Disclaimer: Once again, they're not mine. They're Marvel's.


***

The closer Rogue got home, the slower time seemed to pass. This train was much older and less occupied than the first, so there was not a lot to concentrate on. For a while she flipped through a battered issue of Cosmo that she found in the restroom, but couldn't find the point in calculating what kind of lover she was or learning about the miracle of tai chi. Besides, all the models looked like Jean. The magazine was discarded on the empty seat next to her.
Outside, the clouds had broken, but it was dark now anyway. When her watch read 5:47 PM, the buildings of Caldecott County, MS were beginning to loom into view. They were nothing too spectacular, definitely incomparable to New York City or even to Bayville, but they were nothing to sneeze at. More importantly, it was home. Rogue was home.
The train gradually slowed, then stopped. She stood and slowly made her way out the exit, stepping down onto the station platform. Looking around anxiously, she found that there was no one present who might recognize her. Satisfied with her safety, she made her way through the humble depot. Suddenly, a sense of déjà vu washed over her.

Flashback...

Irene said her goodbyes at the house, letting the two walk to the train station and wait by themselves. It was brilliantly hot that day, still summer, and the high-noon sun beat down unsympathetically on the siblings as they sat on the platform's bench, waiting.
Rogue was fifteen and just starting to get pretty, while her brother, at eighteen, had matured into a very handsome young man. The scar was still prominent on his chin, but a growing confidence had hindered his quest to hide it, though he still had a tendency to rub it when he was nervous. He did so now.
"This'll be your first time up north since...since your father," Rogue said quietly.
"Ah know, Mara, but ah gotta go. All the best colleges are up north. Ah'll be fine."
"Ah guess if anyone'd make it through alright, it'd be you. You're so smart! Ah mean, you're goin' to Princeton! Who the hell goes from Caldecott County to Princeton?"
He smiled proudly. "Yeah, ah guess that's pretty good, huh?"
"It's great." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Ah'm proud of ya, big brother."
He squeezed back. "Just three years till you go up for college, too."
"Ah ain't smart enough for Princeton."
"Sure ya is," he said teasingly. "Really, ya just gotta work for it. You're smart, Mar, ah promise. You can even major in political science, like me."
"Ah know for sure ah don't have a mind for politics."
"Well, major in literature, then. You're well-read an' all...you can be my speechwriter." He leaned back and stretched. "Ah just wanna do good for the world; ah wanna make things right."
"If that's what ya think, you'll make an excellent politician."
"Thanks. There's a lotta evil in the world, Mara."
"Ah know. You've told me."
His train pulled up and wheezed to a stop.
"That's for me!" They both jumped up.
"Ah'll miss ya," she whispered.
"Mara..." He hugged her hard. "Ah'll miss you, too. Make sure to take good care of yourself, little sister." He grabbed his two bags and bounded for the train. As he stepped on it, he turned and called back. "And don't be so damn monastic! Go out and have some fun!" With that, he disappeared through the door.
A couple of nights later, she followed his advice - she went to a party and danced with a boy named Cody...

Rogue shook her head to clear her thoughts, then left the station.

***

The walk home wasn't particularly long or difficult, but halfway through it she got nervous. She couldn't understand exactly why; perhaps it had to do with the fact that she'd had no contact with Irene since she gone to Bayville, or that she was coming unannounced. She wasn't sure at all.
Finally, she saw it, the house. It looked precisely as it always did, light blue with white trimming, one-story. Never had it looked so beautiful. And in the living room, a light was on. Rogue ran down the walk and burst inside, the door unlocked.
"Irene! Irene, it's me! Ah'm home!"
"Irene's not here," said a voice from the hallway.
Rogue stopped in her tracks.
"Oh."

***

Author's Note - Woohoohoo! A cliffhanger! Well, I guess by now there isn't much of a surprise left. Just one chapter left...Thanks for all the good reviews I've gotten so far!!