Boy howdy, I'm on a roll lately. A big thanks to Hisuiko and cr8zymommy. They're the reason I'm writing so well lately, folks. :) Between plotting with them, their little helpful ideas, and all that goodness, my writing just seems to be in overdrive. Hopefully this keeps up, as I like getting this much done, lol. Even if it does mean I've had like, no social life lately. Oh well. Here, my lovelies, enjoy!

Determination carried Spencer out of the hanger and up to the main part of the house. It was when he was at the staircase that led upstairs that his body finally won out over his determination. The only thing that kept his knees from melting out underneath him completely was his quick reflexes. His hand darted out to grab the bannister and he used that to keep upright. Logan reacted just as quickly. His hand caught Spencer's elbow and helped to steady and support him. "Woah there, Stretch."

"Sorry, sorry." Embarrassed, Spencer tried to force his legs to straighten. His knees felt like they were made of jelly.

Logan looked him over with a sweep of his eyes. "You shouldn't be up yet."

He didn't bother denying it. "Can't lie down until I reach my room."

"Then let's get you to your room."

Before Spencer realized what the man meant to do, Logan pulled up on Spencer's elbow and then ducked down under his arm. One solid arm went around Spencer's waist, a hand settling on his hip, and Logan basically took the brunt of Spencer's weight. As much as Spencer wanted to pull away, to insist that he could do this on his own, he knew that he couldn't. There was no way he was going to make it up those stairs on his own. He'd spent too much energy back there trying to appear steady in front of Remy. Plus, feeling the strong emotions from Remy and keeping them from overwhelming him were taking away some of the energy that he'd managed to gain back.

It took twice as long as it should've for them to get up the staircase. Finally, they reached the top. "Just another hallway, kid, that's it." Logan reassured him.

Thank God for that. Spencer didn't bother trying to reply. He doubted he had the energy to walk and talk at the same time. He just clung to Logan and prayed that no one would come out and see them as they made their way down the hall. Luck was with them in that, at least. They got to Spencer's room without anyone seeing them. When Spencer finally reached his bed and could collapse down on it, he gave a sigh of relief.

Logan crossed his arms over his chest and watched Spencer carefully as the genius scooted himself back towards the head of the bed. Spencer didn't look up at him. He could feel Logan's emotions and those told him clearly enough what he'd find if he looked up. Logan's was concerned and worried and just slightly curious. With his inner walls still dangerously low, Spencer didn't have his usual caution. It prompted him to speak more than he usually might've. "I'll be fine, Logan. I just need some rest and relaxation."

There was a short pause before Logan apparently gave up and decided to ask his questions. "What happened? Rem said you just sort of shut down on him."

"I did." That was an accurate way to describe what he'd done. Spencer adjusted the pillow behind him and then leaned back, trying to snag the blankets from under himself. A helping hand from Logan got them out finally and Spencer didn't even protest when Logan tugged them away and then draped them over him. Spencer caught the blankets and pulled them up to his waist. There, settled back against the head of the bed with his pillow behind him and his blankets over him, he looked up at Logan and tried not to feel like some weak little invalid. "My own strong emotions can affect my empathy and my shields. Between things with the team and the visit with my mother, too many things battered at me and I was losing myself underneath the strong emotions. I couldn't separate myself from them anymore. I didn't have the energy to even hold my shields up anymore, so they just, crashed. If it wasn't for Remy, I would've been in agony. As it was, he used our bond and sort of, sheltered me in there, keeping the core of me safe while the rest of my body rested and recovered enough energy to start rebuilding my walls a little. Does that make any sense?"

"Some." Logan said. A corner of his mouth quirked up. "More than it did before. You might find yourself explaining it all again, though. 'Specially to Jeannie."

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

In short terms, Logan caught Spencer up on the moment between Remy and Jean on the jet. Spencer listened with surprise. He'd known at the time that Remy had been irritated by something, and he definitely remembered the brush against their shields, but he hadn't been coherent enough at the moment to hear what anyone was saying. He didn't find himself upset by Remy's words, though; if anything, he was grateful. "Good for him." He said before he thought about it.

"What?"

Spencer looked up with surprise. Then he flushed, realizing that he'd said those words out loud. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude there. It's just…you've had a telepath in your mind, right?"

Grimacing, Logan nodded. "Yeah."

"It's sort of, intimate. Even for just mind speech, you can't help but feel a sort of intimacy. And why not? Someone's mind is touching your mind. Those are very private and intimate parts of ourselves." Spencer's voice changed a little as he got into what he was saying. There was an edge of tiredness to it, but it was steady enough and it took on that tone that he always got when instructing someone. His 'teacher voice', as Derek had dubbed it. "For an empath, it's even more intimate, because emotions are involved. When Jean or Charles step into my mind to speak with me, I don't get just their thoughts, I get their emotions as well, no matter how well they shield. Charles shields well enough that the emotions aren't strong enough to hurt me, but I still feel them, even if they are a little fuzzier than normal. Still, you can see how that makes the experience even more intimate."

"Yeah. I'd never thought of it like that."

That had Spencer shrugging one shoulder. "You're not an empath; you wouldn't have any call to think about it. Even if you did, you wouldn't have known."

"This bond thing, I take it it's even more intimate, then?"

"Exceedingly so." Spencer said. He caught the edge of the blanket, rolling it around between his fingers in a nervous gesture. Talking about this was akin to talking about his sex life. It just wasn't something he was typically comfortable doing. But Logan was becoming a pretty good friend, Spencer found, and he was just trying to understand. Not scientifically, not to try and fix things, not to try and find a way to break the bond. He was just trying to understand as a friend. That made all the difference in the world. It made Spencer want to talk about this instead of feeling like he had to. "I don't think that we've managed to make anyone understand just how intense this 'bond' is. There's nothing more intimate to us. It doesn't just allow us to feel each other's emotions. In that bond is the very essence of who we are. When Jean or Charles check it over, even just lightly, it's…" Words failed him. How on earth could he describe this? How could he make anyone understand just how it made him feel? How it made Remy feel? "My bond with Remy is more personal, more intimate, than any sexual encounter I've ever had. It's more private to me than any part of my body."

The room went quite for a long moment. The emotions from the feral man were almost contemplative. When Spencer dared to look up, he found Logan's expression thoughtful. "So," Logan finally drawled out. Blue eyes landed on Spencer, their gaze intense. "What you're saying is basically that when they reach out and check your bond without asking, it's the equivalent of rape."

That was such a blunt way of putting it. Spencer flushed and dropped his gaze down to the bedspread. "They don't really mean it to be." He prevaricated. Causing trouble wasn't his goal here. "The light touches and checks aren't that bad. They're more like you say that Remy told her, like being watched in the shower. That's a good analogy."

"But when they actually reach in, it's more like rape, that's what you're saying." Logan said doggedly.

He wasn't going to let this go; Spencer could see that. He could also feel just how upset it was making him. Spencer hurried to try and explain things a little more, to make Logan understand. He honestly believed that the others didn't realize just how intimate their touch was. How could he blame them when he and Remy had never fully explained it? "It's not their fault, really, Logan. Sometimes I think others see it more like a link, like what Jean and Scott share. But it…it's so much more than that. So different. We don't share thoughts the way that they do, though there are times that it seems like we do in some subconscious form or another. Times where I'll be thinking of something and then Remy says something that perfectly matches what I'm thinking. Or times that he's looking around for something and I'll hand it to him without realizing that I'm doing it."

He paused for a minute and tried to think of how to put this into words. Logan said nothing, just stood beside his bed and waited patiently. That was one trait that Spencer really enjoyed about the man. Logan never pressured him into finding his words. He would simply wait until Spencer found the ones he needed.

"Our bond isn't separate from us." Spencer began slowly. "It's not like it's this little addition in our heads that we can look in or look away from. I've heard Jean say that she or Scott can block the other out of their link for a while if they need to. Remy and I can't do that. We're always there with one another. Always. At first, it was like having this whole other person in my head with me, all the time. But the more time that passes, the more we seem to be…not merging. More, meshing. Like a finely woven net." That was the best metaphor that he could come up with. It was strangely poetic, an odd thought process for him, yet it was perfect. "Like the strands of who we are have been sewn together to make up one fine net instead of two separate ones."

"You guys can't separate at all?" Logan looked stunned by that.

"No." Spencer shook his head. "The closer we are, the more we get, and we get the best while we're touching. But he's always here with me. Like, right now, I can tell you that he's not happy at all. Whatever's going on, he's fighting to control his temper. He's been pretty steady for a while now but someone or something is making him mad. And he's worried, too. He hasn't stopped being worried since I left him. He's still feeding me little bits of strength, too, though he can't do that as well when we're apart like this. The protector part of him, the part I've heard you tell Scott you see as this new feral part of Remy, is still clamoring in him to try and make him come up here." Pausing, he quirked his head, his gaze turning inward for a moment while he read Remy's emotions. It gave his voice a slightly distant quality. "He feels threatened right now. Not a threat to him, but to me. He doesn't react this strongly to a threat to himself. Whatever it is that's making him feel that way, it's not getting better. It's steadily getting worse, actually."

Abruptly Spencer's gaze snapped up to Logan's face. "I don't know what's happening or what set him off down there, but he's slipping more and more into that instinctual side that this bond seems to have created in him. I don't know what he'll do, Logan, and I hate it, but I don't have the energy to go down there. Please, would you go and make sure he's okay? I won't be able to rest until I know that he's going to be fine. If you're with him, I'll know that there's someone there who can deal with him if he snaps and who will help keep him safe. Please?"

The seriousness of his request was easily felt. Because of that, Logan didn't waste time. He gave Spencer a nod and turned immediately to leave and head out. Spencer relaxed back into the bed as he watched Logan leave the room. Logan would go and watch out for Remy for him. If he had to trust his partner to someone else, it would be Logan. Spencer didn't even stop to think about how protective his own thoughts were at the moment. He was too busy focusing on the feelings in their bond and wishing that he had enough energy to get out of bed and go down there. He could calm Remy, he knew. A touch, a soft word, and he could calm him. But right now Spencer doubted his body would let him cross the room, let alone go downstairs. Even just talking with Logan the way he had been had taken a little more of his energy.

Slipping down a little lower in the bed, Spencer curled up on his side and snuggled under the blankets. Absently he thought to himself that Remy was going to be annoyed later when he came up and found the door unlatched. Then he dismissed that thought. Nothing he could do about it. He closed his eyes and fed a little comfort and support down the bond to Remy. In response, he felt the man relax slightly, just a bit of the edge fading. With that, Spencer relaxed a little too, and he lost the battle with himself. His body drifted off to sleep.

Agitated was a good word to describe how Remy was feeling. None of this was going well. Not that he had ever thought it would go well. Still, he'd hoped to have a little more time before he would have to deal with this. He'd thought he still had time to try and figure out just how the hell he was going to tell Rogue that her boyfriend was now permanently bonded to another person, and that basically she was going to be getting a two for one deal in this relationship. How on earth do you explain that to someone? 'Sorry, honey, but I'm bonded to another person now, one who is as much a part of me as I am of him, and so basically, he's a part of our relationship now. Oh, and by the way, there are times that he's going to be upset or he's going to need me, and what you want or need is going to take second place to that. We have to touch a lot, too, and sometimes we sleep in the same bed all wrapped around each other. Hope you don't mind.' Yeah, right. If he tried saying any of that, Rogue would send him flying into the nearest wall, and that was if he was lucky.

Remy hadn't said anything at first. He was too busy focusing on Spencer. Though the man had walked out of the hanger under his own steam, there was no way for him to hide from Remy just how bone weary he was. He really did need to be in a bed. He was exhausted, still hadn't fully recharged, and the emotional climate of the room just how hadn't helped him at all. If anything, it had undone some of the work they'd done on the flight here. Spencer still wasn't shielding right and he was feeling people's emotions a little too much. Keeping them back was taking what little energy he had. At least Logan was with him, though. The man wouldn't let anything happen to Spencer. Sometimes, Remy thought to himself that Logan seemed to be adopting the scrawny genius. He was awfully protective of him.

No sooner had the door closed behind Spencer than Rogue was taking a step towards Remy. She put her fists on her hips and glared hotly at him. "Just what the hell is going on here, swamp rat? Who is this Spencer and what the hell's going on? Everyone's been acting like they got some big secret here or something ever since I got back."

The only thing that kept Remy from snapping back at her was that he knew his temper wouldn't get him anywhere with her and it would only worry Spencer. He fought back his temper and tried to make his voice calm and steady. "Why don't we take a walk, chere? Dere's a lot dat Remy needs to tell y' and it may take a bit."

"I aint going nowhere with you till you tell me what's going on!" Rogue snapped.

Remy drew in a breath and held it for a moment while counting to ten. Behind him, he could hear Ororo and Kurt running through the necessary post-flight operations behind him in the 'Bird, and Scott stood over by the wall talking with Jean while still keeping turned enough to be able to watch Remy and Rogue. The two were known for their fights. Remy had often heard others in the house whisper when the two of them fought, telling each other that "The Southern states are at war again". People generally tried to be anywhere else when their fights happened. "Preferably another state" Bobby had told him once. Remy was a shouter when furious and Rogue was known to get a little physical if pushed too hard, which, naturally, Remy couldn't help but do.

There was going to be no convincing the stubborn girl to move this to somewhere more private. If she wanted to do this here, then so be it. He'd tried to be considerate. "Fine. Don't say dat Remy didn't warn y'. At least come sit down. Dis is gonna take a bit." With one hand, Remy gestured to the ramp. After a second's hesitation, she moved over and sat down. Remy took a seat as well and he kept a small distance between them. No need to tempt fate by getting close together. If—when—she reacted badly, he didn't really fancy the idea of being in striking distance. And something in him was telling him to keep back, out of reach.

He waited until they were both settled in before he started his story. "It started out when Wolvie and I was sitting watch on a mutant…"

The whole tale took a good ten minutes for him to tell. Rogue said nothing, not interrupting him once. She let him get the whole story out from start to finish. Or, not really the whole story, but at least enough of it for her to understand the basics. Remy found himself keeping little things back from her. Some of it didn't seem quite right to tell her. He sure as hell wasn't going to tell her that they'd shared a bed a few times. She would take that the wrong way and nothing would convince her otherwise. He did, however, make a point to tell her how much they had to touch. That was something that he couldn't hide from her.

She may not have said anything through his story, but her face and body spoke volumes. She grew more and more tense the more that he spoke and her expression hardened and darkened until her face was a mask of fury. Her restraint lasted until only seconds after Remy finished his story. Then the temper she was known for came spewing from her. "So you're, you're bonded with some strange freak, and you, what, never once thought to call and tell me?"

"Watch y'r mouth. "Remy snapped automatically. "Watch how y' talk about him. Y' don't know him and y' aint got any call fo' insulting de homme."

Rogue snorted inelegantly at that. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be offensive towards your precious friend."

The sneer she put on that last word left no doubt just what she meant by 'friend'. Just like he'd known she would, she was already making assumptions about the relationship between them. "Y' see, dis right here, dat's why Remy didn't want to tell y'. Y' aint even listening! All y'r hearin' is dat dere's someone dat Remy's gotta touch and y' take it and turn it all dirty and nasty when it aint anyt'ing like dat. It aint sexual and it aint dirty, our touching. It aint like dat!" A part deep down inside of Remy growled at those words. He didn't let himself thinking about why. He just pushed it down and ignored it, focusing instead on the furious woman that was now rising beside him. He rose as well to keep them on even footing with each other.

"Oh yeah? Then what's it like, sugar? Huh?" She sneered.

His eyes sparked slightly as he glared at her. "It's like…it's like air. We need it as much as we need to breathe."

"So you're saying I gotta put up with that, that nineteen seventies charity shop reject hanging around all the time, pawing all over my boyfriend?"

Remy's temper grew even more. His plan to keep calm and controlled went right out the window. "Remy told y', watch y'r mouth. Insult him again…

"And what?" She interrupted. She stalked forward, fury bright on her face. "What're you gonna do, swamp rat?"

That protector part of Remy pushed towards the surface. Something primal within him was screaming Danger! Danger! Every inch of him braced for trouble and the protector in him was snarling, demanding that he protect his partner, protect the Healer, keep him safe at all costs. Rogue had her hand out towards him and Remy took a step back as the growl building in him finally broke free. She was going to touch him and he couldn't let that happen. Just the thought had the Protector growing stronger and his growl deepening. Rogue's touch was dangerous on the average person, but it wasn't something that Remy had ever really worried about that much before. If anything, he'd tried to get her to touch him, and he'd tried to teach her ways of touching safely. But that was before all this. Before this bond had come to life. What would happen to him and Spencer if she touched him? What would it do to Spencer? To him? What would it do to their bond? Would it…could it take it away from them?

A calming sensation traveled over the bond to him. Remy actually felt the difference as Spencer turned his attention inwards towards their connection. He knew that Spencer was monitoring him now and intentionally sending the soothing emotions to try and help him calm. Remy tried to let it in and let himself relax a little. His head cleared enough that he could look at Rogue and not feel the urge to snarl like some animal at her. He had enough presence of mind to warn her. "Back off, Rogue."

Of course she couldn't listen to him. "The hell with that."

"Back off!" He repeated, and this time his voice was edged with that snarl he was fighting to hold in. Off to the sides he saw as Scott started quickly making his way towards them. The man recognized the trouble brewing here. Kurt was standing at the top of the ramp, watching them with wide eyes, and Ororo was also starting to make her way towards him.

"Rogue!" Scott called out, drawing her attention over to him. He moved quickly forward, jogging towards them. "Listen to him. Back off!"

"Come, Rogue." Ever calm, even in the face of trouble, Ororo smoothly stepped up to Rogue's side and put a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. "Just give him a bit of space. This bond had done strange things to them. You would do well to heed his warnings."

Rogue looked livid at the interference. There was no telling what she would've done or said next. Luckily, none of them had to find out. The hanger door burst open and the sound of the door connecting with the wall was enough to draw most everyone's attention. Rogue, Ororo, Kurt and Scott all looked up as Logan came jogging into the room. Only Remy stayed frozen. His eyes were still locked on Rogue and on the hand that had been lifted towards him. Seeing it drop back down had him relaxing just slightly. Having Logan move directly to his side helped him even more. Logan surprised them all by not simply stopping at Remy's side, but step right in front of him. He put one hand in the center of Remy's chest and pushed him back a full step. "Back up, bub. Now."

Now it was Logan who was the recipient of Remy's furious glare. When Remy snarled at him, Logan snarled right back, not in the least bit intimidated. "Snarl and growl all you want, Gumbo. Just back off, now, and calm your ass down. I don't know what she did and I don't give a damn. Your partner's drained as hell up there and being forced to feel your foul ass mood aint helping none. Get your shit under control, now!"

There was nothing that was better designed to force Remy to control himself than the idea that he was hurting Spencer. While he knew his emotions didn't actually hurt Spencer, so to speak, they would worry him and cause him to focus on trying to help Remy instead of resting the way that he should be. Remy didn't fight it as Logan pushed him back another few steps. Indeed, he let him, adding in another step back of his own. He drew in a deep breath and tried to force down the anger that was still burning in him. Distance between him and Rogue seemed to help. It helped even more when he looked up and saw that she looked shocked now, not angry. It was her anger that had left him feeling threatened. Her anger and the potential of her powers.

Dieu, Remy thought achingly. How the hell was he going to deal with this? This was the last damn thing he wanted. He didn't want to have to be stuck between his partner and his girlfriend. What was he going to do? He couldn't force Rogue to deal with his temper every time he felt like Spencer or their bond was threatened. But he couldn't be around her and have her act that way. Snide comments were one thing. As much as they irritated him, he'd be able to deal with those. But if she did something to make him feel threatened, he knew the Protector in him—and it was such a part of him, a whole other aspect to his personality, that he actually thought of it in a capital letter like that, as if Protector were another person living inside of him—would respond to that threat. Protector was all primal instincts. Thank God Logan had come down here to step in and help. Remy looked up at his friend and put his gratitude into his look. "Merci, Logan."

"No problem. Kid told me you were having trouble down here. You both relaxing now?"

The fact that Logan asked about both of them made Remy smile. Logan was the only person here in the house who did things like that. "Oui. Remy's fine now an Spencer feels like he's finally sleepin'. His body was just too tired."

"Remy." Scott's voice broke into their quiet conversation and brought their attention back to the room. Remy looked around Logan to where Scott still stood at the ramp to the Blackbird. He was in front of Rogue, who was still standing with Ororo and was watching Remy with a gaze that was part worried, part hurt, and still part anger. Remy winced a little at that. He'd have to deal with that here in a minute. For the moment, "Oui, Scotty?"

"The Professor wants you down in his study. He says your shields are too high right now for him to ask you himself. He said it's important."

Remy bit his bottom lip and looked back to Rogue once more. She met his stare for just a second before spinning on her heel and marching away. Remy resisted the urge to sigh. Great. This was just great. Today was just turning out to be a bundle of laughs, wasn't it? Why not add a visit to the Professor to it all? Drawing in a steady breath, he nodded to Scott and turned to make his way across the hanger. Best to get this done with. The sooner this was done, the sooner he could go to Spencer's room and check on his partner and then catch some sleep himself. He was ready for today to be over with. The rest of the problems could wait until tomorrow.

To my reviewers: I'm glad you guys like how this is going and I'm super glad you guys were ready for Rogue. I hope the scene with her was everything you thought it would be. Ought to be interesting to see where it goes next, oui? I know, I know, I'm never very nice where she's concerned. I don't seem to write her nicely. I hope to try, at least a little, though. But I do have to say, I had a lot of fun with this, especially at the end. And I hope you guys all liked the explanation Spencer gave in the first half. Maybe it'll help those few people who PM'd me saying that they were a little curious/confused about how this bond works. Hope this helps!