DISCLAIMER: the x-men do not belong to me. no need to rub it in.

Getting out of the mansion undetected was not an easy thing to do. Even if you were able to bypass the numerous security features, you still had a number of telepaths monitoring the comings and goings of the house. It was even harder to do when one of the people sneaking out was in a wheelchair and, as Rogue soon learned, prone to coughing fits. It was during one such fit, just outside the elevator on the main floor of the mansion, when Rogue changed her mind.

"We ain't goin'."

"Why not?"

"You are in no condition to leave the house. Ah shouldn't have even brought you out of the medlab. Ah'm in deep enough shit around here as it is. We're goin' back downstairs."

"No. We gonna go to de diner and get some coffee. Den we—"His sentence was cut off as he started to cough again. Rogue turned the wheelchair around and hit the button for the elevator. Remy finally regained his composure once they were inside.

"Do we have to go back to de lab? Remy's been cooped up in there for two months now. And Henri isn't de best at de conversation."

"Remy. You're too sick to leave the house."

"Den we don' leave de house."

"Everyone's asleep here. We can't just waltz around th' place making noise. Ah'm not even supposed to have peeked in on you. If ah get caught with you around the house, Ah'm in for it."

"Den we go to sleep. Tomorrow, we do something fun."

"Ah have a danger room session tomorrow."

"You back one day 'n Scooter's already riding you?"

"He's got three years to make up for, ah suppose."

They made their way back into the medlab in silence, neither one really wanting to address the three years of which she spoke. Once they got back into Remy's room, Rogue lifted him back onto the bed.

"You wanna put the gown back on, sugah?"

"Non... I'll just sleep in my clothes."

"At least take off your jeans."

"Is dat what dis is all about? Getting Remy's pants off?"

"You wish, swamp rat."

She helped him off with his pants and sat down in the chair next to the bed, picking up the remote control.

"Wonder if there's anything good on TV?"

"At dis hour? Mostly infomercials."

She flipped through the channels and settled on 'Scooby Doo'. As the cartoon caper played out, they both slowly fell asleep, neither having realized just how tired the day's events had made them.

When Dr. McCoy walked in to check on his patient before turning in for the night, or morning, as the case was, he found the two of them fast asleep, Rogue's head up against the side of the bed, Gambit holding her gloved hand. As he turned off the television and the light, he noticed something else that he hadn't seen in the house for well over a year. Gambit was smiling.

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

The morning arrived much too early, just as it always did. Rogue felt a gentle but firm hand shaking her out of her slumber, and she groggily opened her eyes to find herself face to face with the professor.

"If you don't hurry, you'll be late for your training session."

"Professor... Ah..."

"Don't worry about it. Your new uniform is hanging by the locker rooms."

"Thank you."

She stood up and turned to the door, peeking back to see that Gambit was still asleep before she left. She walked out into the hallway and stopped in front of the large uniform cases. Instead of the array of brightly colored spandex that she was used to seeing, a neat line of almost identical black leather uniforms stood in front of her.

"How do you like them?" a voice came from behind her, "Scott thought that we were too disorganized looking."

"Jean, ya might want to try and knock some sense into that boy. These things look as stiff as he is."

"Tell me about it." She reached in front of Rogue and accessed a keypad, which made one of the uniform panels slide out. Walking over to it, she removed the uniform from its case and handed it to Rogue.

"He let us pick out own colors, though... I got you the green one."

Surely enough, the highlights on the black costume were all done in green.

"Aw, thanks sugah. Ah'll be sure to remember that when ah'm squeaking into battle."

Ten minutes later, she was standing in the Danger Room's control booth, speaking to Cyclops through the intercom.

"Why can't ah train again?"

"You haven't been here. You haven't been in any situation that would call for your abilities in three years. They have not been exercised. You are not r—"

"Okay, ah get it. No need to get your panties in a twist."

Before Cyclops was able to retort, she pressed the button and started the simulation. As she watched her teammates from behind the glass, she couldn't help but feel jealous. The whirring sound of the elevator caused her to turn around. The professor wheeled himself towards the glass, and she sunk into the control center's chair.

"Hey, Chuck."

"Rogue."

"So... how's Remy doing?"

"He's still asleep. Hank thinks that he'll probably be out until around noon."

"Nobody's really told me what's wrong with him. Think you could let me in?"

"The intention was never to keep you out of the loop. You brought that on yourself. As for his condition, however, we are not entirely sure. We've run numerous tests on him, and they have all come back negative. Most likely, his current state was not brought about because of something physical."

"Somehow, that don't surprise me. How come ya'll don't know for sure?"

"Remy's mind has always been incredibly hard to penetrate. His mental guards were high to begin with, and after you left, they became even higher. We could tell, however, that he wasn't the same. None of us understood why you left, but we've come to accept it. Remy, I believe, realized it fully around the time his health deteriorated to the point of it being necessary for him to reside in the medlab. It drained him so much. Now that you're back, I'm not sure how long it will be until he is back on his feet again."

"Is he allowed ta leave the lab?"

"You mean, like he did last night?"

"You know about that?"

"Rogue. You'd have been more surprised if I hadn't."

"True. But yeah, like last night. He wanted t' go get some coffee or somethin' at a diner. Said he hates bein' all cooped up."

"Understandably. Yes, he may leave. But keep a close eye on him. Too much activity after such a long period of inactivity may be harmful."

"Professor?"

"Yes"

"Why do you still trust me? After all ah've done, after ah've left, abandoned the team. After what ah did to him? Even Logan doesn't trust me anymore."

"Rogue. Know this. I have always trusted you. I have not always trusted some of your actions, true, but I have always trusted you. And seeing that Remy still trusts you, I don't understand how I could not. The fact that you dropped everything and came back at a moments notice when you were needed, the fact that you disobeyed my orders and went to see him, the fact that you are sitting here, having this conversation with me. You have earned my trust time and time again."

"Thank you, Chuck..."

"No, Rogue. Thank you."

"Ah'd hug you, but this outfit just may have frozen me in this seat."

"No need. And next time, I'll let Jean Design the uniforms again."

"Good idea."

A/N: Well... that was a quick update. But don't expect them all to be like that. Thanks for all the reviews and remember... the more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update soon. So review away.

Did I mention that I wanted you to leave a review?