The backstroke, it was her best stroke. The water danced over her body. She couldn't feel any safer anywhere than in the water. It was so peaceful, so calm; so perfect. "Celene!" She groaned. Not now. Why did she always have to be interrupted? Turning her head, she saw a woman waving from the shore. She waved back. "Celene dear, please come back. Your mother is looking for you, and you know how she feels about you wondering off on your own." The girl groaned. "I'll be in in a minute!" "Now Celene!" "In a minute!" She slowly sank into the water. Why couldn't they ever just leave her alone? All she wanted was a little bit of peace. Was that too much to ask?! One day she'd find a way to make people keep their distance.

Rogue woke up in the middle of the lake. "Damn. Not again," she said with a groan. Dreams were bad enough, but acting them out left Rogue feeling angry. With a sigh, she turned and swam toward the shore.

Kitty sat up in bed, she couldn't believe she was still hungry after everything she'd eaten today. But, growling tummies didn't lie, and with a sigh she got up. Out of habit she turned to glance at Rogue, only Rogue was missing. Kitty's heart jumped into her throat. She forced herself to take a deep breath. There had to be a reason why Rogue was missing, and Kitty's mind came up with a million terrible ones on the spot. She closed her eyes and shook her head. No. Rogue probably couldn't sleep and she was just somewhere in the mansion. That's right, she'd just go look for her. A very determined Kitty turned and walked out of the room.

An hour and a half later a very desperate Kitty was lightly pounding on Jean's bedroom door. Jean opened the door rubbing her eyes. "Kitty? What's the matter?" "Rogue's gone!" Jean's eyes widened. "What?" "She's gone! I can't find her anywhere!" "We have to tell the Professor!" "No! No! Don't!" Kitty cried, before Jean could telepathically wake him, "I've, like, looked all over the mansion. Maybe you could, like, scan for her or something." Jean sighed, but closed her eyes and scanned anyway. Nothing. Opening her eyes, she looked at Kitty. "I think we should wake the Professor," she said flatly.

Professor Xavier sat in his study surrounded by the collective nerves of everyone in the mansion. He tried again, with no luck. "I'm sorry," he said, "I can't seem to reach her." He was tired and irritated. He was upset with himself, and extremely worried about Rogue. He couldn't seem to get a mental lock on her, or anything for that matter. For the first time in his life, Charles Xavier was useless.

Logan followed Rogue's scent deep into the grounds of the Xavier estate. He didn't think anyone but himself went this far into them. His heart raced as he followed Rogue deeper into the forestry. Why couldn't Charles find her? There were only a few explanations. Rogue had been abducted, was unconscious, or dead. Logan didn't like the options, and her tracks weren't exactly fresh. The night was a very cold one. Almost all the snow had melted away; but the temperature was still very low. He ignored the cold, ignored the pain in his heart, ignored the doubt in his mind. Rogue was one of his kids, and he'd be damned if he wouldn't find her. Still, the faint scent urged him on; he didn't want to risk loosing her. His head spun with thousands of images. His claws were sheathed for the moment, he couldn't risk running into her. He could only smell Rogue. That didn't necessarily mean she wasn't alone; just that she had left alone. His heart beat faster with every second he didn't find her; and he was standing at the pitfall of a beserker rage. And that's when Logan entered the clearing and saw Rogue under a tree. He let out a deep sigh of relief, and fought the urge to run over to her.

Rogue was so lost in thought she failed to recognize Logan casually approach her. He stopped a good foot or so away from her and took a deep sniff. Okay, so they were alone. He turned his attention back to Rogue. She sat against the tree shivering. Logan could tell from her damp hair and clothes she'd been sitting there for a while. He noticed she was paler than usual, and her eyes were glassy and had a dazed look fixed on them. Her lips were purple, and her nose and fingertips were blue. Yeah, she'd definitely been out here a while.

"Hey kiddo, wanna talk about it?" Rogue turned, startled then leaned further into the tree. She shook her head slowly. Logan moved to lean against the tree, his shoulder the only part of him touching it, as he glanced down. "Sure 'bout that?" She nodded again, this time in the affirmative. They remained silent for a while. Logan was excellent when it came to understanding, though he'd never openly admit it. He didn't mind brooding, but right about now, Rogue's health couldn't afford it. "Ya know ya have the whole place in an uproar," he said casually, looking over the lake, "You sure know how ta party kiddo." Rogue smiled. Kiddo. It was Logan's pet name for her. For her and no one else. You could tell where you stood with Logan by what he called you. A pet name ranked high on his importance and priority lists, and showed you had a place in his heart. Logan really cared, and Rogue felt special. With the exception of Bobby, she'd never really felt special to anyone, least of all an adult. Oh she knew everyone cared, in one way or another; but it were the ones who showed it as subtly as Logan, whom she found the most sincerity in, the most honesty, comfort, and safety. She sighed, and relented.

"Ah've been sleepwalkin' Logan," she said. He grunted. "Well," he replied, holding out a hand. When she didn't take it, he realized his mistake, no gloves. Instead he reached out and grabbed her elbow, lifting her up. "I guess we're gonna have ta work on that now too." Rogue shrugged. She turned to leave and found her legs rebelling against her. As they buckled she grabbed the tree for support. Logan instinctively reached out for her, but stopped as she steadied herself. "I'm gonna have ta carry ya," he said blankly, "Ya been out here too long." "Na, ah'm fhine," she replied. "Now kiddo," he said, scooping her up, "Let's not start that again."

It was a pretty long walk back to the mansion and Rogue was getting sleepy. Logan was getting nervous. 'When did I become such a pussy?' he thought. Rogue passed out and he picked up his pace. 'Right. When I fell for all these damn kids.'

There was a collective sigh as Logan walked into the mansion with an unconscious Rogue. "Logan-" "Not now Chuck. I think we may have a case of hypothermia here." The Professor turned to the group. "Now that Rogue is safely returned, I would like you all to return to your beds." "Safely returned?" Bobby said, with a snort. The Professor ignored him. "Jean, Ororo we will need your assistance. And Kitty, would you please go up to your room and find Rogue a suitable change in clothes?" Everyone turned and began to leave. Bobby was muttering to himself and Professor Xavier took a quick dip into the boy's mind. Bobby was currently an open book, and quite an interesting one at that. Perhaps he could help. "Bobby may I speak with you?" Professor X said softly. Everyone still in the hall, including Bobby turned around. The others noting the Professor's stern look, wisely turned and left. "Sure Professor, what about?" Bobby asked, trying to sound interested and respectful. He was anything but. At the current moment Bobby's entire being was dedicated to Rogue, anything else was a distraction. "Well, actually about Rogue."

Rogue awoke feeling extremely warm. She slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the ceiling. Looking around, she realized she wasn't in the infirmary. Recognizing her room, she sighed, her body, which she had not realized was tense, relaxing. 'What happened? Oh right. Ah did it again.' She sighed again. 'God what's happening ta me?' She closed her eyes, trying to fight back tears. Her head rolled to the side to gaze out the window. She was surprised to find Bobby. He had fallen asleep by her side. His head rested on one of his arms; her left hand was tucked between his hands. He was seated in a chair, slumped over on her bedside. Rogue stared at him in shock; so many emotions running through her, she didn't know what to feel. Or to do for that matter.

Slowly, carefully, Rogue pulled her hand free. Gently she reached out to caress the side of his face. She ran her hand down his face, his neck, his shoulder, and his arm, until she reached his hand. He was wearing his X-men uniform, including the gloves. She stopped suddenly. She looked at her hands, and realized she wasn't wearing gloves. She had touched him, touched him skin to skin, and he seemed fine. She concentrated, but didn't feel him inside her mind at all. Tentatively, Rogue reached toward him again. Holding her breath, and expecting the worst, she touched him again. When nothing happened she released the breath with a deep sigh.

Rogue was confused, but she wasn't about to let this rare chance pass her by. With infinite care she slowly traced his face, reveling in the smooth feel of his skin. She ran her hand through his hair and over his eyes gently. Her fingers stopped over his lips. She licked her own, deciding what to do. Before she could decide, he stirred. Rogue quickly pulled her hand away.

Bobby looked up slowly. When his eyes fell on her they brightened, and he smiled widely. "Rogue!" he cried, getting up, "How are you feeling?" "Fhine," she replied, "A lil dumb, but fhine." "Dumb, why?" She sighed. "'Cause of all that's goin' on. Ah keep hurtin' people Bobby. Even if ah don't mean ta, ah do. First with mah touch an now with mah stupid dreams 'n stuff. Ah don't know if ah can keep…" "Keep what?" he asked sympathetically as he sat on the bed. Although she fought them, some tears slipped through. Bobby leaned in and wiped them away. Rogue didn't know how to respond. She was so frustrated. She just didn't know what was real anymore, and told him so. He smiled and laughed gently. Bobby moved closer to her, then boldly reached down, his arms slipping around her back and gently pulling her to him. She didn't resist. Instead she snuggled closer into his embrace, holding him tightly. "Rogue, this is real," he said softly into her hair. "I understand. Believe me, we all do. The same thing that's happening to you is happening to everybody else." "Yeah, except they're not goin' crazy." He laughed, and hugged her tighter. "You're not going crazy Rogue. Your powers are growing just like everybody else's. And just like everybody else you're going through different changes. We all have different powers Rogue. You can't expect us all to go through the same stuff." She nuzzled his chest, and held him tighter. "Ya know, yer kinda smart fer yer age." He smiled. "I have my moments." Rogue smiled. And they sat there holding each other until the sun rose.

A/N: Hiddey Ho! Wow, another chapter!! I'm surprising myself here too. Well, I know there's no Pietro in here, but he's in the next one. And, hey he can't be in every chapter.

Rio: Hope you enjoyed the "IcyRogue".

Don't worry all you Rietro fans. I'm not writin' a Bobby/Rogue. I'm just developing their relationship. It'll be important later on.

Okay. So lately I've been reading alotta stories. And I find myself, as Rio puts it, "committing them to memory." Please people. Update.

The following are all the stories I am currently watching like a hawk:

No place to call home

Image from the past

The Forbidden

Rough Days

The authors are:

Rionithis

Linkin-spike

Wolf24

Lucid Dreamer

Read them people. They're awesome. And if the authors read this (get ready people…I'm gonna pull a Rio) please, please, please update soon. I'm goin' outta my mind waitin' for you. And xFreakx if you come across this, I can't stress this enough. Please update Shades of Gray before the guys with the white coats come to take me away. Everyone read that one too, it's friggin' fantastic.

Okay. I think I've rambled on enough. I'm gonna leave now. Bye!