Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters; please don't sue me I am a poor college student. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike. I do claim the non-Marvel characters, such as the Williams family and the new offspring of the LeBeau and Summers families. Thanks!
Note: I apologize for the spacing and random indents and anything of the sort. When the pages are loaded onto this site everything seems to get a bit messed up. I noticed that single lines get double spaced randomly. Sorry about that.
Through the Years
Chapter Sixteen: The Miracle
Jean's baby made Rogue pine for her own child even more than she thought possible. On visits to the Mansion she saw how happy Scott and Jean were and she knew that soon she and Remy would have that same joy in their lives, it was only a matter of time and she hated waiting! It wasn't only the fact that she was impatient, but as the months dragged on she grew increasingly larger, she couldn't take the discomfort that went with being pregnant much longer. Oh sure, like Jean said, it was fun when the belly was small and you didn't look all that pregnant. She loved how cute everything was when her belly was small and it was obvious that she was pregnant but not as big as a house. People would be excited for her and since she didn't have morning sickness any more, she loved every moment of it! As it became closer to her due date she began to realize what Jean said when she meant that you felt like you were going to keep growing until the baby just walked out on its own. Also, it had been a while since she had seen her feet and was beginning to forget what it was like to look down and see something that wasn't a giant belly. In fact, she had gotten Remy into the habit of checking to see if her shoes matched before she left the house, just in case.
Rogue looked out the kitchen window one lazy Saturday morning in October while cleaning up the last of the breakfast dishes. Monica was outside playing with the children. Carlie had just turned seven in September and had started second grade at the local elementary school down the street. The usually rambunctious child was sitting peacefully in a lawn chair enthralled with the book that the LeBeaus had given her for her birthday. Monica had told them that the little girl had already read the story dozens of times and never seemed to tire of it. While Carlie read her story Monica was playing Peek-A-Boo with a squealing seven-month old David. Rogue chuckled at the sight and knew how much a baby could be entertained by that game for what seemed like hours. She held her own tummy and daydreamed a bit about what it would be like to play that game with her own baby. The baby even kicked a bit, as if in recognition of what she was thinking. Once the last of the dishes was put away she decided to sit down in the living room and put her feet up for a bit.
Meanwhile, Remy was upstairs putting the finishing touches on the nursery. He smiled to himself as he looked around at the finished product. Not knowing the gender of their baby, the LeBeaus kept the room fairly neutral. The carpet was a lush green and the walls were a colorful splash of greens, pinks, yellows, and blues, all pastel and very inviting. Remy thought for a moment that if dearly departed Piotr had been around there might have been some sort of mural or garden scene lovingly painted on the walls. But neither he nor Rogue was an artist like Piotr was, so the gentle swirls of color would have to make due. What the walls lack in artistic flair they certainly made up for in the labor of love, and Remy knew that Colossus would have been proud of their artistic attempt, just as they were proud of him in making the ultimate sacrifice to rid the world of the dreaded Legacy Virus.
In one corner was a rocking chair which Rogue already enjoyed sitting in, though Remy teased her that she won't enjoy sitting in it as much after the baby came, at least not at 2am every morning. Next to the rocking chair were shelves that held baby care books, nursery rhymes, and stuffed animals, all treasures which they brought home from the latest baby shower the X-men threw for them. Bobby joked that after having showers for Jean and Rogue; the X-men should give up the superhero business and instead hire themselves out as baby shopping "X-perts X-traordinaire!" Against another wall the changing table was already set up complete with all the products needed to freshly diaper a baby. The table already had some practice from when the LeBeaus watched baby David. In fact, Remy recalled one particular instance in August when Rogue and Monica took Carlie shopping for school clothes and he offered to watch the baby. Usually Rogue changed the baby when he was left in their care, mainly because she insisted on the practice. The few times Remy tried it, Rogue coached him the entire way through, the same way he knew Jean had coached her. Having tried it a few times before, Remy thought that it wouldn't be difficult changing the child. However, the little blonde boy proved him wrong with a face full of urine the minute the diaper came off. Instances like that made Remy pray for a daughter, although he knew he would get the hang of changing a boy if he had a son. Sometimes he hoped for twins, one of each, so that he wouldn't have to decide, but Hank had already told them that Rogue was only carrying one child and both of them wanted the gender to be a surprise.
The focal point of the room was a hand-crafted crib presented to them at the baby shower by Wolverine. No one had expected Logan of all people to have crafted such an eloquent piece. It was detailed with characters from various nursery rhymes, and could even be converted into a youth bed for when the baby was older. Of course the child would outgrow it eventually, but it would definitely get a good many years of love and use first. Rogue knew that by this act of love Logan was the perfect choice to be the baby's godfather, and Remy agreed, but they wanted to wait until after the baby was born to tell Wolverine of their decision. They both knew that Wolverine would do anything for their child, just as they would. As for the baby's godmother, they decided on Storm since she and Remy had a special, almost familial bond. Like Logan, they knew that Storm would do anything for this child. They didn't want to tell their friends of their decision to make them the baby's godparents until after the birth, just in case, heaven forbid, something happened during the delivery.
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Remy came downstairs from the nursery to find Rogue with her feet up on the coffee table, head back, and napping. He smiled at how peaceful she looked. He couldn't help but feel guilty, the baby's constant kicking and moving made it difficult for her to sleep the last few nights, though she said that she didn't mind too much since it at least let her know the baby was alive. Sometimes she would get up and sit in the rocking chair in the baby's room since she insisted that it was more comfortable than the bed at these times. She also mentioned that she felt bad keeping him up all night when she couldn't sleep. He told her not to feel that way since he wasn't the one carrying the baby, but she joked that she wanted him to be well rested since he'd more than make up for her sleepless nights when the baby would be crying at all hours of the night. He sat next to her on the sofa and pushed some hair out of her face. He couldn't help thinking to himself, "Mon Dieu, she's beautiful." Everything that they had gone through with their powers and their experiences with the X-men made simple moments like this worth it. Less than ten minutes later he found himself napping right next to her.
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The pain was unbearable! She found herself on a Shi'Ar spaceship and all the X-men were around her. She didn't know how she got there or what was going on. Bobby and Logan were in one corner eating pickles with ice cream, bread lathered in Cheese Wiz and relish, and plates of macaroni with ketchup in the company of Lilandra and Charles?{1} Why were they eating some of her pregnancy pleasure foods? Jean, Scott, and baby Nathaniel were standing over her; Jean said it would all be over soon. Oh no! Was she in labor? Not here, not now, she didn't even know what was going on or how she got here! Not that this was the first time she and the others had been transported into space without much notice. Last thing she remembered she was in her living room and now she's in space! Wait, where was Remy? She looked down and found herself lying in a pool of water, maybe a few inches high. Was this some sort of Shi-Ar birthing table? Odd, oh no, here comes that pain again! "WHERE'S REMY, Ah need him," she screamed but no one answered her. She looked at her stomach and suddenly the skin ripped open and the baby's head came through! Wait, that wasn't a baby, the head turned to face her, "Bonjour Chere!"
"AAAAHHHHHHHH," Rogue woke with a start. Remy shot up immediately.
"What's wrong Chere," he looked at her as she looked around the room, down at her stomach, and finally at him.
"Oh Remy," she exclaimed as she hugged him. "Trust me, ya wouldn't believe me if Ah told ya." She looked at the clock, four hours had past since she had sat down in the living room. Although it had been a dream she felt the pain in her abdomen still, and when she went to stand up, she noticed a wet spot where she had been sitting. Could this mean?! Yup, her water must have broken, thus the pool in her dream, but now what? She didn't want to freak Remy out so in the calmest voice possible she said, "Remy, Shugah, Ah don't mean to alarm ya, but Ah think we better get to the Mansion right away. Ah… Ah…Ah think Ah'm in labor."
Remy's eyes widened and he shot up off the sofa. "Sapristi!" Too many thought ran through his head, what should he do, does Rogue need anything before we go? Any plans he had thought out for when this moment came went completely out of his head. Now he knew how Scott felt a few months ago. He took a deep breath, if he panicked, she might panic, and Hank said that childbirth would be a difficult obstacle for Rogue. The baby might have survived the duration of the pregnancy, but she could still lose it in childbirth, especially if she lost control of her senses. Anything could happen with her powers. "Ok Rogue, you go wait in t'car and I'll call Hank and let him know dat we are on our way." He took a hold of her hands, "It's goin' t'be all right Chere, I love you so much." He looked into her eyes and kissed her fingers.
She smiled at him, she knew he was trying to be brave for her sake, but she could see it in his eyes, he was scared out of his mind both for her and the baby. He couldn't hide anything from her, no matter how hard he tried. Still, she appreciated the effort, it was better than him running around like a chicken with its head cut off. "And Ah love ya too Remy. Thanks foah being wonderful." She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "Now let's shake a leg Shugah, 'fore this little critter marches out on its own!"
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During her career as one of the X-men Rogue had faced challenges that most people would be surprised she walked away from. However at this very moment she decided that she would rather be fighting a Sentinel or Apocalypse than having her legs in stirrups with the most awful pressure in her abdomen. There were very few battles that she could recall that were this painful, perhaps it had to do with the fact that her exterior is fairly invulnerable, but her insides were as delicate as anyone else's. It felt like this baby was going to rip her in half. Perhaps that dream she had where the head came right through her stomach was a fairly accurate feeling after all!
Remy could tell that Rogue was trying her hardest to keep her super strength in check. After a particularly strong contraction he was afraid that she was going to crush every bone in his hand, but he knew that what she was going through was probably ten times worse, especially after what Scott told him happened when Jean was delivering, so he kept his mouth shut. Rogue noticed Remy wincing and maintained a firm grip on a pillow in her other hand; at least she couldn't hurt that. That way she could hold Remy's hand for moral support and the pillow for physical pain release. Jean had been in labor for a total of 9 hours, Monica said that Carlie took 12 hours, but David took only 2 hours. Rogue had already been at it for close to 4 hours and was hoping that she was near the end. Four hours of labor sounded much more appealing than 9 or 12.
"I see the head! Remy take a look at this, the first view of your child," Beast said through his surgical mask. Remy momentarily let go of Rogue's hand (possibility saving it's mobility he thought) and glanced where Hank motioned. It took a second to realize that the head he saw was his child, their child. In a few more minutes he was going to be a father! A rush of excitement filled through him. "I see it Chere, you're doin' great! It will all be over soon, I know it's been hard, and I am so proud of you," Remy exclaimed as he went back up by Rogue.
"Ok Rogue, I am going to turn the baby's shoulders with the next contraction, after that it should slide out pretty quickly, get ready to meet your son or daughter, just one more push," Hank ordered, and Rogue complied. Everything seemed to happen so quickly after that. A swift pulling motion and the baby was placed on the Rogue's covered stomach as it began to cry. "It's a girl and from the sounds of it, she seems quite healthy," Hank exclaimed and Remy looked into Rogue's eyes as she started to smile and cry. Remy knew the relief that she felt, she told him once that she was afraid of giving birth to a stillborn baby that had the life absorbed out of it during childbirth. He had often though about that too, but now that those fears could be laid to rest. They had a baby girl, a daughter. He squeezed her hand and felt his eyes start to water up as Hank asked him to cut the umbilical cord. Then the good doctor checked the baby over to make sure that there were no immediate health threats. Remy kissed the top of his wife's head as he murmured, "It's all goin' t'be all right Chere, it's goin' t'be just fine."
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Rogue held the baby in her arms. She held the baby in gloved hands, afraid that her powers might do something to the baby now that she was no longer attached to her by the umbilical cord. She was not willing to risk losing her child, and if that meant a life of touching her through gloved hands than so be it. All of the pain and discomfort was worth it to hold this sleeping angel in her arms. How such a delicate little thing managed to survive 9 months in her womb she didn't know. This little child was a survivor, much like her parents.
Remy bent over and kissed his sleeping daughter on her virtually hairless head. Unlike Nathaniel, who was born with a head of red hair, their daughter had nothing but slight, seemingly colorless fuzz covering her head. When the others asked who the baby looked like, Rogue joked that she looked the most like Charles Xavier at the moment. Only time would tell who this baby would take after, and Rogue suspected that hair color wasn't the only surprise this child would have in store for her and Gambit.
"Well Shugah, what should we call her? Remy Jr seems to be out the window now," Rogue said with a grin up at Gambit.
A mischievous grin was plastered on his face as he said, "Well we could call her lil' Rogue…"
"Absolutely not! She needs to start life off wit' a proper name."
They finally settled on Jessica Rose LeBeau. Remy picked the name Jessica after looking through all the baby name books Jean and Monica had donated to their cause. He found it interesting that every source seemed to give it a different meaning. He liked that, much like the genetics that allowed this child to live, the name itself should represent her wildcard nature he thought to himself (In fact he had taken to calling the baby his little Wildcard practically the second she was out of the womb). The two most common meanings were "God sees" and "wealthy." These were two things that Remy wanted for his little girl, after the risks bringing her into the world, he wanted her to be watched over, and as a former thief he of course wanted his daughter to enjoy all the riches of the world. A third meaning was gift, and truly this child was a gift to him and Rogue. A fourth meaning he found in one source said that the name meant "peace" and being born to mutant parents in a world that feared their kind, all he could hope for was peace. Rogue picked the name Rose for the same reason she chose Anna as her new name years earlier, she just didn't know. The name kind of fell into her lap when she saw the child but it seemed appropriate. And more than likely, there was a deeper reason behind the name choice. She just didn't know what quite yet.
Hank finished entering the baby's birth into the medical log and looked at the new family through the window that separated his office from the lab itself. He was relieved that all went well. When Remy called him to announce that Rogue was in labor, he was worried. She was two weeks early from the expected due date, not that it was a huge amount of time, but in her case, any prematurity could pose a problem. He worried about if the child would make it though the birthing process, he worried if it would have problems after the cord was cut. He had Remy cut the cord; a task the new father took great pride in doing. Then Hank examined the baby and was relieved to find nothing out of the ordinary. When he went to hand the newborn to her mother, he noticed Rogue had already whipped out gloves and put them on. Although he had a feeling she could be able to touch the baby without problems, he didn't want to risk anything just yet. It would be better to wait a bit, both so emotions could calm down and so that the baby was a bit stronger. He took one more look at the family in the other room and smiled before heading upstairs to tell the others the good news, a task that Remy and Rogue asked he'd do so that they could enjoy their first few moments as a family together.
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Author's Notes- Whew! I know that was a long chapter, but I didn't want to taunt you by ripping it into two chapters. I really hope that you enjoyed this one! Ok, this thought probably came about due to the fact I just received a shipment of comics that I've been wanting for a while (gotta love Ebay!) but has anyone else noticed that author's notes in the stories of FF.net feel like the mail the comic book editors post at the end of issues? At least the X-men FF.net stories I've read. Ok, this is what I get for spending all evening reading about 8 comics in one sitting.:-P
{1}- Special shout-out and thanks to Kitsu LeBeau and Ishandahalf for giving me the food ideas. When I first wrote this chapter I only included the ice cream & pickles reference, but your suggestions were too delicious (no pun intended) to leave out! :-P
Kitsu LeBeau- Yeah I do that too! I have no patience when I read something, I always want to know how it ends, and I find myself reading too quickly and I miss something important and then I have to re-read it! And if you couldn't tell, I ramble too, so don't worry about it!:-) I'm glad you like this story so much, and after reading this chapter, you now know the mystery of Baby LeBeau! After reading your comments about the gender of the baby I wondered if I had posted the wrong chapter because I knew I made reference to all the possibilities in one of the chapters (ended up being this one). I guess I am just really predictable :-P
Star-of-Chaos- I am not at the point in my life where I am ready to have children, so I do not know what it is like (the words excruciating pain do come to mind) but you are right, I can guarantee that if you ask any woman who had given birth if they could do to their significant other what Jean did to Scott, they would. :-P
Ishandahalf- Aww Ish, you got me there! I didn't want to reveal Rogue's choices for names because I knew it was a girl and since she just came up with her name selection on the spot, it wouldn't have been as much fun for me to reveal her decision when she doesn't reach it until she sees the baby. I'm glad you enjoyed my tender moment with Gambit and Rogue and of course Jean and Scott's little fiasco:-P
Tammy- After seeing Jean's reaction, I figured Rogue would try as hard as possible not to make Remy suffer too much, but did a little anyway by accident :-P
T- After being in labor for 9 hours, I'm sure Jean was happy to have her baby too :-P
RealityDreamer- Thanks :-)