbe, it for de baby, but, technically, I buy it for both a'you, so come on out, Rogue.where you be?"
Finally, he saw a note left for him on the kitchen counter. He read it out loud, " magneto is at it again. Ah might be able to talk him out of it. See you soon, Remy ~Love, Rogue".
Gambit sighed and said, "Ahhh..chere, when you gon' learn dat when a snake sheds his skin, he's still de same old snake underneath. You have a heart of gold .Mystique, Vargas, magnus.you give everybody a second chance, eh?"
Strong, heavy knocks on the front door disturbed Remy's thoughts. Two police officers stood outside, waiting on him. He opened the door and on seeing them, jokingly said, " Sorry, mes amis, I only have beignets. Doughnuts? You have to get dem someplace else, oui? ".
"Mr LeBeau? Mr Remy LeBeau?" one of them answered.
"What's dis about, homme?" Remy suddenly got serious.
"You need to come with us, sir."
"Que? Why?"
"It's your wife.."
Remy felt a sinking feeling run straight down his body. For the first time in a long time, his legs grew weak and his body began to tremble slightly. It was a bad feeling and he wondered if it foreshadowed things to come.
1:25 pm
She opened her eyes slightly, just enough to see the fuzzy white of the ceiling staring back at her. Rogue blinked a few more times and then finally opened her eyes fully.
"Where.where am I?" she questioned.
A nurse rushed over to her side, "You're at the hospital, hon. You need to relax. I got to go tell the Doctor that you're up. He's going to wanna speak to you. You just take it easy over here and I'll be right back."
Rogue tried to relax but soon, a sharp , compounding pain from her stomach struck her.
"Oh no!!! Oww..the baby!"
The Doctor and nurse came into the room and Rogue yelled, " MAH BABY! Somethin's wrong!!!"
The nurse came over and tried to calm her down, "Try to calm down, hon."
"No! Doctor! What's wrong? Do something!" Rogue continued to yell.
The Doctor checked the readings from the equipment attached to Rogue and said, "Rogue..yes? Your name is Rogue, right?"
Rogue nodded.
"You and your baby were hurt very badly. Your readings aren't.."
"Mah baby! What about mah baby?"
"Ma'am.Rogue, the only chance your baby has is..well, we need your permission to deliver right away."
"But, it's not time yet.it's too soon, " worried Rogue.
The Doctor patted her gently on the shoulder and softly said, "I'm so sorry, neither of you have much ch..if we can deliver the baby, he or she can be given a chance to live, in an incubator. You need to know, that this is at great risk to you. We can attempt to save you, but, that may jeopardize the life of your baby.."
"No, save mah baby! Ah don't care 'bout me!"
1:45pm
Every step in the hospital that Remy took towards Rogue, seemed heavier than the step before. He had been told the situation on the way over there . His mind raced with unpleasant thoughts that he tried hard to push aside. Soon, he was there, outside her room. He was given a pair of gloves and a gown to wear. Then, cautiously, deliberately, he opened the door and saw her giving birth to their baby, three weeks too soon.
"REMY!" Rogue screamed as she saw him.
He hurriedly got to her side and held her hand.
"I'm here chere."
"Ah..ah can't.ah'm too weak, Remy."
Gambit saw how frail she looked, how weak her grip on his hand was and he knew something was terribly wrong with her.
"Push, Rogue" the Doctor said.
"Ah.ah don't think ah can.." she said, through interrupted breaths.
"We're losing blood pressure on her, Doctor," the nurse cautioned.
Gambit kissed Rogue on her forehead and said, "Do whatever you can, chere."
Rogue pushed again with a cry. Remy held her close to him and said, "You doin' fine, mon coeur."
Suddenly, the Doctor said, "It's a girl.you have a girl !"
Faintly, Rogue said, "Ah wanna see her, Remy."
Gambit looked over to the Doctor and pleaded, "Please, mon ami."
The Doctor cut the umbilical cord and gave the baby over to Gambit. Gambit held her snugly between himself and Rogue.
The nurse rushed out of the room .
Rogue started crying tears of joy, "She's so beautiful, Remy."
"You both beautiful, cherie."
Rogue touched the baby's hand with her index finger and the baby grabbed onto it with all of her little fingers. Remy smiled when he saw the connection.
The nurse rushed back into the room with the portable incubator.
"We have to take her now. She hasn't made a sound yet," the Doctor said.
He leaned over and took the baby from between her parents. Each tiny finger left Rogue's finger as the baby was taken away and into the incubator.
"Why isn't she crying, Remy? Why didn't she made a sound?" Rogue asked.
" I.I.don' know, Rogue."
The nurse checked Rogue's blood pressure reading and then said, "You keep calm, honey, and we'll be back soon."
She wheeled the baby out of the room.
"I've got to check on the baby," the Doctor said as he left.
"She's going to be alright, isn't she, Remy?" Rogue cried.
Gambit slipped down and hugged Rogue, "Don' worry, ma cherie. You relax now, hein?"
"But.."
"Shhhh.mon coeur, you relax, eh?"
"Remy? Ah knew today was going to be important.ah felt it early this morning."
"Rogue, don' think about any o'dat now, chere."
"No, ah, ah don't mean about me."
"Shhh..you close your eyes and try to sleep, girl."
"Listen ta me, Cajun.today is a good day."
"Rogue, please don' try to ...."
"It's her birthday, Remy."
Gambit closed his eyes slightly and said, " Oui."
Rogue looked at him lovingly and said, "Ah love you Remy LeBeau, ah always loved only you and now we have our baby. It's a good day."
" Yes, I know..I love you too, sweet."
Gambit kissed Rogue tenderly on her lips and hugged her gently while she closed her eyes.
Soon, a blaring alarm went off in the room and Gambit sprinted up. He looked down at Rogue but she wasn't even flinching.
"Rogue! Rogue! CHERE?!" He screamed.
He ran out the door and called out, "Somethin's wrong over here! My wife, she not wakin' up!"
Nurses were already scrambling towards the room. Gambit came back in and knelt on Rogue's side.
"Chere, you got to hold on.hold on, girl.."
"We're losing blood pressure fast people!" said one of the nurses as they worked on Rogue.
"Rogue.please.." Gambit said softly.
Then, there was another alarm signal going off. One that made all the nurses stop all that they were doing and instead, looked at Remy.
He knew instantly what those looks meant. Rogue had flatlined.
"I'm so sorry, " one of the nurses said. Every one after that said the same thing, but, they all fell on deaf ears. Gambit wasn't able to hear anything right then.
The nurses left the room.
Slowly, Gambit got to his feet and brushed aside a lone white strand of hair from Rogue's forehead. He bent down slightly and kissed her there.
A rage inside of him started to build up and through gritted teeth, he said, 'Magneto".
3:00pm
It didn't take long for Gambit to find out where magneto was being held. The X-Men had gotten to him eventually and had been able to save half of the people on the ships. Rogue was right, in that, they weren't able to get there in enough time to save all of them. Magneto was now imprisoned in a makeshift cell made out of a non-metallic alloy.
Gambit easily evaded all guards on call that day and had infiltrated the facility without any trace of difficulty. Hiding in the shadows, he waited until the guard assigned to magneto went on his break .
Outside of the facility, Wolverine was assigned the duty of keeping an eye on mags . He was determined that there would be no break-in's or break- out's . Then, a scent caught his nose..
"Gumbo." he recognized.
3:20pm
Gambit walked into magneto's view, right in front of his cell.
"Magneto!" he called.
Magneto turned to see him but did not acknowledge him in any way.
Gambit continued, "You killed my wife."
"Rogue?" magneto asked.
"YOU KILLED MY WIFE!" Gambit yelled.
" I do not know what you are speaking about, but, leave now and I will spare your life."
"Who will spare yours?" Gambit's eyes grew blood-red.
"My patience grows dim and you are of no importance. You can leave now and spare your life or stay and lose it. It is of no consequence to me."
'You killed Rogue and put our baby in critical condition and you be thinkin', I leave you in peace..think again, Magneto.."
Weary of his conversation with Gambit, Magneto effortlessly waved his hands and the iron in Gambit's blood immediately magnetized.
Gambit struggled to breathe whilst his body started to contort.
"I warned you to leave," Magneto said.
"You think you can kill me now, jus' like my wife and daughter?" Gambit questioned.
A rush of memory hit magneto and he remembered his own wife and daughter who had been murdered. He said, "It is for your wife and daughter and others like them, that I must do what I am doing. To deal with humanity the way they dealt with us."
"You have no humanity, mon ami, " Gambit said. He began to charge his own body with his mutant powers. Every cell he charged, excited the particles inside, causing them to flow randomly, including the iron particles, breaking the rigid magnetic flow. He was free.
" I take no pleasure in your news, " Magneto said.
"It's too bad, 'cause I take pleasure in dis!" Gambit extended his hands in magneto's direction and began charging him. He had burnt out that power long ago, but, saw that he was still able to conjure it up at extreme times, like the time he had attempted to bring down a Madripoor Temple on himself with one lone solitary stone, charged from afar.
Magneto cringed in agony, "What have you done?"
"Dealt de cards, magneto..looks like I get the better hand, non? You killed my wife, you think I was going to let you live in peace? Non, you right..I wasn't goin' to let you live at all, mon ami. Last card's for you."
Gambit took out a card, the Ace of spades, from his pocket and charged it up, "You gon' blow up from your insides out once your body's all charged up and I goin' to blow up any trace left o'you afterwards."
Just then, Wolverine rushed in and caught hold of Gambit's hands. It was enough to lose magneto's body from Gambit's charging effect.
"Leave me alone, Wolverine! He killed Rogue, he woulda killed my baby!"
"Stop, Cajun! Think about it! If you kill him now, who'll take care of your baby? Who?"
"What if she don' live, like her maman? I got to make him pay!"
"What if she lives, Gambit? Think about her..what would Rogue want you to do?"
Gambit flung the card and it exploded on the wall adjacent to magneto's cell.
He looked at magneto, "You better hope she lives Magneto..for YOUR sake."
He left.
Magneto struggled to get to his feet .He looked at Wolverine.
"I woulda helped him kill you with my own hands, Magneto. Man's got a family to think about. I did it for him, fer Rogue and the baby. If it weren't for them, you'd be dead now . Anybody asked afterwards, I woulda said ' I didn't see nothin', I didn't hear nothin'.," Wolverine snarled.
5:00pm
Gambit walked straight into the hospital's nursery and wheeled the baby's portable incubator out and into Rogue's room.
A nurse called out to him, 'Mister LeBeau.you can't."
"Leave us be." he said.
He closed the door behind him and wheeled the baby up close to Rogue. He gasped silently at the sight of Rogue's lifeless body.
He spoke to their baby, "I..I bought a gift for your maman today. A gift for both o'you. Thought you might like to learn how to ride. I ride, your maman rides...anyway, I bought dat gift for you both and Rogue.she gave me a gift today too.YOU."
He came as close to the covered incubator as he could, "Mebbe you give a gift to us today too, huh, little one? Mebbe you cry for us. Cry for Rogue, petite. Make a sound..please, petite..."
Gambit looked at her small body and how fragile she looked and he wondered if he would lose her as well.
"Please little one, cry, eh? You all I have left. Cry for your maman, she wanted to hear you cry and then she would know you were okay. Don' leave me too, mon petite coeur.you all I have left.ain't got nothin' else in dis world. My heart, she be taken away from me.please petite, cry.."
With not a sound coming from his daughter, Gambit stood up and sighed heavily. Resigning himself to what he thought was an inevitable end, his thoughts swayed back to magneto. He considered him, 'unfinished business' and he decided now was the best time to wrap up all business ties. He began to leave when he heard the most beautiful sound in his world.
"Wwahhh!! Wahh!!!!!" she cried.
He turned around and saw his baby crying . He rushed over to her and said, "Y'hear dat Roguey?"
The Doctor and nurse rushed in .
"Mr. LeBeau, I'm glad you came back.." The Doctor said. "We need your permission to move your wife to the hospital's morgue."
"The baby needs to get back to the nursery too," the nurse added.
Gambit nodded slightly.
Opening the door, the Doctor called out to the orderlies waiting outside, "In here, we've got permission."
They came in, carrying a gurney with them.
Gambit held onto Rogue's hand . She was cold but their love was still warm.
They transferred her body from the bed to the gurney and started taking her away. Gambit wouldn't let go. He walked behind the gurney, still holding on to her hand, but, the Doctor stopped him, "Mr. LeBeau, you can't go to the morgue. No one is allowed there."
Gambit stopped and as they continued to wheel Rogue away, her hand slipped away from his..
He turned around and saw the nurse taking the baby away from the room.
He followed them slowly. Never too close but never too far away either.
Finally, they reached the nursery and as he was heading into it, another nurse stopped him.
"I'm sorry, sir, but baby LeBeau has to be transferred to a secure incubator now. The nursery is closed . The babies are asleep."
"Coquine" he said.
"What? What did you say?" asked the nurse.
"De baby, her name's Coquine. Named after her maman."
"Well, okay, I'll add that to her paperwork." She left.
Gambit stayed in the hall, watching the other nurse transfer Coquine to her incubator. He steered into the nursery, through the clear plastic windows. Pressed up against the windows, he stood there, watching her for hours.
8:00pm
A nurse came up to Gambit and tapped him slightly on the shoulder, "Mr. LeBeau, you should go home and rest."
"Non..I'm not leaving."
"Well, why don't you come away from the window now? You can go get a cup of coffee downstairs."
"I be fine, right here."
The nurse sighed and said, "Well, I've got to file some papers , I'll be back soon. In the meantime, I've got to keep the lights low for the babies. The nightlights are on in the nursery."
She switched the hall lights off and left.
Gambit stood there, in the dark. A man paralyzed emotionally. Separated from his past; he wasn't allowed to see Rogue and separated from his future ; he wasn't allowed to go to Coquine. He stood alone, in tremendous pain. Not knowing what to do or where to go, he stood there for hours, a shadow of the man he once was..
La fin
Disclaimer:- I do not own the X-Men, Remy or Rogue. They belong solely to Marvel. For accurate info on Rogue/Gambit's history you can go to:-. "The Joker and The Queen" (The Remy/Rogue Road) (Rogue remembers all her past friendships before remembering her first love, Gambit).
This is part of the 'Heart' series. It follows in this order:- "To Steal A Heart", "Separated Hearts" And "A Broken Heart". This is the prequel to the latter.
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8:00 am
A gentle breeze blew through the gardens of a lovely New Orleans home even as an early morning shower had left behind tiny raindrops on the lawn , allowing the smell of freshness to scent the air.
Happily stepping outside the house and on to the verandah , Rogue sat on the porch swing.
"Ah can't remember the last time out here looked so beautiful. All the birds are singing , the breeze is blowing through mah hair, like it used to when I would fly just for the heck of it! Do you hear the birds, hon? "
Rogue patted her swollen belly, " D' you? Oh, ah know, you're still asleep, aren't you? I should be too, ah guess. Hardly got any sleep last night. It's a wonder ah'm up and about this early. But, somehow, I have this feeling that today is a special day. I feel it in mah heart."
Rogue felt a little kick in her stomach and she smiled, 'You feel it too, huh? Your daddy's coming back today. You're just too excited to see him, aren't ya? He's been away for two weeks and it feels like ages instead. But, if he comes back here with another gift for you, I'm gonna deck him! If ah put any more toys in your nursery , there won't be any room left for you! But, he's so happy about us, ah guess ah should give it a day.. And then I'll deck him, " Rogue laughed.
Rogue began to swing , patting her stomach gently while she sang a little tune to their baby.
11:00am
Wiping her hands on a dish towel, Rogue was finally done, "That's that! We're all fed and clean and dressed..only two more hours to go before Remy's here. Ah can't wait to see him."
She watched the clock lazily tick away and said, "Hmm.. Wanna watch some TV? It'll kill some time."
Rogue put the T.V. on and sat back on the couch to watch. Opening her eyes widely in disbelief, she said, "What're you doin', Magnus? There are thousands of innocent people down there! The X-Men will never get down here in time. Ah gotta try and talk him out of this!"
11:30 am
Driving up to a large pier, Rogue could see Magnus hovering over the ships. She hurriedly got out of her car and walked cautiously up to him , from behind.
Calling out to him, she said, "Magnus! Stop this ! You'll hurt thousands of people on those ships!"
Intent on concluding his plans, he didn't look behind to her, but instead magnetized a huge metallic freight container and sent in flying in Rogue's direction.
"I am truly sorry, child," he said as he flung it at her.
It hit Rogue with full force to her front and sent her flying backwards into her car. Her back smashed into the driver's side door and there she became wedged. The freight container to her front and to her back, the car. She lay unconscious.
11:45 am
Paramedics rushed a gurney into the emergency room. Lying on it was Rogue. She was rushed into emergency surgery. A Doctor came out of the room momentarily to speak to the Police Officer who brought her in.
"Do we have her name?"
"Ah, yeah, just got it from her license, Doc. It's Rogue LeBeau."
"She needs to deliver her baby ASAP. We need the husband or father or whatever to sign for it! She's critical and so's the baby!"
"We'll get him here as soon as we can."
"I'm not understating the seriousness of this. We need a signature! The baby's premature. The mother's not responding and we can't wait!"
1:00 pm
Poking his head through the front door of their home, Remy LeBeau called out, "Chere? Roguey?"
Stealthily walking from room to room, he continued, "Don' be mad , cherie. Dis time, I buy a gift for you. It's a motorized tricycle. It sort of big, well, it big, but."
Wondering why he wasn't finding anyone, he searched more earnestly, ".I figure you could ride on it till de bebe ready for it, hein? Chere? Where are ya? Don't be angry, mon coeur, it for you..well, mebbe, it for de baby, but, technically, I buy it for both a'you, so come on out, Rogue.where you be?"
Finally, he saw a note left for him on the kitchen counter. He read it out loud, " magneto is at it again. Ah might be able to talk him out of it. See you soon, Remy ~Love, Rogue".
Gambit sighed and said, "Ahhh..chere, when you gon' learn dat when a snake sheds his skin, he's still de same old snake underneath. You have a heart of gold .Mystique, Vargas, magnus.you give everybody a second chance, eh?"
Strong, heavy knocks on the front door disturbed Remy's thoughts. Two police officers stood outside, waiting on him. He opened the door and on seeing them, jokingly said, " Sorry, mes amis, I only have beignets. Doughnuts? You have to get dem someplace else, oui? ".
"Mr LeBeau? Mr Remy LeBeau?" one of them answered.
"What's dis about, homme?" Remy suddenly got serious.
"You need to come with us, sir."
"Que? Why?"
"It's your wife.."
Remy felt a sinking feeling run straight down his body. For the first time in a long time, his legs grew weak and his body began to tremble slightly. It was a bad feeling and he wondered if it foreshadowed things to come.
1:25 pm
She opened her eyes slightly, just enough to see the fuzzy white of the ceiling staring back at her. Rogue blinked a few more times and then finally opened her eyes fully.
"Where.where am I?" she questioned.
A nurse rushed over to her side, "You're at the hospital, hon. You need to relax. I got to go tell the Doctor that you're up. He's going to wanna speak to you. You just take it easy over here and I'll be right back."
Rogue tried to relax but soon, a sharp , compounding pain from her stomach struck her.
"Oh no!!! Oww..the baby!"
The Doctor and nurse came into the room and Rogue yelled, " MAH BABY! Somethin's wrong!!!"
The nurse came over and tried to calm her down, "Try to calm down, hon."
"No! Doctor! What's wrong? Do something!" Rogue continued to yell.
The Doctor checked the readings from the equipment attached to Rogue and said, "Rogue..yes? Your name is Rogue, right?"
Rogue nodded.
"You and your baby were hurt very badly. Your readings aren't.."
"Mah baby! What about mah baby?"
"Ma'am.Rogue, the only chance your baby has is..well, we need your permission to deliver right away."
"But, it's not time yet.it's too soon, " worried Rogue.
The Doctor patted her gently on the shoulder and softly said, "I'm so sorry, neither of you have much ch..if we can deliver the baby, he or she can be given a chance to live, in an incubator. You need to know, that this is at great risk to you. We can attempt to save you, but, that may jeopardize the life of your baby.."
"No, save mah baby! Ah don't care 'bout me!"
1:45pm
Every step in the hospital that Remy took towards Rogue, seemed heavier than the step before. He had been told the situation on the way over there . His mind raced with unpleasant thoughts that he tried hard to push aside. Soon, he was there, outside her room. He was given a pair of gloves and a gown to wear. Then, cautiously, deliberately, he opened the door and saw her giving birth to their baby, three weeks too soon.
"REMY!" Rogue screamed as she saw him.
He hurriedly got to her side and held her hand.
"I'm here chere."
"Ah..ah can't.ah'm too weak, Remy."
Gambit saw how frail she looked, how weak her grip on his hand was and he knew something was terribly wrong with her.
"Push, Rogue" the Doctor said.
"Ah.ah don't think ah can.." she said, through interrupted breaths.
"We're losing blood pressure on her, Doctor," the nurse cautioned.
Gambit kissed Rogue on her forehead and said, "Do whatever you can, chere."
Rogue pushed again with a cry. Remy held her close to him and said, "You doin' fine, mon coeur."
Suddenly, the Doctor said, "It's a girl.you have a girl !"
Faintly, Rogue said, "Ah wanna see her, Remy."
Gambit looked over to the Doctor and pleaded, "Please, mon ami."
The Doctor cut the umbilical cord and gave the baby over to Gambit. Gambit held her snugly between himself and Rogue.
The nurse rushed out of the room .
Rogue started crying tears of joy, "She's so beautiful, Remy."
"You both beautiful, cherie."
Rogue touched the baby's hand with her index finger and the baby grabbed onto it with all of her little fingers. Remy smiled when he saw the connection.
The nurse rushed back into the room with the portable incubator.
"We have to take her now. She hasn't made a sound yet," the Doctor said.
He leaned over and took the baby from between her parents. Each tiny finger left Rogue's finger as the baby was taken away and into the incubator.
"Why isn't she crying, Remy? Why didn't she made a sound?" Rogue asked.
" I.I.don' know, Rogue."
The nurse checked Rogue's blood pressure reading and then said, "You keep calm, honey, and we'll be back soon."
She wheeled the baby out of the room.
"I've got to check on the baby," the Doctor said as he left.
"She's going to be alright, isn't she, Remy?" Rogue cried.
Gambit slipped down and hugged Rogue, "Don' worry, ma cherie. You relax now, hein?"
"But.."
"Shhhh.mon coeur, you relax, eh?"
"Remy? Ah knew today was going to be important.ah felt it early this morning."
"Rogue, don' think about any o'dat now, chere."
"No, ah, ah don't mean about me."
"Shhh..you close your eyes and try to sleep, girl."
"Listen ta me, Cajun.today is a good day."
"Rogue, please don' try to ...."
"It's her birthday, Remy."
Gambit closed his eyes slightly and said, " Oui."
Rogue looked at him lovingly and said, "Ah love you Remy LeBeau, ah always loved only you and now we have our baby. It's a good day."
" Yes, I know..I love you too, sweet."
Gambit kissed Rogue tenderly on her lips and hugged her gently while she closed her eyes.
Soon, a blaring alarm went off in the room and Gambit sprinted up. He looked down at Rogue but she wasn't even flinching.
"Rogue! Rogue! CHERE?!" He screamed.
He ran out the door and called out, "Somethin's wrong over here! My wife, she not wakin' up!"
Nurses were already scrambling towards the room. Gambit came back in and knelt on Rogue's side.
"Chere, you got to hold on.hold on, girl.."
"We're losing blood pressure fast people!" said one of the nurses as they worked on Rogue.
"Rogue.please.." Gambit said softly.
Then, there was another alarm signal going off. One that made all the nurses stop all that they were doing and instead, looked at Remy.
He knew instantly what those looks meant. Rogue had flatlined.
"I'm so sorry, " one of the nurses said. Every one after that said the same thing, but, they all fell on deaf ears. Gambit wasn't able to hear anything right then.
The nurses left the room.
Slowly, Gambit got to his feet and brushed aside a lone white strand of hair from Rogue's forehead. He bent down slightly and kissed her there.
A rage inside of him started to build up and through gritted teeth, he said, 'Magneto".
3:00pm
It didn't take long for Gambit to find out where magneto was being held. The X-Men had gotten to him eventually and had been able to save half of the people on the ships. Rogue was right, in that, they weren't able to get there in enough time to save all of them. Magneto was now imprisoned in a makeshift cell made out of a non-metallic alloy.
Gambit easily evaded all guards on call that day and had infiltrated the facility without any trace of difficulty. Hiding in the shadows, he waited until the guard assigned to magneto went on his break .
Outside of the facility, Wolverine was assigned the duty of keeping an eye on mags . He was determined that there would be no break-in's or break- out's . Then, a scent caught his nose..
"Gumbo." he recognized.
3:20pm
Gambit walked into magneto's view, right in front of his cell.
"Magneto!" he called.
Magneto turned to see him but did not acknowledge him in any way.
Gambit continued, "You killed my wife."
"Rogue?" magneto asked.
"YOU KILLED MY WIFE!" Gambit yelled.
" I do not know what you are speaking about, but, leave now and I will spare your life."
"Who will spare yours?" Gambit's eyes grew blood-red.
"My patience grows dim and you are of no importance. You can leave now and spare your life or stay and lose it. It is of no consequence to me."
'You killed Rogue and put our baby in critical condition and you be thinkin', I leave you in peace..think again, Magneto.."
Weary of his conversation with Gambit, Magneto effortlessly waved his hands and the iron in Gambit's blood immediately magnetized.
Gambit struggled to breathe whilst his body started to contort.
"I warned you to leave," Magneto said.
"You think you can kill me now, jus' like my wife and daughter?" Gambit questioned.
A rush of memory hit magneto and he remembered his own wife and daughter who had been murdered. He said, "It is for your wife and daughter and others like them, that I must do what I am doing. To deal with humanity the way they dealt with us."
"You have no humanity, mon ami, " Gambit said. He began to charge his own body with his mutant powers. Every cell he charged, excited the particles inside, causing them to flow randomly, including the iron particles, breaking the rigid magnetic flow. He was free.
" I take no pleasure in your news, " Magneto said.
"It's too bad, 'cause I take pleasure in dis!" Gambit extended his hands in magneto's direction and began charging him. He had burnt out that power long ago, but, saw that he was still able to conjure it up at extreme times, like the time he had attempted to bring down a Madripoor Temple on himself with one lone solitary stone, charged from afar.
Magneto cringed in agony, "What have you done?"
"Dealt de cards, magneto..looks like I get the better hand, non? You killed my wife, you think I was going to let you live in peace? Non, you right..I wasn't goin' to let you live at all, mon ami. Last card's for you."
Gambit took out a card, the Ace of spades, from his pocket and charged it up, "You gon' blow up from your insides out once your body's all charged up and I goin' to blow up any trace left o'you afterwards."
Just then, Wolverine rushed in and caught hold of Gambit's hands. It was enough to lose magneto's body from Gambit's charging effect.
"Leave me alone, Wolverine! He killed Rogue, he woulda killed my baby!"
"Stop, Cajun! Think about it! If you kill him now, who'll take care of your baby? Who?"
"What if she don' live, like her maman? I got to make him pay!"
"What if she lives, Gambit? Think about her..what would Rogue want you to do?"
Gambit flung the card and it exploded on the wall adjacent to magneto's cell.
He looked at magneto, "You better hope she lives Magneto..for YOUR sake."
He left.
Magneto struggled to get to his feet .He looked at Wolverine.
"I woulda helped him kill you with my own hands, Magneto. Man's got a family to think about. I did it for him, fer Rogue and the baby. If it weren't for them, you'd be dead now . Anybody asked afterwards, I woulda said ' I didn't see nothin', I didn't hear nothin'.," Wolverine snarled.
5:00pm
Gambit walked straight into the hospital's nursery and wheeled the baby's portable incubator out and into Rogue's room.
A nurse called out to him, 'Mister LeBeau.you can't."
"Leave us be." he said.
He closed the door behind him and wheeled the baby up close to Rogue. He gasped silently at the sight of Rogue's lifeless body.
He spoke to their baby, "I..I bought a gift for your maman today. A gift for both o'you. Thought you might like to learn how to ride. I ride, your maman rides...anyway, I bought dat gift for you both and Rogue.she gave me a gift today too.YOU."
He came as close to the covered incubator as he could, "Mebbe you give a gift to us today too, huh, little one? Mebbe you cry for us. Cry for Rogue, petite. Make a sound..please, petite..."
Gambit looked at her small body and how fragile she looked and he wondered if he would lose her as well.
"Please little one, cry, eh? You all I have left. Cry for your maman, she wanted to hear you cry and then she would know you were okay. Don' leave me too, mon petite coeur.you all I have left.ain't got nothin' else in dis world. My heart, she be taken away from me.please petite, cry.."
With not a sound coming from his daughter, Gambit stood up and sighed heavily. Resigning himself to what he thought was an inevitable end, his thoughts swayed back to magneto. He considered him, 'unfinished business' and he decided now was the best time to wrap up all business ties. He began to leave when he heard the most beautiful sound in his world.
"Wwahhh!! Wahh!!!!!" she cried.
He turned around and saw his baby crying . He rushed over to her and said, "Y'hear dat Roguey?"
The Doctor and nurse rushed in .
"Mr. LeBeau, I'm glad you came back.." The Doctor said. "We need your permission to move your wife to the hospital's morgue."
"The baby needs to get back to the nursery too," the nurse added.
Gambit nodded slightly.
Opening the door, the Doctor called out to the orderlies waiting outside, "In here, we've got permission."
They came in, carrying a gurney with them.
Gambit held onto Rogue's hand . She was cold but their love was still warm.
They transferred her body from the bed to the gurney and started taking her away. Gambit wouldn't let go. He walked behind the gurney, still holding on to her hand, but, the Doctor stopped him, "Mr. LeBeau, you can't go to the morgue. No one is allowed there."
Gambit stopped and as they continued to wheel Rogue away, her hand slipped away from his..
He turned around and saw the nurse taking the baby away from the room.
He followed them slowly. Never too close but never too far away either.
Finally, they reached the nursery and as he was heading into it, another nurse stopped him.
"I'm sorry, sir, but baby LeBeau has to be transferred to a secure incubator now. The nursery is closed . The babies are asleep."
"Coquine" he said.
"What? What did you say?" asked the nurse.
"De baby, her name's Coquine. Named after her maman."
"Well, okay, I'll add that to her paperwork." She left.
Gambit stayed in the hall, watching the other nurse transfer Coquine to her incubator. He steered into the nursery, through the clear plastic windows. Pressed up against the windows, he stood there, watching her for hours.
8:00pm
A nurse came up to Gambit and tapped him slightly on the shoulder, "Mr. LeBeau, you should go home and rest."
"Non..I'm not leaving."
"Well, why don't you come away from the window now? You can go get a cup of coffee downstairs."
"I be fine, right here."
The nurse sighed and said, "Well, I've got to file some papers , I'll be back soon. In the meantime, I've got to keep the lights low for the babies. The nightlights are on in the nursery."
She switched the hall lights off and left.
Gambit stood there, in the dark. A man paralyzed emotionally. Separated from his past; he wasn't allowed to see Rogue and separated from his future ; he wasn't allowed to go to Coquine. He stood alone, in tremendous pain. Not knowing what to do or where to go, he stood there for hours, a shadow of the man he once was..
La fin