- Y'all know the dilly yo, that I don't own these characters, marvel or anything else. Sometimes I wish I did, but wishing ain't having… oh well. Y'all know the drill.. blah blah blah.

- This story doesn't really fit in with the X-Men Evolution timeline at all nor would I try to make it to. However, in this story, Gambit was an acolyte, and Magneto disappeared. Oh yes, and the first meeting with Gambit and Rogue and the card and the whole media thing still happened. Oh, and Evan doesn't exist in this story or he's off with the morlocks because I don't really need a whole bunch of characters to incorporate into the story, since this is really a ROMY story. Everything else is all A/U but in a beautiful way. Enjoy!

Author's Note: I changed the ending of Scott's dialogue with Remy a lot to show how Scott really feels and how it reflects on his character as a leader. I like the change. If you don't want to read this chapter, at least read that tidbit of the explanation of why he hated Remy being with Rogue. This story still annoying, but before I go into a rant, I'm going to end this author's note now.

On with the story…

Somewhere I Belong

The humming of the machines caused nervous goosebumps to run along his arms as he slowly approached the patient. His eyes shifted uneasily up and down the patient as he heaved a huge sigh of distress. He ran a hand through his hair and took a seat next to the comatose man.

As he sat down in the chair beside the patient, he realized that it was the same chair that his 'sister' had claimed as her home just a week ago. His eyes dropped with sympathy and perhaps some regret as he realized that he hadn't been there for his 'sister'. He knew that he wasn't really to blame for her leaving, but he couldn't help but feel that he could have tried a little harder to reach out to Rogue and maybe make her understand that Remy being in a coma was not her fault. But simply, he didn't know how to, and now he was left feeling unsure about whether or not he would ever see her again.

Kurt remembered the day he came home from school. The mansion was in a state of panic as everyone searched for Rogue. Kitty had found Rogue's half of their closet emptied. Of course to no success, Rogue was not found and had gone missing for over a week now. Professor Xavier tried to inform everyone that Rogue's temporary absence was just what it was, temporary. But Kurt knew better. As long as Remy remained this way, she wouldn't come back and Kurt knew that even if Remy woke up, Rogue still might not return for she feared that she would hurt him again.

Kurt's eyes glowed angrily as he stared at the 'sleeping' Cajun. He wanted to blame him for his 'sister' running away. He wanted to yell at Remy for coming to the Institute. He wanted to teleport Gambit away and hoped that with him gone, Rogue would return. He wanted to do all this but he knew that if it weren't for Gambit, he would have never seen Rogue so happy in her entire life.

Kurt reflected on the day he returned to the Institute from his winter vacation and how happy he witnessed Rogue to be. She actually smiled more and was less sarcastic and mean with her comments. She even wore a thinner layer of make-up and seemed to flinch less whenever someone touched her. She was so happy and Kurt was just as happy to see her that way. And her joy was all because of this man in front of him.

Another look at the man before him, Kurt couldn't blame him even though he desperately wanted to. He couldn't blame him because Remy wasn't to be blamed. In this situation, Kurt knew that nobody was at fault even though Rogue probably thought it was she who was responsible for Remy's condition. And perhaps that was what saddened Kurt the most because he wasn't able to convince his 'sister' of otherwise.

Kurt bowed his head, closed his eyes and began to pray. That was all he could do now.

-xoxo-

She walked nervously towards him and sat down. Her bum was more on the edge of the seat as she studied Remy. Feelings of pity and sympathy overcame her as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Hey, Remy. Like, I don't even know if you can hear me but I read somewhere that comatose patients usually hear people when they're like talking to them." She began saying but stopped for she felt somewhat silly for talking to Remy when she wasn't even sure if he could even hear her. She then, took a deep breath and started again.

"Well, I guess first of all that I'm like sorry that you're in this state. It's been like almost three weeks and I guess you're taking your time with waking up and all. But if you could hurry the process it would be really great because well, I guess it's like for selfish reasons, but I really miss Rogue." She said and her voice quivered as she said Rogue's name.

Kitty slid back into her seat and leaned against it. Tears started falling now as she thought about her friend. Rogue was probably her best friend at the Institute, which was oddly strange since the two of them were as different as night and day. Truthfully, Kitty didn't like Rogue when Rogue first lived at the Institute and to share a room with the Goth was a chore in itself. They bickered quite a bit but eventually their bantering subsided as Kitty found Rogue to be quite inspirational.

She had always admired Rogue's strength and her ability to take no care for what other people thought about her; both of which Kitty always felt she lacked herself. Rogue always seemed to look out for her too even though she tried hard to hide that certain fact, but Kitty noticed it nonetheless and was grateful for it. But she never got the chance to tell Rogue that and now Rogue was gone and Kitty didn't know when she will return and if she was going to return at all.

"It's just that like Rogue's gone and I miss her. She's like my best friend y'know, and I understand that it's like hard to grasp that being I'm so different from her but she's a good friend. And I know she needs a friend right now too, Remy and so if only you could wake up, then I'm sure she'll like come home." Kitty explained as she leaned in closer to Remy. She wasn't even sure she knew what she was doing or saying at the moment, but she figured that Remy would be the only one who could bring Rogue back.

"And I'm like really sorry about what you're going through too. It must suck to be in a coma although I don't know what it's like, but Rogue didn't mean it. She did stay for a while, Remy. In fact, she never left your side once for like the first week that you were like out, but then something happened and like she's gone now. I don't know, I just miss her so much and I'm scared for what she's going through out there. I've never asked you for anything and I'll never ask you for anything again, if you will just like wake up soon. Please?" Kitty begged as tears flowed uncontrollably.

Kitty leaned back into her seat again as she wiped the tears away. She steadied her breathing and stood up. She took Remy's right hand into her own and squeezed it gently. "Thanks for listening if nothing else. I hope like you wake up soon. We're all depending on it." She whispered before she let go of his hand.

-xoxo-

He eyed him from across the room, still in somewhat disbelief that Remy was still in a coma. It had been almost a month since Rogue left and he knew it was the Cajun's fault. And as much as he wanted to blame the Cajun and fire an optic blast to end his life, Scott Summers couldn't do it. He knew it wasn't Gambit's fault and perhaps that was what made this whole situation even harder to take in.

He leaned against the wall, still unable to move any closer to the patient. A part of Scott blamed himself for Rogue leaving. If only he hadn't said all those stupid things to her, maybe she would still be around. He had no right to order Rogue around in her personal life. Sometimes, he just took his leadership role too far and he knew he was partly at fault for Rogue's disappearance.

Scott slammed his fist against the wall as he glared at Gambit. Damn him for not waking up, he cursed. What made the whole situation even more difficult for Scott was the fact that he couldn't right the wrong and most likely the power to bring Rogue home lied in the comatose patient. But Gambit wouldn't wake up and Rogue remained gone.

"You're fucking pissing me off, Gambit. Even when you're in a coma, you're pissing me off. You do know how to get under my skin, don't you?" Scott fumed as he took a step closer to the patient.

"It's as if you know you have the power to bring Rogue home, but you choose to sleep instead. Why don't you just fucking wake up already?" Scott asked angrily as he inched closer to the bed. Realizing that his angry accusations weren't helping, Scott calmed down slightly and took a more honest approach.

"Fine… I know you care about Rogue and I'm sorry that I was on your case about it. I really am, but if you care about her so much, why the hell are you still sleeping when she's fucking out there all alone? Seriously, we both know how vulnerable she is and she's probably more messed up than ever. If I had the power to bring her home, I would, but she doesn't like me, she doesn't want me, she wants you!" Scott spat out. By now, he was right by Gambit as he hovered above him. One look at his comatose body brought an image of a scared Rogue alone in the dark to Scott, who immediately wanted to blast Remy with his optic beam, but a sense of reason came to him and he knew his violent actions would not help Rogue. Instead, he settled onto the chair next to Remy.

"Okay, to tell you the truth, I hated the fact that Rogue got over me so quickly as soon as you showed up." Scott told Remy honestly while he leaned back into the chair and stared up at the ceiling.

" Truthfully, I liked Rogue, I really did. But I couldn't get over the fact that she couldn't touch but it was so easy for you overlook that. It didn't seem to bother you one bit and it pissed me off that you were able to love her so easily; that you were a bigger man than I am. Kind of hard to take in, isn't it? Here you are, the infamous womanizer, a former acolyte, who did not even hold all those negative qualities that those two titles connote. Then there is me, leader of the X-Men, known to be strong, brave, compassionate, but I couldn't put her needs before mine. I wasn't able to support Rogue, to be with her because I couldn't be with her knowing that I would never be able to touch her. And I know it's pretty fucking selfish of me." Scott trailed on as he closed his eyes and spoke more openly than he had ever done in his life.

"And… she fell for you so easily too. It took her a second to get over me as soon as you entered the picture. And hell did it hurt. I know I'm with Jean, and I do love Jean but there was always something about Rogue that made me want to be around her. Rogue's special, but I guess you already know that…" Scott said but stopped when he realized that he was saying things that he never even fully realized within himself.

But then he continued with his honest revelations, since he didn't want to suppress them because this was probably the only time he would ever admit the truths of his life. "I never hated you, LeBeau; just envious I supposed. You lived life so easily and carefree. Always took risks and you took the biggest risk when you fell for Rogue. You didn't even care that she couldn't touch. I tried so hard to overlook that, but failed, yet you did it so easily. How did you do it so easily?" He asked rhetorically while he felt his throat choke up slightly as he gripped the arms of the chair. At that moment, he knew he had failed as a team leader, as a boyfriend, and most importantly as a friend to Rogue.

Rogue, the one who he had loved so selfishly; the one he had taken pleasure in knowing he was the one she wanted but never reciprocating those feelings to her; the one who he had thought would always wait for him though he would never wait for her. It was then that he knew he didn't deserve her then or ever.

After a few more minutes of lingering around, Scott got up off the chair and sighed heavily. He looked down at Gambit with no anger or resentment this time. "If you really care about her, just wake up. That's all." He mumbled before he left the room.

-xoxo-

The dining hall was noisy like usual as the many teenage mutants settled down to have dinner. As soon as everyone was finally seated, the mood became solemn. Most of the students were still surprised that Rogue had really left and this time, it seemed like she had left for good.

As the bowls of food were passed around, Kurt declined many of it and took very small portions of the few dishes that he did choose to eat. He sunk lower in his chair as his eyes looked bloodshot. Everyone knew Kurt had been taking it extra hard for Rogue was the only connection he had to a 'real' family, although she was only his foster sister. Nonetheless, she was his family and he was hers.

Kitty patted Kurt's back to comfort him as she sighed lightly. Everything just felt so different and it had been a month since Rogue had been gone. It had been five weeks since Remy went into a coma. It had been simply too long.

Suddenly a loud thump could be heard just outside the dining room door. Logan immediately jumped up while Scott stood up and got into defense mode. Logan whipped the door open and his tense shoulders eased as he realized who was lying there.

"Rogue…" Remy murmured as he used all his effort to lift his head to look at Logan.

Logan sighed as he bent down and lifted the Cajun up. Hank was at the scene by now as he checked Remy over. "Rogue…" Remy murmured again as Logan proceeded to drag him back down to the infirmary.

As soon as Remy was back in bed, he tried to get out of it again. Logan gently pushed him back while Hank examined him further.

"Rogue… where's Rogue?" He asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Hold it bub, Wait 'til Hank's done first. Then we'll answer your questions." Logan huffed.

"Remy, you're okay!" Kitty cried as she burst through the door with Kurt right behind her. Remy smiled meekly at the two but was still wondering why Rogue wasn't around. He had been so sure that when he woke up, she would be by his side and he was immensely disappointed to know that she wasn't with Kurt and Kitty either.

When Hank was done with his check-up and hooked Remy back up to the IV, an awkward silence draped the room. Remy looked around at everyone and waited for an explanation that nobody seemed to want to supply. Finally he asked again. "Where's Rogue?"

Nobody answered him as their eyes seemed to be more interested in the ground. He began to get angry as he asked again, "Where's Rogue?"

Finally, Logan answered. "Look, Gumbo, she's gone."

Remy sat up straighter as if he was ready to get out of bed. "What do y' mean she's gone? WHERE DID SHE GO?" He shouted as he found some strength to swing his legs off the bed with which Hank lifted them back into it much to Remy's annoyance.

"Remy, like… well… Rogue was here but then you kind of went into some sort of like convulsions and she thought she did that to you again and she didn't want to hurt you so she like left. She's been gone for a month and we don't know where she went." Kitty explained.

"AND Y' LET HER LEAVE??" He cried at the young girl who looked as if she was ready to burst into tears.

"Look, It's not the pipsqueak's fault. Rogue left because she felt she needed to." Logan stated gruffly.

"Well, Remy's gonna go find her den. Excusez-moi!" He exclaimed and attempted to get out of bed again. He managed to stumble halfway to the door before he collapsed again due tohis lack of strength. Logan dragged him back to bed against Remy's colourful protest.

"You are in no condition to go anywhere, Remy. We still have to monitor you. You have been in a coma for five weeks." Hank explained.

Remy tried to disregard the information as he attempted to drag himself out of bed again, but he was unable to do so this time. The last attempt had taken all his strength. He leaned back in defeat as he closed his eyes. Everyone assumed this was his way of telling them to leave so Kurt and Logan left although Kurt was reluctant in doing so. Kitty walked up to the supposedly 'sleeping' Remy and said, "I'm sorry she left, Remy. But it's good to have you back. She'll come home soon enough now that you're awake."

"Remy, I am going to administer a shot to help you calm down. I will check on you in half an hour time. Do not try to do anything foolish. You are in no condition to do so." Hank explained.

Remy turned his head away from the two of them as reality finally sunk in. She had left him.

She had left him when he needed her most.

-xoxo-

He glanced at the card before he charged it and threw it into the garbage can. He picked up another card and glanced at it before he did the exact same thing he had just done seconds before. Another card flashed up as he stared at this particular card for minute longer than the rest; it was the Queen of Hearts after all, his lucky lady as he always regarded it. His red eyes burned intensely as he watched the card glow a bright crimson. He tossed it into the garbage can and listened to the explosion that followed seconds later.

He switched to shuffling the cards with his hands as he stared up at the ceiling blankly. It had been five days since he had awakened but he wished he was still in his comatose state. At least, he wouldn't be able to feel the pain. The pain of losing her; the pain of knowing she gave up on him; the pain of knowing that once again he was abandoned by someone he thought would always be there for him.

He rolled his eyes and charged another card up. He was stupid really, to believe that she would stay with him. His past records show that nobody stayed. They all eventually left. That's what he did to people. He made them want to leave.

But he had desperately wanted her to stay. He had wanted to see her vibrant green eyes when he awoke. He had wanted to hear her call him, 'sugah'. He had wanted to feel her secure arms around him. He had wanted her to be there, to be there for him.

"Good morning, child." A wise feminine voice greeted from behind him. He shifted his head to his right and stared at the visitor blankly.

"I brought you some fresh flowers from my garden to brighten up this room." She said and proceeded to place the flowers by his bedside table. She took a seat next to him and smiled warmly at Remy. His lips remained in a tight line and his eyes continued to look lifeless.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Ororo continued to persist in pressuring him to respond.

Finally he replied coldly, "It could be better."

"I'm sure it could, but one has to make it better for oneself." She encouraged positively.

Remy rolled his eyes and scowled. "Sometimes ot'ers make it hell t'ough."

"Would you like to talk about what is really bothering you?" Ororo asked kindly.

"Not'ing's bot'ering Remy. Everyt'ing is fucking dandy." Remy answered sarcastically.

"She didn't want to leave you, Remy. You know that." Ororo said bluntly.

"Den why did she leave? I needed her here but she left. She didn't care 'bout me." Remy hissed as his resentment was finally releasing itself.

"She was afraid she would hurt you even more. Rogue has always been fearful that her mutation would hurt someone seriously one day, and you had confirmed her fears. She did not want to jeopardize your life any further." Ororo tried to reason with the enraged Cajun.

"Dat's bullshit! If she really cared about me, she would have stayed. But she doesn't care, she never did. Nobody ever fucking cared." Remy stated bitterly.

"Contrary to your belief, you have a whole house full of people who care about your well-being. And perhaps, it was foolish that Rogue thought by running away, she would be able to protect you from any pain again, but she did what she thought would be right for you. She cared more about you than I have ever seen her feel for another human being. So, do not dismiss her as if she meant nothing to you. You know in your heart that she didn't want to leave you." Ororo boldly told him.

"She wanted to leave. Dey all eventually want to leave." He mumbled and turned away from Ororo.

"So is that it? You don't plan to find out from her why she left? " Ororo asked gently.

Remy turned around and looked into Ororo's tender blue eyes. "Remy don' care no more." He simply stated.

"If you didn't, would you really be so mad at her?" Ororo questioned although she wasn't waiting for a response. She stood up and smiled gently at Remy. "You know in your heart what you need to do, Remy. Don't deny it." And with those words, she turned around to leave.

"T'anks for les fleurs, Ms. Munroe." Remy called after her since he felt somewhat guilty for his insolence. She turned around once more and smiled. "It was my pleasure."

Remy watched her exist his room and he sunk back into his bed. His mind ran the words that Ororo had said to him over again. But then he simply dismissed her words and began to dwell in his own self-pity once more. While he was doing this, he picked up another card and stared at it. This time, he didn't charge it though as he finally realized what he needed to do.

-xoxo-

She carried the pan of muffins carefully as she walked into his room. "Hey Remy, I baked you some muffins. They're like blueberry but I like added some cranberries and sort of made them like my own sort of specialty muffins." She babbled on.

Suddenly her pan of muffins crashed to the ground and her mouth dropped in shock. The bed was empty and Remy was gone.

All that was left on the bed was the card of the ace of spades.

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