* * *
Ya could hear John coughin' all th' way out ta th' beach. A deep, rattlin' noise that made ya want ta plug your ears. Each time was like gettin' punched. Somethin' ya feel deep inside. Not a pain really, but a shock. Ah dug at th' sand with my toe.
"Ah don't understand why we cain't just take him somewhere."
Remy, flopped back beside me, sand frecklin' his hair, rolled over partway, shadin' his eyes with his forearm an' squintin' anyways. "Nearest hospital's down in de capital. Rochelle says he'll be okay."
Another coughin' fit sounded from th' house.
"That sound 'okay' ta you?"
"Non. But I know t' trust my grandparents." His voice sounded tired. We were all tired. Kitty'd barely slept since we'd brought John back th' day before. Ah lay back on th' sand beside Remy. "Cher?" he asked softly.
Closed my eyes an' everythin' felt that much better. "Mmm?"
He traced tiny circles on th' delicate skin inside my elbow. "Mebbe dere's somet'ing y' want t' tell me?"
"Maybe we've got things ta say ta each other, huh?" Ah peeked at him sideways from under my lashes. "Everythin' got kinda crazy there for awhile."
"Still crazy." He nodded as best he could, only really succeedin' in gettin' more sand in his hair.
"Ah don't know how ta explain it. And Ah don't understand anyway." Ah rolled up onto my side so Ah could shade my eyes an' see him more easily.
"I find dat if y' open your mouth den de words come t' fill it."
"Which wouldn't have anythin' whatsoever ta do with your silver tongue."
He stuck his tongue out, mebbe just ta show me that there wasn't any silver on it. "Got not'ing t' do wit' anyt'ing."
My stomach dipped in that crazy, nervous way. But when Ah did open my mouth ta explain it was just like he said. An' th' story wasn't long. All Ah could tell him was what Ah'd felt in th' car. That heaviness between me an' John that Ah couldn't stick a name on. He was quiet for a long time after Ah was done, which didn't do much for how nervous Ah was. "Ah don't want ya ta think that anythin' happened," Ah added anxiously, reachin' out ta brush a patch o' sand from his jaw.
"Non." He smiled an' Ah cain't begin ta say how relieved that made me. "Non," he said again. "Dere's no point t' holding someone if dey don't want t' be held." He laced th' tips o' our fingers and squeezed gently. "But t' John it's not you he's after. Just de feeling of belonging dat he wants."
"A touch?" Ah suggested gently.
"We could relate t' dat."
"Th' same way Kitty didn't like ta hear Nita talk 'bout mutation."
His brow furrowed. "No one likes t' t'ink dey're a mistake, beb."
"O' course not! Ah don't think that's what Nita was sayin'. It was just an unfortunate comparison." There was silence for a moment. "What did John tell ya 'bout Kitty?" Th' question came ta me in an instant. Everythin' was always so tangled together. Kitty's temper an' John's newfound mopin' fascination wit' every girl who wasn't her.
Remy chuckled. "What did Kitty tell y' 'bout John?"
"Just that it didn't work out. Nothin' dramatic."
"Dey're very different," Remy agreed.
"Sometimes that works!" Ah protested.
"Sometimes." He pulled me into his body. So sudden that Ah forgot ta cry out about th' sand that slipped down into my clothes. "Sometimes it doesn't." Ah was so close, tucked in under his chin, that Ah felt th' words more than heard them. A soft buzz against my nose.
"T'ief knows more decorum dan dis." Jacques' body blocked th' sun enough so Ah could work loose in Remy's arms an' look into Jacques' face -- drawn an' filled wit' gentle frustration.
Remy's arms disappeared from around me. He sprang ta his feet. All business. "What is it?"
"De nearest dat we can tell: nasty bout wit' mercury poisoning."
That was enough ta get me sittin' up. "Mercury?"
Jacques nodded. "It's in de water here. In de fish." He stopped, brows lowered in confusion. "Can't see how it could've happened so quickly."
By then, Ah was on my feet too. "Why didn't ya tell us?" Somethin' so dangerous...
"Dat's par for de course, petit," Jacques soothed. "Dere's no place in de world safe from poisons."
"Not like mercury," Ah protested. My frustration with th' situation was makin' it harder ta think logically. Ah didn't want ta blame anyone for what happened ta John, but there had ta be someone. Ya couldn't just shake your fist at th' water or a cooked fish an' say "god dammit". There wasn't any reward in it.
"How could it have happened so quickly?" Remy asked, directin' his question not ta Jacques but at Nita, who'd come silently, hoverin' at th' edge o' our little group.
She looked down at her hands, turned her palms up. "I'm sorry about John."
"De boy's stubborn enough t' survive most anyt'ing. Dis is not'ing." Remy's smile wavered at th' last minute but Ah'm sure Ah'm the only one that noticed.
Nita nodded. "If it's the first time, the dose is low enough so he'll be fine in a day or two. Just really tired." She stopped for a moment, lookin' puzzled. "His blood was saturated with it. I'm not certain how it could have happened so quickly either. Aquatic life is particularly susceptible to pollution levels in the environment." Her eyes wandered out over th' pane o' turquoise water. "A place like this...controls aren't enforced."
"Or present at all?" Ah asked.
"Right. Ugly inside. But the samples I've taken so far don't add up. Low level mercury poisoning like your friend has takes a long time to develop. The mercury has to build up enough to penetrate at a cellular level."
It was a terrible thought that flashed into my head right then. Ah grabbed Remy's forearm, diggin' my fingers in. Clamped my mouth shut so that Ah wouldn't accidentally blurt out what it was that'd occurred ta me. Not before Ah had a chance ta think things out. "Do ya need anythin'?" Ah asked Jacques, knowin' that my question was too sudden, too loud.
He had a funny look in his eye so Ah knew that he'd seen me thinkin' and he was tryin' ta figure things out for himself. Ah didn't want ta give him th' opportunity. "Rochelle wants t' make some broth later. She'll need vegetables."
"We'll go." Ah shoved my feet into my flip-flops, grabbed Remy's hand an' tugged him along. Ah was in such a hurry that Ah half ran into Nita. Ah had ta reach out an' steady myself against her arm. Her skin was so strange. It made me shiver. Smooth an' cool an' thick feelin'. Almost like fish skin.
* * *
She was pulling me so fast, almost felt like my feet left de ground. My breath came hard. "Rogue!" Not'ing. "Rogue, stop!"
She whirled in de middle of de road, hair flying out. A piece stuck against her lips. Cheeks flushed. Judge me if y' want to, but in dat moment was all I could do not t' lead her back into de snarled vegetation. Don't see much need t' sugar coat it here. Honesty is sometimes easier t' remember. "What?" De word was strangled and throaty, which didn't help de selfish impulses at all.
"What's wrong, ma douce (my sweet)?"
Dat caught her attention. T' my knowledge, I'd only ever called her dat once before. Before a disaster of a confession. De worst of my life. Dat had been de moment when I realized just how much love can fuck you up and over. Dere's no way t' be smooth. De emotion is all texture.
"Ah..." Trailed my hand along her face, tucking de stray piece of hair behind her ear. She felt warm from de sun. Warm from running. Warm because she was filled wit' some uncomfortable thought. I'd seen it when we were talking t' Jacques. He'd seen it too and Rogue knew, like I did, dat it'd only be a matter of time before he pried de t'ing out of her. "Ah was just thinkin'." She swallowed hard.
"T'inking 'bout...?"
"John. Kitty. It makes crazy kinds o' sense."
"What does?"
"Remember before? John fell straight through her."
"Yeah?"
"Kitty's spent more time in th' water than any o' us. Because o' her mutation, her cell structure is different. She has ta work not ta phase through everythin' she touches. Only, in th' water she doesn't have ta do that. She told me that once. It doesn't matter. She just lets everythin' slip."
It made as much sense as anyt'ing I'd been able t' t'ink of, which wasn't much t' start out wit'. "If dat's true, why isn't she sick too?"
"Her cell structure's different, right? Mebbe there's nowhere for th' mercury ta stay really. It'd be inside her, but out o' phase. That might be enough ta keep her from gettin' sick."
"What d' we do?"
Rogue drew her eyebrows together. "Ah don't know. John'll get better. We cain't tell Kitty. She feels bad enough already."
"But what about de next time? We don't know how long de mercury might stay in her body. She could be like Typhoid Mary for all we know."
She shrugged helplessly. "Ya want ta be th' one ta tell her?"
Soft footsteps behind us. I braced myself for de inevitable confrontation. "Tell her what?" Kitty was a little breathless and I guessed she'd run from de house. Rogue's hand tightened in mine. "'Her' who?"
"Rogue's got a theory 'bout why John's sick."
Kitty smiled and waved her hand in front of her face. De movement itself was meant t' be airy, but de fatigue evident in her body was slowing her down. "Didn't Jacques tell you? Nita did some blood tests. It was mercury." Her face grew serious, but den brightened. "At least we know now that he'll get over it, right?"
"He told us," Rogue said softly.
"So what's the big deal?"
"Ah was just tryin' ta figure out how it all could've happened so fast. Ah don't really know what's goin' on."
Kitty seemed t' shrink into herself, like she was bracing t' be hit. "You think I had something to do with it, don't you?"
Rogue raised her hands, palms up. "Ah don't know anythin' for sure. But if it was in th' water..." She gathered her hair on top of her head, holding it wit' her hands. Massaged her neck absently.
Kitty bit her lip. "I know."
"It's just a theory, Kitty," I soothed. "But mebbe we should get Nita t' check you out."
"Are we gonna tell her I'm a mutant too? Because that might be pretty obvious the first time the needle goes right through my arm."
"Kitty..."
"I don't like needles and I don't like blood, okay? It makes it a lot harder to keep everything under control. If I get too light-headed I can't control anything at all." She shoved a crumpled piece of paper into my hands. "Shopping list. Rochelle wants you to get some more stuff."
"Just t'ink 'bout it. No harm in dat, non?"
"I just don't want her to know about me," she whispered desperately.
"Dat's understandable, but she might surprise you." Kitty's eyebrows quirked. "Somet'ing 'bout dat girl...strange. T'ink she might be more understanding dan y' t'ink."
"You think she's a mutant?"
Shook my head. "Not sure what she is."
* * *
I'm back! Ack! Apologies for the longer-than-expected hiatus. In short: work, friends in crisis, travel, boyfriend. Not necessarily in that order.
vespie: words cannot describe how much I love Ted from Queer Eye! He is utterly adorkable. I mean, they're all great, but a girl's gotta have her favorites. With the cooking and the ultra dry humor. I am sneaky and sporadic at best when it comes to starting new stories.
ishandahalf: warmer now. At least it's light outside when I'm leaving for work now. Sigh. Only a month or so to go before I can ditch the heavy coat (crosses fingers). Were you right or wrong about John? I'm dying to know!
Seven Sunningdale: I always have to try and think about things the way Rogue might. Since we're completely different people. The Hitler thing seemed like something she might say. Dude, I love the I-can't-believe-I'm-touching-her stage! Because it's kind of miraculous and should be treated as such. I'm a fan of excruciating detail. I just don't think that describing the act of making sweet love is helped much by said detail. When you get right down to it, sex is kind of mechanically weird. Good thing you're too distracted to care.
aro: I miss Evo a lot though. I actually liked Remy's accent. When I finally heard him speak. Or maybe I just liked the fact that he was snarky. I wasn't such a huge fan of the TAS Remy accent (or the whole 3rd person thing, it makes him seem kind of nutty while simultaneously reminding me of the Seinfeld episode with Jimmy -- "Jimmy does this. Jimmy does that.")
randirogue: You are, indeed, a smartie every day. And you make me feel like I must be doing something right because I mean for things to be mysterious but logical. Like, you could get the right answer before I let on what's happening. The little moments are the most telling, aren't they? Maybe that's why I get so caught up in them...
Caliente: Do you REALLY want to know about Nita? Some more hints here. I'm not intentionally keeping her a mystery, like she's not really the story, but I was never a fan of looking at the last page of a book I'd just started either. Incidentally, are you still hanging out around the J&Q messageboards? I used to drop in every once in a while but they're all password protected now...
just me: I'm thinking about it, but they have to want it too. As Remy points out, they are VERY different people. I think that this series of events will definitely force them to take stock of themselves, which could potentially change things.
Ruby-servantof-eli: Wouldn't that just be the greatest? I mean apart from the other great things about flying... I hate the sand in the shoes thing, which then becomes the sand in the car thing, which then becomes a big fat problem that won't vaccum out and just taunts me through the winter months with thoughts of beautiful, hot summer...oh, sorry, must've drifted off for a second there. But the ocean? 1,000,000,000x better than a pool anyhow. I kind of love how the sand sticks to me all day and how my hair gets crispy and...okay, stopping now.
Taineyah: The answer to your crush question iiis: sort of. Not Rogue, specifically, but everyone wants someone who's going to understand and be close to them, right? Or is that just me? Am I projecting again? I think it's hard when you're isolated from other people because of your differences and so you travel around in this really, really (really) tiny, close-knit group. It makes your thinking confused. Hopefully this chapter clears up any questions as to what's wrong with Kitty and John, or at least begins to.
Jeanne Marie: Yay! Thank you so much! I'm always thrilled to know that my characterizations are still doing okay. It was so long ago that I spun off this series of AUs and I'm sometimes nervous that I'm getting too far away from the source material, y'know? I was sending my stuff to Karen at the LeBeau Library for a long time, but then it seemed that the updating stopped so I was just posting here. I like Envie a lot too because I think that Remy and Rogue's relationship develops a lot. I had fun writing them at school too, it's just that Remy and school don't seem to get along terribly well. And I'm definitely having a lot of fun writing a LeBeau family relationship that's fairly normal and not undercut by a whole lot of angst.