Author's note: Here it is, finally! Chapter 10. Sorry it took so long folks, but I've been a mess lately. I got really sick for a while (2 weeks to be exact), and I really haven't felt like writing anything more. Plus finals and papers, nuff said. Hope you enjoy.
Remy just stared at the floor defeated as Rogue's words fell on deaf ears and Sinister's words played repeatedly through his head. "Not just any child LeBeau. I will have one of your offspring. Unlimited possibilities, that is what I want. I will get what I require or your children will suffer the consequences." The steely voice from the memory said the same things that the one in his own memory did, except at the time Sinister hadn't been so picky.
He looked up into the teary eyes of the woman whom Sinister claimed was his "perfect genetic match." Flirting with her hadn't been a game; neither had joining the X-men, revealing the Massacre. Everything had been planned perfectly, until the plan went horribly wrong. How could he possibly explain to the people surrounding him that up until a few months ago he had still been meeting regularly with Sinister, giving him updates about the goings on at the mansion? How did he tell them that Sinister knew every detail of their lives, down to the fact that Iceman wore tighty-whities? Could he tell them that Erik the Red was just one of Sinister's cronies, that it was Sinister who had pulled him out of Antarctica, that even Rogue leaving him there was part of a deftly crafted plan? Should he tell them that Sinister even knew about Rogue and him that cold Antarctic night? How did he tell the people he loved, the woman he loved, that they were all just a part of some master plan and he'd just been manipulating them all along? Somehow "I'm sorry" didn't seem to make up for everything he'd done.
He couldn't take the eyes staring at him any more. He couldn't take her eyes pleading with him to say it was all a lie, that even everything she didn't know was a lie. He couldn't take the people on either side of him, his children! Children he had promised to Sinister before they were even born. Children he'd never had or raised, but realized now that he loved more than his own life. "What kind of monster am I?" Gambit shouted as he leapt out of his seat and out of the room, running full force to wherever his feet would take him. In the back of his mind he knew he'd eventually end up on the roof, it was just a question of how far he'd run before he got there.
* * * * *
In the rec-room Rogue sat there and fumed after Remy's outburst and abrupt departure. "Ah can't believe it! Ah can't believe he'd do somethin' like this." She growled to herself, staring at the door Remy had run through. "Mah children! He promised that monster mah children!" She glanced over at Gabrielle and Luc before letting her gaze head back towards the doorway. "Who the hell does that swamp-rat think he is!"
Hank moved himself next to Rogue and attempted to place a calming paw on her shoulder, which she abruptly shook off. "Now to be fair Rogue." Beast said calmly. "I don't believe our Cajun friend knew that they would be your children at the time. You realize that he was not even aware of your existence until joining the X-Men."
Rogue turned and stared daggers through Beast. "That ain't exactly the point Hank! If they weren't mine, they'd be somebody else's. Remy knew he couldn't have children by himself, what the hell was he thinking!"
"I am afraid," Storm interjected into Rogue and Beast's private conversation, "that I must agree with you Rogue." She stared at the floor, and a few people in the room noticed that it was getting darker outside as she said her next words. "What Remy did is unforgivable. To kill is bad enough, but to give innocent life over to the hands of a murderer…children are precious, how could he sacrifice one like that."
"I see where yer comin' from, Ro." Logan replied, chewing thoughtfully on the end of a cigar. "But ya gotta remember, the Cajun did what he could to fix things. He went back on his word, somethin' I ain't never seen him do. If he hadn't realized he was wrong we wouldn't be havin' this discussion right now."
"I can't believe you're all still sticking up for him!" Warren, who had been pacing the room, stopped and shouted at Wolverine. "He is a worthless piece of scum! He's a murderer!" Warren was starting to turn red, making him appear an odd shade of purple as his shouts got louder. "Does it really surprise you that he'd sacrifice his own kids to save his ass?!"
"Don't you bad mouth him like that!" Rogue shouted up at Warren as he paced in front of her. "You say another word Worthington, and so help me God you'll be choking on your teeth."
"He was going to let Sinister dissect your children!" Warren shouted in Rogue's face. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He hissed at her, inching dangerously close.
Betsy came up behind him and surprisingly grabbed him and pulled him back. "You are out of line Warren. Leave it alone, let Rogue think what she wants."
"He does have a point." Bobby added, leaning nonchalantly against a window frame. "Come on Rogue, you can't be that blind."
"Shut up!" Luc finally shouted at everybody in the room. "Did it ever occur to you there might be a reason Papa sent us?" He glared over at Warren, then at Bobby. "He could've sent Bishop or Carmine, Uncle Warren. Would you have liked that? I'm sure you'd much rather have met Carmine Angela Worthington LeBeau." His words sent shock like a current through Warren's body, and his wings mimicked his mouth as they fell limply and helplessly to his sides.
"Worthington LeBeau." He whispered almost silently.
"That's right." Gabrielle responded more quietly than her brother did. "She looks a lot like you, though she got Aunt Betsy's eyes." She smiled over at Psylocke who reached silently for Angel's hand. "But Papa sent us for another reason, he sent us so we'd be safe." She looked over at Luc who continued for her.
"Papa knew Sinister wouldn't be looking for us in the past. This way, even if we don't succeed, and you all still die Sinister can't find us." Luc smiled sadly over at his mother. "And if you all live," he sighed, "we'll have changed the timeline enough that Gabby and myself will probably never be born. Then Sinister can never have us."
The thought sent tears pouring down Rogue's cheeks as she looked into the eyes of the boy who might one day be her son. "No," she mouthed as she turned to look at her daughter. "No."
* * * * *
Remy wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting on the roof brooding, but he realized that he was starting to get cold as the rain began to soak through his clothing. "Stormy must be pissed." He muttered as he thought about how sunny and warm the day had been just hours ago. "Good job, LeBeau." He smiled. "Ya be real good at pissin' everybody off. Probably some latent mutant power." He laughed at the thought. "Yep, jus' add asshole to the list." He was actually about to break into a bout of laughter when he felt something approaching him from his rear, coming from the left. It took less than a second before he recognized the unsure movements as belonging to Rogue. "Girl." He shouted to her. "Ya gotta stop movin' round like a paranoid squirrel. Gonna make me nervous." That said he turned his head around to face her and flashed her a smile, eyes sparking in the murky dusk.
"I'm sorry Remy." She murmured, sitting down cautiously a few feet from him. Close enough to be friendly, but far enough away that she didn't imply anything more.
"Y'got nothin' ta be sorry for chere." Remy said, staring down at the slate shingles beneath him. "I'm de one who fucked up." He looked up at the cloudy sky, "Boy did I fuck up." He muttered. "I wouldn' blame ya fer hatin' me Rogue." He said as he finally got up the courage to look her in the eyes. She was about to say something, but he kept her quiet by the way he looked at her. "Why don' ya hate me?" He asked, unshed tears forming under his eyes.
Rogue just looked at him for a minute before she slid herself across the roof, next to his warm body and huddled there against him. "Cuz ah love ya, Remy." She stated plainly and they stared up at the clearing sky, at the first appearance of stars. "Ah've loved ya for awhile now, ah guess. It just took me a little while to realize how much." She laughed and looked up into his face. "Ah could probably forgive you for just about anything."
Remy looked down at her, staring deeply into her green eyes as the tears finally began to spill down his face. Shaking his head he stood up and backed away from her. "Some t'ings are unforgivable, chere." He said, fear showing in his ruby eyes. "Some of de t'ings I've done are unforgivable. Stay away from me, Rogue." He turned his back to her as he started to walk away. "I'm not'in' but a monster, I don't deserve t'be loved."