+ + + + + +
Rogue stared out the window at the winter scenery, not really seeing it as she wondered about the whereabouts of her friends slash teammates.
She had watched as the huge aircraft took flight, making the ground vibrate and the windows rattle.
The basketball court had lifted up, abandoned balls rolling off the raised surface and bouncing to the ground below, revealing the Blackbird glistening in the dark of the night, engines roaring and ready.
She felt a pang of regret.
Sighing, she turned to look at the Christmas tree, beautiful in the dimmed light as the tinsel shimmered and the red and golden balls reflected small images of the room around them.
She placed Logan's present back under the tree beside Remy's, comparing the two as she leaned back.
"You think this place could use a little mistletoe?"
She started, looking up to see a native American woman with long black hair and almond eyes.
"Oh, hi Forest."
Forest kneeled beside her.
"Not rattling your gifts, are you?"
Rogue smiled grimly.
"No, ah wasn't."
Forest moved to the doorway and placed her hand over the upper portion, watching as green plants sprouted from her fingertips and twined themselves around the wood.
Stepping back, she surveyed the sprig of mistletoe she had created critically.
"Ah'm surprised you aren't on the team yet, shugah," Rogue said.
She had always been fascinated by the young woman's power of producing plants and communicating fluently with animals.
Forest smiled at the pregnant woman with the white streak in her hair.
"I need much more practice before I could qualify for the X-men." She said, planting random bits of mistletoe around the room.
Rogue snorted.
"You qualified yourself already shugah. Ah mean, remember the time we got attacked by a few of Magneto's lackeys? You tied up ole' Sabertooth effortlessly! And he wasn't able to break those vines too easy, either."
Forest laid her hand on the Christmas tree, producing little red and white poinsettias in a eye-pleasing natural pattern.
"Maybe so, but I need to learn to control my fear of heights first."
Rogue shrugged.
"'Ro's on the team, and she's claustrophobic."
Forest began planting sprigs of holly into the tree, then walked over to the great mantel of the fireplace and created more holly around the many holiday cards that resided there.
She shrugged, and there was a long silence in the room.
Forest finally broke the silence.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
Rogue brushed aside a stray lock of her hair. "It's nothing....well...ah'm just wondering if ah made the right choice."
She twisted the engagement ring on her finger.
Forest frowned.
"Do you not love Remy?"
Rogue sighed.
"Ah do...but....promise you won't tell anyone if ah told you something?"
Forest nodded.
"I swear, by the sun I will tell no one."
Rogue looked down at the present she had pulled into her lap.
"Ah love Logan, not Remy."
Forest didn't look surprised.
"He's the father of your child."
Rogue looked up.
"Did he tell you?"
Forest shook her head.
"It's quite easy to see, the tension between you when you are in the same room."
Rogue struggled up and flew to the window.
"Ah love him, but he doesn't love me."
Forest smiled knowingly at Rogue's back.
"Are you so sure?"
Rogue turned.
"Did he tell you otherwise?"
Forest sighed.
"No, he didn't, but I can tell from how he looks at you."
Rogue fell silent, pondering this new revelation, when the sharp pain took her by surprise.
"Ow!" She cried, but the pain was quickly over.
"What's wrong?" Asked Forest worriedly.
"Ah...ah had a contraction, ah think...." Rogue said.
Forest hurried to the girl who lay panting on the floor.
"Oh my, you're waters broken," She said as she saw the puddle of fluid on the floor.
"We should get you to the lab."
Rogue felt a wave of panic threatening to overwhelm her.
"Jean....Jean....Jean's with....with the rest of the team!" She said between gasps.
Forest paled slightly.
"Alright....it's alright...I'll radio her....but we should get you to the lab anyways."
Rogue nodded weakly, feeling another contraction grip her body.
"Can you fly?"
Rogue took a deep breath.
"Ah'll....ah'll...ah'll try."
She struggled to her knees, spreading her arms out and lifting into the air with a heave.
"Good! Now, this way."
Forest started off for the lab, pausing every so often as a contraction made Rogue falter in her flight.
+ + + + + +
"Hello? Jean?"
Jean's head snapped up as a crackling voice came out of her communicator.
She scanned her mind, trying to remember the name of the young native woman.
///Forest////
"Yes, this is Jean. What's wrong, Forest?"
There was a pause and Jean heard the woman make soothing sounds.
"Shhh Rogue it's okay...Rogue's baby is coming!"
Jean blanched.
"Has her water broken?"
The radio crackled.
"Yes, her water broke."
Jean clenched her teeth.
"How long between contractions?" She asked quickly.
"Uhh...." The woman paused.
"Five minutes or so."
Jean let out a sigh of relief.
"Then they've just started."
She thought for a moment.
"Forest, I want you to make her as comfortable as possible, put some pillows behind her back. Don't give her any food or drink, but you could give her some ice cubes, okay?"
She paused until she heard Forest's okay.
"I can't come now, but nothing much should be happening for a couple of hours at least."
She felt Forest's apprehension with her telepathic abilities.
"It'll be fine. Everything is normal so far, and there's nothing that I could do for her anyways. If you do everything I said, then it'll be fine." She glanced at Scott. "I have to go now. Don't hesitate to contact me if there's any trouble."
She ended the conversation and slipped the communicator back into her uniform.
"Well?" Asked Logan anxiously.
"Well, what?" Jean said, a little annoyed at being eavesdropped on.
"You fucking well know what I mean. I heard her say Rogue's havin' the baby!"
Jean scolded him mentally for using strong language in front of children.
/Logan! No swearing! /
He growled at her.
"She'll be fine," She said with a sigh.
"There's nothing that I could do for her that Forest couldn't."
She remembered Remy, Rogue's fiancée.
/ Remy! /
The Cajun looked up from playing with his cards, startled.
*What, cher? *
His burning red eyes looked worried.
///I must be giving off anxiety with my powers /// Jean thought.
She took a calming breath.
/ Remy, Forest just contacted me on my communicator. Rogue is having her baby. /
Remy dropped his cards.
"* What? *"
Jean glanced about her as everyone stared at Remy.
"Sorry," He said, embarrassed.
*What? *
/ She's in labor. There's nothing to worry about, there's nothing that I could do for her right now that Forest couldn't. She'll be just fine, Remy. /
The Cajun didn't look convinced.
*She Remy's fiancée, cher. She better be fine. *
Logan let out a growl beside her.
/// Am I projecting our conversation into Logan's head? ///
She stared at Logan for a moment before shrugging and walking over to the front of the blackbird.
/ Scott. /
Scott jumped.
Don't do that Jean! You scared me to death.
Jean suppressed a smile at the antics of her fiancée.
/ Rogue is having her baby, Scott. /
Scott's brow furrowed.
Will she be okay without you for a while?
Jean nodded.
/ Forest is with her. She can do what I could do right now. I just hope we'll complete the mission in time. /
Scott sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair.
I'll try to get us back in time. I don't know if I can though.
Jean smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
/Thanks, Scott. I knew I could depend on you. /
She moved over to where 'Ro sat.
/Rogue's in labor. /
The African goddess opened her mouth in shock.
:: The poor child! How far along is she? ::
Jean considered her friend for a moment.
/ Her water broke, and she's still five minutes between contractions. There's time yet. /
'Ro let out a relieved sigh.
The African woman was a trained midwife, having assisted in many births in the tribe she had once belonged to, thus having a lot of experience in pregnancy and childbirth.
:: I hope we will be back in time to help her. ::
Jean nodded, thinking over the many things that could go wrong with such a difficult situation.
Rogue's mutation made things all the harder, and now there was no time for the caesarean that had been planned for her.
"* People! We are nearing our destination. Listen up! *"
Everyone's heads jerked up as Cyclops shouted out their orders in a commanding tone.
+ + + + + +
"Rogue, little one, relax, tensing up will make it hurt more. That's a good girl."
Rogue let herself go limp as Forest adjusted the mound of pillows behind her back.
"What...did...she say?" She asked between pants.
Forest handed her a box full of ice cubes, which she accepted a little quizzically.
"Jean said that you couldn't eat or drink anything, but you could chew on some ice cubes. She also said that for now you'll be fine, nothing much should happen for a few hours at least. Till then I'll be able to handle it, so just relax."
Rogue moaned.
"Why does...it always happen...like this for....me?"
Forest smiled sympathetically and patted the girl's gloved hand.
"You and Logan are alike in a lot of ways, you know."
Rogue tensed up as another contraction racked her body.
"H...h.....how?" She gasped as the pain slowly ebbed away.
"You both have incredibly bad luck."
Rogue laughed, wiping her forehead.
"Ah guess you're right."
She took a sliver of ice between her fingers and raised it to her lips, sucking on it thoughtfully.
"Logan an me, we're the same."
She felt the walls she had mentally erected crumble as she thought about the father of her child.
"Oh....what am ah gonna do, Forest?" She sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
"Ah already said yes. It's too late for me!"
Forest shook her head.
"It's never too late, little one. You love each other. You must communicate it."
Rogue sniffled.
"But what about R-remy?"
Forest sighed.
"Would it be right to marry him when your heart belongs to someone else?"
Rogue shook her head slowly.
"Ah g-guess you're r-right," She said, breathing deeply.
She tensed as another contraction stabbed through her body, making her cry out in agony.
~I hope they come soon.~ Forest thought as she soothed the anguished girl.
+ + + + + +
Rogue stared out the window at the winter scenery, not really seeing it as she wondered about the whereabouts of her friends slash teammates.
She had watched as the huge aircraft took flight, making the ground vibrate and the windows rattle.
The basketball court had lifted up, abandoned balls rolling off the raised surface and bouncing to the ground below, revealing the Blackbird glistening in the dark of the night, engines roaring and ready.
She felt a pang of regret.
Sighing, she turned to look at the Christmas tree, beautiful in the dimmed light as the tinsel shimmered and the red and golden balls reflected small images of the room around them.
She placed Logan's present back under the tree beside Remy's, comparing the two as she leaned back.
"You think this place could use a little mistletoe?"
She started, looking up to see a native American woman with long black hair and almond eyes.
"Oh, hi Forest."
Forest kneeled beside her.
"Not rattling your gifts, are you?"
Rogue smiled grimly.
"No, ah wasn't."
Forest moved to the doorway and placed her hand over the upper portion, watching as green plants sprouted from her fingertips and twined themselves around the wood.
Stepping back, she surveyed the sprig of mistletoe she had created critically.
"Ah'm surprised you aren't on the team yet, shugah," Rogue said.
She had always been fascinated by the young woman's power of producing plants and communicating fluently with animals.
Forest smiled at the pregnant woman with the white streak in her hair.
"I need much more practice before I could qualify for the X-men." She said, planting random bits of mistletoe around the room.
Rogue snorted.
"You qualified yourself already shugah. Ah mean, remember the time we got attacked by a few of Magneto's lackeys? You tied up ole' Sabertooth effortlessly! And he wasn't able to break those vines too easy, either."
Forest laid her hand on the Christmas tree, producing little red and white poinsettias in a eye-pleasing natural pattern.
"Maybe so, but I need to learn to control my fear of heights first."
Rogue shrugged.
"'Ro's on the team, and she's claustrophobic."
Forest began planting sprigs of holly into the tree, then walked over to the great mantel of the fireplace and created more holly around the many holiday cards that resided there.
She shrugged, and there was a long silence in the room.
Forest finally broke the silence.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
Rogue brushed aside a stray lock of her hair. "It's nothing....well...ah'm just wondering if ah made the right choice."
She twisted the engagement ring on her finger.
Forest frowned.
"Do you not love Remy?"
Rogue sighed.
"Ah do...but....promise you won't tell anyone if ah told you something?"
Forest nodded.
"I swear, by the sun I will tell no one."
Rogue looked down at the present she had pulled into her lap.
"Ah love Logan, not Remy."
Forest didn't look surprised.
"He's the father of your child."
Rogue looked up.
"Did he tell you?"
Forest shook her head.
"It's quite easy to see, the tension between you when you are in the same room."
Rogue struggled up and flew to the window.
"Ah love him, but he doesn't love me."
Forest smiled knowingly at Rogue's back.
"Are you so sure?"
Rogue turned.
"Did he tell you otherwise?"
Forest sighed.
"No, he didn't, but I can tell from how he looks at you."
Rogue fell silent, pondering this new revelation, when the sharp pain took her by surprise.
"Ow!" She cried, but the pain was quickly over.
"What's wrong?" Asked Forest worriedly.
"Ah...ah had a contraction, ah think...." Rogue said.
Forest hurried to the girl who lay panting on the floor.
"Oh my, you're waters broken," She said as she saw the puddle of fluid on the floor.
"We should get you to the lab."
Rogue felt a wave of panic threatening to overwhelm her.
"Jean....Jean....Jean's with....with the rest of the team!" She said between gasps.
Forest paled slightly.
"Alright....it's alright...I'll radio her....but we should get you to the lab anyways."
Rogue nodded weakly, feeling another contraction grip her body.
"Can you fly?"
Rogue took a deep breath.
"Ah'll....ah'll...ah'll try."
She struggled to her knees, spreading her arms out and lifting into the air with a heave.
"Good! Now, this way."
Forest started off for the lab, pausing every so often as a contraction made Rogue falter in her flight.
+ + + + + +
"Hello? Jean?"
Jean's head snapped up as a crackling voice came out of her communicator.
She scanned her mind, trying to remember the name of the young native woman.
///Forest////
"Yes, this is Jean. What's wrong, Forest?"
There was a pause and Jean heard the woman make soothing sounds.
"Shhh Rogue it's okay...Rogue's baby is coming!"
Jean blanched.
"Has her water broken?"
The radio crackled.
"Yes, her water broke."
Jean clenched her teeth.
"How long between contractions?" She asked quickly.
"Uhh...." The woman paused.
"Five minutes or so."
Jean let out a sigh of relief.
"Then they've just started."
She thought for a moment.
"Forest, I want you to make her as comfortable as possible, put some pillows behind her back. Don't give her any food or drink, but you could give her some ice cubes, okay?"
She paused until she heard Forest's okay.
"I can't come now, but nothing much should be happening for a couple of hours at least."
She felt Forest's apprehension with her telepathic abilities.
"It'll be fine. Everything is normal so far, and there's nothing that I could do for her anyways. If you do everything I said, then it'll be fine." She glanced at Scott. "I have to go now. Don't hesitate to contact me if there's any trouble."
She ended the conversation and slipped the communicator back into her uniform.
"Well?" Asked Logan anxiously.
"Well, what?" Jean said, a little annoyed at being eavesdropped on.
"You fucking well know what I mean. I heard her say Rogue's havin' the baby!"
Jean scolded him mentally for using strong language in front of children.
/Logan! No swearing! /
He growled at her.
"She'll be fine," She said with a sigh.
"There's nothing that I could do for her that Forest couldn't."
She remembered Remy, Rogue's fiancée.
/ Remy! /
The Cajun looked up from playing with his cards, startled.
*What, cher? *
His burning red eyes looked worried.
///I must be giving off anxiety with my powers /// Jean thought.
She took a calming breath.
/ Remy, Forest just contacted me on my communicator. Rogue is having her baby. /
Remy dropped his cards.
"* What? *"
Jean glanced about her as everyone stared at Remy.
"Sorry," He said, embarrassed.
*What? *
/ She's in labor. There's nothing to worry about, there's nothing that I could do for her right now that Forest couldn't. She'll be just fine, Remy. /
The Cajun didn't look convinced.
*She Remy's fiancée, cher. She better be fine. *
Logan let out a growl beside her.
/// Am I projecting our conversation into Logan's head? ///
She stared at Logan for a moment before shrugging and walking over to the front of the blackbird.
/ Scott. /
Scott jumped.
Don't do that Jean! You scared me to death.
Jean suppressed a smile at the antics of her fiancée.
/ Rogue is having her baby, Scott. /
Scott's brow furrowed.
Will she be okay without you for a while?
Jean nodded.
/ Forest is with her. She can do what I could do right now. I just hope we'll complete the mission in time. /
Scott sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair.
I'll try to get us back in time. I don't know if I can though.
Jean smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
/Thanks, Scott. I knew I could depend on you. /
She moved over to where 'Ro sat.
/Rogue's in labor. /
The African goddess opened her mouth in shock.
:: The poor child! How far along is she? ::
Jean considered her friend for a moment.
/ Her water broke, and she's still five minutes between contractions. There's time yet. /
'Ro let out a relieved sigh.
The African woman was a trained midwife, having assisted in many births in the tribe she had once belonged to, thus having a lot of experience in pregnancy and childbirth.
:: I hope we will be back in time to help her. ::
Jean nodded, thinking over the many things that could go wrong with such a difficult situation.
Rogue's mutation made things all the harder, and now there was no time for the caesarean that had been planned for her.
"* People! We are nearing our destination. Listen up! *"
Everyone's heads jerked up as Cyclops shouted out their orders in a commanding tone.
+ + + + + +
"Rogue, little one, relax, tensing up will make it hurt more. That's a good girl."
Rogue let herself go limp as Forest adjusted the mound of pillows behind her back.
"What...did...she say?" She asked between pants.
Forest handed her a box full of ice cubes, which she accepted a little quizzically.
"Jean said that you couldn't eat or drink anything, but you could chew on some ice cubes. She also said that for now you'll be fine, nothing much should happen for a few hours at least. Till then I'll be able to handle it, so just relax."
Rogue moaned.
"Why does...it always happen...like this for....me?"
Forest smiled sympathetically and patted the girl's gloved hand.
"You and Logan are alike in a lot of ways, you know."
Rogue tensed up as another contraction racked her body.
"H...h.....how?" She gasped as the pain slowly ebbed away.
"You both have incredibly bad luck."
Rogue laughed, wiping her forehead.
"Ah guess you're right."
She took a sliver of ice between her fingers and raised it to her lips, sucking on it thoughtfully.
"Logan an me, we're the same."
She felt the walls she had mentally erected crumble as she thought about the father of her child.
"Oh....what am ah gonna do, Forest?" She sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
"Ah already said yes. It's too late for me!"
Forest shook her head.
"It's never too late, little one. You love each other. You must communicate it."
Rogue sniffled.
"But what about R-remy?"
Forest sighed.
"Would it be right to marry him when your heart belongs to someone else?"
Rogue shook her head slowly.
"Ah g-guess you're r-right," She said, breathing deeply.
She tensed as another contraction stabbed through her body, making her cry out in agony.
~I hope they come soon.~ Forest thought as she soothed the anguished girl.
+ + + + + +