Prayer of St Francis

Chapter 8 – You Stand Here With Me

By Yamcha's Big Pants aka Kirsty Graham

AN: Hey Guys, I'm sooooo sorry it's been so long since I last updated this fic, but I have been sooooo unbelievably busy and have had absolutely no time whatsoever. I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but with the release of X-Men 2 to DVD sometime in November, I'm thinking there will be renewed interest in this subject. Therefore, I thought it was high time to update. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy and here you are "Real Romance". Here comes the disclaimer. I don't own X-Men (belongs to Marvel Industries) and this chapter's song is "You Stand Here With me" by Creed from the album "Weathered". I loooove this song J

You always reached out to me

And helped me believe

All those memories we shared

I will cherish every one of them

For the truth

Of it is

There's a right

Way to live

And you've shown me

Nightcrawler arrived in his room, surrounded by a black cloud of evanescence. Excitement burned in his eyes as he quickly scanned the room to assure its perfection. A comfortable little area of cushions and throws had been set up by the fireplace, its beautiful orange glow reminding him of his first real encounter with the weather witch. Smiling fondly, he observed the small camping stove with their food cooking soundly and the bucket of ice, chilling their wine. Turning swiftly he flicked on the little radio he had borrowed from Kitty; everything was perfect, now all he needed was the girl. When he'd left her at her bedroom door, she promised she would only be a few minutes. She'd looked great the way she was, however it was a good sign that she was willing to dress herself up for him. Maybe it was a sign from God that this was the right thing; that maybe she'd want this as much as he did. For the first time that day he let his shoulders drop and his body relax. Sighing deeply, Kurt let so much of what had been happening lately sink in. This was the biggest decision he imagined he'd ever have to make. The funniest thing about it was there wasn't really anything to decide. Letting out a pent up shaky breath, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Bolstering his courage and composing himself, Kurt opened the door and beheld a sight much different from what he had expected. Ororo looked fraught. She was wearing her outdoor gear and pulling a pair of gloves on.

"Kurt! I'm so sorry, but Scott called, he says Rogue and Gambit are gone! He got a phone call a few minutes ago from Marie's cell phone, but it was cut off. He thinks there's been an accident. We have to go and help them!"

Kurt stood for a moment before grabbing his own black coat from a nearby chair, and closing the door behind him. "Vhere are they?" He asked, marching with Storm down the corridor to the staircase. She pushed that snowy hair of hers from her face, looking as though she were their mother.

"The Professor picked them up about 4 miles from here, near a river. Oh Kurt I'm so afraid something's happened to them" Her voice shook with uncertainty and fear. Nightcrawler took her hand and stopped her pace. She looked at him with terrified confusion.

"They vill be alright, have faith in God Ororo" He looked meaningfully into her eyes until she smiled doubtfully. He always knew what to say to her. "Now come on ve vont find them standing around here!"

So now

You live on

In the words

Of a song

You're a melody

Coz you stand here with me!

Coz you stand here with me!

Descending the staircase they found Scott and Logan carrying what looked liked climbing gear with them to the door. Many of the children stood around the foyer looking upset and worried. Storm viewed the scene as she bit fearfully on her bottom lip. Nightcrawler saw this and decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Right!" He said appeared in a vapour of blackness amongst a group of children. "Peter, vhere are you?" The large Russian raised his hand as he towered above the others.

"I'm coming too Mr Wagner!" he boomed.

"No," Was the reply as Kurt addressed the children, "Peter is in charge vhile the Professor talks to the emergency services and vhile ve go and try to find Remy and Marie. Meanvhile you vill all behave for him and none of you vill follow, understood?" There was a discontented murmuring in the ranks

"Understood?!"

"Yes Mr Wagner" Kurt gave a sharp nod and with Storm, who had joined him he made his way to the door. Peter bellowed after him. "But Nightcrawler I can help!"

"You are helping Peter" He said turning to the large adolescent, calmly smiling. "More than you know"

Just when fear blinded me

You taught me to dream

I'll give you everything I am

It still falls short of what you've done for me

The jeep ride was bumpy and silent. Logan and Scott sat in the front, peering vainly through the never-ending sheet of snow as the window-wipers futilely attempted to clear their vision. Kurt and Ororo sat in the back being tossed around, but themselves as still as ice. However inside it was a different matter; each panicked and ran through the worst scenario their mind could create, the long minutes seeming like hours. Scott pulled the heavy car to a halt by the side of some deserted road. Wolverine turned on him.

"Why did ya stop?"

Scott frowned "The Professor told me to," he answered quietly.

A feral grunt was his only acknowledgement, as Wolverine flung his car door open and launched into the freezing snow. Kurt stole a glance at Ororo as she scrambled with her seatbelt to get out. Silently saying a prayer Kurt bowed his head. He prayed to find Remy and Marie safe, he prayed that no one would be hurt, he prayed quietly until a large rough hand wrenched his door open and pulled him out.

Snow carried by the wind, assaulted their visible skin with a ferocity that was biting and painful. Wolverine alone seemed to bear the elements and sniff the air. A low growl escaped his throat.

"What do you smell Logan?" Scott cried, barely audible over the roar of the wind.

"Marie! And that Cajun boy! His sensitive nose picked up faint familiar scents in the jumble of cold and ice. "They were here!"

The leader of the X-men nodded, readjusting his glasses. "Alright everyone! Spread out and look for them, Storm try and spread a little sunshine if you can!"

Ororo nodded. Bracing herself against the structure of the blue jeep, she raised her head as long tendrils of white hair escaped her hood and lashed out at the angry wind. Opaque white clouds glazed her dark eyes and the wind seemed to relent slightly, but the snow kept falling thick and heavy. The rest of the group spread out. Kurt hugged himself close, not being used to such negative temperatures. His two-toed feet sank deeply into the many inches of snow and he soon found himself wading deep into huge snowdrifts. Teleporting from area to area he discovered his moving became more efficient; but still no kids. The situation was becoming desperate, and he absently pleaded with God to let them still be alive. When a shout sounded from deep within the woods, Kurt's ears perked. With purpose he closed in on the sound and soon began to hear the sounds of a fast racing river. A red jacket appeared between the trees and Nightcrawler immediately knew Wolverine was heading in the same direction. The sight which beheld him was terrifying, chilling and desperate at the same time. A wide river, raced on a slightly inclined plane in a straight path down the valley, but forked off into two at a large boulder only metres from where the two X-men had emerged from the woods. Clinging to the boulder something dark brown was hunched. Kurt looked around panicked at the feral man beside him who paced slightly, scanning the situation for a possible way out. Returning his attention to the lump in the raging water, Kurt observed that the seconds of silence ticked past like hours. The lump raised its head and the frozen, bedraggled and pale profile of the Gambit was reared ever-so-slightly from the icy water rushing past him. From the fatigue on his face, it was obvious that his grasp on the rock would not last much longer.

From nowhere Scott and Ororo appeared. The weather witch's eyes were still ethereally glazed as she wrestled with the forces of nature to hold back the angry force of the wind. Scott frowned deeply but after a short moment grabbed Nightcrawler's shoulder.

"Kurt? Can you teleport to that rock and haul them out?" He half yelled.

Kurt nodded slowly. "Yes …but I don't have the strength to pull them from that current. If I let go, or drop them they'll be lost."

Storm turned her head, still struggling to maintain her concentration. "You mean Marie's out there too?"

Scott nodded gravely "Remy is shielding her against the rock."

"Good Lord" Kurt gaped out at the precarious perch of the slippery rock. How could he do this thing? This was about life and death. Was he ready for another decision like that?

In this life

That I live

I hope

I can give

Love unselfishly

I've learned the world is bigger than me

You're my daily dose of reality

"You're sure this is gonna work shades?" Wolverine asked doubtfully.

"I don't think we have time to come up with anything more refined Logan. It's all or nothing" Cyclops snapped back. Sighing nervously he looked at the group. He never going to lose any one again to the black heart of the water. "Okay do we all know what we're doing? Storm, what about you?"

The weather witch chewed nervously on her bottom lip as was her habit "I can't freeze the whole river, it's too big, I have to touch the place I want to freeze. I don't even know if I can do this. Bobby should have come with us"

"Well he isn't here O. He's back in Boston remember. So just concentrate huh?" Wolverine grunted. The pressure of the situation was getting to everyone.

"Okay Nightcrawler, you teleport yourself and Storm onto that rock, then Nightcrawler will lower you down to the water's edge with his tail. You then freeze the water around Rogue and Gambit to give Nightcrawler time to grab hold of them. I'll shoot an optic blast and dislodge the ice. At that exact moment Kurt has to teleport back to the shore with Storm, Gambit and Rogue, okay? Everyone clear?" The three remaining X-men nodded solemnly, each dreading their own role in the exercise. Kurt blessed himself before taking Storm in his arms.

Looking down at her in his grasp he kissed her forehead. Storm gazed up at him with a brave façade. It hid her true fear well. "Ororo, I love you, I just want you to know, vhatever happens." Storm frowned

"Let's just get this done Kurt"

In a flash of light and colour, Nightcrawler and Storm perched carefully atop the rock. Holding each other for support, they stared down at the black icy water as a drawn southern face smiled up at them weakly.

"Monsieur Wagner, I-I-I n-n-n-never bin happier t-t-t-t'see no one" The Cajun stammered through the complete and utter chill that had spread dangerously throughout his body.

"You can thank me later Mr LeBeau" Kurt shouted through the wind and snow. Turning to Ororo, he flicked his tail into her hands. Taking it gratefully, she nodded courageously at him before descending the rock. It was further than she had anticipated. Using her initiative, Storm hooked her jacket to the spaded tip of the Nightcrawler's tail and hung suspended above the water. Stretching her hand out, warm fingertips winced as they skimmed the surface of the unruly freezing water. A lacing of ice spread in concentric circles away from the bodies in the water, spreading about a metre out on the surface. Gambit cried out feebly in pain as the ice contracted around his midsection.

"Give me Rogue's hand, quickly!" Kurt screamed at the Cajun. Mustering all the strength he could, Remy rummaged for the dark-haired girl's hand inside his sodden jacket and raised it with his own to the strange blue appendage extended towards him. Once contact was established, the familiar yet bone-chilling noise of an "optic blast" sounded from the opposite shore of the river.  However in the moment of teleportation something happened. Something jarred Kurt's senses as he reappeared at his selected destination. Something had gone horrifically wrong. In the terrifyingly longest second of his life, he saw only two figures drop from his arms. Who was missing? What had happened? Why didn't it feel quite right? A cold sweat erupted on the back of his neck as realisation hit with the force of a freight train. It felt like he was weighed down with a tonne of breezeblocks as he tried to turn towards the scene of the most horrifying moment he had ever experienced. A chocolate hand descended beneath the raging current of the black, freezing torrent as the red energy dispersed from the rock. No sooner had a strangled cry escaped his lips than the half stripped figure of the Wolverine leaped into the water.

The seconds dragged as Kurt rushed to the water's edge, his eyes frantically scouring the water over and over, struggling with all his heart to keep breathing. After what seemed like an age of pent up breath, the dark shape of Logan's head appeared from the water, followed by a long sinewy arm, battling against the flow of the current. Finally the snowy white hair he had begged the Lord with ever fibre of his being to save, emerged from the cold darkness. Kurt waded to his waist in the fast flowing water, to help Logan struggle the unconscious and rigid body of his soul-mate to the shore. Scott bounded towards them with blankets and foil sheets. Logan gratefully took them from Cyclops and wrapped himself up, all the while peering down helplessly at the weather witch as Kurt clutched her form, struggling to find a pulse.

Pulling open her coat, he roughly wrenched her jumper up until only her sodden bra was exposed to the bitter chill. Clasping his oddly shaped hands over her chest Kurt murmured a quick and desperate prayer before pressing down repeatedly, pushing whatever water up and out of her windpipe. Kurt cupped his mouth over hers forcing life-giving air into her lungs to open them. With an all mighty coughing she rolled to her side and vomited up the murky chilled water onto the snow. Letting the relief be shown on his face, Kurt rested back on his haunches before quickly coming to his senses and bundling her up in his arms.

"Is she okay Kurt?" Scott asked quietly. The Nightcrawler nodded getting to his feet. "Good. How bout you Logan?" Wolverine growled pulling his jumper back on. "Good, I'll go and get the jeep, keep those two warm until I get back"

Coz you stand here with me!

Coz you stand here with me!

On and on we sing this song

Coz you stand here with me!

On  and on we sing

On and on we sing

On and on we sing

In the back of the jeep Gambit and Rogue lay side by side, wrapped in foil and layers of blankets, fighting to keep their eyes open. Scott had warned against trying to physically warm them as it might damage their epidermis, especially if they had frostbite. However Remy had mustered the strength once again, to reach out for Marie's hand and grasped it tightly as she fought with her heavy eyelids. Kurt peered down at Storm in his arms. Scott was less concerned about her. She had only been under for a few moments; a few moments too long for Kurt. Ororo wrestled her eyes open and stared up at the blue demon-like angel who held her so preciously.

"I thought I had lost you" He said so quietly no one else heard. Storm managed a smile.

"So did I" She croaked making him smirk though his throat was knotted. For a few moments he had. He had been utterly alone in the world again. The thought made him pull her closer. The only thing that saved her was the thing that had caused the accident in the first place. Her coat had been hooked to Kurt's tail, but it's spiny blades had made short work of the thin man-made fibres. At the crucial second, his tail had snapped through the lining and Storm had slipped into the frozen depths. However because of the air trapped within the lining itself, she rose back to the surface where Logan found her as he dived in.

Kurt looked up at the man in the front seat of the car, towel drying his still damp hair and he smiled weakly. They were a family. The only family any of them had anymore. He now realised what a devastating effect it would have had upon him if anyone had been seriously harmed. When you had a heart as fragile as Kurt's it could be dangerous to love a family again. However his decision had been made for him; now he was sure. Kurt snuggled down into the seat and held his African beauty close; he was willing to take that risk.

On and on we sing

On and on we sing

On and on we sing

Coz you stand here with me

On and on we sing this song

Coz you stand here with me

Coz you stand here with me

AN: So Kurt didn't get his romantic night in then? And what's this big decision he has to make? That chapter was fun to write and I think it gave the right sort of balance to the story, doncha think? I hope you liked it anyway. Please review and tell me what you think! Thankies! God bless bye!