He crept down to the kitchen careful not to disturb the silence of the mansion at the early morning hour. He hadn't been able to sleep since his admission to Logan, but it had taken several hours to convince himself to leave the safe confines of his room. Even after that he had sat atop the stairs for a long time as well. He entered the kitchen and sighed in relief when he found it empty.
He walked into the pantry and retrieved a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. He deposited the items on the kitchen table before pulling a plate out of the cupboard and a knife out of the drawer. He opened the fridge in search of jelly and took some milk out as well. At this point if someone caught him they would think that he was only looking for a midnight snack.
To most people it was just a simple snack and he felt it was too often taken for granted. He remembered the first time he bit into the sweet treat and how full it made his stomach feel. There were very few foods that could do the same thing. He would never admit that even now when hunger wasn't a problem; it was still his favorite food. He made two sandwiches and considered making a third, but decided against it. He cut them diagonally because that was the way Stormy always seemed to do it. Then he poured milk into a coffee mug because it would be easier to carry.
Silently he crept to the hidden elevator that would take him to the medlab. Hesitation still lingered as the doors closed and the lift began to move downward. He wasn't sure who he would find down there at this time of night, but he pushed on regardless. As the door opened on the ground floor he had an overwhelming urge to flee. He forced himself to step out of the elevator instead and almost spilled the milk he carried when he made sure he stopped to put on his sunglasses in order to hide his eyes. It was already dark down there and he blinked for a moment to adjust his vision as the glasses made it even darker, but he thought they might be necessary.
As he stood just outside the door to the medlab he second guessed his chosen meal, he shouldn't have simply thought about his favorite. This was a kid and normal kids like candy and pizza, not milk and sandwiches. He frowned and walked back towards the elevator as he realized that he had been right earlier; he couldn't help, he didn't know how. He stopped as he made it halfway to the elevator and turned around again. He decided that he may as well leave the food down there in case the boy woke up. No one would guess that it was him.
He opened the door silently like necessity had taught him too. He had spent enough of his life invisible to everyone around him to know how to sneak in unheard. He heard Hank's soft snores from his office and found the main lab empty. He almost left the plate on a table there, but couldn't stop himself from peaking into the adjourning rooms. He trembled slightly at the sight of the small child, still dirty, lying on the medlab bed. Jean was asleep in a chair beside him and Remy knew it was probably only a matter of minutes before his presence would wake her.
He walked towards the nightstand and his barefooted steps resonated loudly in his ears. As he reached his destination he set the cup upon the nightstand while only briefly taking his attention away from the people in the room. As Remy turned back the boy turned frightened eyes towards him and Remy almost dropped the plate. The boy moved to sit against the headboard of the small bed and pulled his knees up to his chin while keeping Remy pinned with his eyes. The scrutiny was too much for Remy and he placed the plate on the bed in distraction.
He watched the boy's eyes fall upon the plate then look towards Jean. It took Remy a moment to realize that he looked beyond Jean at the table beside her. A plateful of uneaten food sat atop it neglected. Remy looked back towards his sad offering and frowned as he knew it didn't compare to the full chicken dinner with potatoes and vegetables that the boy had obviously declined earlier. "Sorry," he whispered in a voice that was barely audible.
He didn't know what else to say so he quickly turned and walked back towards the door. "The price?" he heard the child ask nervously and he froze momentarily as bad memories washed upon him. He had asked that question more times then he would ever care to admit. Answering the boy without giving a price would accomplish nothing and he knew that wholeheartedly. Just as Logan had said a few hours earlier, he had been that kid once and on the streets everything had a price.
He turned around slowly to make sure that the boy knew that he wouldn't make a sudden movement. "Your name," Remy offered. It sounded reasonable enough to him and although he doubted the X-Men would understand, he knew that the child in front of him would.
The boy offered a slight hopeful smile and Remy wasn't sure if the relief that washed over him belonged to him or the child. "Cameron," he offered before looking back down at the plate.
"I'm Remy," he replied nervously. "It's yours Cameron," he offered with a nod. "The milk too," he added without gesture.
"Thank you," the boy said almost inaudibly before reaching for the plate and drawing it to himself quickly in case Remy suddenly changed his mind. Remy backed up towards the door and glanced over at Jean and noticed with surprise that she was somehow still asleep. "Will you be back?" Cameron asked with a mouthful of food.
"Yes," Remy assured as he glanced back at the boy. "But I gotta go," he added as he opened the door.
"Okay," Cameron replied as he continued to quickly eat the meal that Remy had provided.
Remy moved silently back upstairs, intent on getting back to his room quickly. He realized that what he had worried about the last few hours had been confirmed by his trip downstairs. Cameron would be helped instead of neglected the way Remy had been as a child. Cameron would be accepted by the X-Men in a way that Remy could only dream about. Cameron was going to be given the life that Remy had always wanted, but would never have. He was scared of a starving 10 year old boy who had probably gone through hell on the streets because Cameron invoked a jealousy stronger then Remy had ever experienced, and that terrified him.
He was so preoccupied as he opened the door to his room that he jumped when he heard Logan's voice. "Kiddo," the man said from down the hall. Remy ignored him and proceeded into his room before closing the door and locking it. He couldn't deal with Logan right now; he could barely deal with himself.
He walked across the room and lay down on his bed before pulling the covers up to his chin. He ignored the knock on his door and the rattling of the doorknob that followed a few seconds after. He hoped that Logan could take the hint and leave him alone. He reached into a drawer in his nightstand and pulled out an old rosary that he found when he was too young to understand what it was. He held it against his chest as he whispered prayers of forgiveness to whatever deity was listening that night. He didn't want to hold any bitterness towards a child.
He allowed tears to leak from his eyes and felt them burn his cheeks because he knew that he didn't deserve them. "Remy," he heard Logan say through the doorway and he wondered why the man was still there. "Open the door," Logan suggested, but Remy pulled his blankets tighter instead. He kissed the rosary when his prayers had ended and watched teardrops briefly caress the small cross. He once again held it to his chest as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Logan stood in the hallway much longer then he probably should have, but Remy's revelation earlier that night had him worried about the kid. He heard his nearly silent sobs through the door and didn't want Remy to have to deal with the harsh reality alone. He had no desire to break into the room if he wasn't wanted, but he lingered and let the kid know he was there just in case. When he heard gentle prayers turn into even breathes he walked back to his own room.
The next morning came quicker than any of them had anticipated. Jean awoke to find the little boy sound asleep with all the covers of the bed pulled up over him and clenched in his small hands. The empty plate beside him confused her as she looked back at the food the boy had refused the night before. She smiled with relief as she lifted it off the bed and found crumbs upon the comforter.
She picked up the dish from the table beside her as well and walked into the lab room quietly. She wasn't surprised to find Hank already awake and working on a project. "Good Morning," she greeted with a smile. He replied with the same greeting only briefly turning away from his calculations. She wasn't insulted by his lack of interest in conversing, it was early and he was busy. "I'm going to go get some coffee," she explained. "Let me know if he wakes up."
"Of course," he replied. "How did our young friend sleep?" he inquired.
"Miraculously I believe he slept well," she explained. "Do you know who came down last night? I'm surprised they didn't wake me."
He looked surprised as well, "I wasn't awoken by anyone's entrance," he confirmed.
"Someone convinced him to eat," she said as she held out the empty plate.
"That is a relief," Hank admitted.
Jean nodded before walking away from him in search of coffee. She happily greeted her husband as she entered the kitchen and Scott stood up and kissed her good morning before inviting her to sit down while he poured her some coffee and gathered a breakfast plate. Ororo sat at the table eating her own breakfast and she greeted Jean with a smile as she joined her at the table. "How was our guest last night?" she questioned when early morning greetings finished being exchanged.
"Surprisingly good," she explained. "It started out rough, but he calmed down. He's still asleep, I asked Hank to alert me if he wakes."
"I shall sit with him a while," Ororo suggested. "You deserve a break." Jean had been the logical choice to stay downstairs overnight because Ororo's claustrophobia prevented her from doing so and they all felt the girls would have an easier time reassuring the boy. He hadn't talked to them at all, but that wasn't unexpected.
Meanwhile, upstairs Logan lingered in his room longer than usual as he listened for the Cajun to open his door. He wasn't going to wait very long, but he couldn't stop himself from stalling his descent to breakfast. He needed to at least offer to talk to the kid about what he had revealed the day before. Remy would need someone to talk to about it and Logan knew he was the only one who knew Remy's secret. He tried to prevent judgmental thoughts from clouding his view of the situation because the harshness of Remy's admission trumped the lie.
A/N: Thank you so much to Prexistence, gryphenvoid, BJ2, Heather Valentine-Highwind, Vickie63, BlkDiamond, and lelann37 for your encouragement, it is very much appreciated! Thanks for reading, Callie