Part 2 - What's in a Name?

"She's, like, SO CUTE!" Kitty Pryde gushed, hovering over the sleeping mutant infant in Jean Grey's arms. Very close to tears of joy, Jean agreed, "Ya, she really is. I-I can't believe she's alive."

"We would have our young Cajun friend to thank for that," Dr. Hank McCoy announced as he walked into the rec room, carrying the armful of supplies he fetched from his lab. He also went down there to check on the aforementioned Cajun, who was still passed out from exhaustion, with Storm keeping watch and lovingly petting his shaggy auburn hair.

At the mention of Gambit, however, the present X-Women, especially Rogue, became visibly tense, as well as angry. None had forgiven him for his involvement in the Morlock Massacre. Most wanted still wanted to see him dead. They certainly weren't going to cut him any slack just for saving a baby. Beast sighed in frustration, and returned to his lab to gather more supplies for setting the child up in a room.

Almost as soon as the doctor left, a loud BAMF was quickly followed up by "Wo ist das Baby? Ich will das Baby halten!" (Where is the baby? I want to hold the baby!)

Everyone present turned to stare blankly at the fuzzy blue elf bouncing happily in the center of the room. His yellow eyes were fully of delight, and his pointed canines were shining from inside a wide smile. The strange looks he was getting didn't even faze the Amazing Nightcrawler as he suddenly caught sight of the bundle in Jean's arms.

With another BAMF he was right in front of the redhead, hopping from foot to two-toed foot as he pleaded, "Can I hold zee baby? Bitte! Bitte! Bitte!" (Please! Please! Please!)

"Chill, Kurt," Kitty soothed, giggling at the man's behavior, "She's sleeping, so you can only hold her if you promise to, like, calm down."

"Ja! Promise!" He replied, holding out his three-digited hands expectantly. Jean seemed reluctant to give the little girl up, but still carefully laid her in Kurt's waiting arms.

He immediately BAMFed out of sight. After a brief moment of shock, all the women began screaming for him to get his furry blue ass back there, tearing the mansion apart in search of him. The elf was AWOL for exactly ten minutes, and then reappeared in the kitchen, accompanied by a noxious cloud of sulfurous brimstone and an absolutely inconsolable infant screaming bloody murder in his arms.

"KURT WAGNER!" Rogue, first to notice his less than triumphant return, shouted as she stomped directly towards her brother, "What do yah think you're doin, kidnappin' a little baby lahke that? Where'd yah take her?" The untouchable's eyes were blazing with anger, her gloved fists balled tightly at her sides.

"Sorry!" He offered fearfully, holding the wailing child out in front of himself like a shield. Seeing as how Rogue didn't punch him in the head right away, the strategy was a successful one, allowing him a few moments to explain, "I had to take her to zee church for an emergency baptism!"

"Emergency bap..." The woman gaped, caught in the midst of a momentary loss for words, which didn't last very long, "What in the hell for?" Kurt gave her a look of confusion, announcing, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "To save her little soul."

With an exasperated groan, Rogue seized the screaming infant from her brother, tucking it under her completely covered arm as she scolded, "We were worried sick, Kurt! Yah could've asked!" In reply, he pouted, "I am sorry, Meine Schwester. I vas zinking only of zee little baby. She eez no longer in danger of an eternity in Limbo."

Rogue sighed heavily, recognizing Kurt's good intentions, even if his methods were... odd. She didn't have a chance to respond though, because Kitty came barreling into the room, squealed, and then seized Baby X from her arms. "Like, there you are, Tiffany!" She cooed, waving the obviously unhappy infant in the air above her head, "I know your big bad Uncle Kurt, like, totally baby-napped you, but don't cry. Auntie Kitty is here now, and she's gonna protect you from the crazy blue elf, even if she has to leave him phased halfway through a wall."

The valley girl glared at Kurt, silently warning that she was dead serious. However, he just grinned, teasing, "You forget, Fräulein Kitty, I can do zees."

BAMF BAMF BAMF echoed in rapid succession throughout the large room, a blue blur popping from the counter to the fridge to the table to the door back to the counter. Kurt wore a proud grin. The baby, frightened by the noise, screamed louder.

Kitty continued to scowl, clutching Baby X to her chest as she growled, "Then I guess I'll have to just, like, use my Nair instead. I bet you won't be nearly this cocky when you're completely bald!" Yellow eyes went wide, and, with an audible gulp, Kurt backed slowly away. He then BAMFed for all he was worth.

"Nahce one, Kit. Ah couldn't have done it better mahself," Rogue commented, attempting to entertain the screaming infant by jingling a set of keys in front of her face. It only made the small creature's wailing ten times more severe. Wincing, the goth took a step back, observing stoically, "Ah think she's upset cuz yah called her Tiffany."

"Like, what's wrong with Tiffany?" Her friend asked as she tried to rock the baby mutant into silence, "I think it's a beautiful and totally classy name!"

With an eye roll, Rogue responded, "She's got horns. Ah don't think Tiffany really suits her."

"I like zee name Lily!" Kurt contributed, his suggestion muffled by the three-room buffer he'd put between himself and the deranged valley girl.

Outraged, Rogue announced, "No way! We should call her Thorn! That would fit great, what with the horns and all!"

"Are we trying to name the X-Baby again? I wanna play!" Bobby announced as he bounced excitedly into the room, immediately snatching the little girl from Kitty's grasp. He held the wailing monster at arms length, then declared, "I'm gonna go with Lucky, cuz she's super lucky to be alive."

"Bobby Drake!" Kitty shrieked indignantly, attempting to wrestle Baby X from the obviously unbalanced Iceman, "That is a dog's name! We are not naming her a dog's name! Like, give her back!"

Jean, Scott, and Jubilee chose that moment to show up, and all hell broke loose as every X-man or -woman present vehemently championed his or her opinion on the naming of Baby X, whose screaming and crying was completely ignored. It wasn't until ten minutes later, when Logan stalked angrily into the room, that the arguing finally died into a frightened near-silence.

He snarled deeply, his dark gaze sweeping over the inhabitants of the room like he wanted to kill them all before finally settling on the distressed infant trying to fight its way out of Kitty's grasp. Without a word, he snatched the screaming pink monster (the baby, not the valley girl), turned, and stomped out.

"Like, what's his problem?" Kitty mused perkily, earning nothing but a shrug from everyone except Jean. "The Professor sent him out to track down whoever dumped little Brianna," The telepath reported sadly, "My guess is that he found them."

xxXxx

"Where's the off button on you, Tiny?" Logan grunted, trying to get the baby to stop screaming and squirming in his arms. The red-faced girl only wailed louder, balled fists swinging and little feet kicking wildly. He groaned, and stalked just a little bit faster towards Professor X's office.

"Chuck," He grunted desperately as he barged in without knocking, finding the Professor seated at his desk, "None of those kids is fit to baby-sit. I don't know what the hell we're gonna do with it."

The telepath looks unexpectedly surprised at the situation that had just landed in his lap, especially after sensing from Logan that the students were slightly neglectful towards the baby. He couldn't sense any distress from her, nor does he now despite being in the same room with the child.

"Curious," The man mumbles, taking the girl from Wolverine. Trying his hand at calming her down and failing just as miserably as everyone else, Xavier inquires, "I take it you located the people who dumped our newest member?"

Logan gives an irritated grunt, pulling a bunch of papers out of the inside lining of his leather jacket, unfolding them as he snarls over the infant's cries, "Yup. And you're gonna love this one." Holding the packet in his hands, he reads the names once more before handing it across, "The Reverend and Mrs. McMorrison claimed to have been praying for kids for the last ten years, and were horrified when she gave birth to the demon at home yesterday. The horns cut the woman up so badly that she'll never be able to have another kid, and, instead of being thankful for the one they got, they drove out together and dumped her in front of the school. They told their church congregation it was stillborn. The whole house was crawling with people comforting them. It made me sick. They were so worried about any embarrassment I might cause that they signed her over with very little... coercion."

"Everyone's out to spoil your fun, aren't they, Logan?" The Professor teased, smirking as he bounced the shrieking girl in his arms. At a growl from the Wolverine, Xavier cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Well, thank you. So they did sign the papers then? She is legally my ward?"

"Ya," Logan responded, throwing himself down into one of the empty chairs, "It's all legal. They surrendered parental rights and put her in your care indefinitely."

Nodding the Professor then asked, "And did the McMorrison's happen to name their daughter before they dumped her?"

"Sort of," The gruff Canadian mutters, "The woman kept crying and carrying on, saying how her little girl was supposed to be named Mary Rachel, but now that the demon had taken hold of her, she would have to have a name like Lilith, or Jezebel, or Salome, or Delilah. She just kept listing off all these evil biblical characters until I finally told her to shut her big fat mouth. I'm sorry, Chuck, but I have no patience for people like her."

With a noncommittal nod, the Professor states, "It's alright, Logan. I understand your frustration... Well, I suppose this means we still don't have a name for the child. None of the suggested ones seems exactly... suitable."

The girl was still screaming and crying and struggling in Xavier's arms, her demonic little face flushed red. However, despite her obvious unhappiness, he still couldn't sense her with his powers. Babys' minds don't hold much, but he could at least see into most of them, feel when they're happy, sad, hungry, scared, tired. This child though, her mind was encased in concrete. He hadn't come across anyone with shields like hers since he met Remy LeBeau...

"Strange..." He thought to himself, making some connections between her shields and eyes, and Gambit's actions in saving her life. "Perhaps a power transfer occurred... or a life-force sharing..."

"Remy! Please stop! You are going to injure yourself further!"

"Yes, I must insist that you go back to bed right this instant!"

"Non! Where is she?"

A few moments later, the door of the office was thrown open to reveal a very displeased, sickly Cajun. Behind him, Ororo and Hank were sending pleading looks at the Professor, trying to elicit his help in coaxing Remy back into the medlab to rest. He'd been in a frenzy ever since he woke up, struggling upstairs to search frantically for the baby girl.

He saw her crying in Xavier's arms, and immediately snarled, crossing the room in only a few strides before snatching her away from the telepath. Carefully, he cradled the girl against his thin chest, murmuring soothing nonsense in French as he let his anger and fear melt away. She made him feel safe, gave him a purpose, a path to redemption. If he could protect her from being knocked around by life the way he had, then he had a reason to go on.

And the girl did seem to feel safe with Remy, her cries slowly quieting as she cuddled into his warmth, grabbing handfuls of his hospital scrubs and yawning cutely. Remy couldn't help the small smile that came across his face as he watched the horned infant fall asleep. She was his now. He would keep her safe, and God help anyone who tried to stop him.

"Remy," The Professor stated gently, not even getting the Cajun to look at him, "Remy, please, why don't you take a seat and rest for a few moments. We should talk."

"Non," He insisted breathlessly, still struggling with his weak lungs as he continued, "Dey's nothing left for Remy to say to you people... Stormy, I wanna go back to de medlab."

Despite the fact that no one thought they would ever hear Gambit utter that phrase, Ororo nodded, laying a guiding hand on his shoulder as she agreed, "Yes, of course. Let us go."

Once they left the room, Remy still carrying the calmed child tight against his chest, Xavier leaned back into his wheelchair and sighed. Tenting his slim fingers against his lips, the telepath shared significant looks with Wolverine and Beast before stating, "I sense nothing from our young Cajun, but I doubt there is any hope of ever regaining his trust."

"Can't blame him," Logan growled quietly, his eyes still on the empty doorframe.

xxXxx

The walk back to the medlab was slow for more than one reason. Breathing was still very difficult for Remy, but that was not purely his motivation for the leisurely pace. He already had a plan in mind, one that would free him and the girl from the clutches of the X-Men, hopefully forever.

"Stormy," He rasped, trying to sound as pathetic as possible--though it didn't take much effort--as he stopped to lean against the wall right beside a large framed landscape, "I need dat... dat... air... breathe... t'ing..."

"Oxygen mask?" The white-haired woman offered as she helped him sit down on the hallway floor, "You are having trouble breathing?" At a weak nod from Remy as he continued to gasp and wheeze, Storm ran for the medlab, announcing, "Do not fear. I will bring the oxygen mask."

As soon as she was gone, Remy dropped the act. Well, mostly. His breathing still sucked, but he could easily get to his feet, balancing the baby in the crook of one arm as he pried up the landscape from the wall. After pawing for a moment, he was able to find the small prepaid cell phone he taped to the back of it a few years ago. Call him paranoid, but Gambit had lots of emergency supplies hidden throughout the mansion. He liked knowing that they were there if he ever needed them.

Since he turned out to actually end up needing them, perhaps the practice wasn't so misguided.

He had just enough time to hide the phone in the baby's blanket and reassume his seat on the floor before Storm came rushing back with a small green oxygen bottle and clear plastic mask. The young Cajun allowed his friend to fuss over him because, if all went according to plan, he would probably never see her again...

xxXxx

Remy had to wait until nearly three in the morning before he was finally left alone. Hank and Ororo were worried about him, despite the fact that he adamantly insisted he was fine, and 'kept him company' until they both couldn't keep their eyes open any longer.

Once they were gone, the plan went into action.

After tucking his dozing baby into the crook of his arm, he fished the hidden cell phone out from under his pillow and dialed a number he'd known by heart since long before his earliest memory.

The other end rang and rang and rang, so many times that Remy's heart was in his throat as he silently prayed for an answer. Finally, the other end clicked and he heard an exhausted, blessedly familiar voice grunt, "Jean-Luc. Dis better be good."

Suddenly finding himself near tears, Remy rasped, "Papa..."

Silence on the other end, and then a harsh, almost heartbroken demand of, "Who is dis?"

"Papa," The young Cajun gasped, "Papa, it's Remy."

"Remy's dead," The man on the other end snarled sadly, "And ya ain't funny, homme. I should have ya killed for dis."

Unable to keep the smirk out of his voice, Gambit argued, "Nah, you love dis Cajun too much to kill him. And it'd be awful hard for Remy to be talkin' to his père if he was dead, don't you tink?"

Again, silence met him from the other end, long, charged silence before Jean-Luc cautiously ordered, "If you're Remy, den prove it. Tell me someting only he would know."

Chuckling, the auburn-haired mutant leaned back into his hospital bed and carefully arranged the sleeping baby girl to lie on his chest. "How about de time when I was ten and you caught me hotwiring Henri's car?" He supplied helpfully, "You were so proud I figured out how to do it all on my own dat you didn't even punish me."

Tenderly stroking the infant's soft black hair, he heard one more silence and then, "Remy! Mon dieu! We thought you was... they told us... where are ya? I'm comin' to get ya right this second! You have any idea what ya put this family through, boy?"

"Papa," He finally laughed, feeling unbelievably good just from the sound of his father's worrying and protectiveness, and even the scolding, "Calm down. Dat's why I called. De situation got a little complicated, an' I need your help..."

"Anyt'ing," Jean-Luc instantly replied, "I don't care about the Guild or the exile. I just want my fils home. It's been far too quiet 'round here lately."

Remy smiled down at his girl--his daughter, he decided--just in time for her to open her mouth and let out a loud, healthy wail. Chuckling lightly, the Cajun stated, "I'm glad you feel dat way, Papa..."

xxXxx

In the morning, against her will, Rogue was coerced into delivering a tray of food and baby bottles to the infirmary. If Hank could have gotten anyone else to do it, he definitely would have. Putting the pair within a hundred feet of each other was just asking for trouble, but he had no choice. Everyone else had gone out on an emergency call just an hour earlier and he was on his way out the door as well.

So Rogue carried the tray to the medlab, grumbling all the while, and when she stepped inside she was met with a rather curious sight.

Remy was on his back on one of the gurneys towards the middle of the room, a wide smile gracing his hollow, emaciated, still handome features as he held the giggling baby girl over his head. He was making faces at the dark-haired child, the both of them laughing as she kicked her little feet and the smooth red horns on her forehead shined in the soft fluorescent light.

It was cute.

And sickening.

"The Professor must be real desperate for a babysitter if he's letting yah anywhere near Thorn," Rogue bit scathingly, slamming the tray down onto a table. Not startled at all, Gambit hardly even acknowledged the untouchable's presence. He kept laughing and playing, teasing, "Who is dis Thorn? Don't know anyone with dat name, do we, petite?"

"Knock it off," Rogue growled, fists balled at her sides, "Yah don't just get to do what yah did and then claim some innocent child as your own!"

Determined not to waist anymore of his life on the fiery Southerner, Remy shrugged and brightly responded, "Don't care much for your opinion anymore."

With an annoyed huff, Rogue blew streaked white bangs out of her green eyes, snapping, "Fahne. I'll be back in a half hour. Hank gave orders for you and the baby to nap after lunch." The young woman turned on her heel and stomped from the room, completely unaware that it would be the last time she'd see Remy and the girl for a very long time.

xxXxx

"She's gone," Remy muttered when he was sensed Rogue was out of earshot. Not halting playtime, the Cajun glanced up through the blackout shades that shielded his onyx eyes at a covered AC vent in the ceiling above his head, his smirk widening when a familiar pair of brown eyes peered back through the slats.

"How da hell do you do dat, petite frère?" Henri LeBeau's chuckle echoed as its owner carefully removed the grate and gracefully vaulted to the medlab floor. He didn't wait for an answer, immediately grabbing his frail brother into a desperate hug. He knew Remy would probably be in bad shape, but nothing prepared the man to see his vivacious and energetic little brother so thin and sick. He was filled with rage at those responsible and wanted nothing more than to kill them all.

"You kiddin, Henri?" Remy joked, shutting both his eyes and letting out a tired, relieved breath as he hugged his brother right back, "I sensed you from miles away. You ain't never been one for stealth." His shields were stronger then than they'd ever been before, but that just kept people out of his mind. Emotions were another story entirely. Remy could still feel the anger coming off of Henri and he fought back a spell of nausea. He could've let go and possibly felt better, but he just didn't want to, not after almost losing his brother.

"Brat," The elder LeBeau child teased, near tears and, despite everything, just so fucking happy, "Mon dieu. It really is you."

Smiling broadly and basking in the elated emotions he could feel steadily replacing all the anger, Remy rasped, "Da one and only."

"You find him yet?" A new voice called, followed very closely after by a head of shaggy, red-blonde hair poking upside down from the vent. The blue eyes of Francis "Lapin" Benoit went wide as he set his sights on the hugging brothers and a giant smile spread across his small impish face. He was gone a moment later, but his bubbly voice echoed throughout the room, calling elatedly, "Ey! Tweedles! Over here!"

After hearing some scrapping and banging--not to mention a lot of bickering and swearing--from inside the thin ceiling tiles, Remy watched as three bodies dropped to the floor beside the gurney on which he was still seated. Lapin immediately grabbed him into an affectionate hug, leaving him to stare at the identical, almost unfamiliar pair of teenagers standing in the middle of the room. "Damn," The mutant thief muttered, surveying his young cousins in amazement, "You two got big." Last time he saw the Benoit twins, they were around thirteen and tiny, definitely not the duo of behemoths before him.

The two boys grinned, flicking dark hair out of their sets of deep green eyes with a pair of perfectly timed movements. Muscular and broad-shouldered, the sixteen-year-old twins were clad all in black and already taller than their older brother. And Remy already knew they would never let Lapin forget it, either.

"Emile, Theo," Remy greeted, nodding to each while a smile still dominated his ragged features, "How ya been?" The one on the left, Theo, smiled and shifted nervously on the balls of his feet as he answered politely, "Bon, Cousin Remy. Yourself?"

Emile gave his twin a hard elbow in the gut, mocking, "Ain't it obvious, idiot? We're here rescuin 'im from de clutches of a bunch of evil assholes and he can't hardly breathe!" With a pout, Theo punched his brother back, crossly arguing, "Well, I thought he might be excited about getting to go home and have Tante cook for him!" Remy smirked. Theo had been thinking with his stomach since long before he was born, and it was nice to know that some things never changed.

Rolling his eyes, Lapin turned to Henri and, annoyed, asked, "Why did we bring dem again?" Smirking and still not letting go of Remy, Henri responded, "So we didn't have to drag de bodies ourselves. Quit whining, I still ain't been introduced to my niece yet."

"Oh ya! Where is de little hellion?" Lapin chirped, his long limbs twitching excitedly as he bounced around to stand in front of the LeBeau brothers. Remy smiled, remembering exactly how his cousin had earned his nickname within seconds of witnessing his barely-contained, unconscious speed.

But he didn't have much time to dwell on that because his brother and cousins were looking expectantly from him to the squirming baby girl in his arms. "Dis," He stated, proudly holding the infant out for inspection by her new family, "Is Juliette Renée LeBeau. Ain't she belle?"

"Sure is," Emile agreed, reaching out to playfully ruffle the wisps of black hair on her little head and smiling when she tracked him with her shining ruby-onyx eyes, "You got a little heartbreaker on your hands, Cousin Remy."

"Lemme hold her," Henri requested, grinning when an uneasy expression came across his brother's face. "What, afraid I'll drop ya bébé?" He teased, "Got three of my own, Remy, and plenty of experience."

With a low whistle, Remy replied, "Three? Merde. Last time I heard it was only two. I have been gone a long time..." He got lost in a moment of reflection, but finally did come back to earth, and when he did he carefully handed little Juliette over to his brother. The tall brunette cuddled her close, cooing and making faces as he introduced, "Bonjour, bien-aime. I'm your Oncle Henri." (Hello, sweetheart.)

"What're their names?" Remy questioned softly, bitter-sweet. "Huh?" Henri replied, not bothering to look up from the pretty little girl, tickling her stomach and smiling even more brightly when she laughed and squirmed in his arms. Chuckling, Remy clarified, "My nephews?"

"Oh," His brother laughed, "Well, you know already know Nicolas and Simon, they're five and four now. Anatole is the youngest. He's two. And Lapin just had one a few months ago."

"You're kiddin me," Remy gaped, staring at his cousin in awe. He never figured the fidgety, flighty redhead as the family type. He hardly believed it when he heard Lapin had gotten married three years ago, to a lovely woman named Lucille, and finding out he had a kid definitely short-circuited quite a few brain cells.

Lapin grinned, his thin chest swelling with pride as he answered, "'Fraid not. It's like you always feared. I have propagated. His name's Christien, but his maman's been callin him Élan since he was born. Weighed twelve fucken pounds." (Moose)

Laughing and trying to ignore the pain it caused him, Remy teased, "You mean he didn't come out scrawny as hell and already running his mouth off? Must not be yours den." Scowling, Lapin reached out and playfully punched his auburn-haired cousin in the shoulder.

Remy winced, sucking a sharp breath through clenched teeth and shutting his eyes to block out the pain from the blow. Almost immediately, the room was silent aside from Juliette's happy little gurgles. "Aw, hell, Remy," Lapin mumbled, sheepish and guilty and filled with rage at the people who had done this to the man he had always considered his brother and best friend, " Désolé. I forgot-"

"It's alright," Remy sighed, dizzy and tired and nauseas and cold and anxious to leave, "I'll be alright." After a few moments, he managed to open his eyes and didn't like the sad stares he was receiving from his family. "What kind of rescue mission is dis?" The young man joked weakly, "All a yal standing around yakking? Thought ya were trained better."

Lapin rolled his eyes, complaining, "Always telling us how to do our damn jobs..." Pushing shaggy red-blonde hair off his forehead, he motioned Emile and Theo back to the open AC vent and ordered, "Tweedles, you got work to do." Smirking sarcastically, the twins answered with identical, perfectly timed salutes and a chorus of, "Yes, little brother. Right away, little brother." The teens moved towards the vent, Theo easily reaching up and struggling to wrestle down an awkward black duffle bag as Emile tried to help but mostly just ran his mouth off and got in the way.

"Henri, you'd better remind me real quick that I'm not allowed to kill them," Lapin grumbled as he glowered at their backs. He was disappointed when Henri laughed, "You're not allowed to kill the twins. Y' père would be mad."

"Damn," Lapin cursed, frowning. The frown quickly disappeared, however, when his eyes fell on Juliette. "Hey, I want a turn," He demanded, holding his arms out expectantly. At a permissive nod from Remy, Henri carefully handed her over.

Lapin bounced the newborn, smiling at her elated screech as he remarked, "Aw, she's sweet. Élan's gonna love getting a playmate. Hey, Remy, bet they'll end up like you and me, hun?" A nostalgic smile coming across his face, the mutant laughed, "Ya, but hopefully without as many explosions and head injuries." Lapin chuckled, gravely agreeing, "Oui, I'd prefer mon fils to have eyebrows and normal CAT scans during his childhood... I sure as hell didn't..."

"Ok, we're all set up," Emile announced, not seeing Theo rolls his eyes behind his back as he grumbled, "You mean I'm all set up." A full on pout settling over his handsome features, Emile sounded hurt as he argued, "I helped." Theo glared.

Remy smiled at his cousins before examining the large black duffle they'd laid out on the floor. He knew exactly what was inside. It was his plan, after all. "Great," He stated, pushing himself to his feet. He wobbled and almost fell, but Henri caught him with a steadying on the mutant's back. Remy smiled his thanks before taking Juliette from Lapin and continuing, "Let's get going then... I'll, uh, need some help into de vent."

xxXxx

Rogue was swearing under her breath as she stomped back to the medlab, pissed off beyond belief that she'd gotten stuck babysitting the damn Cajun. She wanted nothing to do with that murdering bastard and was annoyed that the Professor was still keeping her off missions. It wasn't like she was the only one responsible for leaving Gambit in Antarctica. Why did she deserve to be punished the worst? Especially when Gambit had had it coming?

She also didn't like that he was allowed to be around the baby. The girl was sweet and innocent, and the damn Cajun would just corrupt her. The untouchable was planning on taking her away as soon as Gambit fell asleep.

Her hand had barely touched the door to the medlab when BOOM a deafening explosion suddenly ripped it off its hinges. Flying backwards as the thick metal door collided with her petite but indestructible frame, Rogue didn't even hear herself scream.

She landed hard, the door crushing and trapping her painfully at the end of the long hallway. Her ears were ringing and her whole body hurt, but she gradually came to realize that an inferno was racing towards her, flames leaping high and consuming everything in their path. The smoke choked her, made her unable to breathe so quickly that she didn't even realize why she was coughing and why her head was spinning.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, just as she was overcome with the impossibly thick smoke, Rogue had some notion that she needed to save Gambit and the baby.

She screamed for Remy.

And then everything went black.

xxXxx

The property damage was immense. Medlab had to be completely gutted and rebuilt, as did three other levels of the mansion's underground. It was only by sheer luck that the fire didn't reach the large quantity of rocket fuel stored in the hangar before the X-Men arrived on the scene.

Bobby found Rogue still trapped under the heavy door, unconscious but alive, and he pulled her to safety.

After the fire was put out, Logan found a pair of scorched bodies in the middle of the charred lab, a man protectively clutching a baby girl to his chest. Both were burned entirely beyond recognition, even with DNA or dental records, not that they bothered with either because they were sure of the identities of the corpses.

Rogue survived, though she was touch-and-go for a few days.

She had no idea what happened.

Two main theories circulated through the school:

One was that Remy had finally lost it and purposely blew up the lab, igniting oxygen tanks and other assorted chemicals with his powers. He killed himself and took the helpless infant with him. He had probably been out get them all. Wasn't it lucky they'd been called away on that false alarm and foiled his plot?

Two was that Remy had suffered too much and lost control of his power. His death was accidental and the fact that the baby girl he loved so much got caught in the crossfire just made the whole event that much more devastating. Wasn't it tragic that they'd pulled the pair back from the brink of death just to have both ripped away in such a senseless instant?

Either way, the Professor had a beautiful magnolia tree planted on the grounds. He had Remy Etienne LeBeau and the nameless baby girl buried side-by-side beneath it, an unmarked, weeping granite angel placed between their graves. He held a memorial service. It was touching. Logan stiffly comforted Ororo while she mourned for her lost brother.

And then they all went on living without the Ragin' Cajun.

But, despite everything, Rogue could still be found some nights beneath the magnolia, her head in her gloved hands as she wept over the grave of the only man she had ever loved.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

aw, sniffle-worthy. Hope you enjoyed and please review!