Chapter 14:

When Leena exited the office and joined Gambit and Eric, Gambit frowned and asked, "What you and Hank find so funny?" He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from also asking about why they'd been holding hands, and why Leena had kissed him. Eric had noticed his distraction and had completely given up on trying to continue their discussion, instead both of them had sat and watched what had been going on in the little office. Never had Gambit wished more for super hearing.

Jaleena blinked at him, and he became aware of how sharply he'd asked the question. He forced a smile and fought against the jealousy clawing at him. It was Hank, for goodness sake. "Remy always up for a good joke," he amended his earlier statement.

She smiled then and directed her gaze to Eric, "Actually, we were celebrating some good news. Do you remember when I said I wanted to write a paper about the work we're doing together?" At his nod, she continued, "If you're still okay with it, we've been offered a place to publish."

Eric grinned and looked at Gambit. "Isn't that cool? She's going to write a chapter in a book about me." He puffed out his firey chest, "I bet Laura will be impressed with that."

Gambit and Leena laughed. Shaking her head, Leena said, "I don't think you have to worry too much about impressing her. I've already heard that she and some of the others are planning on visiting you tonight. I know it's supposed to be a surprise, but I thought you might want to know ahead of time to save up some energy."

He nodded seriously, and she couldn't tell if he was excited about the visit or not. He lowered his voice and leaned toward her, "Did you remember our promise?"

She smiled and nodded. "I hear there will be pizza. I have to say, I've only had your American pizza once so far, but I think I might have to tag along just so I can have more. I believe I can convince Dr. McCoy to work late tonight, so maybe he and I can start working on the draft of that paper."

Eric smiled, relief clearly showing in his posture. He looked at Gambit, "Is it okay if we close the door again? Maybe I can take a nap today instead of working? So I'll be ready for tonight?"

Gambit smiled, though he knew it was forced, "Of course, head on in. Maybe Gambit come by tonight, too. He got lots to add to dis paper." He directed the last part at Leena. She just smiled sweetly and nodded. He gritted his teeth as Eric went back inside and the sealed the door. He tried to brush his annoyance off. It did make sense that she would think about working with Hank on the paper before she thought about working with him. Even if they had worked together and talked together daily about Eric's progress, Beast was a much more natural choice. Besides, he knew that the two of them had worked together on papers before. Still, he felt as if his mood had suddenly darkened.

When Leena waved to Beast and headed toward the door, he jogged a few steps to catch up with her. "You shouldn't do dat."

She looked at him in surprise, "What?"

"Tell de boy dat he need to rest up. He need to get used to de idea of monitorin' his powers all day and bein' around people. Dis just makes him t'ink he can't do it."

Jaleena flushed, placing a hand on her cheek, "Oh my. I didn't think of it that way, Remy. You're absolutely right. Next time, I'll let it be a surprise. I know he'd be fine."

He nodded, suddenly feeling guilty about making her feel bad. He tried to smile and placed a hand on her arm. "It be okay. Jus' wanted to point it out for next time. Dis should help him feel better anyway. So what you doin' for de rest of de day?"

She casually patted his hand before sliding her arm out from under his hand. "Oh, I think I'll spend the day on the phone. I'd like to call home and catch up with Laurel and Keesha. I feel like I've been gone forever, and I'll admit that I am a little homesick."

He nodded, and gave her one of his more flirtatious smiles, "You want some company?"

She smiled and shook her head, "No, that's okay. I'm sure you'd be terribly bored."

"Remy don't mind. It be nice to be around you again and to hear what be goin' on wit' his old friends."

Jaleena stopped walking, and he was surprised to see a look of concern on her face. This time she put her hand on his arm to get him to face her. Shaking her head, she almost looked…sorry for him? "Remy," she said carefully, "I know you just got out of a really long relationship. It would be very easy for you to rebound into a relationship with me, but I really don't think that's healthy for any of us, including Jubilation."

Gambit's mouth dropped open. "Wha?" He asked, his confusion clear on his face. Since when did Jaleena use words like "rebound"?

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea about last night. I mean, I probably shouldn't have crawled in bed with you, and I definitely shouldn't have fallen asleep. Like you said the other day, we need to be friends." She squeezed his arm before drawing her hand back, "I'm so very happy to be your friend, but I don't think we can be anything more than that. Okay?"

He nodded mutely. What the heck had happened since this morning? "Uh, sure, Leena. Dat's all Remy want, too." He nodded. "It be best for Jubilee."

She smiled and took a few steps away, "All right then. I guess I'll see you tonight then down in the lab. I'll mention to Jubilee that we might need a couple extra pizzas." She turned on her heel and left, leaving Gambit standing dazed and confused as he watched her walk away.

Storm found him still standing there ten minutes later as she was headed down to the lab to speak with Beast. "Remy? What are you standing here for?"

He blinked, jerked out of his daze. "Stormy," he murmured, shaking his head to clear it. "I just had the weirdest conversation with Leena."

She placed her hand on his arm in concern. He looked down at it and frowned. It was such a friend gesture, and Leena had totally just done the same thing. He jerked his arm away as if her fingers were hot. Storm stepped back in alarm, "Remy? Are you all right?"

He shook his head, "Non, but Remy jus' need a few minutes to t'ink about some t'ings. He see you later." With those words, he left a bewildered Storm standing in the hallway, wondering if trouble was brewing in paradise.

Jaleena pushed the door to her room closed behind her just as peals of laughter spilled out of her mouth. She'd been desperately fighting it since she'd told Gambit that they had better just be friends. He had looked so stunned, she had wanted to fall over laughing right then. So they had all thought she would just fall into his arms the instant he was "free." She wrapped her arms around her stomach as she stumbled to her bed, still chuckling. She lay on her back with her arms spread wide. It was nice to feel like she finally had the upper hand when it came to Remy Lebeau. It was a rare occurrence to be sure. She rolled onto her side to reach the phone, carefully dialing in the number of her best friend. When her call was answered, she chuckled again as she said, "Oh Laurel, do I have a story for you."