When the two men reached the boathouse forty five minutes later, there was no sign yet of Remy. Logan wasn't that worried. Remy had said an hour. That meant he'd be here in an hour—give or take about fifteen minutes. The Cajun never could manage to be on time. He was either early, or late, depending on what he was there for, or who was in charge. He was late so often to Danger Room sessions that Scott had started planning his opening speech around it. He'd give everyone a layout of what they were expected to do, what the whole point of the session was, and then when Remy would finally arrive, he'd tell the man what his part in things was without briefing him on anything else. Remy didn't seem to mind. He said it gave him a challenge.
To kill time, Logan showed Spencer upstairs and got him settled into one of the bedrooms there. He'd tried to check in with the Professor and let him know that he had someone here and they were staying down at the boathouse, but Jean had told him that the Professor was out for the night and would be back come morning. However, she'd told him not to worry and gone ahead to put fresh sheets on the bed while they'd gathered their things from Logan's room.
By the time Logan finished getting Spencer settled in, his worry had grown even more. He went back downstairs to try and get himself under control before Remy arrived. When he left the room, Spencer had been lying on the bed with his back towards the door, far too still to be sleeping.
What the hell was he going to do? This was some heavy shit here going on with Spencer and Logan was way out of his depth. Never before had the kid shut down on him this way. Always in the past he'd allowed Logan in, at least somewhat. He'd talked to him, at least. Never had he just completely shut off this way. Just as worrisome was the physical side of things. Spencer had only let Hank examine what was showing. Anything underneath his clothes, except for listening to his heart and lungs, had been off-limits. The minute Hank had suggested it, Spencer had pulled in close to Logan and started to shake his head frantically. Logan hadn't had the heart to press it. Even when Hank quietly suggested to him that there might be some serious damage and maybe sedating him to examine him might be a good idea, Logan had refused. He wouldn't violate Spencer that way. But he had to admit it was tempting.
A knock at the door yanked Logan from his depressing thoughts. He called out "Come in!" and went back to smoking his cigar while he dug through the cupboards to see if there was any of the fixings for coffee in here.
Remy came strolling in with his own lit cigarette dangling between his fingers. He hopped right up on the counter, ignoring Logan's growl, and he rested his arms on his knees. "How'd it go?"
Straightforward and to the point. Perfect. Logan wasn't in the mood for any other bullshit right now. "Shitty." He growled out. In one cupboard he finally found some coffee and he gave a happy growl. About damn time! He tossed that down onto the counter by the pot and moved to get the water. "Blue says he's underweight by a good twenty five pounds, which is a hell of a lot for an already slender kid, and a little dehydrated. I've got vitamins and a calorie count for him now that he's damn well gonna follow."
"Y'll get him straightened out, mon ami." Remy reassured him. "Y' worry bout de body and y' let Remy worry bout de rest fo' now. He'll see what he can find out."
With one hand Logan gestured upstairs while his other hand continued to pour water into the coffee maker. "He's upstairs in his room. Last I saw, he was lying on the bed, but he's awake. I'm warning ya, though. He don't talk much. Not unless I'm there to tell him to."
"Let Remy talk to him alone fo' a bit, cher." Remy said softly. He looked at the staircase and then back to Logan. "Y' can listen if y' want ta. Make y' feel better, maybe. Remy won't hurt him. But don't t'ink he'll talk bout it with y' looming dere."
Logan smiled at Remy. "I know ya aint gonna hurt him, Cajun. If I thought that, you wouldn't be here."
"Merci."
When he walked into the room, Remy had to take a second to find the small figure in there. The long, lanky man he'd seen earlier wasn't immediately visible. He wasn't on the bed as Logan had said. When he finally found him, his heart ached just a little. Spencer had wedged himself behind a chair in the corner of the room. Only the tips of his bare feet were visible. If it hadn't been for the training Remy had that made him search every available hiding spot in a room, he probably would have missed him. Dat's prolly de point. He's hiding.
Usually Remy walked silently; it was a trait from his training as a thief that hung over into his daily life. But now he made sure his footsteps made soft sounds. The last thing he wanted was to startle the hidden man. He moved slowly forward until he was a few feet away. Then, he simply folded himself down to the floor.
There were a couple different options here. One, he could sit and wait, allowing the man to get used to his presence. If he did that, there was a good chance that neither of them would speak the whole night. But it would allow Spencer to become somewhat comfortable around him. Two, he could try and work his way past his walls, talking and using his charm to draw things from him. Or three, he could simply talk to him. Granted, Spencer might not say a thing, but Remy could say plenty. No charm, no trying to push. Just…talk. Option three seemed the smartest one. He didn't want to try and charm the man right away. No, he'd save that as a last resort. But he had to try and find a way to reach the poor soul. Remy couldn't stand seeing someone hurt. Add on that he knew how bad it was for an empath to go this hard, this cold. Plus, this man was important to Logan, someone that Remy looked up to and respected. He'd told Logan he would try to help and that was what he was going to do.
"Hey dere, Spencer. Remy asked Wolvie to let us talk fo' a bit. Thought y' and Remy should get to know one another." He said softly. The words were just a whisper in the room, but it seemed to suit the darkness of the night. Their only light was from the moon stealing in through the windows.
There was no answer from Spencer; not that Remy had expected one. A breakthrough would not happen instantly. But time was of the essence. From Logan's words, Spencer had already been like this for days now. Each day he stayed this way made it worse and worse and even more dangerous. Not only to Spencer, but to those around him. With both telepathy and empathy, if he finally shattered, it could affect quite a few people around him, depending on his strength.
"Remy's gonna be honest with y', mon ami. Wolvie done asked Remy to help with y' cause he's worried fo' y'. An Remy, he's an empath too. Know dat feeling, me. Know what it's like to get dem feelings so stuck in y' dat y' just can't breathe round dem. But locking y'rself away like dis, it aint healthy. Y' just gonna end up hurting y'rself an maybe someone else round y'. Y' gotta feel dese t'ings, Spencer. Y' gotta let it out."
To Remy's utter surprise, Spencer softly said "I know."
Those two words stunned Remy enough that he couldn't speak for a second. He didn't know how to respond to it. "Den why aren't y'?" He eventually asked.
The room was quiet for a few long minutes. Remy said nothing, just waiting for some kind of response. He could tell that Spencer was trying to gather his thoughts to himself. So Remy gave him the silence to find the words he wanted. Finally, Spencer answered him. "You understand the empathy, having lived it yourself. I appreciate that you have sound advice to give. But you, as well as everyone else, have not stopped to factor in all the variables."
The scientific way that he spoke intrigued Remy. He recalled what Logan had been saying when Remy had entered the Med Lab. This man was extremely intelligent. It would make sense that his speech reflected that. "Variables?" He prompted. Simple questions sometimes got the best results.
This time wasn't any different. "Yes." Spencer whispered. He took a deep, shaky breath. "My eidetic memory, for one. I never forget anything I've seen. Never. The telepathy, for another. Not only do I have my own images to contend with, but what I've seen in the minds of others as well. Add all of these variables together and I have not only my emotions, but the emotions of the other person, the memory to perfectly preserve something whether I like it or not, my memories, and the memories of the other person. It no longer becomes a simple matter of releasing the emotions. It becomes a battle to maintain sanity in the midst of this onslaught, using all of my strength, leaving next to nothing left over to try and figure out a safe way to release this."
Haunting white eyes lifted to Remy, shining with the light of the moon, almost glowing in the darkened room. "I've listened to my friends ask me to let this go. I've listened to Logan pleading with me to release the feelings. Now, he sends you in here, hoping you'll connect with me. Hoping you'll convince me to let these feelings out and to feel again. To stop being so numb. But not a one of you grasp what that entails. No one has stopped to think about how I could do this. It's not just the emotions that are eating away at me. It's the thoughts that aren't mine. The memories that aren't mine. They're twined together so that I can't release one without the other. And if I release them, they roam free to terrorize anyone around me. Or I can release them to one person and drive them mad with what I see and feel. Is that what you want? Do you want to experience this? Do you want me to allow those around me to live with this?"
Those eyes closed and Remy felt for the first time some emotion coming from the man in the corner; a man that was so much more than Remy had realized. What he felt was exhaustion.
"None of you have any idea what you're asking of me." Spencer whispered. His voice sounded beyond tired. "Now please, let me sleep. Let me make another nightly attempt at peace, even though I know I'm doomed to fail. Please."
What could Remy do? He couldn't resist the broken plea. Silently he rose, taking a second to look down at Spencer. "I will find a way to help y'." He swore softly. Turning, he made his way to the door.
Just as he opened it, one foot already out, he heard Spencer's quiet reply. "I hope to whatever God there is that you can, Remy LeBeau. Before it's too late."
It was a tempting thing to try and listen in to whatever was going on upstairs. Somehow, Logan managed to resist. He'd give them their privacy. Maybe Spencer would open up without Logan there hovering over him. Maybe he'd actually let Remy in.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs had Logan looking up. The fact that heard Remy coming at all wasn't a good sign. Usually the thief moved silently. Logan pushed up from the table, his coffee cup forgotten, just as Remy came into view. One look at his face had Logan swallowing a curse. "Remy?"
The young Cajun seemed almost in a daze. His eyes looked ancient in that moment; like the weight of ages sat in them. Pain, more than any one soul should have to feel. "Bon Dieu, Wolvie. Dis be so much more dan Remy thought." Lifting his eyes, he looked straight at Logan. It startled the feral man to see the tears built there. How many times had he seen Remy cry in all the years he'd been here? Once? Twice? All of that was forgotten with Remy's next words. "If we don't help him, cher, he'll die. From de pent up t'ings, or by his own hand."
A chill ran down Logan's spine. His gaze shot up toward the bedroom as if he could see the man on the other side and reassure himself that he was still there. Remy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Not tonight, homme. Y'r boy, he wants de help. He does. But…Remy needs to t'ink about dis. Need to t'ink about how we gonna do dis." Bright, demon eyes lifted, focusing on Logan's face. "He's got a ton of shit trapped in dere and he can't let it out. He says he can either release dis inta de air for everyone or to a person. Y'r one of de strongest Remy knows, homme. T'ink y' can take on some of de memories of whatever dis hurt is an not go insane?"
"I'll take on anything I have to for him, Gumbo."
That had Remy smiling slightly. "Remy knew y'd say dat, Wolvie. Y' and Remy gonna help dis po' boy. Y' bring him to de danger room at seven. Remy meet y' dere and we do what we're gonna do. Should have Henri dere. Maybe Jean too, oui? Just in case t'ings get a lil bad."
Logan grinned at him, breaking some of the tension in the moment. "You? You're going to be up at seven?" He taunted him. "I'll believe it when I see it."
The twinkle that came into Remy's eyes was familiar; that teasing personality that was so true to him. He started to make his way toward the door, tossing a grin over his shoulder. "Dat implies Remy's going to sleep at all, mon ami. Dere's work to be done. No rest fo' de wicked." With one final wink, the Cajun was out the door.