Epilogue

She ran.

Her footfalls fell silently. Tears streamed down her face, causing her to run blindly through the black void. *Dis can' be happenin',* she thought. *Where am Ah? Ah can' find my way out!* Everything was so dark. The tears soon turned to sobs and she wearily sunk to the ground, her lungs unable to keep up any longer. She pulled her knees tightly to her chest, trying to quiet the noise her crying was making. She wanted to be found, a wish that didn't go unnoticed, she found, as two arms enveloped her.

"Darlin'? What's wrong?"

 She opened her eyes. Everything was so dark. *Someone found me!* she thought. She then realized she was sitting on something soft. *Huh? Ah'm in bed?*

"Angelique?"

She knew that voice. "Oncle Logan!" she cried out, latching her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shirt.

Logan hugged the girl back just as fiercely. "It's okay, Ange. Tell me why yer cryin'.

"Ah had a bad dream. Ah was lost and Ah didn't know how ta get out. Ah was real scared."

"It's okay now. It was just a dream. You gonna be able to go back to bed?" he asked, stroking her hair in comfort.

Angelique nodded. "Yeah, but is it okay if Ah go see Momma and Poppa first?"

"Sure kid. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

**********

As soon as the door opened, Angelique burst into the room and hopped onto the bed, straight into her parents' waiting arms. "Momma! Poppa!"

Rogue embraced her daughter while Remy wrapped his long arms around the both of them. "What's wrong, sugah?"

"Ange? Has Poppa's petite ange been cryin'?"

"Ah had a bad dream," came the muffled resposnse. "Ah was scared an' Ah wanted ta see you bot'. Is that okay?"

"Of course, baby! That's what we're here for. Now, tell Momma and Poppa all about your bad dream."

Logan watched the interaction from up in the control both and could not help but feel a little sad. "You guys should be here," he said out loud, dropping into one of the chairs. "She needs ya." He put his head in his hands.

When Rogue and Remy had asked him to be the godfather of now eight-year-old Angelique Lebeau, Logan had felt tremendously honored and vowed to take care of the little girl as if she were his own if anything ever happened to them. Never in a million years did he think he would have to make good on his promise. After the whole ordeal with Apocalypse went down Rogue and Remy spent a lot of time recovering from their injuries; it took nearly a year, to be more accurate. Xavier forced them into inactive status until he was satisfied with their health. Both had spent considerable time unconscious everyone thanked their lucky stars that Remy's heart had stayed stubbornly beating, bringing Rogue back from the brink of death. Jean, on the other hand, was up and about after two months. She sustained a constant vigil over the two southerners until they woke, grateful that they had saved her life.

It was difficult to understand all that had occurred during that particular battle. For the period that Rogue and Remy were in the infirmary, Logan had harbored a small amount of resentment towards Charles for not acting sooner. The sword wound had placed tremendous amounts of stress on their bodies, in addition to the remaining battle. Their survival was miraculous in his eyes. He could remember as Rogue lay dying in his arms, blood oozing out of her gash. Remy was in no better condition but the residual energy he had pent up from Rogue's multiple absorptions left him in slightly better condition. He really wasn't sure how they both managed to hold on long enough to get back to the mansion. It had seemed like ages before anyone else woke up and helped the injured back to the jet. The whole time he had held onto Rogue as her lifeline, hoping she would absorb his healing factor once more. He hadn't realized it but she had been drawing off of him very lightly so that by the end of the flight her would had at least stopped bleeding and was not as long.

Charles and Hank spent considerable amounts of time trying to figure out what exactly had happened while watching over their patients. Guilt hung heavily on Charles' shoulders. His decisions nearly cost him his whole team and he was determined to figure out where he had gone wrong. They had determined that there was no way they could have foreseen Jean's possession since the link between Rogue and Remy pegged them as the most obvious candidates. The link itself still remained somewhat of a mystery. Apparently, their shared dreams only served to strengthen the bond to a point where it was beneficial in the battle against Apocalypse. Rogue was given the ability to open the door and Remy was her balance with the power to close it. In addition, it gave Rogue and Remy the ability to touch one another. Hank had deduced that since Remy was able to draw upon any powers lying within Rogue through the link, he could tap into her absorption powers, which would enable them to cancel each other out. It seemed a little far-fetched but nobody really thought much of it. All that mattered was that Rogue could touch, even if it only was one person.

In the month before they returned to active status, Rogue and Remy had gotten married. A year later they had little Angelique and remained on permanent reserve status. Three years after that Logan and Ororo had gained full custody of their goddaughter. Logan thought back to that fateful day. Rogue and Remy had invited him and Ororo to a jazz concert in the city. They had dinner at a small restaurant on the way to the theater. While waiting outside for Rogue and Ororo to finish their business in the ladies room, two bullets pierced the air. Both men went down and their assassin fled the scene. It took Logan a few minutes to recover as his body attempted to purge the bullet that pierced his heart. As he tried to heal he heard Ororo's hysterical cry for help. He tried to get up and yelled for Remy to get up so they could help the ladies. When he received no response he looked over at his Cajun companion. Remy sat slumped against the side of the building, eyes closed, blood trickling down from the small hole in his head. In that instant, Logan knew why Ororo was so distraught and he let out a howl of rage of his own. Their link was a blessing and a curse. Four years before it had saved their lives and probably the whole world. In front of the restaurant that night, it took three very important people away from Angelique: her mother, her father, and the little brother that was two months shy of being born. Hank had tried his best to save the baby but Rogue's heart had been stopped for too long. That very night, Logan went out and tracked the gunman performed his own version of justice.

A small squeal of glee shook Logan out of his reverie and he looked down into the Danger Room. Angelique was trying to squirm away from her 'parents' as they tickled her. A small smile appeared on his lips. After about of week of his goddaughter waking up in the middle of the night calling for her parents, he had created a program that let Angelique interact with them. At first, many of the other residents had objected to his solution but it worked. He made sure that she understood that these weren't her real parents, a task made easier with Ororo's explanation of them being angels that Uncle Logan had the ability to summon. Now that she was eight, Angelique knew that her 'parents' were really just holograms but she still took comfort in them.

"Okay, Ange. Time to go back to bed."

"Okay!" She turned back to her parents and hugged them tight. "Ah love you," she told them, planting a small kiss on each of their cheeks.

"Remember what we always tell ya."

"Ah know. You love me always and someday we'll be together again."

**********

*sigh* I know, I know. Much to the dislike of many of my readers, I let Remy and Rogue die, again (don't hate me). However, I never planned on letting them live in the first place (which sounds twisted since they are my favorite couple). A 'happily ever after' ending just didn't seem appropriate. For all of those who are wonder, yes this IS the end of the story. Why? Because they had a child, the ultimate testament of their love. In my opinion, they can't come back around until their child has lived her life. I do want to write a story with a futuristic setting but I didn't want to keep building on the previous lifetimes. As some of you had said, it was getting repetitive.

On another note, I really wanted to thank all of the readers who gave this story such a warm welcome. Your reviews meant a lot, even if they were only a few words. It's been a blast trying to entertain you all. Don't worry, I'm not done writing yet!

Flyby Stardancer – Please don't hate me for letting them die :)

Gaea – I am truly grateful for the praise. I do believe that they deserve a happy ending but it just didn't fit here. It makes me smile to know you think this is one of the best romys you have ever read and I will definitely continue to write more.

luna0520@aol.com - How about instead of killing me, I write another story with a happy ending?

Raniatlw – I am so sorry to dash your hopes.

jiana weasley – Please don't cry. See? I finished it!

Lucky439 – You're right. It's not fair.

Neurotic Temptress – Yes, the ending pattern wasn't the same. I just had to throw in that little twist.

Girl number 1 – Thank you for the compliments. Don't you worry, I already have another story swimming around in my head that I didn't want to start until I finished this one.

Talia458 - Thank you for all the great ideas. I may not be writing a new era but don't count out a possible future story.

ishandahalf – They survived the battle but that blasted assassin ruined everything! Good thing Logan took care of him.

Panther Nesmith & lovewildfire – Glad you've both enjoyed this so much.

Sash, Carla & Rogue Worrior Spirit – Oh no is right. These two just can't catch a break.

Thanks again for the support! Happy reading!