Episode 7

Home for Christmas

Chapter 1 - Limitations

Rogue's voice was nothing more than a whisper, "what?"

Remy LeBeau stared at both his hands in awe, "you didn't absorb your powers..." he raised his eyes, he began to laugh like a lunatic. "You didn't absorb my powers," he said it again, as if he needed to emphasize the point.

"It's a fluke," said Rogue, shaking her head, it was too hard to believe, and to believe it and then to be let down if it didn't happen to be true, it would make things much too hard to take. "I mean, it can't be..."

Absurdly, Remy was still laughing, "but I'm awake! I didn't pass out! I feel fine, I feel...good..."

"I don't..." Rogue held her wrist still, it was throbbing, "you electrocuted me! How the hell did you do that..."

He shook his head, "I...I don't know. It wasn't like I was trying to do it..."

"Well it hurt," Rogue sucked in a breath and shook her hand in pain, suddenly she said, "you need to talk to the Professor – and Hank."

"About what? About the fact that you got a static shock from me?"

"That wasn't a static shock," Rogue pulled herself up and walked away from him, "that was dangerous!"

"Where the hell are you going?" he asked, getting up too.

"To see if the Professor is awake..."

"Chere, it's Christmas eve, even if he is awake...do you think now is the opportune time to start bugging him about something that may have been a stupid fluke?"

"Don't you know how dangerous this could be?" Rogue asked as he caught her arm and stopped her from entering the off hall into the west of the building. She turned to him and looked at him seriously, "do you remember the last time you didn't have your powers completely under control, Remy?"

He dropped his hand from her elbow and looked at her, he didn't like to think of it, although it still somewhat haunted him. The pain was not only vaguely emotional, but he still had echoes of the physical pain that the accident that left Jared Rickman no longer living were still carried with Remy LeBeau years later, and it was not easily forgettable.

Remy tried to compose himself, "that wasn't the same thing. And that wasn't my fault either," he tried to justify, "it took two people for that to happen – he put his goddamn hand right through my body and held onto my fucking spine! I didn't know I was charging that dresser up!"

"Remy..." Rogue sighed, she took a firm hold of his shoulders; he felt her long fingernails slightly dig through the thin t-shirt he was wearing. "Massive fluctuations in powers and new manifestations of powers – that isn't anything to just play around with like it's nothing. There's kids here...everyone we know and love is here, and Kitty will be bringing her baby here tomorrow..." Rogue reminded, "and what about Jessie...?"

He dropped his eyes to the floor at the mention of Jessie's name; he'd been trying to ignore the strange paternal instincts that seemed to surface whenever he was near the little girl. The logical answers all made sense and he didn't want them to – and what was worse, it felt more than logical. It felt...it felt stronger than anything else he'd ever felt.

"You don't want anything to happen to her, right?" Rogue put her gloved hand on his cheek and tilted his face so he would look at her.

"Of course I don't," he recoiled from her; the discussion left him feeling very uneasy. He sighed, "I just..."

"Why are you so scared that we know about your powers?" Rogue asked, "is there...is there something we should know?"

"Of course not," he uttered, "I just..." he swallowed, "I don't like being poked and prodded, and being forced to test my limitations, okay?"

Rogue folded her arms insecurely; it was her turn to look away now, "you didn't mind when you wanted me to test mine," she pointed out.

"That was different..." he retorted, "Your limitations haven't been tested yet. Mine have for years."

"You've been different since...since you had that outer-body experience thing," she kicked an imaginary stone off the marble tiled floor, "the Remy I used to know was comfortable and fearless, but these days...seems like you're nervous...uneasy...maybe even scared."

Remy looked at her, "if I tell the Professor and Hank about this – what will they do to me?"

She began to make her way back to the Christmas tree, "DNA testing, expose you to various different situations...they might put you through a reflex test, to see if reflex in a dangerous situation will bring out any hidden abilities you didn't know you had."

"I don't have any other abilities..." he followed her, "but whatever it was...it acted as a barrier between your powers and my skin...I felt you...I felt how soft your hand was...how warm it was..."

She stopped at the tree, she tapped one of the glittering baubles and watched it shimmer in the glimmering lights. Remy stopped up behind her, she felt his arms wrap around her and rest against her waist.

"Maybe you're right," he sighed near her ear, he kissed her shoulder, she felt the warm pressure of his mouth on the cotton of her blouse; "Maybe ain't your power limitations we gotta be testin'. Maybe...maybe it be mine."