He was singing something.

"There is a house…in New Orleans…"

He hiccupped.

"And it's been the ruin of many' a' poor boys…And, God, I know…I'm one"

He hiccupped again.

"My father was a gambling man…down..in New Orleanszz…"
She stared at him. He was drunk again. How could he? She only left him half an hour ago, and he was in the infirmary.

"An the onlyyy thiiing…a gambler needs..is a suitcase and…."
He couldn't continue. He almost fell off the chair. She caught him.

"REMY! You're drunk again!"
"No I'm not. I'm just..very sad, chere."
"You know who I am?"
"It's pretty hard to forget such a beautiful face…such a beautiful soul…"
"C'mon Gambit. Let's go to sleep."
"Non. I have to think 'bout some things chere. I might be going back to new Orleans…" he started singing again . "I'm goin' back to New Orleans.. to wear that ball and chain…"

He smiled sadly. "You know chere, this is an old song. The 'Animals' sing it. Around the '70s. About the house of rising Sun…in New Orleans…and a gambler…and a chain… sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"Remy."
"Non. I drunk some wine but I'm not wasted. I know who I am where I am and what I have to do. And I have to go. As far as I can. New Orleans's far enough…There is a house.."
"Yeah, I know the song, now tell me what's going on?"
"What do yeah mean, Rogue?"
"I mean I absorbed Emma and her last memories. Including some of your thoughts that she heard."
He stared at her waiting.

" When we bumped into Sabertooth… well, he bumped into us at the library…he said something 'bout Essex and 'bout your treasure."
He remained quiet.

"Who is your treasure? 'couse now I'm shore it's not a 'something'. It's someone."
"You." He said simply. "The thing I care the most in the world."

Now that was honest. She was certainly flattered but he didn't have to go to protect her. She could take care of herself.

"You don't have to go away."
"I do."
"No!"
"Rogue what don't you get? If I don't leave he'll come after you!"
"Essex?"
"Yes! He will kill you Rogue, and I can't risk that! I'd better know him after me down there then here, putting you in danger! Warren will find a way to be with you, you'll be okay. Just fine. Safe. And happy."
"What don't you get you IDIOT CAJUN?" she yelled. "I'M MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU! ONLY YOU!"

"Well that's too bad chere." He said looking at the floor. He was hardly trying not to cry.

"Why do I feel like I'm in twilight or something? This isn't real. And you are drunk." Rogue said like she was going to explode.

"I'm not. You're not chere. This is real world. And I love you more than you can imagine. But I have to go."

BOOM!

The wall exploded near them. A bunch of mutants pointed their guns to them.

"Gambit." Said a tall hairy man with yellow eyes. "Surrender."

"How you wish" he said rising his arms.

"REMY!" Rogue shouted in despair. "You can't! X-MEN GET HERE!"
"Non, chere. No need to put them in danger. This is Sinister. And a son has to listen to his father, doesn't he?" he finished with a sad smile. Rogue shook her head in shock. Did he say "sinister" and "son" in the same sentence, talking about himself?

"Shut up, little girl. This doesn't have anything to do with you..at least for now" said the same mutant, who seemed to be the leader. "Don't do something reckless…you might regret it. And you can't fight all of us…"

"Wanna bet?" she said and in one move she was near the leader, gloves off. She touched his face for two seconds, then let him faint on the floor. The others charged their guns.

Then it al turned into darkness. Rogue could hear the X-men attacking the intruders. She could hear everything, but couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't do anything for them or Gambit.

"Rogue wake up! Rogue!"

She opened her eyes. She was in a very white place. Heaven? Then she saw the fury blue men and a man with wings. Were they an angel and a demon?" Kind of but not" she thought. She was in the lab and there were Warren and Doctor Hank McCoy. So she was alive. Then she remembered everything.

"GAMBIT" she shouted rising from the bed.

"Rogue are you all right?" Hank McCoy asked.

"Yes, whatever, where is he? Is he all right?"
"I'm afraid Remy was taken, Rogue"

"WHAT?"

"Yes, we arrived just in time to see you fall. Jean caught you with her powers and we all attacked. We took some of them and they are in the cells now. Just in case. We couldn't get anything yet, but apparently they work for Sinister, a very powerful mutant. And a dangerous one, as we could see."
She knew that. But where was Gambit?

"But a few of them left, with Gambit. I'm sorry. Logan is out trying to find where they left. Ororo is searching the sky and Jean and the professor are trying to fin him using Celebro."
"And?"
"We don't know yet."
She didn't know why but she started to cry. Everything was so perfect. Too perfect. And now he was gone. No one knew where. All they knew was that Sinister took him. Sinister..he was his father! How was that possible? And what did that white bitch have to do with all this? Rogue was going to have a talk with her. A not very nice one. But first she had to get out of the lab. She tried to get up..

"Ouuu…" she moaned in pain. Everything hurt.

"Are you all right?" Warren asked.

"GET AWAY FROM ME" she shouted. Again, she had no reason. She just did what she felt. Well, not fully, because that would mean to kill Sinister.

"YOU! Did YOU get those people to get Remy?"
"What?" Warren asked in shock. Or was it…fear?
"Don't play with me, I saw your thoughts when I absorbed Emma! She knew what you wanted to do. And now I know too. You wanted to take him out of the picture for some selfish reasons!"
"Rogue, I.."
"We don't even know each other that well! So what's the point?"

He just stared at the floor. SHE NEDED TO KILL SOMETHING.

"Is that true, Warren?" McCoy asked.

"Yes."
"How did you find Sinister?"
"I..my father . I found out about him from my father. I contacted him and talked to him. He wanted something I could give him. And he could give me something o wanted. Not just you Rogue. He can make my wings disappear!"
"You are insane." She whispered. "That crazy man won't help you, he will turn you into one of his slaves! And apparently he is Remy's father and he wants to turn him into a heartless creature too."
Warren and Hank starred at her. Then the professor entered the room, after the signal Hank tried to send him.

"Rogue, Warren, please tell me all you know."
So they did. Rogue thought she was going to take his head off every time he opened his mouth to apologize. Was he insane? He destroyed her life, her happiness, for nothing. Something he could never have. And Remy…why was he so..so powerless and so easy to take away? Why didn't he fight? Didn't he think he could beat them? Or was there something else? And what could they do to her? She was the Rogue. She could resist anything…anything but this. She never thought things would go so far. She was so in love with him, that she couldn't even imagine life without Remy. And now there she was. Alone.

Two weeks later.

Merde. I hope she is safe. I'll survive. It's okay. Essex can do what he want, he won't get any cooperation from me. I will kill him when I get the chance. I will kill him so he won't be able to harm anyone. I'm about to kill my father and I'm okay with dat…well at least I'm like him somehow… Rogue is safe. Everything is okay..AFGH THE PAIN. It doesn't matter. No. Everything…

"REMY!" Rogue shouted waking up in the middle of the night. Those were..those were his thoughts…he was alive…where was he ? She went straight to the professor when she still had that in her head. She hoped he could find something. And he did.

"The link between you and Remy..it's amazing, I never thought…anyway we should go. I think I found him."

They went to a weird place in…Somewhere in some mountains in Canada. She had no idea where exactly. They entered, fought a lot and finally Rogue's team , with Kitty, Emma, Logan, Storm and herself found Remy and other prisoners. It was exactly how Remy described the place he saved Emma from. She agreed with that. They freed the mutants Kurt teleported all of them outside with Jean's help. In the last cell, there was Remy, lying on a metal bed with no sheets, with an unhealthy color of the skin, eyes closed and less weight.

"REMY! Are you all right?"
He opened his eyes at the touch of the gloved hands.

"Rogue..chere…you found me.."
"Yes, I found you. Are you okay?"
"Does he look okay to you? Let's take him out of there." Logan said and cut the chains that kept him on the bed.

They destroyed the lab, but couldn't find Essex. His smell was everywhere according to Logan, but he wasn't there. He took off in the last minute. The good news were that they rescued all the mutants he kept there.

The X-men were tired, dirty and full of dust. But they saved many lives that night. Including Gambit's.

"Rogue." Remy said from the top of his bed, one week later, after he recovered. "How did you find me?"
She tolled him about dreaming his thoughts. He smiled.

"We have quite a connection, don't we, chere?"
"Yes, we do."

"Thank you."

She smiled. He didn't have to say too many words, she knew everything he felt somehow. Anything but one thing.

"What I don't get Cajun. Why didn't you fight? Why did you want to leave?"
"Because I wanted you to be safe. And Emma tolled me she felt Sinister's presence and she made some researching. And she found out about Essex being my father. I didn't want to put you in danger."
"Yeah, good luck with that. You really thought I wouldn't come for you?"
"I hoped you wouldn't find me."
"I did."
"I'm glad you did."