I moved the rating for the story from T up to M because of this chapter, It's still borderline T but I wanted to be safe than sorry. I very much enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did. :-)

Apologies & Epiphanies

Beast sat down at his desk chair in the infirmary ready to listen to Jean's theory. He folded his hands intently.

"Ok so what is the universal factor in all mutants?" She asked him.

"They all have a special gift that they are in most circumstances able to control." Hank replied.

"So now we find out what is different about Rogue's X-Gene."

"I don't follow."

"Well Scott for example, can't control his powers because of the plane crash when he was a child. It damaged the part of his brain that is linked to his X-Gene which tells him to switch off his powers." Jean retrieved some photos taken of Rogue's X-Gene structure. "If we look at these photo's there is one gene that gives Rogue her ability to absorb, and the ones she retained from Ms Marvel giving her flight, invulnerability and super strength."

Beast studied the images carefully. All of the genes were very similar but after close inspection he noticed a significant difference. "Fascinating."

"You see, Rogue's absorption X-Gene is missing that part all together. My guess is when the gene first developed it didn't develop fully leaving her with no control. If we can find a way to transplant that part of an x-gene into Rogue's gene that we plan to use to start off the treatment, they should duplicate themselves all with the missing part included, she'll be able to control her powers." Jean finished.

"We'll it works in theory Jean, but an X-Gene transplant, it would be such a delicate art. And it would take time, we would have to wait and see if Rogue's gene would combine with the transplanted part, and then her body may still reject it altogether, it's incredibly risky." Hank told her.

"But like you said it could work, I think we should ask the professor." She argued. Jean didn't want to give up on this.

"Alright we can talk to Professor Xavier in the morning before we talk to Rogue; we don't want to get her hopes up.

Remy knocked softly on Rogue's bedroom door the next morning, it was time to go down to the infirmary to give her decision and he thought he would escort her. He heard a rather sleepy "come in" from the other side of the door and pushed it open. Rogue was in front of her mirror pulling her tousled hair back from here face. She spun around, seeing it was Gambit.

"Remy, I want to apologise for last night…"

"Before you say anything," he cut her off and held out a long stemmed rose. "It's me who should be apologising, it's your life and you have to put yourself first. I was being selfish and if you don't want the treatment no-one can force you."

"Thank you." Rogue took the rose from him and placed it on her dresser. He crept up behind her and put his hands around her waist. "Besides, Gambit could get used to this." He flirted. She turned around in his arms to face him.

"Remy…" but her train of thought was lost as he brushed his hand across her cheek, finally unhindered, pulling her closer, one arm holding her tight against him while the other was trailing his fingers through her hair.

"I love you Chere." He whispered against her lips, his eyes were so intense with a passion Rogue had never seen. She naturally hesitated being this close to him, forgetting that for now, she couldn't hurt him. Gambit couldn't hold himself back any longer and lowered his lips to hers, the desire evident as he kissed her. Rogue's knees felt weak and she leant back on the dresser behind her for support. Gambit took this moment to lift her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her over to her bed still kissing each other passionately. It felt like time had stopped, and they were the only two people in the world, like nothing else mattered except this moment. Gambit wanted nothing more than to take advantage of the situation, and make their wildest dreams a reality, but he knew it wasn't the right time. This made him want to take out the ring now, knowing that she'd say yes without hesitation and they would spend a night like this together, but it couldn't hurt to try. Rogue kissed Remy until her head felt dizzy and didn't want to stop. She was wearing a long skirt and as she felt Gambit's hand move slowly further up her thigh she couldn't believe what she was about to do. Rogue moved his hand away and rolled out from under him.

"What's wrong?" He asked her incredibly confused.

"We have to stop."

"But why?" Gambit had never had this reaction before. "Too fast?"

She shook her head. "No that's not it. This kills me to say but I spent all night thinking about what you said and you were right. I'm taking the treatment. We have to stop before I change my mind."

Remy sighed. "I hate being right."

"I want to be with you more than anything, but not like this, I want it to be forever." She kissed him deeply and slowly, one last time then stood up from the bed. "Come on, its time to go talk to Beast."

They walked hand in hand into the infirmary to find Hank, Jean and Professor Xavier immersed in deep discussion. "Yes Jean it is Rogue's choice to make, but my concern is that it could be incredibly dangerous." Xavier said.

"What's incredibly dangerous?" Rogue asked them.

"Have you made a decision Rogue?" Xavier asked.

"Yes I've changed my mind; I'd like to take the treatment." She replied.

"We hoped you might say that," Hank said. "We think we've found a way to restore your mutant powers and give you control of your absorption."

It took a moment for Rogue to absorb the information, then she leaped on Beast hugging him. "Hank you're incredible your knowledge of the human and mutant anatomy never ceases to amaze me."

"You should see me play Pictionary." He joked. "However I cannot take all the credit, it was Jean's idea I only devised a way to make it a reality."

Rogue hugged Jean and they explained the process of making it happen to her and Gambit. Remy volunteered to have his X-Gene used for the transplant. Professor Xavier tried to be the voice of reason, explaining the dangers of trying to mix DNA and that it would be a gruelling process that might take months before it is completed. If it is accomplished he told Rogue that he would have to teach her how to control her absorption power which in itself was a potentially dangerous and frustrating process. But nothing could deter her from this, Rogue's life was about to change forever.