"Well, Hank? What's the verdict" Rogue was sitting in a chair in the lab, watching her furry blue friend with great interest as he poured something in a flask. It had been a week since they had returned. Not much had been said on the news other than the authorities were at a loss to explain a rash of previously buried bodies turning up throughout various cemeteries. The authorities had chalked it up to pranksters getting their sick kicks for Halloween. All the bodies had been reinterred. Nothing had been said about Cassandra. But, not one of them was surprised by this. Gambit had told them she was an outcast even among mutants because of the black magic's she practiced, so no one would miss her.
"In the words of Sherlock Holmes, 'elementary my dear Watson'" Hank smiled as the reaction in the flask did exactly what he hoped it would.
"Is that a good thing, sugah?" She leaned forward in anticipation.
"Why, yes, my dear Rogue. Mixing together the ingredients per the recipe in Cassandra's books was the easy part. Figuring out how to remove the negative side effects, the dizziness and loss of strength that Gambit experienced, was a little trickier. Now, I have a few more tests to run before I can insure that it is safe for you to take." Dr. McCoy replied with a wide grin on his face. "You know, for someone who had crossed the line of insanity, I have to admire her detailed documentation."
In the Professor's office, Sara sat on a couch with the Professor directly in front of her. His hands were on his head and his eyes were closed in concentration. Hers were closed as well. She let out a slight wince and solidified completely. She opened her eyes and gasped, covering her hand with her mouth. The Professor opened his eyes and looked on her with a warm smile.
"I can't believe it. It barely hurt this time. And, I'm whole again, and staying that way!" She became very excited as she jumped up and started picking up different objects around his office.
"Yes, Sara. With a little more work, you'll be able to completely control your powers so that you phase only when you want to, like Kitty." He sat back in his wheelchair to rest after the mental exertion he had just put forth.
"Oh Professor Xavier. How can I ever thank you for what you've done for me?" She ran over to him and put both her arms around his neck, giving him a big hug and relishing in the fact that she was touching him, not phasing through him.
"Your efforts to save my X-men are all the thanks I need." He closed his eyes and hugged her back.
"Like, I'm totally dying out here. Can I come in already?" Kitty had been waiting outside the office door and had heard the excitement in Sara's voice.
"I imagine I couldn't keep you out if I tried" the Professor exclaimed as he raised one hand and caused the office door to open.
"Kitty! Look, I'm completely solid like you!!" Sara was beaming with joy.
"Awesome!!!! Professor, can she go out now. I have a lot of stores I'd love to show her." Kitty's eyes were full of excitement as she pleaded with Xavier.
Xavier looked at Kitty, and then he looked over at Sara. "Well, alright. I think she's ready to go out in public. But just a few hours. We don't want you to overdo it so soon into your training."
"Yes father" Kitty rolled her eyes at the parental tone the Professor took with them. Then she grabbed Sara's hands and they both went running and giggling from his office. The Professor just sighed and turned to other matters.
*****************
Rogue strolled into the kitchen with a smile on her face. Wolverine was sitting at the table drinking some coffee and reading his paper, as usual.
"Hey, Logan. Has Gambit come out of his room today?" She asked him.
"No. He's still up there nursing his wounds. I don't know what she did to him, but it hurt him pretty bad. Hank said that mojo she carved in his chest probably won't leave scars. At least not physical ones." He took another sip of coffee and didn't look up from his paper in replying to her.
"I guess I better go check on him." Rogue moved towards the door, but stopped at the threshold and turned back slightly to look at Wolverine.
"Logan, I don't think I ever apologized for….." she started.
"Don't worry about it darlin'. It wasn't your fault" he interrupted. Then he put his paper down and stood up. "Besides, the day you kick my ass…" he walked over to her, put his hand on her shoulder and smirked before heading out of the kitchen. She watched him head towards the front door and sighed.
She made her way upstairs to Gambit's room. She knocked on the door and waited for him to invite her in. She heard him tell her to come in from the other side of the door. She walked into his room and saw him lying on his bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt and she could see that the cuts on his chest had scabbed over, part of the healing process. She moved over to sit on the side of his bed. He pushed himself up, wincing a little as he did.
"Cher, you come to help Gambit feel better?" he said to her with a grin on his face.
"Maybe, swamp rat. Or maybe I just came in to make sure you were suffering like you should" she pretended to be angry with him.
Gambit looked confused and wounded by what she said. "Why you mad?"
"You have more women in your past than I care to think about. And they all seem to want you hurt or dead" she sighed.
"Marie, I don't know what to say. I told you I couldn't go back home, but I did for the team, for the little girl, for you." Gambit moved his right hand to his chest to check his wounds. "What more you want from me?"
Rogue stood and grabbed the ends of his pant legs, pulling him back into a lying position. She climbed onto of the bed and started crawling towards him seductively, her legs straddling his. This movement was not lost on Gambit and he watched her intently. "What you doing, cher?"
Her thighs rested on each side of his hips and she reached for both of his wrists. In one swift movement, she raised his arms above his head and held them down. She lowered her body onto him, her nose almost touching his, and stared into his piercing eyes.
"What more do I want from ya, swamp rat?" There was fire in her eyes as she let her hair fall down provocatively around his face. She leaned in close to his ear and purred "Guess", her breath tickling is lobe.
"Dis not funny, Rogue. You tease Gambit. It torture, cher." He started to move as if to free himself from her.
She held firm her grip. "Don't test me Cajun. I don't want ta break ya arm or something" she said with a smirk. "Now, tell me what all these women mean to you and where I fit in." The smirk gone now, she looked serious as she waited for him to answer.
He could feel her breath on his skin and the longing was killing him. He loved her so much, and to not be able to completely show his love, to touch her without barriers because of her mutant ability, had always been a strain on their relationship.
"Daer be no one but you, cher. You de only one I ever truly loved" he whispered.
"Well, I guess there's only one way to see if you're telling the truth." She smiled and leaned in. His eyes widened as she kissed him deeply. But, the drain never came. She rose up from the kiss and laughed at his shocked expression.
"Merde" he exclaimed. "What happened?"
"Hank's a genius. He was able to recreate Cassandra's potion for temporarily neutralizing mutant powers, only he made it better so there's no side effects." She smiled and kissed him again, taking his breath away.
She rose up and let go of his wrists. "Now ya hurry up and get better. We got some lost time to make up, sugah." She started to climb off of him to leave his room.
He reached up, grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. "Gambit be better already." She giggled and they held each other tight.
The End.
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank everyone again who has reviewed, and those who may review in the future. Your positive words gave me the encouragement to continue writing this story.
I apologize for not writing the next, inevitable scene. I just can't write explicit scenes such as that very well the way some other authors on this site do. Some of them write that so well it'll make you blush every time you re\re-read it :D. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them so you'll have to use your imagination. BUT, if your imagination is anything like mine when it comes to stuff like that, then it'll be a lot more fun for you anyway.