Summary : Kimble is finally home, but he's a little worse for the wear. Part 22 of my Kimble series.

Notes : Rated M for language, violence, and sexual situations.

AU but only because I chose to change a few things in my dear friends' histories for simplification, nothing drastic so please forgive. I've been working on this story for years so I do ask that you don't use any of my non-Marvel universe characters without my permission. I love my Siskans as I do my children.

Just to let you know, we are nearing the end of this series. I have five more pieces to post after this and then my Kimble series will be done. I do have another series after this one, called The Game that has all the same people in it. If enough of you are with me by the time Kimble ends, I will happily post it. It's long like this one was, though not quite as many pieces. - SQ.

Updated 10-20-13 to add (break)s and correct mistakes.

(One)

Gambit dangled from the sky, hating every moment of this. Max had come to his rescue after the Rally and was now flying him and Kimble back to the Mansion as quickly as his young little wings could flap. His flight was enhanced by telekinesis and quite safe, but just the same, Gambit was never a big fan of being flown by telekinetic power. With no machine around you (i.e. a plane for instance, you know, a real one...) it seemed like you could fall at any time down to your death...a nice little Gambit smear on the ground. Max was forced to wear a harness with safety straps for his passengers much like Fallen used, because he was still considered to be a trainee, but it gave little comfort. The ground was still whizzing by at impossible speed.

Making things worse was trying to hold Kimble steady in his arms. The pilot was in and out, thrashing a little and mumbling softly in Siskan, "We done the mostest baddest thing...we's so bad...we killded the Master!" He kept saying it over and over again in a soft, child like voice that wasn't really 'Shay's and not Kimble's either.

"Easy, Kim. You just 'ang tight fo' me, s'il vous plait. We almost home, little brother," Remy chanted steadily.

They left the city behind them, unmindful of the huge plume of smoke rising up into the sky, Yankee Stadium was burning down to the ground in spite of the efforts of their teammates. Max landed his party on the lawn out front and they went into the house, Remy huffing a little now because he had Kimble's full weight. Max offered to take him, but Gambit thought the boy was just too small to carry such an awkward burden. Besides that, Remy wasn't going to let Kimble out of his sight, not for a good long while. The pilot only weighed about a hundred pounds or so, less than a real man, but Remy was exhausted from running all the way from the stadium and having to fight Sabretooth afterwards. He was going to need some serious recoup time after this. The only comfort was that he had Kimble in his arms and they were finally, at last, home.

Gambit took Kimble down through the house to the lower level. He stepped out of the elevator and saw Molly and Seth waiting for him as if they had known he was coming. He was surprised at first to see them, but then realized that they must have seen him coming through the Mansion's security cameras. Seth went into an immediate panic at the sight of Kimble's poor battered body. "What's wrong with him? He's a mess!"

"Saby run 'im t'rough de mill, fils. Dat's okay, we got 'im 'ome. We gonna take real good care of 'im now, je promets," Remy said, trying to do his best to relieve some of Seth's fears. He looked past the stricken Siskan and into Molly's fearful eyes. He knew he looked like shit and she must be frightened. "Je suis bien, Molly girl, I'm okay. Just need a hand gettin' Kimble situated, hien?"

Molly coughed her lion's bark at him and signed rapidly, Let me take him.

He grinned and transferred Kimble's dead weight into her arms, grateful for the release of his burden. He was feeling every inch as wasted as he looked, one whole side of his face was terribly bruised and aching with a dull throb from when Sabretooth had hit him. He was thankful Molly was here to assist him and still marveled at how strong she was. She was small but so much more than she seemed.

Kimble rolled his head back and looked up with bleary eyes at his new handler. "We done the baddest thing!" he announced to her, still in Siskan.

Molly looked up at Remy in confusion. She had no clue what he just said.

"Don' worry, chere. He okay. He just in a lot of pain," Gambit said. He was upset that Kimble would keep repeating this over and over. Kimble had saved him, heroically skewering the evil Sabretooth in his defense, why would Kimble think that was bad? Zander had been happy enough about it. Worse than that was this new voice, Remy didn't recognize it and it frightened him.

They all walked swiftly down to the holding cells, Seth's face a tight mask of worry. He had understood the words Kimble had spoken and couldn't stop the feeling of intense dread that was creeping in on him. He was elated Kimble was home now, but his brother was seriously trashed. Clearly there would be no joyful reunion this day.

Remy opened one of the holding cells and programmed the shield to resist all of Kimble's powers. He wasn't locking Kimble up to punish him, he knew that the bounty on his friend was now active. No matter who might storm the mansion looking for him, they wouldn't be able to get to him in here. This whole section of the lower level had the most security and safety systems in place. No one would be able to get in or out without punching in the proper keycodes.

Molly gently lay Kimble down on the bed. He groaned and rolled over, sticking his legs out so his damaged feet hung over the edge. She stripped off his ruined clothing, slashing it off of him with a claw, and stepped back uncertainly. His body was covered with large ugly bruises as if he had been beaten and they stood out sharply against the whiteness of his skin. Molly started to cover him, but he cried out when the blankets touched his ruined feet. She noticed for the first time that his large furry toes didn't look right. They looked smashed and broken as if they had been made of balls of rumpled paper. They were swollen and bruised, ugly. She didn't understand what was going on but knew that he must be in pain. She took his pillow and carefully slid it under his ankles, raising his feet so they didn't actually touch anything.

She couldn't help but marvel at this strange creature Remy had brought home. She had heard the others talking about him, but hadn't actually seen him until now. He was very beautiful in spite of being so badly damaged. It was hard for her to tear her eyes away.

Kimble shuddered and greyed out, moaning softly.

"Kim? You still wit me?" Gambit asked, gently shaking his shoulder.

The pilot coughed and his eyes fluttered open briefly. He moved to cover his ears with trembling white hands and began to softly sob into the mattress. Remy sighed, knowing Kimble must be feeling guilty about what he had done. "Don' do dis, Kimble. It ain't yo' fault. It's okay what you done to save me. It's okay, comprenez?"

Kimble wouldn't listen. Remy didn't understand that Kimble had so horribly betrayed his Master, had probably even killed him. It was the worst possible crime he could have committed. It obliterated everything the Quitter had done — the prostitutes, the cats...the baby. All he did was hurt people and betray those who loved him. So many dead faces paraded by his pain filled eyes. Gail, Kyle, possibly even the Master now, horribly damaged. Too many to forgive. Too many for him not to shatter completely a fourth and terrible time.

Remy wasn't sure what to do next so he just tucked him in, making sure the blanket covered him well enough. He paused when he saw the dog collar still around Kimble's neck, Molly hadn't taken if off. He scowled and removed it, his anger surging when he saw the tag - "My Toy". What a fucking loser Saby was. He had no idea just how precious Kimble was, he had been given a treasure and he treated it like a dog.

Gambit tossed the collar aside in disgust and sat on the floor next to Kimble at a loss. He charged a card and tried to get Kimble's attention with it. The Siskan locked eyes on the sizzling red card and reached out greedily with an unmistakable Zander growl. He took the Ristle but then his face crinkled in confusion. "Not enough..." he rasped.

Gambit charged another card, but oddly enough, when Zander tried to take the Ristle from it, he was unable to take more than just a small sip if it, in spite of grasping the card entirely in his hand. "Nots workin'..." the Punisher grumbled, a whine of frustration in his throat.

"Tell me what to do, Zandy," Remy insisted, worry making his voice shake a little.

"Gots ta have a real charge. Cain't heals without it..."

"You ain't takin' de Ristle, buddy. Gambit can't 'elp you."

Zander shuddered. "We needs plasma... The pain... 's hurtin' so bad..."

"What can I do, Zandy? 'Enry and de others won't be back fo' a while. Dey all back at de stadium takin' care of business. P'etetre, dey can fix you when dey get back, but we gotta do sumptin' fo' de meantime."

"Gots ta sleeps...hurts so bad..." A tear leaked out of one eye.

Remy looked up to Seth. "Any ideas?"

"Feed him or get him drunk," Seth suggested, his face still contorted in pain. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was trembling. He couldn't believe Kimble was this wrecked and wondered how he was even still awake. The damage he was seeing now had nothing to do with what he had seen on the video file. Just how many times had Kimble been beaten like this during his stay with his horrible new Master? The thought of it filled him with such pain, his heart was aching and he wished Fallen were here. He needed her arms around him, her gentle voice in his ear. He was frightened.

"I got some whiskey in my room," Gambit offered, giving Seth's hand a squeeze. He had seen the look in Seth's eyes and knew he was upset. He just had too much to do right now to comfort him the way he needed. He had to get Kimble taken care of first.

"Dragon's closer," Seth said and left in a hurry, grateful to have a job to do. Anything to take his mind off of Kimble's poor wrecked body.

"Hang on, cher," Remy soothed, turning back to Kimble.

"We done the baddest thing..." was the only reply. Zander was gone, too weak to stay in power.

"Shh. You hush wit dat now. Jus' lay quiet." He took one of Kimble's battered, dirty hands in his own and rubbed it with his thumbs, trying to soothe. The pilot had closed his eyes and was breathing heavily, each breath a tortured wheeze. He was in unbelievable pain and his lips moved in a silent wish for death.

/You have to do something/ Shi'ow-ri whispered inside Gambit's mind. /He is suffering./

Gambit knows. Set' is comin' right back. Gotta wait.

Seth managed to return quickly in spite of his handicaps. He carried both a bottle of whiskey and another of Rishna. Rishna was the high calorie, high protein liquid lunch that pilots like Fallen used to feed themselves on long journeys so they wouldn't have to come off the pilot stick to eat. It had a sickly sweet taste, something Remy could smell even though the bottle was closed.

Gambit cocked his head at Seth. "What's dat for?"

"When I eat, I get sleepy, especially if it's something with a lot of sugar in it. If the whiskey doesn't work, give him the Rishna."

"You a quick boy, fils," Remy said with a smile.

Seth was pleased at the compliment and handed the bottles over.

"Gonna skip wit de trial an' error. Let's give 'im both," the thief suggested and uncorked the Rishna first. He gave Kimble a gentle nudge. "Open yo' mouth, buddy. Take dis down."

Kimble's eyes fluttered open and he groaned. Remy tipped his head back and poured a shot of Rishna into Kimble's mouth. He drank it, but grimaced from the taste. He liked sweet things, but this was too much. His hands fluttered up in protest, but Molly held him down. Remy next gave him a dose of whiskey. This was better and Zander returned quickly, growling and reaching out for more. Remy gave him a couple more shots and waited. The Punisher lay back gasping, his eyes glassy. " 'S better now."

"Is it enough? You want more?"

"Whiskey."

"Non. You want de whiskey, you gotta take de Rishna, too."

Zander nodded and did as he was told. It was working, Remy could see the pilot's eyes were growing heavy and his breathing was less labored. It took a third of the bottles each of the whiskey and Rishna, but Kimble finally closed his eyes for good and began to softly snore.

Remy bowed his head, exhausted himself now. He took a moment to whisper a soft prayer of thanks and then rose, shaking on his feet. He gathered Kimble's ripped up clothes and stepped out of the room, gesturing for Molly and Seth to follow him. They obeyed and he locked the cell, protecting his precious Kimble from harm.

"He's home. He's really home!" Seth said excitedly, his optimism rising to the challenge and dissipating some of his fear.

"Oui, cher. Tol' you, Gambit keeps his promises."

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you so much!" Seth cried and threw his arms around him, giving him a bone crunching squeeze of happiness. "I knew you could do it! You brought him home!"

Remy laughed, he couldn't help it. "Gambit's just glad he didn't let you down."

"You wouldn't. You can't," Seth mumbled against his chest.

Remy gave his head an affectionate pat. "Let dis boy go, eh? Gotta clean up, d'accorde?"

Seth released him, a little embarrassed, but then nervous. Gambit was bloody. "Okay."

I'll get you some clean clothes, Molly signed and started to leave. Unlike Seth, she was still very worried and doing her best to hide it. She was horrified at Remy's condition. At least her enhanced senses told her that the blood on his clothes wasn't his and he wasn't injured other than the big ugly bruise on his face. She wanted so much to just hug him and kiss him and make him feel better, but she knew he wouldn't allow it. There was still a measure of distance between them that only time would solve. She was too young to give him what she knew he desired from her and what she so very much wanted to give. Until then, she would have to satisfy herself with giving him what she could. Right now it seemed like a fresh set of clothes would have to do.

Remy had other ideas. He gently grasped her shoulder and turned her to look at him. "Non. You stay 'ere an' keep watch, s'il vous plait. Clothes alone ain't gonna do it. I'll shower right 'ere. If he even makes a sound, you come get me, d'accorde?"

She nodded and he shuffled off through a small door behind the Security desk. There was separate shower facility here for the prisoners to use. He chose to use this because he just didn't dare to go any farther away from where Kimble was. There were some blue generic sweats here with the school logo on them he could use. They would be baggy on him but he just didn't care. He washed quickly, doing his best to fight the sleep his body was demanding. He dressed and came out, disappointed that only Molly and Seth were waiting for him. He had been hoping maybe some of the others had come back by now.

He used the Security phone to dial out and get a hold of the Professor who was working with Fury back at the Stadium. He managed to reach Charles but was told it might be hours before anyone else could return back to the house. The Stadium was burning. They got most of the folks out and the casualties were blessedly light, but there was still much to do. The most that could be done was for him to send a squad back to the house for security, but he didn't want to part with Henry or Maylee just yet. Kimble was stable, he would just have to hang. The Professor had confidence in the Mansion's defenses. Remy hid his irritation and agreed, what else could he do? Kimble was stable, but people had died back there. Henry was needed elsewhere. He hung up the phone and cursed softly.

"Are they coming?" Seth asked timidly.

Remy shook his head. "Non. Not just yet. We gotta keep watch for now."

Why don't you get some rest? Molly suggested. Seth and I can stand guard here.

"Oui, chere. Gonna use de bed in dat cell over dere. I activated all de shields fo' Security. No one can get down 'ere wit'out de code. When dey get 'ere or if Kim wakes up, you come an' get me, comprenez?"

Wee, she signed with a laugh, eager to do anything to make him smile.

It worked. He managed a smile for her joke and gave her a light kiss on her forehead. "Dat's my girl." He gave Seth's shoulder a squeeze and shuffled off to the nearest empty cell. He plopped down on the bed and was out like a light.