Chapter 52 – Three Months Later

Three months later…

"How about this one?"

Wanda placed the small florescent pink onesie across her front and turned to face Rogue from across the isle. Across the front, blocked-in white stitching were the words Our Little Princess, with latter word crowned with a felt tiara encrusted with plastic pink diamonds. After the momentary cringe of disgust, Rogue turned her gaze from the onesie and back her friend's positively impish wide smile and arched a sceptical brow.

"You're in a shit-stirring mood, aren't you?"

Wanda ignored her as she turned back to the bargain bin she had been joyfully sifting through. A moment later, she let out an overzealous squeal of delight that was in no way natural to her, and eagerly dug her hand into the pile of clothes. Finally, she retrieved what looked like a matching fuzzy pink beanie. Somehow, it was also attached beneath the circlet of a plastic pink crown. Rogue felt her stomach quiver with horror, as she put a protective hand over her rounded belly.

"Oh this is just perfect! Now all they need is a Princess Sparkle Pony Rocking Horse. I'm sure I saw one in the toy section…"

Rogue rolled her eyes and returned to the rack of twin packs of baby socks in front of her. Within a few short minutes, she selected several pairs of yellow and white socks and placed them into the shopping cart that was already piled high with baby paraphernalia. Rather than the usual traditional pink or blue colour schemes, she and Remy had decided they would, in the early months after the twins were born, keep one in yellow and the other in white regardless of the sex of the twins. If the twins were the same sex, this would help them, hopefully, keep track on who was who without having to keep the hospital tags attached for months on end. And while Remy was working at the garage, Wanda and John had kindly offered to help her get some of the basics covered for the twins. Wanda however, seemed to be having far too much fun terrorising Rogue with garish, overly-cutsie pink frivolities. It was amusing for a while, until they came to the pram section and Wanda discovered there was in fact, a Princess Sparkle Pram shaped like a castle and available in both pink and white trim.

Rogue had tried her best to hold back the bile rising in her throat as Wanda had paraded the monstrous pink version before her, strutting her legs like a supermodel with an overload of false pizazz. When Wanda had started threatening to buy it as her contribution to the nursery, Rogue put her foot down, literally, in the way of Wanda heading towards the checkout and hissed through clenched teeth.

"Ya do realise that I could be carrying twin boys right?"

Wanda had given an overzealous huff and began a paraded lecture on gender equality that was in no shape or form justified by her need to be a purposely pain in the ass on this trip.

"Now that's just gender stereotyping there my friend. Boys are completely entitled to play with dolls, just as girls are entitled to play with toy cars. Really Rogue, I'm disappointed in you. Your hypothetical sons deserve the option of Princess Sparkle merchandise!"

Rogue had rolled her eyes back so far she was certain she would have seen the back of her own head if she hadn't had John to add his two cents which were: "I had a pink Barbie bicycle when I was a little tott. Best times on that bike. That is, …until my older brothers decided it would be great fun to set it on fire...but that's okay, me Mum got me a Mountain Biking Barbie doll to replace it."

Resisting the urge to punch Wanda at all of twenty-six years of age, six and a half months pregnant and weeks of chronic back pain was a trial to be sure. Instead, she took the offensive pram out of her friend's clutches and with avid vehemence placed it back in the row of display prams before proceeded to drag Wanda away from anything that was pink, fluffy and labelled under the Princess Sparkle copyright.

They had made it all the way to the baby bedding section when Rogue's phone rang. She answered the second she saw Remy's ID flash across the screen.

"Please tell me you're finished with that Harley and heading here to pick me up like we planned?"

Remy remained silent for a full three seconds before replying with a tone that was all scepticism and growing fear.

"Oui, I'm on my way. Mais, please tell moi truthfully, did Wanda buy a Princess Sparkle pram for us?"

Rogue frowned in confusion.

"How did ya know about that thing?"

There was an audible grimace from across the line.

"She's been sending me photos of everything since de second y' arrived. Now answer de question, did Wanda buy us a Princess Sparkle Pram?"

Rogue turned her gaze to the end of the isle where Wanda and John now appeared to be arguing over a Princess Sparkle Unicorn plush. From the look of things, Wanda was dead set on buying the white one and not the pink one. John, as sane as he was, looked mildly terrified by the vehemence in his partner's insistence for the plush toy.

"That depends…would you rather have a pram or a plush Princess Sparkle Unicorn?"

There was a mild groan of pain from his end.

"Which is worse?"

"The Pram. Go with the unicorn."

"But we don't want either of dem!"

Rogue eyed Wanda as she lovingly petted the white unicorn's mane while John turned to meet her gaze. They shared equally frightened looks before Rogue whispered back into her phone.

"Trust me, babe. She's gonna leave this place with some kind of Princess Sparkle something whether we like it or not. We're better off picking one if we can."

A long, agonizing sigh of reluctant defeat echoed back through the receiver as she turned away from her two friends and clutched the phone a little closer and whispered.

"However, it doesn't have to make it past the threshold when we move..."

"Before we move. She just sent me a photo of her and dat hideous thing. I don't want m' kids near dat t'ing."

"Agreed. So, the unicorn will accidentally fall into the trash can on collection day?"

"I was t'inking accidental barbeque. Tonight. Kebab style. And we should take celebratory photos."

Rogue uttered a low snort and tried to bite back a chuckle so as not to provoke suspicion from her shopping companions.

"That's evil. Ah love it."

She could practically feel the grin spreading across his face as he chuckle back.

"I t'ought y' would. How are y' holding up? Besides Wanda being de worst shopping helper. Ever."

Rogue fingered a pair of cat-eared beanies on the rack in front of her as she smiled, imagining the smile curling in the corner of her boyfriend's handsome face.

"Not bad. Ah think ah've got just about everything we'll need. But now, thanks to your bright idea about kebabs, ah'm starving."

The following childish wail she made, caused him to chuckle again.

"Poor chére, what are y' craving?"

Rogue uttered a saddened, deep sigh.

"Chicken satay and peanut sauce. With chocolate cookie dough."

There was a brief pause of silence.

"Dat's all?"

Rogue shook her head as she rubbed her ever-growing belly as the twins began a kicking frenzy. The twins had taken to kicking her whenever her food cravings hit. It was unfair of them really, considering she was their food maker, landlady and weight carrier all in one. She lightly patted the spot where one still kicked before continuing to draw circles into her belly.

"No, ah want the cookie dough with the peanut sauce and ah want one those hazelnut waffles your momma makes. And a milkshake. Ah'm thinking chocolate and maple syrup…"

Her mouth watered at the mere thought of hot steaming waffles alone. Her food fantasy was interrupted however, by Remy's low chuckle and a set of footsteps that seemed to echo and become louder with each passing second. Finally, the sound came to a stop as a familiar pair of arms slipped around her waist from behind and pulled her gently against an equally familiar chest. Remy's lips pressed against the back of her head before he leant forward over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.

"Y' know, as much as I love y'. Y' food orders make me queasy. Ma Mere's waffles cannot suffer satay and peanut sauce as a starter. Dat is waffle sacrilege."

Rogue gave a low snort and turned in his arms to press a kiss to his smiling lips. It was becoming a little bit of a stretch to kiss him these days, with the swell of her rounded belly poking into his abdomen, but they managed it easier when Remy took the incentive to bend a little to meet her. He was all about meeting her halfway these days. He compromised further by playfully reaching lower to nip at her neck before placing his hands on the sides of her abdomen. He murmured a few soft greetings to his children in French before standing upright again, his arm slipping casually around her waist as he nudged her aside so he could take hold of the shopping cart. When he eyed the vast mountain of baby gear in the cart, he let out a low whistle of appreciation.

"Y' sure y' need anyt'ing else?"

Before she could respond, Wanda chimed in as she and John appeared.

"Said every expectant father ever. Your little munchkins are going to be eating you two out of house and home for the next twenty odd years."

Remy rolled his eyes.

"Merci Wanda, for your delightfully entertaining updates on de basics we need f' de twins."

Wanda grinned from ear to ear and proceeded to fling Princess Sparkle Unicorn at his face. As Remy grappled with the unicorn, she added ever so sweetly.

"You're welcome. And by the way, if you so much as think of getting rid of that unicorn, I will sneak into your apartment and ensure you wake up with it in bed a la Godfather style. Capiche?"

Remy and Rogue eyed each other warily before begrudgingly nodding.

A half hour later, with another cartful of more essentials, they left the shop and headed back to Rogue and Remy's apartment. While Wanda and John painstakingly assembled the wicker baby bed frame in the spare room, Rogue and Remy set about sorting the clothes into piles of white and yellow. When Wanda could take no more of the bed frame that refused to assemble correctly in spite of their following the instructions, she came and sat herself down in the living room with Remy and Rogue that had been re-carpeted in baby clothes. With a heavy sigh, she began folding tiny baby socks.

"So… picking specific yet generic colours huh? Is that because you like these colours, or…"

She eyed them both with a deciphering look, as if to catch the knowledge from the movement of their very eyes.

"Or do you know what you're having and are trying to hide the fact so that we think you don't know, but you do?"

While Rogue rolled her eyes and continued to fold clothes without comment, Remy gave a low chuckle. He took the folded pair of white socks out of Wanda's hands and placed them onto the growing pile of yellow socks before he replied.

"Know what I think Wands? I think y' simply can't stand de idea of not knowing until dey are born. Being self-proclaimed Godmother et all."

Wanda tried to look unmoved by his words as she unfolded and re-folded a pair of yellow and green sweaters into a neat pile. Remy grinned as he spoke with an equally amused tone.

"Et one way or another, y' t'ink y' going to get it out of moi or Rogue-"

Rogue gave a small chuckle as she added."

"Which ya won't by the way, because even we don't know. We want it to be a surprise, get with the program darlin'."

While Remy reached for Rogue and kissed her cheek, Wanda clenched her lips together in a thin line before replying smoothly.

"I'm almost convincedyou know, LeBeau."

Remy remained utterly unfazed as he climbed to his feet and picked up the freshly laundered pile of white clothes and headed for the make-shift nursery in the spare room. He called back with a gleeful tone to his words.

"If it makes y' feel better Wands, I'll let y' think dat!"

Wanda scowled after him until he was out of sight, then turned her head back to Rogue to continue her interrogation but was interrupted when the phone began to ring. Before Rogue could struggle to her feet, Remy was across the room and standing with the house phone in hand. He answered it, only for his expression to turn grave as he immediately began to patter away in French. He disappeared into the kitchen without so much as a look in the women's direction. However when Wanda turned back to face her friend, Rogue was still watching after Remy. Worry marred her brow as she watched him pace the kitchen at a slow pace. Wanda had to call her name several times before she broke her stare.

"Everything okay?"

The worry in Rogue's eyes didn't falter as she distracted her hands by folding the clothes on her lap. Rogue felt her heart hammer against her chest as she spoke softly.

"Jean-Luc called a few days ago. Aveline collapsed while she was gardening in their yard. She was out only a few seconds, but Jean-Luc was worried so they rushed her to the hospital and had a round of tests done. We've been waiting for them to call…"

A strained sigh escaped her as she forlornly folded another blanket and placed it on the pile in front of her and blinked back new tears. When Wanda reached for her hand and squeezed it between hers, she managed to finish her sentence.

"Aveline hasn't been well for a long time. She's had good days, but more bad days since last Christmas. She had a few episodes. She fell unconscious when she was out with Mercy and the girls (1). But the tests they did last time weren't conclusive enough to say whether she should continue with treatment."

Wanda moved so that they sat side by side with the backs to the seat of the sofa behind them. Rogue absently ran a hand over her belly as she pushed back the swell of tears that had threated to fall. Finally, Wanda spoke up but her voice had lost all its usual mettle, and was instead quite gentle.

"She's one spirited lady, I'll give her that. I don't think I've seen anyone- even you, order Remy around like a trained poodle. He turns into such a push over with his Mama. He and Henri both. They were fighting over something during Thanksgiving, and all she had to say was 'boys' and they were sitting up straight at the table. The silence was deafening..."

The mental image inspired a smile across Rogue's lips, just as Wanda planned, and they chuckled together, recalling the event until they both seemed to realise the silence purveying the room. It was only at the sound of slow footfall that they realised Remy had stopped talking and was in the living room again.

The second Rogue saw his face, she was struggling to her feet. Wanda gently helped her to her feet before she gently approached Remy. He stood there in the middle of the piles of clothes, his head downcast while the phone clasped between his shaking hands. Gently, Rogue reached for the phone and took it from him and silently passed it to Wanda. When he didn't speak or move, she reached up and clasped his face between her hands and re-directed his gaze to meet hers. His eyes were clouded with unshed tears as he uttered the words.

"She's asked us t' come home. T' say…"

Rogue felt her throat constrict as she finished his sentence in her head. To say goodbye.

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Thank you all again for following for so long. New update soon!

(1) Did I forget to mention that Mercy and Henri have two girls? Louisa, 6. Minette, 9. They were in the background during Thanksgiving. I meant to give more time to explore the other LeBeau lot, but there wasn't the time.