The right thing for hte right reasons...chapter three

Rogue was walking on the property around the mansion. She felt a bit restless after the conversation she had earlier with Professor Xavier. She needed to make some decisions, tough ones, and she didn't really know witch direction to take. She played back the conversation in her mind…

"Rogue, have a seat," said the Professor after greeting her.

She felt a little uncomfortable. She had no idea why he had called her to his office and she was trying to figure out if she had done anything wrong.

"Calm down Rogue, I didn't call you here to give you a lecture," he said with a smile as she relaxed in her seat. "As a matter of fact, I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you."

Her head snapped up as she looked at him, wide eyed.

"Yes, Rogue, I'm very serious. Considering how far you've come in the last few years you've spent here and all of what you had to go through, you've demonstrated a great strength of character. I know we haven't had time to discuss all of this but I felt it was important I tell you."

She just sat there, a little stunned by those words.

"I don't really know what to say Professor…Thank you, I guess."

He laughed and looked at her. She couldn't see any irony or sarcasm in his eyes.

"Listen Rogue, all I'm saying is that I've been watching you. Not spying on you or anything like that, but seeing how you were doing and how you were handling things. I wanted you to make it on your own even though we were there, watching over you. And you have not deceived me. You are strong and independent and I have no doubt you will turn into a remarkable young women. I've been thinking about you, how we could try and help you with you powers. I know how much of a strain it is on you and I think I have an idea."

"What kind of an idea?"

She was a little scared, not really knowing what to expect… and still a bit stunned about what she was hearing. She really had NOT expected that.

"Well, here it is. You've heard of Tibetan monks, have you?"

"Please don't tell me you want me to go live in a monastery…!!!"

"No!! I would never do that to those poor fellows…" he said with a laugh.

"Then what?"

"A friend of mine spent many years with these monks. He's learned different techniques of meditations and such things. He would like to try and work with you. We have always worked in the same direction, in the way that we were trying to stop your powers from working at all, for you to simply not absorb. He is proposing something else. What if we worked on controlling WHAT you absorb?"

"I'm not sure I'm following you."

But as she said that, he could see a little glitter of hope dancing in her eyes.

"We will work out the details in time but it's exactly what I said. If you could learn to control you powers and choose what you absorb in a person, for instance their childhood memories or only the last conversation they had, maybe you could prevent absorbing their vital energy as well. I'm warning you though, this could be a very long process and you will have to work very hard."

"I don't know. I mean, it sounds nice and all, but…"

"I understand. You don't have to decide right now, but I thought you should know. I'm not going to force you to take any decision. You could even decide to give it a try and if after a few weeks, you see no results or you feel that you are wasting your time, nothing is keeping you from stopping. But this is a real chance. Take your time and if you have any questions or if you need to discuss anything, come see me. I only have your best interest at heart."

"Thank you Professor," she said as she got up. "I'll think about it, I promise."

XxxX

She was now sitting under a tree. She hadn't realised it gotten so late, but it was Saturday, tomorrow was Sunday and the rules on curfew were looser on weekends. So she just sat there, lost in thoughts. " Control what I absorb. Sure. It could work. I really hadn't thought about it. Eventually, if this works, I could choose to absorb….nothing!! But I guess the first thing I'll have to work on is patience! I heard meditation requires a lot of that! But…what if it does work?? This is the first time someone actually offers a logical solution." She didn't want to hope. She didn't want to believe. Or course, it could work but then again, could…What if it didn't! She was getting a little tired of getting her hopes up, because the fall was getting higher and harder. How often could you have your heart broken before it was beyond repair? She knew that if she gave it a try and failed, it would crush her. On the other hand, if she didn't even try, she would spend the rest of her life wondering; " What if…?"

Chapter three, reviewed and corrected