DISCLAIMER: I dont own these people. But it would be pretty cool if I did.

Hank McCoy was a man of science. That's not to say that he didn't enjoy social interaction from time to time, but he was much more comfortable in the lab. This night, in particular, he wanted nothing more than to be rid of his chaperoning duties and down at his computer, in the sterile environment of the med bay. As the students at the dance slowly left, he was given the ok by Scott to head back to the solace of his workstation. As he approached the lab, however, he sensed that something was wrong. The open door of the exam room confirmed it. His patient had a visitor. A quick peek into the room answered the second question. Henry smiled. He knew that she wasn't going to be waiting until she had permission to go down there, but he hadn't anticipated her doing it so soon. He crossed the room and went into his office, closing the door behind him.

...............

The silence in the room was deafening. The two southerners, who both had a habit of talking just to hear themselves talk, were suddenly mute. After what seemed like an eternity, Remy broke the silence.

"Dis another dream?"

"No, Ah'm here, Remy."

"Dat's what you said de last time you was in my dreams."

"No, Ah didn't. Ah'm really here. This isn't a dream."

"Non. You teasing Remy."

She sighed. Even when he was stuck in bed, he was stubborn. She pulled a chair up next to the bed, noticing that he was eyeing her suspiciously.

"Remy! Cut it out. It's me. Ah swear."

"Je ne vous crois pas"

"Why? Why don't you believe me?" She was frustrated beyond belief, and starting to wonder why she even bothered to come back. She stood up and absent-mindedly looked at the large collection of flowers and cards against the wall.

Minutes passed before Remy once again broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Roguey?"

"Yeah, sugah?"

"Pourquoi?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you leave me?"

"I... ah didn't. Ah mean... well ah guess ah did, but ah didn't mean ta...Remy..."

She trailed off, unable to even remember the reason, but remembering vividly all of the pain she put herself through in doing it, then looking at Gambit's pale form in the bed and imagining how much worse it must have been for him. She collapsed into the chair next to the bed and cried.

"You never done that in Remy's other dreams."

She looked up at him, her tear-stained cheeks glistening.

"Ah'm so sorry."

"You're really here, non?"

"Ah'm really here."

"You leaving again?"

"No"

"Do me a favor, cher?"

"Anything."

"Go to Remy's room 'n get me some clean clothes? Dis gown is riding up Remy's—"

"I get the idea. Ah'll be right back, hon."

She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the door open about halfway. She hadn't expected him to forgive her at all, let alone right away. She was only half paying attention, when she stepped into the hallway and almost ran into Logan, who seemed to be looking for something.

"Hey, kid. Watch where you're goin'."

"Sorry Logan... mah mind was...somewhere else."

"I take it you were just with Gumbo?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't happen to see any kids hanging around down here did you?"

"Nope." She really wasn't in the mood for answering questions, even though she knew that Logan was just trying to make conversation. They walked towards the elevator and waited for it to arrive in silence, boarding it and pressing their separate buttons.

"You know... I spent all those years warning LeBeau that if he hurt you, I'd kill him."

The elevator doors slid open and Logan stepped through them, turning to make a final remark just as they slid shut again.

"Never once thought that I might have been threatening the wrong one of you."

The words stung, but she knew that they were true. Logan had always looked out for her, he was quite over protective at times. Her leaving shattered part of the illusion he had of her. It made Logan realize that she was not the little girl that he told himself that she was, that she was in fact a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. It seemed as if he was the last one to realize that.

Rogue walked down the hallway to her room and opened the desk drawer. There, tucked in its usual place, was the key to Remy's room. She walked back out into the hallway and to the other wing of the house. Reaching the door, she turned the key in the lock and stepped inside. The room was as neat as ever, everything in its proper place. On the dresser stood a framed picture from the Christmas before she left. She picked it up and remembered how happy she had been then. Some of the students who had nowhere to go over the break were feeling down in the dumps, so Gambit had gone out and rented a Santa costume and showed up unexpected, actually crawling in through the chimney. They had taken a picture of her sitting on "Santa's" lap, and Remy said that she looked as happy as he had ever seen her in that picture. She had been happy. Setting the frame back down on the dresser, she opened the drawer, exposing the stacks of identical jeans. She never understood that. No matter what the "in" fashion was, Remy always bought the exact same jeans. She picked up a pair and threw them on the bed, opening the next drawer and pulling out a gray t-shirt. She grabbed the clothes and headed to the door, turning around and grabbing a clean pair of boxers as an afterthought. As she closed the drawer again and walked towards the door, she looked down at the clothes in her hands, realizing that she had inadvertently picked up the underwear that she had gotten him for his birthday one year. She had been dragged to the mall by Jean, and stopped into a novelty gifts store. They had caught her eye immediately. They were white, with "I have a HUGE, GIGANTIC, ENORMOUS...need for attention" written on the front. She remembered at the party that they had thrown for him, when he opened them, he had smiled and shot her one of his looks, holding them up for all to see and saying loudly, "You would know, Rogue, chere." A few people laughed. Scott had looked shocked, and Wolverine had suddenly become very hostile towards the Cajun. She smiled as she stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She heard voices coming from around the corner, students who were trying to sneak out after curfew.

"Dude... Logan's downstairs."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. He's there. But he's in his room. He'll still smell us though."

"So we steer clear of his room. The rest of the house is clear though, right?"

"Yeah, except for one that I cant recognize"

"Where?"

She figured that the one was psi-scanning the mansion, and decided to have a little fun.

"Ah'm right here."

She stepped around the corner and both of the students froze in fear.

"Don't worry none about me, sugah. Just thought Ah'd mention that the drain pipe on the south side of the building in this corridor is the easiest to climb."

"Wha?"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Ah got a ornery Cajun to attend to."

"Thanks, men... tell Gambit we miss having him teach shop."

She turned around and headed back to the elevator.

"Will do."

As she made her way down the hallway, she heard the students whispering excitedly as they headed towards the window.

"Told you she was here. Pay up."

"Dude. Not cool."

She shook her head and boarded the elevator. When she walked back into the medlab, Beast was there, doing some sort of experiment.

"Hey, Hank... I, um..."

"My lips are sealed."

"Thanks."

She was relieved that the doctor was going to be quiet about her visiting. She knew it was only a matter of time before word got back to the professor; it was hard keeping secrets from the most powerful telepath in the world. She walked back into the small exam room and tossed the clothes on the bed.

"Ah saw two of your little friends. They say they miss you."

"Were dey headed outta de mansion after curfew?" He picked up his clothes and began to pull off the gown. Rogue turned and faced the wall, suddenly interested once again in the collection of flowers.

"Yep, you taught them well."

"Only de best. But you already be knowin' dat, no?" He struggled to pull on his pants while still lying down.

"Yeah, Rem... You need a hand?" She was hoping that the answer was no. She didn't really feel entirely comfortable with him. But no such luck.

"You don' mind?"

"Uh, naw..." She walked over to the bed and lifted him up, holding him at his waist just above the ground. He pulled up the pants and buttoned them and she set him back down on the bed.

"T'anks, Roguey."

"Sure." She circled the bed and sat back down in the chair. An uncomfortable silence passed again, and she decided to break it this time.

"So...what now?"

"Dunno... you got a car?"

"Ah...um... flew in."

"Oh. Well... you wanna take the jeep?"

"An' go where?"

"Dere's gotta be a diner dat's open 24 hours."

"You allowed to leave?"

"Don' t'ink so. But dat never stopped us before, did it?"

"Remy, you can't even put yer own pants on. Ya shouldn't be leaving the house."

Gambit didn't seem to hear her, but instead continued talking about his plans, which he had obviously thought out very well.

"De professor has all o' his old chairs in de closet around de corner. Remy can use one 'o dem."

He always was impossible.

Well... there's a bit of a start. Thanks for all of the reviews, and keep them coming. Also a special thanks to everyone over at the forums for helping me answer the age-old question... Boxers or Briefs? (the answer, by the way, is both. Briefs when "on the job" and Boxers when not in uniform.)

Review review review! I'll try to get the next chapter up asap...