DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of this, but if Marvel decides to finally get with the romance program and start making some couples that would actually work and then letting them stay together, I WOULD consider helping them out at their request to make sure everyone's favourite couples got the screen/panel time they deserve!!

And now, to the good stuff. Peppymint, it's really all a conspiracy ya know XD ColorCoated, their troubles are almost over I promise, but damn you know you're all enjoying the ride despite the misery ^^ Yo Luna! Hey girl, I hope this measures up to previous efforts, but you let me know, 'kay? I'm always there XD Very little real Kyle/Laura in this chapter but there is some Kyle and Laura seperately. Fostersb, they're all working hard to get right with theirs and make other right with their own so you just let me know if you feel the fixin's been fixed! KHwhitelion, I hope you approve the plan to get things together XD Hey Gidgeygirl! Does this count as a swift kick to the tushyparts? XD Yo Chica, I've done my best to de-hypocrite things for ya here honeybunch but you beter take a look and see if I got it right or not ^^ TitansRule, am I the only one looking forward to the next holiday? Anyway, while we wait, here's some of that good stuff – don't worry, things'll be good. Hey Dholefire, we're testing out a new chapter here and I hope it measures up to past standards, just let us know^^ Larky! I know you're working on non-evo stuff so I have to wait for my fixes, but I promised I'd try and get this done for you so I hope you're stil reading Evo stuff because as always I crave your opinion.

That's all for now, there's a lot here to take in so let the taking-in begin!


Who Knew?

Part 11

Hank rubbed the little cottonball over the injection point with a dejected sigh, then looked at Remy sadly.

"All done. But I still don't think it's wise to let you go home – that far away from Rogue," he said heavily, and Remy fixed his eyes on the floor, red light dimmed.

"Je sais..." he mumbled, and Hank put a large, blue hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"She doesn't really want you gone, son. Women... Especially our Rogue... They're ruled by their fears. And Rogue is afraid that if you stay, you'll only stay as long as you're getting something out of it. I know her." Remy looked up at Hank, the effects of the injection taking hold as he said,

"But I love her... Il n'est pas juste... Ma vie est terminée..." His voice was weak, and Hank bit back a number of choice comments regarding the folly of youth and the sending home of patients under emotional strain who had relapsed badly as early as two days prior. He smiled at the Cajun, wanting to offer encouragement along the lines of 'she'll come 'round', or 'you're so young, time heals all wounds', but somewhere inside he knew he'd be lying. This young man's place was with Rogue. It was fated. They could be so good for one another, these two bruised souls, they understood each other's pain so well...

"Come on. You'll be leaving soon. We want to get you in the jet before you lose consciousness," he said instead, knowing full well that he was hiding behind the medical side of his duty to the young man, but Remy just nodded dumbly and stood up, following Hank complacently.


Laura let Rogue brush her hair out, adjust her jacket, and smooth black lipstick over her lips with that distant look in her eyes, for all it made her feel like a doll. Rogue and Kitty had one thing in common when it came to applying makeup, whether to themselves or others. It gave them something else to think about while they were doing it, and Laura's mission today was all about distraction. She held on to Rogue's gloved hand as they left her room, ducking her head as they passed Jubilee, who gave her a questioning look, and descending to the lower levels in the elevator in complete silence.

Hank had already loaded the sedated Remy into the jet, the tranquilliser Logan's idea to keep the Cajun from 'overloading' while they were in the air. Rogue was to sit beside him throughout the journey, however, hand at the ready. Hank let Laura arrange the silent Rogue in the jet first before she came out again and he assailed her.

"I still think this is a preposterous idea," he said heatedly,

"What if he does have a relapse mid-flight? What if he arrives and the tranquilliser hasn't worn off yet? What if Rogue isn't able to forgive him? There are too many variables to this plan, Laura. I'm not comfortable with this." Laura put a hand on the blue-furred mutant's considerably larger one and looked him in the eye.

"I know. Neither am I. I do not want to go, but this was the only way Logan and I could think of to attempt a reconciliation. Rogue has to be there, Remy cannot be allowed to speak to her during the journey, and she needs to have the option of remaining there without being allowed excuses not to if she so wishes it, hence the bag I packed last night. We have thought of every eventuality, Hank. I promise you, we are as prepared as we can be..." The look on the Beast's face softened to concern, and he placed his other hand on top of hers, squeezing lightly.

"I know you're just trying to help, my dear, but I worry for both of you. I know you'd rather not go with them at all, and I know that Rogue has been largely unresponsive since last night, and I just wonder if this is the right choice to make. I want you two to be happy," he said heavily, brow furrowed as if he felt so very old of a sudden. She smiled at him.

"I want us to be happy, too. That is why I am taking this risk for us. Logan agrees." Hank returned her smile with a weary version of his own and then stopped her as she was about to turn away and re-enter the jet.

"Laura – did you say goodbye to everyone?" he asked, his tone implying that she might not have done. She stiffened visibly.

"Everyone who matters. Take care of them for me, Hank. Please." He nodded, stepped back to allow Logan to manoeuvre the jet around, and Laura disappeared into the black confines, taking her place next to Rogue inside, no doubt. As they taxied down the last stretch of makeshift runway and the hatch opened for them, he waved, and they took off with a muffled roar of machinery, and vanished behind the curtain of water that hid the exit.


It really was ludicrously easy to sneak into the mansion undetected. Considering that Remy, Mystique, every last one of the students, and once in a while the postman managed to get in somehow when they weren't supposed to, it seemed rather stupid that they'd even bother with security measures. Certainly it was laughable to be able to just walk in the front door to the mutant stronghold because no one had bothered to activate the coded alarm when the kids left to go sledding nearby. Then again, he mused, divesting his boots of the worst snowy remnants before entering, that brunette had been far too busy laughing at her ice-wielding boyfriend to remember things like protecting their home from likely intruders such as himself.

Not that he was there to intrude in the conventional sense, he maintained, rounding a corner, he was actually there to keep an appointment. He couldn't even remember the last time he had kept an appointment. Or made one. Therefore, musing on the likelihood of them all being murdered in their beds someday because some airheaded teenage girl or other forgot to activate the alarms when returning of an evening, he failed to contemplate the fact that there were other people in residence who had not been seen leaving the mansion. He also failed to think over how weak an excuse it might seem that he wasn't actually there to do the aforementioned murdering but really had the also mentioned appointment. And so, he was genuinely surprised when he almost ran into Storm, who appeared apologetic for the five seconds in which she didn't notice whom she had bumped into.

"Sorry," he mumbled, a flash of unexpected manners coming to the fore without his approval, quickly followed by an irrational sense of complete and total inferiority, as the dark-skinned weather-witch regarded him with a somewhat intrigued gaze.

"So you came after all," she said, mild surprise lurking in her otherwise perfectly civil tone.

"Charles is waiting for you. We didn't think you'd come." Unwilling to answer since it was a fair assumption that he wouldn't show up, he didn't, and instead she smiled at him and motioned towards a set of double doors a few steps away from them.

"Go on in. We've been expecting you all morning." He was unable to quell the sudden,

"Thank you," that escaped him, although he didn't really want to say it, but it made her smile that touch kinder, and she left him there without any sort of fuss. Willing the odd newly-discovered polite streak to shut up and go away, he tapped on the door, and heard a muffled,

"Come in." Steeling himself, he did just that.


The world had faded to the point where everything beyond them had become unreal. Just as unreal as the fact that she knew they were on their way to let his Tante resume responsibility for him. The man beside her looked like he ought to be under the loving care of an aunt, or a mother. Even in sleep he looked drawn and weary, and she wanted to smooth his hair from his brow and sing to him as she had done once before. She wanted to protest that they were giving him back to his family when he was still unable to fully control his newly enhanced powers. She wanted to insist that they turn around and allow Hank and Logan to work their magic on him and give him the help they'd promised Mattie they'd give him to begin with.

But whenever she opened her mouth to call out and ask Logan to turn back because this wasn't right, the wound in her heart bled a little harder and she just couldn't do it. Because if she was honest with herself, the concern she felt was only really her awful, painful desire to keep him closer to her for a little while longer, even if she couldn't keep him, and she knew that once she went down that road she wouldn't be able to let go again...


He imagined that when the students were placed in the chair in front of Charles Xavier's desk, they felt instantly contrite, and he imagined that it would be a familiar if unpleasant experience for them when they were to be scolded, and a healing one when they came to him for aid. But in his current position, all he felt was a growing apprehension and a feeling that no one had ever sat in front of Charles Xavier who was less deserving of it than him. The Professor's eyes took him in, his face mild, benign, and his glance more concerned than anything else. It rankled. He hated the idea that anyone could be good enough to have that kind of emotion left over for another person.

"Good morning, Mr. Gibney. I had been expecting you sooner, but I think I can guess why you chose ten past nine to make an appearance." He felt instantly weaker for knowing that this all-seeing father-figure knew that he hadn't wanted to show himself until he knew Laura was gone.

"Whatever you and I discuss today, I can assure you, she need never know," Charles went on.

"She'll still know I was here. You can't hide that from her," he found himself saying, perfectly true of course, but the note of wish-it-wasn't in his voice disturbed him.

"Perfectly so. It is my hope that when she returns, you will be able to tell her your reason for coming here yourself, just as it is my hope that your presence in this Institute can cease to be something you would rather not admit to." There was an indefinable sparkle in the old man's eye, and he smiled kindly.

"I'm not so sure that's doable," Kyle admitted, almost wanting to dare the Professor to make it so, to prove that even someone like him had some kind of place in this naive dream of an equal world.

"My dear boy. If you truly want it to be, anything is possible. My question is, are you willing to do what needs to be done to make it so?"


Logan wasn't speaking, but Laura felt that the silence was becoming oppressive, and she could tell that her father was feeling it too. She tried to think of something other than Rogue's plight, but anything else her mind touched on was either painful or one of those memories Wanda called 'no-go-recalls', so she settled for looking at the clouds around them. Her mind slid to those very same unwanted thoughts the moment she let her guard down and she found herself mulling over just why Hank's question had upset her. It was true. She'd said goodbye to Storm, called Kitty and Wanda and John, left a message for Torpid, and...

She didn't want to think about that. She didn't need to yet. Right now she should be focusing on the job at hand. Operation Fairytale, as she and Kitty had agreed to name it. Secure Rogue's happily ever after and then come back home and gloat over how it was meant to be. Maybe indulge in a little celebratory girl-talk about how they should marry and what Rogue should wear at the ceremony. Normal, mundane things like that which now shaped her young life. She could worry about her own issues once Rogue's were out of the way. With her sister's life sorted, Laura's would fall into place as well, she just knew it.

She barely noticed that Logan was speaking to her but when she did she realised she'd heard nothing and had to ask,

"Could you repeat that please?" Storm had taught her the importance of manners. She had never needed them before coming to live with her family. Logan sighed as though knowing all too well where Laura's thoughts were occupied and said,

"You know that no matter what happens today, your life is still in your hands, honey. Whatever happens with your sister does not have to determine your future unless you make the same choices she does. You're not the same person." Laura looked away, hiding behind her hair.

"I know that," she said in a small voice, disliking how childish she sounded.

"I don' think you do. I'm telling you now that your life is not gonna be the same as Rogue's just because you love her and she's your sister, okay? I mean that. I know you feel that anything she does you can do too and her failures aren't worth tryin' for because you can't go one better than her, but you have to forget that way of thinkin'. For your own sake." She looked over at him, wishing she could know that it was true.

"But she can do anything, Dad..." she mumbled, and Logan shook his head.

"Your sister used to be a very confused kid, honey. Her powers an' the way she'd lived, the way she'd been used, it all made her real insecure about what she was capable of. She was afraid of what she could do. Now I know that since you've known her she's been a strong person, much stronger than she was when she was your age, but she shows you that side of herself because she wants to be there for you. She wants you to come to her when you need her. It's her way of takin' care of you, an' sometimes I've had to tell her to take some time off and jus' let go of all that because it's too hard bein' the strong one all the time."

Laura didn't like it. It sounded like it made sense, but her sister was the strongest, most honourable person she knew next to Logan. Kitty had her insecurities and had a tendency to lean on Lance a lot, and Wanda's issues sometimes meant that John and the Brotherhood had to protect her from herself and others because she had tenuous control in times of difficulty, but Rogue stood alone, a pillar of unshakeable will that shone through no matter what happened. Somehow, believing that she was only human frightened Laura.

"Rogue has nightmares too, sweetheart. An' they're all about bein' abandoned an' having ta leave us behind because she's afraid that someday her powers are gonna cause an accident and then we won't want her around anymore in case it happens again," Logan said quietly, layers in his voice telling Laura that her sister had sat with Logan after those nightmares, crying on his shoulder and begging him not to let that happen to her. Just like Wanda begged John and the boys not to let them take her away again, and Laura begged her Dad not to let them hurt her.

She was struck by the realisation that even mutants who could move heaven and earth, control minds, and split the world in two woke up crying in the arms of the people who loved them. Why should her sister be any different, she who had been betrayed and deserted so many times?

"But that won't ever happen," Laura protested, and her father looked at her proudly.

"Damn straight it won't. I won't let it. No one's ever gonna hurt my girls again. But you see what I'm tryin' ta say here? You gotta live your life, sweetheart. Rogue's gotta live hers. She'll always be there for you, but her failures aren't yours and your life's not gonna be the same as hers. Do you understand that?" She nodded, and he set his mouth in its usual dissatisfied line.

"Good girl. And whatever happens between her and the Swamp Rat don't mean you can't still be happy when you're ready ta be." The smile on her face, though small, was contented, and she felt the truth of it warm her inside. She could do as she pleased...

But the success of Operation Fairytale was still non-negotiable.


Charles' fingers were steepled and his brow creased in deep contemplation as he mulled over the things he had just been told. He had been surprised to find that he could not read the young mutant's thoughts in any way, but had not commented upon it, feeling that it would be best not to admit to having tried that approach to verify his story. For once, he felt obliged to admit to himself that if it was all true then he was glad of his inability to read him. Kyle had been understandably unwilling to share the tale of his youth, but had grudgingly provided Charles with the basics. Childhood, sudden appearance of mutations following what appeared to be a lengthy illness of some kind, the first appearances of the most upsetting side-effects of his mutant genes that caused his parents to revile and cast him out of their home...

It was an upsetting thing to have to listen to. The blonde feral told that part of things in a quiet, halting manner, skating around any possible details regarding where he'd been born, names, dates – anything solid that could be traceable. When asked to explain the exact nature of his mutations as they had first appeared, he had been vague as well, but Charles had gathered that his general appearance had changed dramatically as well as his behaviour and physical abilities. He thought that the vagueness was likely more a matter of how young Kyle had been at the time, and how traumatised he had been by the events. Any child would attempt to block memories like that, it would be unnatural if he could recall everything precisely as it had been.

He had glossed over the short time between leaving his parents and being snapped up by the military-sanctioned organisation that had first attempted to manipulate and warp his mutation, but that too was to be expected. Charles assumed that during that time, Kyle would have been largely operating on instinct alone in an attempt to shut out the pain of losing his whole life in one fell blow the way he had.

He had tried to do the same to his actual time with the first organisation – a period that must have spanned at least a few years – but Charles had pressed for details, and he had become even more thankful that he couldn't pick up anything from the young man when he had briefly mentioned a few of the enhancements and upgrades he'd gotten during this time.

Asked to elaborate on these brief mentionings of just what he had been subjected to during his time there, his voice had dropped to a harsh grate and he had snapped when asked to be more specific regarding a few issues. Charles hadn't wanted to press them further than he'd already done. In truth, the change in the young man that talking about it brought out was inherently disturbing to watch. Charles found that he didn't honestly want to know more than the gist of things and the result of it. Kyle clearly didn't want to give him more than that, either.

After mentioning briefly what he referred to as 'my lapse', which Charles could only guess was a deeper manifestation of his animalistic side, as what had driven his parents to force him to leave out of fear, he hadn't mentioned it again, but Charles was sceptical. Asked to estimate how long he had been with the military organisation he couldn't, and when asked why he admitted to having no memory of long periods of time whilst being subjected to differing experiments. He refused to talk about his escape, or the capture by the second secret organisation to corrupt him during his so far miserable life, but he mentioned that when absconding from them, too, he had destroyed the records held of the Institute and Wolverine in particular, something Charles had not expected.

"Why did you feel that it was necessary to destroy them? Obviously, we'd rather not be known to such factors, but I find it interesting that you would do such a thing," he said honestly, and Kyle shrugged, unnaturally blue eyes meeting his.

"The file said that you used this place to hold mutant children," he replied, and Charles nodded.

"I see. I can only thank you for setting their research back." Kyle's eyes darkened.

"They did it to themselves. Training someone to be able to do those things and then giving them no reason to be loyal to you is just stupid." There was contempt in his tone, but also a measure of bitterness that Charles didn't understand until he added,

"You haven't made that mistake. These children would die for your cause because you've given them a reason to believe that they can win. That it's worth it." Charles looked at him, and was surprised to find that for the first time Kyle stared back with nothing but defiance where before there had been the shadow of a child behind it.

"I can assure you that I would never ask any of these children to die for me or my cause. I intend to win this war without having to shed the blood of those who should be allowed to live full lives, unafraid of being branded unworthy by the rest of the world. I am fighting it for them. They are not here to become soldiers. They are here to learn how to defend themselves and each other from those who do not understand that they're just children with powers they do not want and never asked for. Bigots, and others who are afraid of them even though they are here to learn control so that they won't have to fear themselves," Charles said in a measured, even tone.

"At least they would have that choice," Kyle answered, the shadow returning to his gaze, and Charles paused before asking,

"Did you choose to come here because of us?"

"I wanted to see if it was true." Charles sighed.

"You know I have to ask this, Kyle... Did you mean to begin a relationship with Laura?" The young man tilted his head to one side for a second, regarding him closely.

"And if I did?"

"Then I have to tell you that it isn't relevant at all. As much as I am charged with the wellbeing of the children in my care, as far as I have seen Laura is by far happier when with you. That's really all I care to know about it." Again, it seemed as though a measure of tension he hadn't realised the younger man had been holding on to vanished suddenly.

"Of course, seeing as none of us can make Laura do anything she doesn't want to do, there's nothing I can do about your relationship, but I must warn you that live-in couples do tend to be harassed considerably by the younger students and seeing as both her father and adopted sisters live here too, I foresee complications." Charles looked at Kyle to gauge his response to this generic 'you're all horny teenagers so we know you're all doing it but it's your responsibility to deal with the fall-out' speech, and the blonde just raised an eyebrow."That's all? I just have to put up with everyone hating me and promise not to do anything illegal while I'm here and that's it?" he asked, sounding as if there had to be some kind of catch.

"We don't like to ask our students to participate in training sessions or the like if they express a desire not to, just as we don't put any of them on missions if they truly do not want to go. Quite frankly, I dislike sending Laura out despite her clear advantage over the others to succeed, and I hope you won't be offended if I say I'm loath to ask you to take part either." Kyle's mouth twisted into a sarcastic smile.

"Yeah, don't send the unstable killer on a mission for your peaceful crusade. Seems like a good call to me," he said wryly, and Charles caught the odd tone of his voice.

"Why would you phrase it like that?" he asked, a little sharply, and Kyle sighed, flexing his claws.

"Professor, I'll be honest with you, both because it's liberating not to have to lie through my teeth and because you should know so that you can make an informed decision about me as opposed to just a biased one," he said, weighing his words as though he wanted to be as honest as he'd just said he would be, but wanted to present it the right way.

"I'm not like Creed. I don't like my powers. They've ruined my life. Everything that's been done to me over the years to improve me, to make me a better soldier, a better killer, has made the original drawbacks of my mutation worse. I'm not really... human... anymore."


Hank sat in the kitchen with Storm while she poured out coffee for both of them, and when she sat down next to him and proffered the mug he mumbled,

"Thank you," in a sad, heavy tone that made her look up, eyes clouded with something.

"Ororo?" he asked, noting the change in her demeanour, and she smiled and shook her head lightly.

"It was nothing, Hank, I'm sorry. It just struck me again that I believe we may have been wrong about Laura's friend," she said enigmatically, and Hank raised an eyebrow in question.

"Oh? How so?" Storm passed a hand through the steam rising from her coffee, tendrils of it clinging to her wake, and shrugged.

"It's just a feeling. He's here, you know. Talking to Charles." Hank's eyebrows shot up so far he almost felt them merge with his hairline.

"Charles agreed to this? He can't be seriously considering putting the boy on probation!" he blustered, and Storm raised a hand and placed it on his arm, speaking calmly.

"Charles and I both agree that all we really know of him is that Laura seems to like him, and in all honesty Hank, how many people does Laura choose to share a bond with?"

"Not many," Hank said grudgingly,

"But I don't see why that makes him in any way suited to our way of life. Ororo, the boy doesn't care at all for the rules of this house, he's roundly hated by everyone else here – especially Logan – and as far as I can tell we know next to nothing else about him!" Storm nodded, considering his opinion.

"I agree; we don't. But isn't the whole point of us being here to promote the idea of second chances? The other children weren't exactly keen to welcome Laura when she first arrived here, and Rogue hasn't always been made to feel at home either..." Hank took her hand and peered at her curiously.

"Ororo, there is something else you are basing all this on, I'm sure of it. I thoroughly agree that we are here to help everyone, but how can you be so sure that this one even wants to be helped? Tabitha left us because she felt suffocated after the freedom she was used to, Evan..." She looked at him steadily.

"Evan left us because he felt compelled to, and his help has ensured that the Morlocks have opened themselves to us so that we can help them, too. Torpid would never have come to us if it wasn't for Evan's prompting, and I'm almost certain he had a hand in convincing Dorian that the Institute was the right choice for him. I have accepted that Evan is happy where he is, now," she said softly, and he nodded.

"I know. I'm sorry, we just all... we all miss him," he said with a smile, and she returned it.

"Evan may have found happiness elsewhere, but we must still be open towards those who reach out to us, Hank. If we refuse the ones who have nowhere else to go, then how can we stand by our own beliefs that everyone deserves to be allowed a hearing? This boy may only be here because of Laura, but in all fairness, isn't it to his credit that he's even trying?" Hank sighed heavily.

"I suppose so. I'm afraid I'm just having trouble seeing him as anything other than the bane of Logan's existence," he said ruefully, then as if suddenly considering it,

"You can't think Logan will agree to this?" Ororo's face set into lines of determined certainty.

"If Laura wants it to work, Logan will have very little choice in the matter. After all, you can see how he's been forced to accept Remy," she said coolly, and Hank grinned.

"I never saw two young people better suited to one another. I think even Logan has to admit that to himself!" Ororo's smile was almost devious.

"Oh, he has..."


Remy was dreaming again. He hadn't dreamt in such a long time, it felt less like dreaming and more like a slow death, the grey layers of his drugged subconscious shifting and blurring together to form pictures that then folded and became other things again. He dimly recalled tales of some light or other that signified the end and which one was supposed to drift towards at the very end, but there wasn't one and he felt chilled and alone because no one was watching him struggle towards something that didn't exist.

Watching? Was someone supposed to be watching? It was all so unclear. His chest hurt and his eyes hurt, but he couldn't open them, or even lift his hand to rub them, and he tried to speak instead, but couldn't hear anything.

"... you can't hear me, but they're listening and Ah just – Ah jus' need to tell you before we get there and Ah have t' give you up again, and – Ah... This isn't fair..."

He heard her, though. Her... He heard Rogue. But she wasn't here, was she? He was just dreaming again, just dreaming. She was never coming back. Why would she? He wasn't something a girl like her would want to go back to anyway... But she was right, even if she wasn't real. Nothing was fair anymore.

"Ah'm sorry Ah didn' listen to ya. Ah'm sorry Ah'm such a coward. An' Ah'm sorry Ah can' keep you... Hell, Ah don' even know which one of us deserves that apology! Ah jus' wan' you t' know you're wrong... You're jus' the kinda Prince Charmin' Ah always wan'ed. Ah'm the one who's not good enough for you... You deserve someone who can be ev'rythang to ya an' Ah'm jus' not that girl..."

He wanted to tell her just how wrong she was, that she was already everything to him, and more, but he just didn't have the strength to fight the overwhelming fatigue that washed over him, crushing his willpower to nothing as he gave up and let it take him...


She saw him sigh in the artificial slumber, his face drawn as she spoke, her voice below a whisper, knowing neither Logan nor Laura would interfere or listen in on her confessions but needing her words to be for him only.

"Ah love you, Remy LeBeau. Ah never wan'ed t' love ya, but you made me. It's really all your fault, y' know... Ah take it back. It's mah faul' we're lahke this... Ah'm jus' not... Ah can' trust you... Ah wan' to, so much, but... Ah guess Ah don' trust mahself, really. Ah mean, what kinda girlfriend would Ah be anyway? Ah'm not a display piece kinda gal, an' Ah'm not gonna be a great housewahfe... Hank says Ah maght not even be able ta have kids... An' when you're well again, Ah won' even be able t' touch you... It's not fair... But Ah do love ya, Remy. Ah jus' wish Ah could tell ya..."

She could almost feel her heart breaking completely as her fingers gently stroked his hair out of his eyes, wishing that she could have just let him kiss her that night, let him tell her whatever he wanted to and believed it without questioning herself, without being so afraid. But it was true. What could she give him that he couldn't have with someone else? She didn't think he entertained ideas of a future with a wife and children just yet, didn't think he was done being young and free just yet, but when he did? When he finally grew up and started looking for the woman he wanted to spend his life with, what then? She couldn't give him any kind of future. She didn't have any kind of future...


The warning look Logan gave her as they flew over the bayou was enough to stop her from leaping out of her seat and running down to shake Rogue back to sanity, but she didn't find it inappropriate to express her disapproval.

"She's not going to tell him," she hissed at her father, and he sighed.

"She will, kid. You just hang tight and don' say a word, ya hear?"

As he brought them into a steep descent she bit her tongue on purpose and crossed her arms, trying to focus on the sound of their slipstream instead of her sister's words. Rogue had one thing right. Life wasn't fair. But if she wasn't going to tell Remy then Laura damn sure was.


She'd been out on the porch all day, waiting. Ever since that Howlett fella called her up and told her they were bringing back her baby she'd been pacing holes in the floor, and nothing Jean-Luc could say could dissuade her that the X-Men had done wrong by her Remy. Henri had been banished from her sight after a particularly insensitive comment about how he always pulled through and they were likely just sending him back because they were tired of having to doublecheck the locks on all the girls' doors at night. She didn't need to hear that sort of frivolous talk when he could be coming back worse off than he'd left.

"Mattie. Come on inside, y' done enough waitin' 'round t'day. He'll be home soon an' then y' can do y' fussin'," Mercy called from the door, but Mattie just shook her head and folded her hands in her lap, eyes on the sky.

"Non. He'll be comin' any minute now. Je sais, ma fille, je sais..." she replied, settling herself into the old rocker she'd installed herself in. Mercy just threw her hands up and retired inside, but Mattie kept her steely gaze right where it was. If they were bringing him back damaged she was bringing the heat.


They were landing before she knew what was going on, and Laura was suddenly by her side with a syringe, giving Remy a counter-shot to whatever they'd given him at the start of their journey. Within seconds he was opening his eyes, but she averted hers and stood as Laura helped him up and asked him a few cursory questions regarding the functionality of his limbs and whether he felt awake. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to have to see him leave her. Logan's hand on her shoulder, however, put an abrupt end to her dream of staying in the jet where she would be free from drawn out goodbyes.

"Come on now girly. You've got a responsibility here," he said gruffly, steering the unwilling Rogue out the same way Laura had just steered the wobbly Remy.

"Logan, please don' – Ah can' do this – " she protested, but he just shook his head and put his arm around her shoulders, forcing her to comply. As they walked down the steps, the comparitively heavy, oppressive heat of the bayou after the sub-zero winter temperatures she'd left behind at home hit her like a ton of bricks and she felt a wave of nostalgic longing for the southern climes of her youth. She gave Logan a hunted, pleading look, but he kept his gaze firmly on the figures of Remy and Laura approaching the house ahead, and she realised he wasn't going to let up on her this time. He was going to make her face this like an adult. She didn't think she'd ever hated anyone more than him at this moment.

There was a wet, warm smell in the air around them as they drew nearer to the large house beyond the last of the low-growing trees, and she recognised it from the few times Remy had worn his coat around her. The same scent clung to the worn old leather of the garment and she felt an odd envy that he could remain so close to his true home even when he wasn't wanted there, as though the bayou was a part of him in a way that her own home town had never been to her. Ahead, she saw someone rise from a chair on the porch, and she saw Laura grip Remy's arm more firmly as they drew level with the house.

"That's his Aunt... Logan... This isn' raght," she said softly, and her father figure grunted.

"Firs' sensible thing you've said all day Stripes."


She saw them land, saw a petite girl approach with a supportive arm around her Remy, and behind them the Southern Belle with the white bangs who had pleaded Remy's case to the X-Men, the Rogue that Remy had told her about. Mattie was not a stupid woman, and being the observant person that she was she noticed two things wrong with this picture. The first being that her Remy looked just as bad as when he'd left her, if able to walk on his own after a fashion, and the second being that that Rogue girly looked mighty down for the occasion and the arm her daddy had around her didn't look so much supportive as preventive, s in preventing her from turning tail and running along back to that jet of theirs. Being who she was, Mattie LeBeau decided something has transpired that she ought to have been informed about. And so when the girl and her Remy were close enough, she rose to go and greet them with narrowed eyes and a tongue ready to do some lashing.


Laura held Remy up by the arm as his Aunt approached them, her mouth set in a thin line that boded ill for them all, and she was about to say something to diffuse the situation when Tante Mattie beat her right to it.

"Remy Etienne LeBeau! What in de worl' y' doin' comin' back 'ere in dis state? I better not be hearin' notin' bad abou' your stay dere boy – y' still plenty young enough f' y' Tante t' be enforcin' some discipline y' hear!" she threatened, finger raised with intent to accuse. Laura took an instant liking to this woman, just as Logan had said she would. Here was a military soul she could relate to!"Ce n'est pas ma faute, je suis innocent..." Remy mumbled, looking down at his boots, and his Aunt made a disbelieving noise and glared past him at Logan and Rogue who stood awaiting her judgement just behind them.

"À qui la faute alors? Dis y' doin', bringin' back mon bébé précieux like dis?" she demanded, and Laura could almost feel Logan cringe.

"Hold up there now, Mattie, we did what we could for your boy here – there were complications – " he began, but she held up a hand and Logan wisely stopped talking.

"Pour autant que je puisse en juger, y' brough' him back jus' as bad as he was before y' ever came down here t' begin wit'! Min' tellin' me how dat comes under de headin' o' complications?"

"Tatan... 's not deir faul'... Je suis desolé..." Remy attempted, but she silenced him with another of those formidable glares and gestured for Logan to defend himself.

"Look, we never guaranteed anythin' – we said we migh' be able t' help the boy an' we've given it our best shot, y' can't blame us for not bein' able t' fix him!" By the look in Tante Mattie's eye she disagreed with that on a deep, personal level.

"Y' better damn well believe I can blame y' f' not deliverin' on y' word, Logan. Unless y' got a better reason f' lettin' him come back home lookin' like dat, I ain' hearin' y' excuses!"

"Please don' do dis," Remy pleaded, and Laura took a second to admire his balls for trying to appease the human tornado that was his Aunt Mattie. Apparently, the pressure had finally become too much, though.

"It's mah faul', alragh'?! It was meh!" Rogue yelled, voice breaking, and Laura and Remy turned as one to look at her. The Southern Gothic was crying, huge tears rolling down her face as she addressed Remy's Aunt, who took a few steps forward and crossed her arms.

"I tink y' better come on inside wit' me, petite," Mattie said firmly, and the weeping, cowed Rogue let herself be taken by the arm and led into the house by the other woman. The porch door slamming behind them broke the shocked silence that had descended over the rest of the party, and Laura let go of Remy who promptly slumped down on a handy porch step, head in his hands.

"You're right Logan, she's good," she remarked, ignoring the stream of mingled French and English expletives that escaped through the miserable Cajun's fingers.


With a cup of sweet tea in front of her and seated in a kitchen that was so inherently Southern she could almost picture a child-Remy sitting on the counter eating cookies while the Cajun firecracker masquerading as his Aunt made the gumbo, Rogue's tears fell with renewed purpose. This was what she wanted, to be the one looking through the pretty lace curtains while she made his favourite meal and waited for him to stroll in off the bayou and kiss her hello after a hard day's work. She looked up in surprise when Mattie laid an embroidred hanky in front of her and remarked,

"Dry dem tears, cherie, I seen enough belle filles cryin' over m' Remy." Dabbing delicately at her eyes and trying not to smudge black makeup all over the pretty cloth, she looked up at the warm, sympathetic eyes of Mattie LeBeau and almost went into fresh floods.

"Why are ya bein' so nahce t' meh?" she asked thickly, feeling stupid for being probably the umpteenth girl to sit in Mattie's perfect kitchen crying over her perfect Remy. The Cajun woman just smiled at her.

"Honey, I seen a lot o' girls wit' m' boy dere, an' I seen a lot o' tears shed f' him. Y' de only fille I ever met dat could make him cry too."

"What..? Ah don' – " Mattie held up a hand and she piped down, figuring she might as well hear whatever the older woman had to say even if it sounded wildly improbable.

"When he came home las' time after all dis business wit' Jean-Luc, I knew dere was sometin' up, an' his pere kep' askin' all dese questions abou' ot'er mutants like himself, wantin' him t' go an' ask dem t' take him in. He mentioned y'. Remy said he'd rat'er die dan let y' get mixed up in all dis, de fam'ly business. Dey had a big figh'..."

Rogue could imagine as much. She'd heard the exchange between Remy and his father, Jean-Luc asking if she could 'do all of that with justa touch of her hand' and Remy telling him to leave it alone. It seemed feasible that he would have kept on at the subject even though his son wasn't amenable to the idea of using the X-Men for any further personal gain. Mattie smiled at her, put a hand on her gloved one reassuringly.

"Cherie... mon bébé, he maybe not de bes' gamble f' de long run – I can admit dat, I know him – but de boy wouldn' stop talkin' about de plus belle Rogue once I got him t' tell moi abou' y'... Dat means sometin'. Now y' tell Tante Mattie straigh' – did m' Remy do sometin' bad t' y' because he weren' tinkin'?" She couldn't avoid the Cajun woman's eyes, and she had to nod agreement. Mattie was talking to her as though this was some kind of diplomatic meeting between rival entities trying to work out some form of collaboration, with just the right amount of motherly sympathy and derision for her child's behavioural anomalies. She couldn't keep anything from this woman. One had to wonder how Remy's values had gotten so intensely screwed with this person in his life...


Remy was a wreck. Logan had gone off to one side to have a cigar to himself leaving Laura to observe with great interest the complete breakdown of Remy Etienne LeBeau. Laura had seen many a person experience many an emotion in her time since the destruction of HYDRA and coming to live at the Institute, but never before had she seen misery and hopelessness this profound before. At one point he made a truly horrible groaning noise that prompted her to ask whether he was alright for fear he might actually be dying, but he ignored her and kept on breathing so she was kept in suspense until Logan tired of his one on one time with the cigar and joined them once more.

"They' been in there an awfully long time..." he said apprehensively, and Laura nodded.

"I know. Almost an hour. I am restless. I want to go home," she said, not bothering to curb the sharpness in her tone.

"Ain't nobody goin' anywhere until Stripes comes out and we have a final verdict from that – "

"Ah wouldn' finish that thought, Daddy," Rogue said from the door, and they turned as one to see Mattie and Rogue standing on the porch, the older woman's arm around the younger girl's shoulders, a sparkle in her eye that made Laura almost hopeful for a second. Remy got to his feet and stood there looking like he might make a run for it. Laura readied herself to pursue him if he decided to make that call.

"Now, dis 'ere petite femme's been tellin' moi some int'restin' tings," Mattie said, then looked sharply at Remy.

"Remy! D' y'love dis fille?" Remy's face was an interesting study in shock, and Laura moved to one side to see it better.

"I – oui, Rogue, je t'aime, parbleu, I love y'," he blurted out, and Mattie's face glowed with triumphant pleasure.

"Je sais," she said simply, then let go of Rogue and kissed the younger girl's cheek, drawing back to say,

"Y' know, I tink' y' de only one besides me he ain' never been able t' lie t', cherie. Go on." Rogue's eyes shone as she hugged the Cajun woman and then she abruptly threw herself at Remy who caught her just barely, staggering under the sudden copious armfuls of Southern Belle, and there, in front of her father and his Aunt, Rogue kissed Remy the way Laura had been waiting for. Just like in the fairy tales.


She had told Mattie everything, all her fears, about her powers and how they might interfere with their happiness even if things did work out, everything she wished she could have because she loved him, and when the Cajun woman had looked at her with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, she had been confused. Until she spoke.

"Cherie, I been wantin' t' hear y' say all dat since de momen' I met y'," the other woman had told her, sounding more than a little emotional despite her smiles.

"I know de boy loves y' too, an' let me tell y', he ain' never loved dis way before – dere are certain tings a tante knows abou' her baby. Now, if he admits it, would y' take him off m' hands for moi?" She hadn't been able to answer, certain that he'd never say it out loud even if he did love her too, and doubly certain that she wouldn't have the courage to accept him even if he admitted it when pressed, but on that porch with his aunt's arm around her, watching the way his beautiful eyes widened in shock and honesty when she asked him, hearing the way he said her name, and the way the admission of love tore from his throat as though he had been holding it in for so long it was almost painful to part with, she just couldn't refuse herself any longer.

Throwing herself into his arms she was afraid he might buckle and topple over, but he seemed to summon a hidden reserve solely for the purpose of kissing her soundly to seal the deal – or was she kissing him? It didn't matter, she was in his arms, and they were kissing each other just – like – a – goddamn – fairytale – and it was perfect, and it was –

"Thank you Rogue! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the addition of what had to be Laura's hug to the mix made her look up from the heady combination of Remy's kiss and their newly admitted love for one another as she heard her sister – thanking her for being in love?

"Alright, break it up, kids, break it up – " Logan said harshly, pulling an exuberant Laura off the happy couple and getting up close and eye-to-beady-father-eye with Remy.

"Listen here, bub, your version of lovin' my little girl better be the one that involves stickin' around an' doin' right by her or I swear I'm 'a finally have that barbecue Cajun-style I' been wantin' ta throw since I met y'," he threatened in a low growl, and Rogue clung to Remy's collar for dear life while Remy gulped and said very quickly,

"Don' worry, Remy learnt his lesson – I ain' goin' nowhere 'less ma chere's goin' too – 'm not lettin' her get away dis time..." he trailed off, and she in turn fell into his eyes again as they forgot Logan's angry presence, until Mattie cleared her throat.

"Remy, y' listen up now boy, 'cause I ain' tellin' y' twice. Rogue's got ways o' lettin' me know if y' do wrong by her, an' I wan' t' hear notin' but good reports. We clear?" Remy's attention snapped onto his Aunt as he nodded, eyes wide and sincere.

"Je promesse, tatan, Remy promesse," he said, sounding almost frightened that he might not be believed and holding Rogue rather closer to him than might be perceived as necessary. Mattie nodded curtly and fixed Logan with a serious look.

"Y' take care o' my Rogue now Logan. She's a good girl dat one an' Remy be lucky t' have her," she said, and Rogue thought she heard a slight hint of parental appreciation pass from the Cajun to the Canadian. Logan grunted, grinning and pulling the beaming Laura in with one arm as he replied,

"Don' I know it. I'm a lucky man." Rogue would have paid more attention to Mattie's reply that seemed to be more parental aprreciation by way of courtesy directed at Laura, who was emulating the sun and smiling fit to burst, but Remy dipped his head towards her ear at that moment and whispered,

"Not as lucky as me..." and it became difficult to pay attention to anything beyond the sound of his voice and thefeel of him holding her like that, and –

"Rogue! Remy! We're going home!" Laura tugged at Remy's arm and dislodged it from around Rogue, who frowned a little until she fully heard the words her sister had said.

"Are ya ready t' come home, Cajun?" she said softly, looking back quickly at Logan and Mattie who were exchanging goodbyes. Mattie winked at Rogue and she had to smile before looking back into Remy's glowing eyes.

"Chere, 'm home wherever y' are... Lead de way," he said simply, kissing her briefly before putting his arm firmly around her waist and letting her rest her head against his shoulder, walking back to the jet in perfect time.