Fifi: Oh, my brave one, what shall we do?!
Lumiere: There is only one thing to do: we must scream like bloodless cowards.

Both: HHHHEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPP!!!

…

Fifi: What shall we do now?!

Lumiere: Now, I believe we shall perish.

~Belle's Magical World (And if my cousin makes me watch it one more time, I'll scream.)

            Kurt jerked awake, foggily wondering what was happening.  His eyes widened as he saw Leslie, still in his arms, studying him, a sense of emotion, of presence, in her eyes.  Quivering slightly, he did his best not to move as she slowly traced first his eyes, then his ears, with her chapped and withered hands.  Her hand hovered for a moment before settling on his lips, tracing them as she had the rest of his face, then lingering there.

            She opened her mouth, trying to force a sound out, something clicking in her mind.  Her damaged vocal cords made her voice alternate between its normal sound and a deeper, husky, wheezing one.  "I know you…"

            Tears welled in his amber eyes as he gently nodded, speaking quietly so as not to wake the sleeping Bobby and Logan.  "Yes, meine liebe…you do…"

             She stared at him.  "Who are you?"

            He thought his heart would break.  "Kurt…my name is Kurt.  Kurt Wagner.  And yours is Leslie Corring."

            Eyes wide, she shook her head as violently as she could.  "Nonononono!  I'm the Beast…I have no name…Master will name me when I'm pure…"

            Kurt gently cupped her face in his three-fingered hand.  "Nein, liebchen…you are no beast…you are just a human…if anything, you're an angel…"

            She stared at the blue man, confused.  She bore the markings…Master had told her…

            Then something, the last thing, fell into place, like the opening of a window…she was still the Beast in part of her mind…but she remembered being Leslie, now, too…and she remembered this lovely man, this demon saint, standing next to her, his breath warm on her face…and she remembered the longing she'd felt for him, how she'd wanted so badly to be in his arms just like she now was…

            But with all that came the pain, too…the pain of remembering the night she'd been raped, only 13…how she'd just gone down the street that night…the horror of the court and the trial, the joy in seeing him sentenced for life, the anguish of discovering she was pregnant…and the horrible, horrible guilt that came when she'd gone to the clinic and ended it…the guilt that even now, after four years and Confession, still didn't leave her…

            Tears, mirroring Kurt's own, dripped down her face, flowing along her scars.  "Oh, my God…" She whispered it over and over, clinging to Kurt as he rocked her like a baby, remembering how he had held Nathan Summers not so long ago, doing the same to him.

            She babbled, telling him everything, all the pain she'd kept inside for so long, all the fear of damnation, of isolation…before he had thought his heart would break…now he knew it had.

            "It's alright, liebe…it's alright…God has long forgiven you…I forgive you, Leslie…" he answered her, helpless to do any more.  "He loves you…and so do I…" He was shocked when he realized he'd said the last part aloud, cursing himself for his foolishness.

            Her sobs slowed, quieted, as she realized what he'd said…she reached up again, as she had only moments ago, tracing his lips…but this time it had an entirely different meaning.

            Gently, fearing he would break her if he moved the wrong way, he bent his head slightly toward her bruised face.  Her hand drifted to his cheek, rubbing lightly against the grain of his fur. 

            She kissed him, softly, sweetly, not with a fiery passion, but with honest, simple love.  He hesitated before responding.

            It wasn't long, but they both felt as if they were in their own eternity.   Pulling away, Leslie tucked her head into his neck.  "I love you, too," she whispered.

            Kurt held her tightly as she drifted back to sleep.  And he couldn't help but wonder…would their first kiss also be their last?

            Shaking the thought away, he arranged the coat around Leslie before falling back to sleep.

            He sat, frowning as he watched the monitor, his councilors surrounding him.

            "The Beast has regained her memory, despite the spells.  Who knows how this was done?"

            No answer.

            Disgusted, he knocked the monitor over with his hand, watching it crash and its remnants spark. 

            "Prepare the chamber.  If she will not kill them…then she will join them."