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Chapter 12

Rogue stopped the bike a block away from where they had encountered his 'brothers'. He got off the bike. "Let me see your neck Kitten." He ordered as she tipped her neck up. There was blood on her throat. He had an image flash through his mind of blood streaking down another throat, a green one. The image vanished. He looked at the smear of blood on Katherine's throat. He saw red. "I'm going back and I'm going to kill the bastard." He growled.

"Ro...Raphael." Katherine said to him.

"That ain't my name Kitten. There's nothing wrong with the name you gave me." He said angrily.

"But..." She began.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said as he got back on the bike. Luckily for him she couldn't push him to talk because it was a long drive home and it was hard to talk on a bike.

Emotions, thoughts and questions were bouncing and rolling through him. Rage and fear however were the emotions currently vying for his attention. Rage at the guy who had grabbed and threatened Katherine, and fear that she had been grabbed in the first place. She could have been killed. The blood on her neck sent a wave of fear and realization through him. All he could think about was the guy...Leo. That was his name. All Rogue could think about was that this Leo, was threatening the woman he loved. He briefly closed his eyes.

He was in love with Katherine. He knew he was falling for her, was attracted to her, but he didn't think that he was stupid enough to let himself fall in love with her. But he should have known. Should have figured it out after she had been hurt in the car accident, but he wouldn't let himself think the thought, but tonight, he let himself think it.

And now he had encountered his 'brothers'. They knew who he was, and they had wanted to take him with them, but the horror he had felt at the thought of them taking him was overwhelming. He didn't want anything to do with anyone who threatened an innocent woman, 'brothers' or not, but the thought that he may be exactly like them sent a shiver of dread through him. If he was that type of person, he didn't ever want to remember who he was.

Rogue pulled the bike into the garage, turned it off and sat a moment. He finally got off the bike, pulled off his helmet, and looked at Katherine. He didn't know what emotions she saw rolling around in his eyes, but she slowly got off the bike and looked at him. She reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I'm okay." She said softly.

Anger boiled and raged through him. "Yeah, but because of me, you almost weren't!" He growled at her.

"I think that was all a very bad misunderstanding." Katherine said softly.

"Some misunderstanding! That guy had a sword to your throat! I'm sorry Kitten, but whoever I am, and whoever they are, I don't care. I don't ever want my memory back if that is what I'm like." He said angrily.

Katherine's eyes widened in shock. "But what if what they said was true?" She asked him seriously.

"What? That you were responsible for me almost bein' killed, then somehow erased my memory all so that you could what? Use me against them? I've never heard anything so stupid." He ground out in frustration.

"Yes, but how do you know?" She insisted. "You only have my word as to what happened."

"Because I know you Kitten." He said letting go of her hand and gently holding her face between his hands.

"Then if you know me, then you know yourself. 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet." She said to him.

"What?" He questioned in confusion.

"Romeo and Juliet. It means that it doesn't matter what your name is, a name isn't important, it is who you are that is. And you may not remember who you are, but you know yourself. It is okay to be Raphael."

He shook his head in denial. "I don't want you ever callin' me by that name Kitten. My name is Rogue." He said fiercely.

She opened her mouth in protest.

"Ever!" He said firmly.

She snapped her mouth shut, but nodded, worry in her eyes. She reached up and stroked his cheek with her thumb. He closed his eyes at the sensation of her warm hand brushing agaisnt his cheek. He couldn't resist her anymore. His emotions were too raw, too close to the surface. He didn't even think about what he was going to do. He leaned down and kissed her.

He was about to pull back in horror at what he had done, when her arms snaked around his neck. He let go of her face, wrapping his arms around her and crushing her to him. He devoured her. He didn't ever want to stop kissing her, didn't ever want to lose her.

He finally pulled away. She looked up at him and blushed. She pulled herself from his arms. "Do you know how to start a fire?" She asked him. He blinked down at her in confusion. "There is wood by the fire pit." She said as she turned and walked slowly from the garage, a slight limp in her gait.

He didn't ever think he would understand how her mind worked. It was one of the things he loved and hated about her. She thought of herself as boring and uninteresting, but she fascinated and frustrated him, because he never knew what she was going to do or say. Even with her routines, she was somehow chaotic.

He slowly walked around to the back of the house. There was a fire pit in the backyard. He had discovered it when Katherine had been watching him barbeque one day when she was too injured to move. He had also discovered that he couldn't cook. At all. When he had gone to the kitchen he had found out that there weren't any nice convenient meals he could just throw in the microwave. Apparently she was one of those people that cooked from scratch. All he had found was a mound of hamburger sitting in the fridge. The day of the accident he had made her a peanut butter and jam sandwich for dinner, because looking around the kitchen, he couldn't figure out what to do.

The next night Katherine had insisted the hamburger be used. So she told him how to make a from scratch hamburger and cook it on the barbeque. It had been the first time he had been outside in a month and it had been wonderful.

He had burnt the hamburgers, but he had enjoyed the sunshine and the slight breeze.

He looked at the fire pit. What did she want a fire lit for? And what did she think about him kissing her? She had kissed him back, so did that mean that she was interested in him, or did she not want to hurt his feelings? He growled in frustration as he grabbed some kindling and began arranging it in the pit. He found the newspaper and lighter and lit the fire. He piled the larger wood over the kindling and watched as the fire began to pop and crackle.

"Huh, guess I know how to build a fire." He said to himself.

Katherine came out the back door a moment later, a few items in her hands. He walked over to help her. There was a bag of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, a few bars of chocolate and a blanket.

"I hope you don't mind, but I really don't feel like going to bed yet, so I thought it may be nice to sit out here, look at the stars and make some smores. Is that okay?" She asked him.

"Sure Kitten." He said softly because he didn't think he could sleep either. She gave him a brilliant smile that left him stunned and handed him a stick. She opened the bag of marshmallows and gave him a couple.

He watched her as she pulled up a chair and sat down. She slowly cooked her marshmallows to a nice golden brown. He lit his on fire a few times. She laughed at him as she helped him get the sticky mess off his stick and they made a few smores.

They had finished eating their smores and were both silently staring into the flames of the fire, each lost in their own thoughts.

Katherine had been right. The silence wasn't strained or awkward, even after their kiss, it was a comfortable silence. Being around her was just easy. He didn't have to try to be funny or charm her or think of stupid things to talk about so that she would be interested. He didn't have to try. He could just be himself, or he supposed as much of himself as he could be since he didn't really know who he was. But he had a name now, a name and a family he wanted nothing to do with.

He glanced at her. She had scared the hell out of him again. "It scares the crap out of me when you do that you know." He whispered to her. He didn't even realize he was going to say anything.

When Leo held her in his arms, the sword pressed against her throat, he couldn't even breathe. He had been terrified that he was going to lose her, that she was going to die right there in front of him, and Katherine wasn't making any noise, not a single sound, nor did she betray any emotion at all. She had looked at him calmly, and he wasn't sure if it was because she knew she was going to walk away, that he was going to be able to save her, or if she just shut down. Not showing any emotion because that was just the way she was. That she really did have that much control over her emotions.

She looked at him in confusion. "He could have killed you, and all you did was calmly stand there, even when he cut your throat, you didn't even flinch." He said softly.

"He wasn't going to hurt me." Katherine said softly.

"Bullshit he wasn't!" He replied angrily.

"He wasn't. He wanted to, but he wouldn't."

"How can you even say that? You don't know what was in his head!" He got out of his chair and strode up to her looking down on her angrily.

Katherine smiled at him. "Rogue, what was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to start crying all over the place, and be having a breakdown? How would that have helped the situation? Would that have made you feel better, to have me looking at you, fear rolling around in my eyes, tears running down my cheeks as I silently pleaded for you to save me?"

A double image swam before his eyes. On the right was Katherine as she had just described herself, frightened and crying, her pleading for him to save her, the image broke his heart and twisted it into knots. On the left was how she had been. Calmly assessing the situation as if she were not a part of it. And he realized that if she had not been standing there calmly, he would have lost it. Her calm reaction to the situation had calmed him down to the point where he could still think and talk. He wasn't consumed by rage and fear, and that allowed him to be able to walk away from the situation with her unharmed. Because if he had have lost it, She may have been hurt, probably unintentionally.

"He has the same eyes as you, that is how I knew he wasn't going to hurt me, at least not on purpose." She said to him softly. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say more, but closed it and looked at him. "I can't change who I am. I am who I am, and I just can't waste time on emotions when they won't help a situation."

He closed his eyes. She was who she was, he supposed he would have to just accept that she was as calm as he was passionate. But some part of him wanted to see her slip, see her lose that calm cool control.

He opened his eyes and studied her. She stood up and he had to stand back. She grabbed the blanket she had grabbed earlier and walked over to a tree. She wrapped the blanket around herself and sat down. She leaned against the trunk of the tree. "I'm sorry I worried you."

He sighed. She shouldn't have to apologize for her being her. He walked over and nudged her out of the way. She wrapped the blanket around him. He sat beside her and stared up at the stars. He looked over at her and he pulled her so that she was sitting in front of him. He wrapped her in his arms and looked up at the sky.

Katherine looked at Rogue and had to remember that his name was Raphael. She frowned at him. "I will be back about 10:00 pm so I don't want you worrying okay?" She said to him.

He glared at her, his arms crossed over his chest in restrained anger. He grunted, which in man speak was the equivalent to 'I don't trust you not to get into trouble.'

She repressed a sigh. They had already had dinner and now she had a meeting with the Director. She had the black case where three of the four Neanderthal skulls were safely stored, as well as her canvases which were rolled up in a plastic tube that had a carrying strap.

"Be good." She said as she made sure she had everything.

He grunted again. Which was man speak for 'I won't, but you won't catch me doing anything wrong.' "Aren't you gonna be late Kitten?" He asked her.

She just shook her head and walked out of the house, closing the door on the angry man on the other side.

She walked to the garage. She couldn't take her bike and carry all of her stuff, so she was taking the SUV.

She drove away and wondered if Rogue was already on the bike and trying to follow her. Not that she minded, but she just hoped he would get over his protective streak. As nice as it was having someone concerned her safety, it felt a little stifling at times.

A blush rode up on her cheeks as she remembered him wrapping her up in his arms and kissing her. She had been shocked at first, but it had been nice. She had never had anyone kiss her before. There had been many who had tried, but she was usually able to avoid them easily. She just had never wanted to kiss anyone that she didn't have feelings for. Which she could then assume that she had feelings for Rogue since she hadn't tried to avoid his kiss, even though she knew he was going to kiss her.

She rolled this thought around in her head. It didn't bother her that he had kissed her. She hadn't even been sure if he actually could kiss her since he didn't technically have lips and his mouth was wider than hers was, but they were able to kiss, and the kiss had been intoxicating. She had wrapped her arms around his neck and never wanted to let go.

But then she didn't really know what to do after he kissed her. She was unsure of her own feelings and was unsure of what his feelings were. He had been frightened and worried. She knew that people tended to do strange things when they were emotional, so she wasn't sure if his reaction had just been because he had been so worried. So she had said the first thing that popped into her head which was she needed some sort of comfort food after what had happened today.

She wasn't unemotional. She had emotions, she just dealt with them differently than other people, which is why she came across as a little strange. She tended to act contrary to the norm in certain situations. When she had been hit by the car, she hadn't seen the car coming, so she had no real thoughts about the crash until it was over, and her first thought had been. Well crap, now my uncle's car is trashed; I hope my mom doesn't find out cause she'd freak! followed by I have to get home to Rogue so he won't worry and think I abandoned him. Those had been her only thoughts until the pain kicked in. Of course by then there were people shouting at her and talking to her, and trying to get her out of the car, and flashing lights and people talking to her. After that it was all a jumble.

But last night had been different. When Raphael had left the alley she had a feeling that she was being watched, but had been distracted by the rose. She had picked it up because she had wondered briefly if it were for Rogue, but thought it was impossible that it could be. After all, someone would have to have known that he had ended up in the dumpster to begin with. But she couldn't help but feel that the rose was somehow for him, and that whoever had lain the rose here, believed him to be dead.

She had heard a voice then. It had been no more than a whisper, but she put the rose back and studied the alley. She seemed to remember that the fire escape had been pulled away from the building. It had been fixed, but did that mean that Raphael had fallen from the fire escape, or even the top of the building?

She looked from the building to the building across the alley, because something had caught her eye. There was a difference in the ornate bars on one of the windows, a difference in colour and shape. She had grabbed her bike and had found Raphael's other sai, which supported her theory that he had fallen and he had dropped his weapon.

She had heard more whispering then, and when she looked at the top of the building she had seen three shapes that did not look right. They were denser than the surrounding shadows.

She had and tucked the sai into her belt because her skin was starting to crawl. Whoever had been watching her was now moving and coming closer to her. And then it had all devolved into chaos because she wasn't going to give them the sai, because she had believed that they had been the ones who had hurt Raphael, the ones who had beaten him to within an inch of his life, and had left him in a dumpster to be crushed to death.

She had copied the grip and the stance that she had seen Raphael use, hoping to frighten them off by looking like she actually knew what she was doing. She had had to squash her fear and her panic down. She had grabbed all of her emotions and shoved them hard into a box in her head, because she they would not help her escape from the threat they had represented.

She had struggled when he had grabbed her and she had called for Rogue, and tossed him his sai, but by then she had noticed something about the man who held her. She had looked into his face, and even in the shadows she could see that he was not human, in fact he looked almost exactly like Rogue, but his mask had been blue. She had stopped fighting as her mind realized that they had found someone who knew Rogue, but whether or not they were friend or foe she was not sure until the blue one, Leo, had begun to talk. He had accused them and then just her of ridiculous things, but in the end, even though he held a sword to her throat, and cut her, she had seen the look in his eyes. He had been grief-stricken, angry, desperate and relieved. They had found their brother who they thought was dead, but the horror that filled his eyes when Leo realized that his brother didn't know them had nearly broke her heart.

Rogue didn't want anything to do with them, but she knew or rather hoped and suspected that it had all been a huge misunderstanding. But she had wanted to talk with them again and confirm her suspicions that Rogue's brothers weren't psychotic, but rather, lived a life that was full of too much violence and danger.

I hope everyone enjoyed! thoughts opinions?