ALLREMS: here it is! That new chapter you were looking for. As for the Lorna/Magneto thing, I plan on inserting a joke about that in here. Somewhere…at some point…

BlueFox: I'm glad I have restored so faith in you.

laraandkurtisfan97: haha, I believe you. You knew it. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Zany: Get ready for the return of Easily Distracted Remy.

annacat721: thank you for the lovely review. As usual.

Onward we go!

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Instead of running to Lorna's rescue, Remy simply raised both his eyebrows, looked inside Rogue's room, then back to Rogue.

"Should I be worried?"

Rogue made a "so-so" gesture with her hand. "She does this most nights. Usually stops after a minute or so. If not, then I wake her up."

"Ah. Gotcha." He reached out to pull Rogue into another kiss but for some weird reason, she pushed him away, looking indignant.

"Remy!"

"What I do?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, pushing the door open and going back into the room. Remy watched her go, trying to determine if he supposed to follow her in.

He knew he wasn't allowed to but Remy LeBeau wasn't allowed to do a lot of things.

He still had a lot of things he wanted to say to Rogue. Some of those things he couldn't accurately convey without the use of his tongue. And she left the door open.

An open door was an open invitation in Remy LeBeau's books.

And a closed door was just a lock pick away from being open.

He padded inside the girls room quietly, shutting the doors behind him. Rogue was seated on the edge of Lorna's bed, trying to rouse the screaming girl as gently as possible. Her gloves were on her empty bed.

The closer he got to the women, the more concern flooded his body. Lorna wasn't just screaming and tossing a little. Her whole body writhed and twisted, her back arching in unseen agony. Tears leaked from the corner of her tightly shut eyes.

In the back of his mind, he felt the beginnings of a memory flash. But he couldn't place it.

Rogue shook Lorna by the shoulders, looking increasingly concerned. "It's never like this." She shook Lorna a little harder. "Wake up, Lor. Lor? Lorna! Lorna, wake up!"

Rogue's efforts were of no avail. Lorna continued to moan and sob in her sleep. Remy found himself kneeling in front of her, trying to figure out what to do in this situation. He was never very good with dealing with distraught women. It was one of many reasons why he and Belladonna were such a horrible match. She was always distraught about something and he just sat back blinking like a big dope. At least with Rogue, she vocalized her anger so he knew exactly what he did wrong. The part where she threw things at his head wasn't so awesome, but at least he wasn't confused.

Just sore.

But with Lorna, he didn't know what to do. She was so upset and she wasn't even awake. What was he supposed to do? Hug her? Whisper into her ear that it'd be okay while patting her back in a soothing manner? Or did he wake up? Wait. Were you supposed to wake up people who were having nightmares? Wasn't there something that said it was bad to do that?

No. Wait. That was sleepwalkers.

Still didn't explain what the hell he was supposed to do about Lorna.

Rouge was trying hard to wake the distressed girl but nothing seemed to be working. She called her name, growing louder and louder each time. Finally, after almost two minutes of struggling, Rogue just shrugged, pulled back and slapped Lorna across the face.

The green haired girl sat up straight in bed, a sob ripped from her throat. She looked around the room, wide eyed and seemingly unaware of her surroundings. She took a moment to take in Remy and then Rogue before a fresh wave a sobs engulfed her. She then threw herself into Rogue's arms and wailed helplessly into her shoulder.

Remy watched with a mix of confusion and concern. Rogue wore a similar expression on her face. She seemed unsure of how to react to Lorna's unexpected neediness. But since she was clearly in need of a friend, his adorable girlfriend wrapped her arms around Lorna in what had to have been the most awkward hug he had the misfortune of witnessing.

"…there…there…it's okay. It was just a dream."

Lorna shook her head vigorously, not lifting it from where she had buried in between Rogue's shoulder and neck. Remy couldn't help think about how he liked to kiss that one spot in particular.

But he had more important things to deal with at the moment.

Like Lorna. Lorna was very upset. This was more important than kissing Rogue's neck. And biting her gently. And kissing her some more. And maybe working his hands under her shirt and then after that, it wouldn't be hard to inch them farther north. And once he was there—wait. What?

Oh wait. Lorna. Right. She was upset.

The smut would have to wait.

Remy pressed his hand to Lorna's back, but she only cried harder at his touch. He and Rogue shared a bewildered look.

"Lorna…cherie, it's okay. It was only a bad dream. It's okay now."

She moaned with bone deep agony, far beyond his help at this point. Rogue, his awkward little Rogue, looked at him helplessly. Comforting or being emotional available to others in need never was a strong point of hers. It was almost funny how lost she was.

Almost.

But this whole situation sucked. Lorna was deeply upset, effectively ending his and Rogue's moment. And it was a moment going so well. After he finished laughing at her for thinking something so unconceivable as marriage—hah!—she seemed genuinely surprised and touched by his gesture. He was wondering what she would do. Cry? Smile? Hug him? Kiss him? Recite an ode about his manliness and sexual prowess? Rend off all his clothing and make sweet passionate love to him in the snow?

Actually, he kind of liked that idea. It was a little chilly but it definitely appealed to him. He had a feeling if they moved fast enough, the cold wouldn't bother them much.

He was going to add sex in the snow to The List. It was a list he had composed when he first decided he fancied Rogue of places they would…ahem. Well, either way, he liked the list. Because just as often as he crossed a location off, he would think of a new one.

Up next was in Charlie's office. Remy wasn't sure how he was going to maneuver that one but he would figure it out. In One-Eye's pretty little car was his goal though.

He wondered if he should tell Rogue about The List. Maybe she would have some input…?

A particularly mournful sob pulled Remy back to the situation at hand. Right. Lorna. Upset. She really needed his help.

He needed to concentrate.

As he and Rogue attempted to soothe the girl, she hiccupped and sputtered barely comprehensible words. He could only make out a little bit of what she was trying to say. One thing caught his attention though. Something she whispered. Something he easily could have missed.

"…Essex…"

He hadn't heard the name for years. In fact, it took him several moments to remember why the name resonated with him. But then he had a flash of his youth and being in Canada. The people he saw who were experimented on. The diary he was sent to receive. And a really creepy man whose last name was Essex.

Remy took hold of Lorna's shoulders and jerked her upright without thinking. She didn't really seem to care. She was still crying. But he needed to know. He suddenly needed to know very badly.

"Lorna," he told her urgently, taking hold of her chin. "Lorna, talk to me."

She shook her head, her chin quivering. But she needed to talk.

"Remy…?" Rogue said, sounding confused.

He shot her an agitated look. Couldn't they understand this was important? He lifted her head again, turning it toward his face. If she wasn't going to talk, then he was going to make her.

"Lorna," he said, his voice smooth and persuasive. She looked up, surprised. Which was perfect because he was able to make eye contact. He kicked his empathic charm in overdrive. "Lorna, what was the name of the man who took you? I need to know real bad."

She blinked dazedly. "Nathaniel Essex," she told him.

Nathaniel. Yeah. That was crazy-pants' first name.

"But," she went on, "he called himself Mr. Sinister."

Remy let go of her chin, his limbs seeming to fail him. Without his consent, he found himself sitting down, his whole body numb. Lorna, who seemed to have managed to compose herself somewhat after his empathic influence watched him confusedly. Rogue was growing concerned.

"What's wrong, Rems?"

He exhaled. He hadn't realizes he was holding his breath.

"I think…" His hand reached up to rub the scar on his chest. "I know Nathaniel Essex. He hired me when I was seventeen to do a heist for him. My scar…."

Remy looked at Rogue and Lorna. They both wore identical looks of shock on their face. The fear that had flooded his body left instantly. He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, please. Don' act all surprised that I worked wit' some bad people. We all know I gotta sordid past. Don' even give me that look."

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NEXT CHAPTER: Lorna finally speaks up.