Displacement

DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters in the story belong to Marvel. No, I don't have permission to 'borrow' them, but no infringement intended, blah,blah,blah. Please, please, please do not reproduce this story in part or in whole anywhere without at least asking me first! Thank you...Oh, yes, and thanks in part to F, F & M. You know who you are AND why.

email me at: psiren@x-men.com

Author's Note:
All those of you who can't imagine or bear any woman ending up with Remy LeBeau other than Rogue, then don't be disheartened. In my particular universe, it didn't happen. Sorry.

Displacement - Part Two
an X-Men fanfic by Pegasus

The short journey back to the academy was one fraught with silence and discomfort. Logan had gone through his alcoholic haze and was walking on autopilot whilst Remy's arms were aching from carrying the unconscious Anna. His heart contracted with fear for her several times - maybe she was more badly hurt than he had thought. His fears for her physical well-being, however, were far outweighed by those he had for her psychological state.

It seemed to take forever to walk the tiny distance from the Old Town Bar to the Academy. Remy was frantic with worry and concern by the time they crunched up the gravel drive.

Scott Summers stood in the hallway as they entered.

"And just where do you two think you've been?" he began in cold fury. He soon altered his tone when he saw the unconscious girl in Remy's arms. Officious and bureaucratic Cyclops might be, but he recognised an emergency when he saw one.

"OK - questions later. Let's get this girl to Jean," he said, taking her off of the exhausted-looking Remy who nodded gratefully, running weary hand across his eyes. "Where did you find her?"

"Down at the Old Town Bar," replied Remy without thinking.

"The Old Town Bar?" Cyclops glared at the other man. "What did you think you were doin…" Remy snapped at him.

"Questions later, you said, Cyke, 'k? Let's just get dis girl some help. She's had a rough night. And I don' see it gettin' better in a hurry." The Cajun removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. Thank God he'd had the sense not to drink as much as Logan, who was stumbling along happily behind them.

"Jean!" Scott called out for his wife. "Jean, we have an emergency here…get to the medlab - fast!"

Anna slowly began to stir in Scott's arms as he ran with her. Looking up into his covered eyes, she gasped in horror. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"Chere! Chere, it's OK, Remy's here…" Gambit sprinted softly to catch up with them. "You had…an accident…back at t'bar…I brought you here. We can help you." He held her hand and the panic in her face seemed to subside a little. Squeezing Remy's hand tightly, she closed her eyes and drew a few ragged breaths.

Opening them again, she looked at him. "What happened to me…back there? I remember…that man and then…I remember gasping for breath…"

They arrived at the medlab and Scott lay her down gently on one of the beds as Jean came rushing through the door. "What happened to you?" she asked, gently, coming across to Anna, who looked up at Remy.

"Anna here was havin' a spot of bother with a bit of unwanted attention an' I went t'help her," explained the Cajun, still holding Anna's hand. "The guy was soon put paid to…but den she started to suffocate." Jean's eyes narrowed. "She got gills, Jeany."

"I…what??" Anna protested. She let go of Remy's hand and covered her mouth in horror.

"Dem ridges on your neck, chere. Dey are gills. You needed t'be underwater." Turning his attention back to Jean, he continued. "It seemed it only lasted a few seconds, den she was fine again."

"OK…" Jean smiled down at Anna. "I'm Jean, honey. Don't worry about anything, it's all going to be just fine." She frowned. "We need to have a tank of water standing by just in case things start happening…" She began issuing orders to Cyclops, who stood there meekly listening to what she said.

Logan, who had sobered up a little, wandered over to Remy and Anna and patted her awkwardly on the back. "How you doin', kid? Trust Jean - she's a wonder. Everything will work out for the best." Anna glanced at him and smiled. "Thank you," she said. She looked back at Remy and as their eyes met, she again felt that feeling of potential trouble. To take her mind off it, she looked to where Jean was ordering Cyclops around. She was impressed by the woman's quiet authority and the calmness that radiated from her.

"Is she his boss or something?" she whispered to Logan.

"No, kid…she's his wife. Much worse. And harder to get time off from."

Anna started to giggle. Remy smiled, but felt a little…was it jealous..? Logan had drifted into conversation with her so easily and made her smile. "Chere, I have to go get some sleep…you gon' be fine here with Jean…I promise."

"An' me, too," piped up Logan, cheerfully, patting Anna on the hand. She smiled up at him and glanced across to Remy.

"Remy…"

She couldn't say the words she wanted to say. She just tried thinking them instead. //Thanks for saving my life//.

//My pleasure, chere//. Remy lifted her hand and placed his lips to it, leaving a kiss that lingered a little longer than the previous ones. Jean glanced over at them, having picked up a little buzz on a telepathic level. As Remy left the room, Anna's eyes didn't leave him, but Jean didn't notice that.

* * *

Over the course of the night, Jean didn't leave Anna's side. She made the transition from lungs to gills four more times. Each time the transformation a little longer, and by morning she was so exhausted from the whole thing that she couldn't stop crying. Between sobs, she had managed to tell Jean the whole story, including the telepathic brushes with Remy.

Jean was equally tired and wished that Anna's transitions would settle into some sort of pattern for both their sakes. She had run countless scans and blood tests and was working her way through the results. She glanced over at the girl who was currently dozing fitfully under the surface of the water.

"Hey, Jean." Logan entered the room, looking decidedly the worse for wear which, of course, he was. "How's our little water baby today?"

"She's sleeping right now," replied Jean, massaging her temples as she stared at the medical data that flashed up on her computer terminal. It all looked like so much gibberish to her.

Logan crossed to the tank and peered in. "Hey, she looks kinda comfy in there," he said. "Not much of an apartment, but the girl's got her own living space."

"Logan…I don't know if she'll appreciate that kind of humour…" Jean began, but he waved the comment aside.

"She'll be fine. Jean…you look exhausted. Why not let me sit with her for a couple hours while you go get some sleep?"

"But…"

"Can I rephrase that? Go. To. Bed."

She smiled. His sense of humour was sometimes trying, often crude, but he was a kind hearted soul deep down. Picking up the printout of results, she got out of her chair and crossed to the door. Logan slid into her seat and stared at the computer screen.

"How d'you get Minesweeper on this thing then?" he asked.

* * *

Jean's short nap lasted a good few hours. By the time she returned to the lab, it was late evening. As she hurried down the corridor, she firstly berated herself for sleeping away the day, then consoled herself with the thought that if anything untoward had happened to Anna, she would have been woken.

Her heart sank still further as she contemplated what lay in store for Anna.

Entering the lab, she was greeted with the sight of Logan and Remy watching her as she twisted and turned herself in the relatively confined space of the tank.

"Hey, Jean! Welcome to the party! Anna's showing us her party tricks," called Logan, cheerfully waving her over. Jean cast a curious glance over her patient, who was evidently settling into her role in the water. Remy was watching her closely, a curious expression on his face, whilst Logan was waving his arms madly, trying to encourage her to turn somersaults.

Anna saw Jean and waved, smiling a little. "Hello again," she mouthed through the glass.

"How many times…?" Jean let the question hang.

Logan peered at a piece of paper by his side. "Twice each way. Lungs, gills, lungs - and she went back to gills about three hours ago. We had some nice conversations when she was in air mode, didn't we, Anna?" He raised his voice so she could hear the last part of the sentence. She nodded, smiling at him.

"I have to decide whether or not to tell her the whole truth, Logan."

"What truth?" Anna surfaced from the water. "Don't think I haven't started to get quite good at lipreading under there." She grinned, but it was forced. She drew a few ragged breaths - her gills had not returned to lungs yet, and she knew she could only stay out the water for a limited time. She bobbed down so her head was on the surface.

"I don't really…."

"Please, Jean, just tell me. I can't deal with any more of this stepping around the issue."

Jean sighed. "The truth. OK. Short term, I don't think that you will be able to leave the confines of this room," she said, honestly. "We cannot predict when your physiology alters itself, there is no seeming pattern to it. All we can do is try to find some way of helping you to control it. You have to be within easy reach of water - and right now this tank is the only solution." She saw the look of horror flash across the girl's face. "I'm so sorry."

Logan's hand reached up and stroked Anna's face gently as Jean spoke. Glancing into his eyes with her own purple ones, Anna tried to stem the tears she could feel building up in them. Logan smiled encouragingly at her.

"Jean and the Prof will find a way, kid," he said, softly. "They always do."

She smiled a little, but made no response. She let go of Logan's hand and ducked under the surface of the water, to cool her burning face down and to block out the sounds around her. She wasn't hearing this. She couldn't be hearing this.

Remy leaned against the doorframe, listening in growing horror to Jean's revelations about Anna. She was a free spirit, a young, beautiful thing who shouldn't be forced into this kind of physical incarceration. He had watched her in the tank earlier, quietly and from a hidden vantage point behind the door and she had looked unhappy and confused…and he had wanted to go and comfort her…but he felt…awkward about it. He turned and left the medlab.

He knew where he had to go.

* * *

"Roguey? Y'wake?"

"Ah am now." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. "Remy…ah've told ya before, don' jus' creep up on a gal when she's sleepin'." The thief sat on the end of her bed, his hair loose, his face troubled. Reading his expression, she sat up immediately. "What's troublin' ya, Remy?"

She swung her legs off the edge of the bed and reached for her gloves. Once she had pulled them on, she reached out and took his hand.

"It ain't 'what' tha's troublin' me, petite. It's who."

"Who?" Rogue was confused for a few moments. She and Remy had reached an understanding, finally. They still loved one another - but it was on a different level. They had gone beyond the need to be together physically, something they had perhaps outgrown - but they still turned to one another in times of personal crisis. And by the look on Remy's face…this was a crisis.

"Anna. The girl we bought back from town yesterday…Ah, Roguey…she's doin' f'me what I thought'd never happen 'gain. She got me right here…" He put Rogue's hand on his chest and sighed heavily. "But she so young, petite. Maybe she not interested in Gambit dat way."

Slightly amused at the lovesick puppy side of him, Rogue rubbed his chest playfully. "Ya tried ASKIN' her, sugah?"

The horrified expression that crossed his face almost made her giggle. Almost. She bit back the comment and held her hands up. "OK, OK, just askin'! What makes ya think she wouldn't be int'rested, Remy? Maybe she feels the same."

"She…aw, je ne sais pas…I can't get over how beautiful she is when she in de water…like…somethin' from another world." Dreamy, lovesick Remy, thought Rogue. Did he ever talk about me like this, I wonder? She knew a second's jealousy, then it was gone.

"Listen ta me, Remy, honey. Ya gotta tell her how ya feel. If ya don't, then how is she ever gonna know?" Rogue pushed the auburn tresses out of his much-loved face and studied him in silence for a few seconds. "We left it too late f'r us - you gonna make that same mistake twice?"

"Aw…Roguey…" He looked up at her. "Y'know I beat myself with dat stick all the time. I always loved you. But we both knew it could never be, we both understood." He held her hands tightly and smiled at her. "You look after me so well…if we'd ever got together, we could kiss dat bye bye…"

"Ah know, sugah." She stroked his face gently. How she ached to take his pain away, to make everything better. It had been because of her he had suffered in Antarctica, that she had had to come to terms with losing him. She had counted herself lucky that, once he'd returned, he'd forgiven her. She had not forgiven herself for a very, very long time. "Remy LeBeau - ya listen t'me an' you pay good heed, OK? This girl ain't never gonna know how ya feel unless you tell her. Find the right moment, Remy. Take her out. Wine her. Dine her. Do everythin' you did with me. But don't leave it so long."

"I can't, chere…I can't take her out all the time Jean can't control her mutation. She stuck in dat tank and dat room an' it makes me mad." He clenched his fists. "She seems t'think she's some kind of freak, but…she's so beautiful and got her whole life ahead o' her." He dropped his head into his hands. "What can Gambit possibly offer her?"

"How 'bout offerin' her yourself, Remy?" Rogue said, softly. "Not Gambit, or some concocted lady's man. How 'bout jus' plain ol' Remy LeBeau, the boy from New Orleans? The real you. The one that only you and ah know 'bout. The one who cries at sad movies. The one who picks up baby birds an' puts 'em back in their nests. Why not be yourself f'r a change, sugah? If her whole life so far has been one big lie…then she sure ain't gonna be impressed with more." She sighed. "Ya get one chance to make somethin' happen, Remy. If ya want it - ya gotta go out there an' get it."

She smiled, knowing that there wasn't much more she could say to him. "Now c'n ah get some sleep, Cajun?" She punched him on the arm playfully.

"I'm outta here, chere." He kissed the back of her gloved hand. "Merci, Rogue. T'anks f'r your help."

"Don't mention it, Remy. Jus' remember this conversation nex' time ya want me t'do you a favour."

* * *

He had gone back to his room and lain on the bed, knowing that the quest for sleep was more futile than anything else. His mind kept coming back to the conversation with Rogue. "Ya get one chance to make somethin' happen, Remy."

"One chance may be enough," he murmured. "Maybe."

'Maybe' had always represented Gambit's favourite odds. But there was more at risk here than a handful of money. The ante was his heart - and it was maximum stakes. Double or nothing.

Not knowing where she would be…in the tank or on the bed, Remy pushed open the laboratory door and crept quietly inside. The blue light in the hastily constructed tank lit the room in a slightly other-worldly purplish glow, reflecting off the glass sides of Anna's new home. It wasn't a very large living space for the girl, but it was deep. The thick Perspex that separated him from the girl was like his window to her. Stealthily, he moved a little closer. She lay curled up at the bottom of the tank, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. Asleep. Perfect. She needed to rest - even if it was for only a short time. She'd been through so much…too much.

Pressing up close to the side of the Perspex, he tried to look at her with what he considered his professional detachment. He tried to see her as a curiosity, as the freak she seemed to believe she was - but he couldn't. All he could see were her black curls floating around her angelic face, serene and peaceful in sleep. She was ethereal, beautiful, untouchable. He put a hand to the glass and stroked the shape of her jaw gently.

"Elle est trés, trés belle...oui...ah, but so young..." It was tearing him up inside, the fear and terror he saw on her face every time her gills clamoured for the water, ripping her away from the life on land she had grown up with. Yet there was something that drew the Cajun to her. He did not know what. She was - what, maybe six or seven years younger than him. His heart had been broken when he and Rogue had finally agreed to go their separate ways. Why did it beat so fast when he looked at Anna's face? She was so very mysterious...so attractive, and so...

Angry with himself for thinking like that about her, he cursed aloud, muttering an epitaph so raw it could have turned the air around him blue. To his consternation, he saw that it had disturbed Anna. Her purple-hued eyes fluttered open and she looked straight into his red ones. Even through the Perspex, there was an electrical charge between them.

"Remy..." she mouthed through the glass, pressing herself up against it as if she would touch him. Jean had thoughtfully provided her with a one-piece swimsuit that covered up her nakedness, but did not hide the shapeliness of her figure. Remy had to tear his attention away from her body and look back at her face. She was smiling at him.

"Bonsoir, cherie," he said, smiling back. "Gambit just thought he'd call in and sees you was OK, non?"

Her lips formed the words 'I'm fine', but the expression in her eyes told him otherwise. Her hand spread out on the glass and he put his own up against it. There was a long silence, punctuated only by the constant hum of the lights and the gentle sloshing of the water in the tank as she moved. He was aching to tell her how he felt, but how could he? He was in the frame of mind to tell her now...but she could not answer back properly.

"Anna," he said, gently, surprised at how just speaking her name sent butterflies fluttering around his stomach. "Anna. What's it like...bein' under de water like dat?"

Her eyes widened at the question. He saw hurt in them, an aching loneliness, and she pulled her hand back and traced a finger down her cheek, miming tears. She then held her finger up as if to say 'wait'. Pushing herself back from the glass, she turned a few somersaults in the clear blue water. Her lithe body twisted gracefully, as if she had been born to this incapacitation. And the more Remy watched her, his breath caught somewhere between his lungs and his throat, the more he realised it was not an incapacitation but a beautiful gift.

"Alors, Anna...it's like watchin' a bird in flight," he said, spellbound. There was envy in his voice. Rogue had been able to fly and that had made him jealous at times. But this...this was equally beautiful. She stopped her underwater acrobatics and twisted herself round to look at him. Tipping her head on one side, she beckoned him with her forefinger and he pressed his face up against the glass. She shook her head and her black curls floated around her face. She beckoned him again, a sly smile on her face.

"Me? In dere? Chere, Gambit can't swim very well, ya knows?" Shaking her head again she put a finger to her lips. Her mouth very slowly and very deliberately formed the words 'Trust me'.

"Hell, why not?" he said, shaking his own head at himself. Mad, crazy, bound to get him into trouble...hey, what was new?

Somewhat self-consciously, Remy shrugged out of his coat and stripped down to his pants. Glancing over his shoulder, he pulled himself up to the rim of the tank. A wide smile on her face, Anna swam to the top and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into the tank with a splash. He struggled automatically for a few seconds, blindly thrashing against the water and then stopped.

A pair of soft lips had pressed against his, but not in a kiss. His red eyes opening wide, Remy realised she was breathing for him. The Cajun stared into her large eyes, made luminous by the lighting in the tank. She was absolutely stunning.

Taking him by the hands, she showed him just how uninhibited the water could make him feel. To experience the sensation of the weightlessness of the water combined with the almost sensual touch of Anna's mouth breathing life-giving oxygen into his blood almost reduced the tough talkin' Cajun to tears.

Finally, almost reluctantly, she released her mouth from his and gently, gently pushed him upwards, where, breaking the surface he took a deep, long pull of air.

Looking down at Anna's face, looking up at him with a curious and slightly puzzled expression, his heart contracted painfully. He couldn't let this happen to himself again. No. But...she had just given him a wonderful gift. Surely…just once...couldn't hurt. Surely...

Tipping his head back so his wet hair tickled his back, he took another pull of air and ducked his head below the surface. Her eyes widened in surprise as he took her face between his hands and pressed his lips to hers - not in the way she had done with him - in a way that showed her exactly how he felt. As he resurfaced, he didn't dare look down at her. Silently he pulled himself out of the water and picked up his clothing. Turning almost hesitantly back to her he saw her floating gently, touching her lips almost in disbelief.

"Bon nuit, ma cherie," he said. "Good night, Anna."

She made no reply, lost in a world of her own.

Remy shut the door behind him, leaving his heart and soul in the medlab and returning the shell of his body to his room.

* * *

"Good morning, Anna," came Jean's cheerful voice as the lights flickered on in the lab. "How are you feeling today?" She smiled as she saw the girl perched on the edge of the tank, dandling her feet in the warm water. "When did it switch?"

Anna shrugged, leaping lightly off the tank. "Sometime early this morning," she replied. Jean was pleased to see that the air of glumness seemed to have lifted.

"I'm really sorry about this, Anna," she said, apologetically, holding up the syringe ready for the 'nth blood test. The girl grinned. It was the first time that Jean had seen a genuine smile of pleasure on her face since she had arrived. She was a pretty girl and even more so when she smiled. Jean was curious. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Of course not. Ask away." The girl sat down on the examining couch and let Jean sink the tip of the needle into her upper arm. As she watched the red blood flow into the syringe, her face took on a faraway, wistful expression that Jean recognised only too well. Keeping her smile hidden, she gently questioned the girl.

"Did anyone...come to visit you last night?"

The bloom that burst in the girl's cheeks was all the confirmation Jean needed. She couldn't stifle a giggle. "He's a gruff sort," she said, in a comradely way, "but he's really quite sweet when you get below that surface."

Anna looked bemused. "Gruff?" she said. "I can't see him as being 'gruff'. He's...sensitive. Poetic..." Her eyes took on that same dreamy look.

"Poetic? Anna, I've heard Logan referred to as many things, but po..."

"Logan? Who said anything about Logan?" Anna stared at Jean for a few moments, then began to giggle. "You think...me and...LOGAN??" Laughter rippled through her body, starting in her gut and finally reducing her to tears. "Oh, Jean, I'm sorry...Logan's a sweet guy and all...but..." She wiped her eyes. "No...I'm talking about Remy."

"REMY???" Jean couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "But...you and Logan, yesterday...you...I thought...but Remy...he..."

"Chill out, Jean, you'll burst something," giggled Anna, holding the older woman's hand. "It's cool. Logan and I...we kind of hit it off. He's fun, sweet. But Remy...." Again the blush. "He came to see me...and...I feel better for it. I feel...beautiful. I haven't felt that way before."

"Oh, Anna..." Jean sat down heavily next to her. "Remy? He's such a nice guy...but he...and the ladies...I would hate to see you get hurt...he's so much more experience than y..."

"I'm not a child, Jean," said Anna, politely but a little coldly. "I'm old enough to know how I feel about someone. Right from the first moment we saw each other...there was…something." Her face softened and she took Jean's other hand. "Trust me," she murmured. "I know what I'm doing." Her purple eyes glowed a little.

Jean's telepathic powers were tingling and she let go of Anna's hand. "What are you doing?" she asked, breathlessly. Was this a breakthrough?

Anna was perturbed. "What do you mean 'what am I doing'? I'm trying to explain to you how much I care about Remy! I don't care that I've only just met him, Jean, I think I…"

"Anna, stop. This is important. Just now…you were trying to persuade me of something, weren't you?"

"Well, yes, I…"

"And you claim that you've heard Remy's thoughts and that he's heard yours?"

"Once or twice, but…"

It was too much of a coincidence. Excitement on her face, Jean got up. "Wait here," she said. "I have to go get the Professor."

Anna shook her head as Jean rushed out of the room. Mad. The woman was quite mad. She got up and wandered idly around the laboratory, peering out the window at the gardens. She wanted to go explore. She hated being a prisoner in this room. She began to feel sorry for herself again.

"Anna?"

Her heart lifted and she turned to the door to see the Cajun stood there, looking slightly dishevelled. "Remy!" She came across to him and he smiled at her, taking her hands. "Uh...ca va?" she hazarded.

He grinned at her slightly wobbly French. "Ca va, bien, cherie." He glanced around. "Where is Jean?"

"She went to get Professor Xavier," replied Anna. "She was acting kind of strange, but then…everyone here seems to be a little strange…" She blushed. "Apart from you, of course."

"Ah, chere, Gambit's probably de strangest of de lot, non?" He winked and pulled her into a genial hug. "Is good to see you wid a smile on your face. Trés bien." He put out a finger and stroked her cheek a little. "You's very beautiful when you smile." Her blush deepened and he laughed, releasing her.

There was a long, awkward pregnant pause.

"I called by t'say t'ank you fer last night," he said, finally. "You gave me somet'in t'think about. No, dat's a lie. You give Gambit a lot t'think about." He cupped her chin in his hand and moved his head towards hers as if he would kiss her. He pulled back suddenly, however, a look of pain and confusion crossing his red eyes. He took her hand and kissed the back of that instead.

"I'll be back later, ma cherie," he said, his voice a little hoarse. He smiled at her and walked out of the laboratory, stepping aside to allow the Professor's chair in as he and Jean returned. Jean gave Remy a glare that would possibly have killed a lesser man there and then. Shrugging his lean shoulders a little, Remy left.

"Anna. Jean thinks that your mutation could also have given you telepathic or psionic powers." The Professor seemed quite excited by the prospect, much as Jean had been. Anna's lips quirked in a smile. "All I did was tell her..." She fell silent, suddenly remembering the way Remy had seemed he was going to kiss her, but had then left. Maybe Jean's gentle admonishments and warnings had some basis in reality. Maybe.

Her heart hardened over, and she tried to get his face - damned handsome face! - out of her mind. She had enough to deal with right now - she didn't need to get her heart broken as well.

"Anna. Anna! This is important, honey, please, you have to listen to the Professor." Jean frowned. The girl was distracted and she knew the reason why. Remy LeBeau. Curse him! Why, of all the people at the academy did it have to be the smooth, good looking lady's man who had bonded to her? She made her excuses and left the lab, with the intention of finding Remy.

The Cajun had exited the mansion and had wandered into the grounds. He was supposed to be meeting with Cyclops to explain why he had left the mansion the other night, but Cyke could go…

"Remy, I have to talk to you."

Jean. Now that was a surprise, he didn't think. He glanced at her and said nothing. "I said," she repeated, "I have to talk to you. Are you listening to me?"

"Sure am. But, Jeany, Gambit ain't used t'you talkin' TO me. I'm used t'you talkin' AT me. I'm just stayin' quiet and waitin' 'til the tickin' off and lecture is over, non?"

"Don't be facetious, Remy," said Jean, trying to be stern with him, but failing as her face broke into a smile. She checked herself and regained a level of seriousness. "What's going on with you and Anna?"

"Me and Anna." Remy gave her a crooked smile. "Hell, Jean, I wish I could answer dat question f'r you." The smile faded. "I just don' know." His red eyes looked across the Mansion gardens. "I thought my heart belonged to Rogue, once. But…well…y'know how dat turned out. Dis girl, though…she's…diff'rent."

"Oh, Remy..." Jean took his hands. Not for the first time since his return, she wished she had been able to express more support for him over the revelation of his part in the downfall of the Morlocks. The agony he and Rogue must have been through...the pain and suffering...it had broken her heart then as it continued to do now.

"I don't know if I'm ready t'start again, Jeany," said Remy softly, pressing her hands to his cheeks.

"Remy, you have all the time in the world, you know that?" She stroked back the auburn hair that fell into his eyes. "She is very attracted to you, no doubt. But she's very, very vulnerable right now. She's just come into powers and abilities she had never imagined she possessed. The world is a frightening place for her."

Remy was silent, contemplative. Jean continued. "Give it time, Remy. If you're meant to be together - it will happen and nothing can stop it." Like Scott and me, she thought, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth and lighting up her eyes. "I'm working on a way to help her control her breathing. I think that once she begins to master her psionic powers, she can control it with that, but for now, the answer is going to have to be a device of some kind…"

"Jean…stop…before y'start gettin' all technical on me…" Remy grinned. "Jus' for once…I'm gon' take your advice. I'll give it time. But for now…if me an' her are gon' get together, I want ta be sure she c'n play poker…"

He turned and strode confidently back into the mansion. Jean smiled to herself. She liked a good old-fashioned romance.

* * *

Remy dealt the cards out onto the table. Anna held them, peering curiously at them and trying to remember what Remy had said.

There was long, awkward silence, broken only by the occasional sound of the Cajun moving his cards around. He was, she noticed, holding them very close to his chest.

How symbolic.

"What do we do now, Remy?"

More silence. The cards moved about some more.

"We take it as it comes, chere. Jean is workin' on a way t'help you control your breathin'. Cyclops an' Storm…"

"I want a name, too," she said, suddenly.

"A name?" Remy was momentarily confused, but then realised what she was saying. "Chere…I been thinkin' 'bout dat. D'you know your Greek mythology?"

"I know some," she said, curious. She looked down at the cards in her hand. This poker business was complicated. "Why?"

"Den ya may know who de sirens were. Sea-nymphs who had de power to charm with their songs…and dat'd cause sailors t'cast demselves into the sea to their destruction…well, chere, Gambit feels like one of dem sailors."

She put down her cards and looked at him. His red eyes were closed as he spoke and he was extraordinarily handsome. Reaching out to stroke his cheek, shyly and gently, she thrilled as he pulled her into his embrace.

"Take it as it comes," she repeated.

"My Psiren," he whispered, burying his face in her hair. It would be a long, hard struggle…but they would get there. He felt sure.

"We will," she murmured, echoing his thoughts. "Trust me."