(((Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel.)))
Golden Slumbers
Chapter 2
The night was cold. It didn't help that they were driving in a convertable. Gambit leaned back and closed his eyes. He had given up the passenger seat in Rogue's car to Storm and was sitting in the back next to Jubilee.
"How can you be so relaxed at a time like this?" Gambit opened his eyes and looked over at Jubilee after she asked the question.
"No use in worryin', p'tite." He answered with a smile.
"We are here." Storm announced as Rogue pulled into a parking space. They all looked down the street at the large building they knew the Friends Of Humanity were gathered in.
"Cyclops, we're here." Rogue spoke into her communicator. Scott's voice came from the other end and gave them the go ahead to move in on the building. They all climbed out of the car and crossed the street.
"Ah got a bad feelin' about this." Rogue said, looking around to make sure they weren't being watched by anybody.
"Don' worry, Chere." Gambit smugly smiled. "You got 'ol Gambit on your side."
Rogue rolled her eyes at him as they continued towards the building. Once they reached the building they stayed back a safe distance to see if there was any security. They spotted two men standing at a door that were obviously members of the FOH.
"Ah got this one." Rogue smiled as she began walking towards the men.
Gambit, Storm and Jubilee stayed hidden as they watched her approach them. They watched as she began a conversation. They couldn't hear what she was saying, but could tell she was flirting. Suddenly with one swift move she knocked the two men against the wall and watched them fall to the ground at her feet. She put her hand on her hip as she looked back with a proud look on her face. Gambit smiled to himself as they came out of their hiding spot and joined her at the door.
"Rogue got a way wit' words, non?" Gambit continued to smile as he looked down at the uncontious men.
"Indeed she does." Storm replied, looking rather preoccupied with the question of how exactly they would go about getting inside. She didn't want to just walk in through the door. Gambit could tell what she was thinking and decided to voice his idea.
"How 'bout I go up top an' take a look around?" He asked as he looked up towards the roof.
"I think we should stay together." Storm answered.
"Gambit just be a minute." He smugly replied.
"Very well." Storm finally agreed after thinking it over for a second.
"Maybe you give me a lift, eh?" Gambit asked while turning to Rogue.
"You got it, sugah." Rogue grabbed a hold of him and took to the air.
She stopped at the edge of the roof so they could search for anybody up top. When they saw the coast was clear she flew up and landed.
"You be careful, swamp rat." Rogue ordered, pointing a finger at him.
"Didn' know you cared, Chere." He replied with an even more smug smile than usual. "I let you know de minute I find somet'in."
"Alright, we'll be down there waitin' for yah." Rogue turned around and flew down from the roof.
Gambit focused his attention on the window on the roof just a few feet away from him. He walked over to it and looked down into the building. He felt his fist tighten when he saw the FOH gathering taking place right below him. He had to deal with mutant haters just a couple of hours earlier and was already having to deal with more.
After staring down at the crowd for a moment he realized he was wasting time and headed towards the door on the roof that led into the building. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He could stand there and pick the lock, but decided to just give it a mild charge instead. The charge was only strong enough to blow the doorknob open and was quiet enough to not be heard by anybody else.
Once the door was open he looked down the stairs before starting down them. His footsteps were light and quiet, almost undetectable. He finally reached another door and slowly turned the doorknob. This door was unlocked. He cracked it open and peaked out into the hallway it led to. He slowly pushed his way through after not seeing anybody. Just as he stepped out into the hall a noise alerted him.
"Gambit, have you found anything?" He pulled out a card from reflex before realizing it was just Storm contacting him through his communicator. He sighed to himself and stepped back through the door to where he wouldn't be seen.
"Patience, Chere." He quietly spoke into his communicator. "You give Gambit one more minute and he find de mutants."
He took another look through the door before stepping back into the hallway. He looked from side to side, trying to decide which way he should go. He decided to go down the hall to the right and cautiously made his way down it. He could hear talking as he got near the corner. He tried to listen, but couldn't make out what they were saying. He prepared to look around the corner and pulled out a card incase he was spotted. After remembering he needed to stay quiet he put the card back into his duster pocket and pulled out his staff, extending it to its full length.
Finally he looked around the corner and saw where the voices were coming from. There were three men sitting outside a door with guns in hand. They looked as if they were guarding whatever was inside. Gambit got the feeling that this might be where the mutants were being held and watched the men talk amongst themselves. Even though he had a distance to clear before he could get to them he decided they weren't even paying enough attention to notice him before it was too late. He gripped his staff tightly and took off running around the corner.
His strides were far and quiet and the men didn't spot him until he reached them. As the men jumped up to their feet Gambit flipped over them, landing behind them and quickly taking all three out with his staff. Then he paused for a moment and waited to see if anybody heard. Luckily nobody did. He put his ear up to the door the men were guarding to see if he could hear anything from inside, but he couldn't. He put his staff away and gave the doorknob a slight charge, just as he did to the door on the roof. A small burst of energy and the door was open. He pulled out a card as he pushed it open, ready to strike if he needed to. His eyes widened when he saw what was inside.
"Chere." He spoke into his communicator. "I found de mutants. You better get in here quick."
"We're on the way." Storm's voice answered.
There were two mutants in the room with Gambit. There was a man and a teenage girl that looked about Jubilee's age, both uncontious. The mans gray skin gave away the fact that he was a mutant, but the girl looked like an ordinary human. Their hands were tied behind their backs with rope and they had collars around their necks that Gambit recognized as the kind they used on Genosha. He walked up to them and knelt down. The girl slowly regained contiousness and looked very confused as she woke up. When she came to she began to realize where she was and looked up at him.
"Get away from me!" She shouted, terrified by the sight of him.
Gambit quickly covered her mouth with one hand and held a finger in front of his mouth with the other, signaling for her to be quiet.
"Quiet, p'tite." He whispered. "Gambit here ta help. Stay quiet or neither of us gettin' outta dis place."
He slowly removed his hand from her mouth, hoping she wouldn't yell again. She still looked terrified, but didn't make any noise. He then looked over at the uncontious man on the ground beside her.
"You de only ones here?" He asked, looking over the girls shoulder at her hands tied behind her back.
"N-no, there's more." She finally answered.
"Hold still." Gambit replied, reaching behind her. He gave the rope around her wrists a small charge and a small explosion set her hands free. "We worry 'bout de necklace later. Don' worry, Gambit got some friends on de way."
Gambit stood up, helping the girl to her feet. Then he hoisted the uncontious man over his shoulder.
"We get you out first." He said as he turned to face the door. "Den we get out de others. Now come on, we best not linger here too long, eh?"
Just as they started to head out of the room several men appeared in the doorway, aiming guns in their direction.
"Get the mutants!" One of them shouted. Before there was any time for them to fire a shot they were hit from the side and knocked away from the door.
"Many thanks, Chere." Gambit smiled when he saw that Rogue was the one who had taken them out. He rushed out of the room, followed by the girl. Storm and Jubilee were waiting out in the hall.
"Are they unharmed?" Storm asked as they came out of the room.
"We're okay." The girl spoke up. "There's others though."
"Rogue." Storm ordered. "You and Jubilee get them out of here. Gambit and I will find the others."
"You got it." Rogue replied, taking the uncontious man from Gambit. Rogue and Jubilee rushed away with the two mutants, leaving Storm and Gambit to search for the remaining hostages.
"Cyclops." Storm spoke into her communicator as they rushed down the hall. "We have found two mutants, but there are more somewhere in the building."
"We think we know where they are." Cyclops' voice answered. "We might need your help."
"We are on the way." She answered as they continued down the hall. "Our presence is known, we must hurry."
Gambit and Storm ran down the hall intent on reaching the rest of the team in time to help. They reached an elevator, but decided it would be better to use the stairs and started down them. They were surprised they hadn't encountered any other members of the FOH and figured the rally must have been starting. As they got near the bottom of the staircase they could hear the sound of gunfire growing louder and louder. They exchanged glances at the door before charging through it into whatever chaos was waiting for them on the other side.
Once in the room they found themselves in the middle of a battle taking place between a crowd of FOH members and the other X-Men. Gunfire was sent flying in their direction as soon as they were spotted and they both managed to dodge the shots. Gambit dove to the ground, rolling to his feet with several cards in hand and throwing them at the gunmen. The explosion of the cards hitting the floor beneath their feet blew them into the air and they were knocked uncontious.
"Get em outta here, we'll hold em off!" Wolverine shouted as he charged another group of men.
Jean was protecting several mutants that had collars around their necks and looked as if they were barely contious. Gambit realized they had obviously found the rest of the hostages. He sent more cards flying through the air as Cyclops helped Jean get them out of the room. Storm covered their retreat with a bolt of lightning and continued to fight the men along with Wolverine and Gambit. They would leave once the hostages were safely out of the building, but had to hold off the FOH until then.
Storm blinded the men with a thick fog while Wolverine charged through it to attack them. He managed to take several of them out and Gambit joined him, using his staff to take several out himself. The battle continued, more and more FOH members racing into the room.
"Gettin' a bit thick in here, non?" Gambit commented as he hit a man across the face with his staff.
"I like the odds!" Wolverine plunged into a crowd of attackers, knocking them to the ground.
Gambit glanced over at Storm just as she sent two men flying into a wall with a powerful gust of wind. Then his attention was caught by a man he saw clutching a grenade. The man had his arm back and was already begining to throw it in Storm's direction. Gambit felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't have much time to react and took off running towards her, throwing his staff to knock the grenade out of the air. He was so distracted and caught off guard that his aim wasn't as accurate as usual and he missed. He dove at her and pulled her to the ground, trying to get out of the path of the grenade. It was too late. There was a bright flash and his vision went black.
His ears were filled with a loud ringing and he tumbled to the floor, landing with a hard thud. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears and the unbearable burning in his eyes made it impossible for him to open them. Fighting back the pain he forced himself to stand up, but he had lost all sense of direction and quickly lost his balance, falling back to the ground. He then reached his hand out and felt around the floor to see if Storm was anywhere near him. His eyes were begining to burn even worse than before, but the ringing in his ears began to slightly fade away. At first he could hear muffled shouts and gunfire, but it wasn't long before he could hear everything going on around him.
"Storm!" His call went unanswered.
He attempted to open his eyes, but was still unable to and there was a severe sharp pain when he tried. Then he heard a voice call out his name. He couldn't identify who it was through all the noise going on around him, but he could tell it was close. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Gambit, are you alright?!" Now he could tell it was Jean.
"Fine, Chere." He replied as he wiped his eyes, feeling something wet. "Why my eyes wet?"
"They're bleeding." He heard her voice quickly respond. "Come on, we have to get out of here! I'll help you see."
He could feel her pull him to his feet and he managed to stay standing this time with her help. Then he could see again. He didn't have his eyes open, but Jean's power was allowing him to see as long as she had it concentrated on him.
"Where's Storm?" He asked as he looked around through his closed eyes. He caught a glimpse of Beast rushing out of the room with Storm uncontious in his arms.
"She's safe, now let's go!" Jean exclaimed, leading Gambit towards the door. He saw that Cyclops had returned as well and was helping Wolverine fend off the FOH that were still attacking. Gambit stumbled as Jean helped him through the door, but she managed to keep him up. She continued moving him along until they finally got out of the building. Then he felt his legs give out as he collapsed. Jean tried to keep him standing, but he was too heavy. After one last sharp pain in his head he hit the pavement and felt himself drift into uncontiousness.
The pain wasn't quite as unbearable as before. As he woke up he could still feel the burning in his eyes and hear the ringing in his ears, but neither were as bad as they had been. When he held his hand up to his eyes he could feel that there was a bandage wrapped around his head to cover them. Then he slowly started to sit up in the bed he could feel he was in.
"Not so fast, my friend." He heard Beast's familiar voice. "You need your rest."
"What happened?" Gambit asked, turning in the direction the voice came from. Even though he couldn't see he had an idea of where Beast was standing.
"You'll be alright." He heard his voice reply. "A grenade went off within close range of your head. You're very lucky. Your injuries are quite minimal from what they could have been. You'll have to keep that bandage over your eyes for a short time, they were severly injured by the blast. Besides a mild concussion and a ringing I'm sure you hear in your ears that is the only thing I've found wrong with you."
"What about Storm?" Gambit realized he had no idea what condition she was in and took Beast's pause before answering a bad sign.
"She is, uuh..." His voice sounded uncertain. "Ororo will be alright. She will just need time to recooperate."
Gambit knew he wasn't telling him everything, but decided not to pursue the question. He would find out soon enough and at the moment he would actually rather not know.
"You'll be glad to know all the mutant prisoners were rescued." Beast tried to change the subject. "I've looked over them and none have serious injuries."
"Good." Gambit replied as he leaned back in his bed.
"Well, you should get your rest." He heard Beast say before hearing his footsteps begin to walk away. "I'll be back later to check on you."
"Whatever you say, mon ami." He answered as he sighed to himself.
He didn't like being watched over by doctors and knew Hank was never one to take his work lightly. He tried to relax and ignore the pain in his eyes and the pounding headache he had. After awhile he managed to go back to sleep.
"Outta de way, McCoy!" It was Gambit's second day stuck in the infirmary and he was tired of being in bed. His eyes were still bandaged and he still couldn't see, but he wanted to atleast get up and move around a little.
"Remy, knock it off." Rogue said, trying to calm him down. She had come to visit just in time to see the argument between him and Beast start. "Quit makin' such a fuss."
"Yes, Gambit, you still need to rest." Beast replied.
"Rest?" Gambit looked disgusted by the word. "All I been doin' for two days is rest!"
Beast let out a sigh as he realized he wasn't going to win this battle.
"Fine." He finally said. "You can go, but don't leave the mansion and you must be back here tonight."
"Don't worry, Hank." Rogue assured him. "Ah'll keep an eye on 'em."
"Well, well, well." Logan commented as Rogue and Gambit walked out of the front door of the mansion. "If it ain't the blind Cajun. Hank finally let you get outta bed or are ya breakin' doctors orders?"
"He's only out for a little while." Rogue answered.
"Don' be rediculous, Chere." Gambit replied with an annoyed expression. "Gambit feelin' good as new."
"Oh, no you don't!" Rogue responded with authority in her voice. "Ah told Beast Ah'd get ya back by tonight and Ah plan to."
Gambit ignored her remark and walked out onto the mansions yard. He was glad to be out of the infirmary and took a deep breath of relief.
"Gambit!" He heard Jubilee's voice as she approached them. "You're up!"
"Course, p'tite." He said as he turned to face the direction he heard her voice come from. "You know not'in keep Gambit down for long."
"When do you get the bandages off your eyes?" She asked.
"Beast say maybe tomorrow." He answered.
"How's Storm?" Jubilee sounded concerned.
"She be alright, p'tite." Gambit answered after nobody else spoke up.
He actually didn't know how bad Storm's condition was. Beast allowed him to visit her, but she had been uncontious ever since they got her back to the mansion so he wasn't able to talk to her and he couldn't see so he had no clue how she was doing.
"Storm's tough." Logan added. "She'll be fine."
Logan sounded sure of himself even though he had doubts of his own. Beast was telling everybody not to worry, but he was the only one who actually knew the extent of her injuries.
"Nothin' ta worry about, Jubilee." Rogue replied. "She'll be back up and about in no time."
"I hope so." Jubilee still sounded concerned.
"How many mutants we get outta dat place de other night?" Gambit decided it was time to talk about something else. He hadn't heard any details about the mutants they saved and took this oppertunity to bring it up.
"Five all together." Logan answered. "It's a shame you got busted up before you had the chance ta take a few more a those jokers out."
"Gambit get another chance just as soon as his eyes workin' again." Gambit said with confidence.
"X-Men don't use their powers to settle personal vendettas." He heard Scott's voice nearby.
"I don't know..." Logan said. "I wouldn't mind a bit of payback myself."
"The Professor wants to see you." Scott told Gambit, ignoring Logan's comment.
"Gambit wanna see de professor too, but he can't." Gambit replied with a smile as he tapped his eyebrow with a finger.
"He's waiting inside." He could tell by Scott's voice that he wasn't emused by the joke and couldn't help but smile even more.
Rogue guided him into the mansion and took him to see Professor Xavier. After Gambit took a seat Rogue left them alone to talk.
"It's good to see you're up." Xavier started the conversation. "How are you feeling?"
"No complaints." Gambit answered as he slouched in his chair to get comfortable. "T'anks for askin'."
"Then your eyes are feeling better?" Xavier replied.
"Dey feel fine." Gambit knew there was a reason the Professor wanted to see him. They got along good enough, but they never just sat around and had friendly chats. He either wanted to ask him something or had something important to tell him. He was hoping it wasn't bad news regarding Storm. "You need somet'in?"
"Yes, actually." Xavier sounded positive. Gambit relaxed when he realized it didn't have anything to do with Storm. "I was hoping you could help one of the mutants we rescued from the Friends Of Humanity."
"Help?" Gambit raised an eyebrow as much as he could from under the bandage.
"Yes." Xavier continued. "One of the mutants posesses a power simular to yours. However, she is unable to control them and I was hoping you could teach her how to develope her abilities. I think she could learn from you."
"I don' know, Professor." Gambit was uncertain. "I don' t'ink I make much of a teacher. Maybe she be better off wit' someone else."
"The reason I'm asking you is because of your powers." Xavier replied. "I doubt anybody else would be able to help her as much as you. I fear if she doesn't learn to control them she may end up harming herself or others."
Gambit thought it over for a moment. He knew Professor Xavier would keep trying to pursuade him if he refused and decided he would rather just do it instead of having to deal with Xavier's attempts to convince him.
"Maybe it not be so bad, eh?" He said with a grin after he agreed.
"Good." Xavier replied. Gambit could tell if he was able to see him that he would see him smiling. "You can start as soon as your eyes have recovered."
After exchanging a few more words the conversation was over and Rogue came back into the room to guide Gambit out. He still wanted to get some fresh air so she took him back outside to spend some time outdoors before it was time for dinner.
She had been at the mansion for two days now and was begining to get more comfortable. Jubilee helped her adjust and settle in and it helped to have someone else around that was her age. She was getting to know everybody a little and even learned Logan wasn't as bad as he appeared to be on the surface. Dinner was being cooked in the kitchen and she couldn't wait for it to be ready. Before she arrived at the mansion it had been awhile since her last home-cooked meal.
"Alice." Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Jubilee's voice. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." She answered as she looked over at Jubilee, who was sitting in the chair beside her.
"You look pretty spaced out." Jubilee replied.
"Just waiting for dinner." She answered.
"Don't worry, it's almost ready." Jean said after overhearing their conversation. She was in the kitchen finishing up the dinner and giving Scott the dishes to set the table.
"Smells good." Logan said after sniffing the air. "How much garlic you put on that stuff?"
"The perfect amount." Jean smiled as she started to dish up the food. "It's just right."
"Looks like we got here just in time." Rogue's voice caught the rooms attention as she walked in with Gambit.
"Smell like it too." Gambit added with a smile. "What we havin', Chere?"
"It's good to see you're feeling better, Gambit." Jean replied.
"Top a de world, Chere." He said, still smiling.
"Come on." Jubilee said to Alice as she stood up and pulled her up out of her chair. "Gambit, this is Alice. She's one of the mutants we saved from those FOH goons."
Alice recognized Gambit as soon as he walked into the room. His eyes were bandaged so she couldn't see them, but she remembered the unusual red on black that had startled her when she first saw them. She remembered waking up with a collar around her neck and her hands tied behind her back and being terrified by the sight of him before realizing he was trying to help her. She also remembered the guilt she felt when she heard the white haired woman and him had been injured while trying to rescue her. She hadn't gotten the chance to meet either of them yet and suddenly felt nervous as she was being introduced to him.
"Gambit pleased ta meet you, Alice." He held his hand out in front of him for her to shake. She hesitated a second, but finally reached out to it.
"Nice to meet you." She quietly said as she shook it.
"Good to hear you again, p'tite." He said as a grin appeared on his face. She was confused for a moment before she realized he must have recognized her voice.
"You too." She shyly replied.
"I see the two of you have met." Professor Xavier said as he entered the room, followed by Beast. "Alice is who you'll be helping with her powers, Gambit."
"See you den, p'tite." Gambit responded with a smile. Then he sniffed the air as Jean carried a dish of food passed him and set it on the table. "But I t'ink we best attend to dis dinner first, non?"
"Of course." Xavier replied. "It smells wonderful, Jean."
"Indeed." Beast added. "A meal fit for kings."
"Thank you." Jean was always happy to hear her meals get complimented.
"Y'all got that right." Rogue said as she guided Gambit to a seat at the table. "Ah'm starvin'."
"So let's quit yappin' and eat." Logan said, sitting down at a plate. "You wanna wait 'til it gets cold or what?"
The night was cold and the grass outside was already covered in frost. Gambit debated even going out, but decided he would rather freeze then sit in the infirmary for another night. Just like the other nights he spent in the infirmary bed he couldn't fall asleep and was tired of trying. He managed to get outside by feeling the walls as he made his way through the mansion and finally stepped out onto the yard. He felt the cold air hit his face and heard the grass crunch under his feet. He just stood and enjoyed the night for a moment before doing what he had set out to do.
It took him longer than usual, but he got to the roof and took a seat. The climb took a little more effort, but that was to be expected when you can't see. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back, imagining he was looking up at the stars, and thought about getting the bandages off of his eyes the next day and seeing Storm, among other things. He stayed there for quite awhile before he realized he was begining to drift off. He knew if he was found asleep on the roof in the morning he would never hear the end of it from Beast so he got up and started for the edge of the roof to get down.
He wasn't too alert and was so tired now that even the bed in the infirmary sounded good. Then he took a step forward and was suddenly swept off his feet. He felt his foot fly right out from under him. If he was able to see he might have spotted the patch of ice he slipped on, but unfortunately he couldn't and was sent tumbling off the roof. He fell a distance until he found himself smashing through a tree. His attempt to grab a branch failed and he fell the rest of the way, landing on the ground with a loud thud. He clenched his jaw and cursed to himself in his head. Not because it hurt, but because he knew it was loud enough that it would attract some unwanted attention.
"I'm sure Hank doesn't look too kindly on his patients fallin' off roofs, Gumbo." Sure enough he heard Wolverine's voice approaching him.
"What you doin' out here?" Gambit asked with an annoyed expression as he climbed to his feet, feeling a slight pain in his hip.
"What are you?" Logan replied. "Beast ain't gonna like it if he finds ya out here."
"Relax, mon ami." Gambit couldn't see if he was dirty, but was sure he was and brushed himself off. "Gambit only his patient til mornin' anyway."
"Yeah, well I'd keep my roof divin' down until then." Logan's voice was thick with sarcasm.
"See you tomorrow, Wolverine." Gambit ignored his comment and blindly headed towards the mansion to go back inside. Logan smirked to himself when he noticed Gambit had a slight limp as he walked.
It was morning and Gambit's roof incident went unnoticed by anyone accept for Logan. His hip was a little soar, but not enough that he needed to limp anymore. He went to sleep as soon as he got back to his bed and got up as soon as the sun began to rise. Now he was sitting in the infirmary, waiting for Beast. It was time for the bandages to come off and he would finally be able to see again.
"Aah, here we are." He heard Beast say after hearing him dig through his equipment. "Dim the lights if you will. His eyes may be sensitive at first."
"You got it." He heard Rogue answer. She had come to see him get the bandages taken off, along with the Professor.
"Here we are, my friend." Beast's voice was now coming from right beside him. "Hold still. This will only take a moment."
Gambit sat still while Beast cut the bandages down the side and it was just a minute before they were pulled off. Light flooded into his eyes as soon as he opened them and a bright wave of white forced them closed.
"Are you alright?" Rogue sounded worried.
"Fine, Chere." He answered, holding a hand up to shield his eyes from the light as he slowly opened them again. "Jus' a little bright is all."
"They just need time to adjust." Beast said, handing him a pair of sunglasses. "I suggest you wear these for a short time."
Gambit looked at Beast and took the glasses. His vision was blurred, but it wasn't taking long for it to clear up. He lowered his hand from his eyes as they came into focus. He had to squint when he looked up at the lights, but they didn't hurt.
"I t'ink I be alright, Beast." He said as he stood up and tossed the glasses back to him. "Dey not so bad. As long as I don' go starin' at de sun I be fine."
"Very well." Beast replied. "Just don't strain them too much and they'll be back to normal in a day or two."
Gambit rubbed his eyes and looked over at Professor Xavier, then at Rogue.
"Well, what have we here?" He said with a smirk. "You a sight for soar eyes, Chere."
"It's good to see you're back to your old self." Xavier said, raising an eyebrow. "Perhaps you'll be able to begin helping Alice sooner than anticipated."
"Name de time." He said as he walked over to them. "Gambit ready."
"Good." Xavier replied. "I'll let you know when we can schedule something."
Xavier turned around to leave the room and Gambit looked over at Rogue.
"Maybe Gambit take you out somewhere for all de help while he blind, eh?" He said with a smug smile.
"In your dreams, swamp rat." She replied, rolling her eyes and walking out of the room. Gambit smiled to himself and looked back at Beast.
"T'anks for de help, mon ami." He said, turning back around to follow Rogue out of the room. "Gambit owe you one."
Before he made it through the door he stopped after remembering something and his smile faded.
He didn't know what to expect as he followed Beast into the room. He felt a little relief when he saw her asleep and looking peaceful, though he knew there was nothing to be happy about. Storm still hadn't been awake since she was injured during the battle with the Friends Of Humanity and he was worried about her. As he got closer to the bed he saw that she had a bandage over her left eyebrow and her arm was in a sling.
"Tell me what wrong wit' her." He said as he looked her over. "No more sayin' not ta worry, she be fine."
"She sustained injuries to her arm..." Beast paused before continuing. He could tell Gambit wasn't going to take no for an answer this time. "She also has two cracked ribs and several others are bruised."
"What about de bandage on her forehead?" Gambit asked, not looking away from her.
"She, uuh... suffered a blow to the head from the explosion." Beast answered. He started to say something else, but Gambit cut him off before he got the chance.
"How long it gonna be 'fore she get better?" He asked.
"I'm not exactly sure, but she is expected to make a full recovery." Beast replied. "She just needs time."
Gambit didn't say anything else and after a moment Beast left him alone with her. He sat down by her bed and spent some time in her room, thinking about her injuries and feeling a swell of rage when he pictured the FOH in his mind.