Here are my shout outs: Musagirl15, warrior zoe, ishandahalf, Cemikey111, inTHEgrid, Burning Touch, Southern Loner (did you review twice?), Nettlez, Monday's Angel, Nuriiko, TokyoRaven, Professor Horatio Hufnagel, RogueFreak, On My Signal-Unleash Hell, Waterfaucet, and X-Storm. You know how much I appreciate you all.

I don't know if we have to put disclaimers on every chapter but I'll probably keep doing it because I don't really want to get sued. Not that I have any money but hey. . . Marvel owns all unrecognizable characters.

Chapter 7

Remy hated himself; he hated himself for hurting her, he hated himself for losing her and he hated himself more in that moment than he could ever hate her. He hated looking in the mirror every morning and knowing that he was the reason why she wasn't there with him. He hated himself for what he had just done to her; he stood in his room, having made it there without seeing anyone on the way and grateful for the long duster he wore also covered up a problem that had arisen in the Dangeroom. He was painfully aroused by what had happened and in reality he had not intended to hurt her that way. A sparing match was all he had intended; to beat her and hurt her pride but that had changed with her proximity. He had wanted her; he had fully intended on taking her right then and there in the Dangeroom but then she had spoken. She had said those words; she still loved him. The words felt like a dagger through the heart and a soothing balm at the same time. He had dreamed of her coming back and saying those words more times than he could count but when she did; he hated her for them. Please, she had said; another word he longed to hear her say, in so many different ways. Pleading, begging, forcefully, desperately; and she had said it. Then Remy remembered all he had felt in those four years, he ignored her plea and remembered his own plan. He needed her to be pure; he had promised Antoine. He couldn't take her, but there was something else he could do and if it made him feel better knowing he could detach himself so easily from an act that would mean so much for her.

In the end, he only hurt them both, but at least she had some release, he had a cold shower. It had been a struggle to fall asleep that night and when he had, she haunted his dreams. He called Henri that morning, the call was less to wish his family a Merry Christmas and more to arrange his plans; the sooner this was over, the better. After he had hung up he picked up a parcel from a hiding place inside a drawer and crept out his window. It was still quite early and no one was stirring in the mansion, not even Jamie who couldn't wait for morning so he could get at his presents. Remy silently made his way up to the roof and made his way to the spot directly over Rogue's balcony. After seeing her still asleep in her bed, he slipped inside quietly but quickly so she would not feel the draft from the open window. She was even beautiful in her sleep, he thought as he stood over her sleeping form; there was a huge part of him that wanted nothing more than to slip beneath those covers and wrap her arms around her. Leaning in close to her, he brushed a platinum lock of hair from her cheek and stared at her for what seemed like eternity. She stirred in her sleep and he froze, holding his breath until she settled back into her pillow. Knowing that he had lingered too long, he dropped off the parcel at her bedside and left the same way he had come in. After showering and dressing in a black button down shirt, which he left untucked over black slacks, Remy went down the hall to wake Jamie as the boy had requested of him.

"We have to wake up everyone!" Jamie exclaimed, bouncing out of bed and pausing just long enough to put on his slippers. "When everyone is up we can open our presents!"

"I'm sure dey all be thrilled when y' go rousin' 'em all at dis hour in de mornin'," Remy mumbled as he followed the boy down the hall.

"Wake up! Wake up, everyone!" Jamie ran down the halls and opened all the doors and shouted into the rooms at the sleeping occupants. "Its Christmas morning! Wake up, so we can open up the presents!"

The sleepy inhabitants of the mansion rolled out of their beds, mumbling about the early hour but stumbled to their bathrooms to wash up, eager as Jamie but unwilling to show it. When Jamie reached Rogue's door, Remy balked and reached out to stop him but the boy had already burst into the room.

"Rogue! Its Christmas morning! Wake up!"

Remy stood in the doorway as Jamie ran up to Rogue's bed shouting. Rogue was sitting up in her bed, looking breathtaking as always. If anyone could pull off that sexy, tousled look, Remy thought, it was Rogue. Her hair was mussed and her eyes were bleary with sleep; he was at a loss for words as he stared at her. Jamie was still jumping about excitedly but then he stopped and said: "You already opened a present?"

Remy saw that Rogue had already opened the beautifully wrapped gift he had left on her nightstand and was holding his gift to her in her hands. It was then that she saw him, but she did not say a word, she just stared at him with an odd, conflicted expression.

"Wow!" Jamie exclaimed, peering into Rogue's hands. "Who gave you that?"

"Why don' y' go wake de other's, homme," Remy told the boy although his eyes were still on Rogue. "Den y' can open y' presents."

"Alright," Jamie raced out of the room and Remy quietly closed the door behind him, never taking his eyes off of Rogue.

For a clock tick, there was an uncomfortable silence.

"Why?" Rogue said after another moment. "Ah don't understand, Remy. After last night . . . And now this, amazing present . . . What are y' tryin' t' do t' me? Are y' tryin' to make me crazy?"

"Last night," Remy began. "I didn' mean f'r dat t' happen. I jus' went in t' spar but ev'ryting jus' . . . I guess it brought ev'ryting back. All de hurt an' I stopped t'inkin' straight. I didn' mean f'r any o' dat, Rogue. I t'ought dat gift could be a peace offerin' an' we could, I don' know. . ."

Remy paused and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Y' were de only woman who could twist me 'roun like dis, y' know dat?"

"An' y' were th' only man who could twist me around," Rogue said, a slight smile on her lips. "Do y' know what you want now, Remy?"

"I wanna get past dis," he told her earnestly. "I t'ink we both do. We lef' dis hangin' f'r too long, chere, an' we need t' resolve it. F'r both our sakes."

"Y' right," Rogue said. "That's th' reason Ah came back."

"Not much time t' talk now, eh?" Remy gave her a charming but regretful smile as he gestured to the sounds of the students running down the hall toward the large tree downstairs. "T'night in y' room, mebbe? After dat big dinner de prof. got planned?"

"Ah'd like that," Rogue's smile deepened a bit. "Will y' help me put this on?"

Remy took the pendant he had given her from the box and held it up. It was a beautiful silver cross with an intricate filigree design and a large green stone in the center. Rogue stood and held her hair up as he fastened it around her neck, careful not to touch her bare flesh.

"It's beautiful," Rogue went over to her vanity and looked in the mirror. "That ain't an emerald, right?"

"Non," Remy gazed at her reflection. "Dat be a very rare, green diamond."

"A green diamond?" Rogue turned to face him. "Ah didn't know there was any such thing?"

"Like I said," Remy gave her a dazzling smile. "It's very rare. I'll see y' t'night, p'tite."

XXX

The rest of the day dragged on for Rogue, she kept stealing glances at Remy and he was a bit more like his old self around her. Rogue had told Kitty about their meeting later so by noon, the whole mansion knew. After dinner, Rogue made herself a cup of tea and went on up to her room to await Remy. She was never so nervous in all her life and she thought she would rather be going up against Sabertooth at that moment than sit and wait any longer. The other students were loitering about the hallway, attempting to catch a glimpse of Remy going in or hear a word of their conversation. But they wouldn't see him as he took an indirect route to Rogue's room, through her window.

By the time he made his entrance, it was rather late as Rogue had finished her tea and had begun to feel a bit tired. She sat propped up against her pillows on her bed, trying to keep her heavy eyelids open as he approached her.

"Sleepy, chere?" Remy purred and leaned in close to her. "If'n y' not up t' it we could talk another time."

"No," Rogue murmured, wondering why she was so sleepy. "Ah'm not."

Remy came in closer and brushed a lock of hair from her shoulder. "Y' look all tuckered out, chere."

Rogue tried to clear her mind that was becoming foggy. Her tea usually helped her relax but this felt different, like the time she had caught a cold and over medicated herself. Her eyelids drooped again and she tried to stay focused on the chresire cat smile on Remy's face.

Her tea! There was something in it! She tried to focus, tried to think clearly but her limbs had gone numb and her body was no longer responding to her. She felt Remy scoop her up in his arms and before her world went dark she heard him speak to her in a soothing voice.

"Don' worry, chere. Remy take care o' ev'ryting."

(A/N: There really are green diamonds)