I do not own X-Men: Evolution and/or Marvel in any way, shape, or form. Please do not sue me, for it will inevitably just be a waste of time and money in trying to find a suitable legal representative. Thank you.

Grounded

A shivering Rogue knocked on the Acolytes giant, metal door. She unwrapped the black, knitted scarf tied around her neck and peeled off her leather gloves to reveal freezing, bluish colored hands. She brought them close to her chapped lips and blew, her breath warming the stiff, frostbitten fingers.

Footsteps sounded from behind the thick door. Piotr unbolted the only entrance into their fortress and greeted her with a heartbroken smile. "Hello," he said. "Remy is in the living room. It is Friday Movie Night. Would you like to join us?"

Rogue pondered the thought for a moment---whether she should intrude on what seemed to be a weekly ritual for the three boys or go home to where she would be bored out of her skull listening to Kitty go on about her date and the pranks Toad had pulled on them. "Uh... sure, Ah guess. Ah really came just ta talk ta Remy, though..." She handed Colossus an envelope. "Anyways---it's an apology letter from Kitty. She was ya ta be friends." The tall, massive man smiled and led her into the living room where Remy was sprawled out on the uncomfortable, metal couch.

"You have a visitor."

Gambit looked up, a surprised look on his face. "Chère, we weren't expectin' y'." Remy got up from his position on the sofa and bowed before softly kissing her hand. This time, instead of turning away as she always did, she let him have it.

"Ah got a job, Remy."

"Dat's nice, chère," he said, genuinely happy for her. "So, what'd y' get? A secretary? Tutor, mebbe?"

"A maid for Warren Worthington."

The delight and pride for his 'wife' quickly faded into annoyance and irritation. How could his wife be working for his rival? "Worthington?" he questioned, hoping---praying---he had heard wrong. To his dismay, she nodded. "Chère, Remy knows y' a teenager and y' hormones are out o' whack right now, especially wit' dis pregnancy, but don' y' t'ink it's kind o' dangerous fo' de babies and y'self t' be workin' as a maid? Maybe y' should find another job not so stressful..." he persuaded, using his charming powers on her.

Unfortunately, they weren't working in his favor. She shook her head. "Ya sound lahke Mistuh McCoy. Ah'll be fine. Ah promise." She ignored his grunts and mumblings. "Anyhow, Ah was wonderin' if we could start thinkin' 'bout names for the babies. But if ya too busy ta bother with little ol' meh, we can do it another day..."

"Non, non," Remy interrupted with haste. "Remy isn't too busy. It's John's turn t' pick out de movie and he still isn't back yet. We still have some time." He pulled her into his lap after retrieving a baby naming book Magneto had laying around the house. To his astonishment, she didn't object, although the expression on her face was a bit uneasy about their compromising position. Together, they flipped the thin pages. "How 'bout somethin' French, chère?"

"As long as Ah can pronounce it, Cajun."

"How 'bout Angelique?"

"No."

"Laurette?"

"No."

He scanned the page for another name. "Natalie?" he asked hopelessly.

"No, no, no," she said, aggravated with his choice of names. She pointed to the same page and tapped the name 'Jaimie' with her fingernail. "Ah lahke this one."

"Let's compromise, chère. Y' c'n pick de girl's name, an' Remy c'n pick de boys."

"Why do ya get two, Swamp Rat?" His face scrunched up as he pretended to be hurt by her harsh tone. She crossed her arms and huffed. "Fahne."

"Aubin and Chandler. Already had dem planned out. Do y' like dem?"

"They're good enough, Ah guess," she replied.

He rolled his eyes at her predictable, moody response. She stuck out her tongue. Remy then grabbed her by the waist and started tickling her. "Stop!" she yelled before rolling off the couch and dropping to the floor. She tried to run away, but he followed her and continued his rampage. "Stop, Swamp Rat!" Her shouts were of no use, as he continued moving his agile fingers up and down her extended abdomen. Rogue grabbed the closest object nearby---a pillow---and hit him over the head with as much power as she could muster.

"Ow, ow. Désolé, chère."

"No, ya ain't."

The two rolled around on the floor for a bit before Remy got tired of their little game and pinned Rogue to the floor. His grin was as wide as the Cheshire Cat's. She laid there, not a muscle moving, eyes staring into his own hypnotizing pupils that studied her every feature. Remy leaned in more and more... 'Please don't let him---'

Her thoughts were interrupted by the slamming of the front door. "Hello mates! Oy'm back, and Oy brought the movie!" Pyro ran into the living room and gagged at the sight of the childish adults lying on the floor. "Ew, Remy. Can you and the Sheila go somewhere else and 'get it on'?" he asked, dropping the DVD into the player.

Remy shot a glared at his insane teammate and stood up, helping Rogue to her feet as well. Piotr walked in with a bowl of popcorn and handed it to the Aussie. "So, what are we watching today?"

"Man on Fire," Pyro stated, pressing the 'play' button on the remote.

Much to his disappointment, John later discovered that there would be no man actually on fire. Remy sat on the couch again, Rogue leaning against him. Pyro sat cross-legged on the floor, stuffing popcorn into his mouth practically every second. Piotr sat in his armchair, more interested in reading his book under the lamplight than watching the movie.

Time elapsed and Rogue began to tire. 'No, Ah gotta stay awake,' she thought to herself. Being so sleep deprived, though, she couldn't stop her eyelids from closing. Soon, she was asleep, dead to the world still revolving around. Remy smiled and patted her head which lay against his toned chest.

The credits rolled down the screen, recognizing everyone who had taken their time to create the movie. John and Piotr retired to their rooms, leaving Remy and Rogue alone on the sofa.

Remy looked down at his sleeping belle and couldn't stop the beam spreading across his lips. 'How could Remy stay mad at a face like dat?' Gently, he lifted her up and carried her into his room, refusing to wake her---not like he could; she was in a very deep sleep. He pulled the covers over her pale body and stroked her cheek. "G' night, chère. Sleep tight. Don' let de bed bugs bite.' The light overhead dimmed and all was quiet in the Acolyte Headquarters... at least until morning.

Rogue woke up with a start. "Where am Ah?" She then remembered what had happened the night before and smacked herself in the head for her foolish mistake. She was going to be in serious trouble for staying out past curfew and not bothering to call the adults and tell her where she was. She grabbed her tennis shoes and laced the strings before sneaking out the window, not bothering to tell anyone she had left.

---------------------------------

"Where were you?"

"We were worried sick."

"You've got some explaining to do, young lady."

Rogue sat in Professor Xavier's cramped office, surrounded by her enraged teachers and guardians. As soon as she entered the Institute, she had been cornered by Logan who had hauled her off to the Professor where everyone else was waiting. Ororo had jumped to her feet and embraced her, tears flowing freely down her face. A stone face Beast sat in his office chair, shaking his head in disappointment. The other students had gathered behind the closed door, listening to the muffled conversation through the oak.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

Rogue felt as if she was shrinking. "Ah'm sorry." Silence. "Ah'm really sorry."

Hank glared angrily over at her. "You lied to me, Rogue. I just got a call from Warren Worthington this morning, who was very disturbed that his newly hired maid had not arrived yet. 'She was supposed to be here an hour ago,' he told me." Rogue cringed at being caught disobeying her doctor's orders. "I told you that you were not allowed to do anything that would put a strain on your body or put you and the babies in potential harm. Yet, you went behind my back and took a job as a maid.

"And don't think Warren isn't mad," he added. "You didn't tell him Remy was the father?"

"Ah didn't think there was any need ta," she said. "Both their pasts shouldn't determine mah future."

Professor Xavier sighed. "Omission is betrayal, Rogue. You should've told Warren. He was very concerned that you were mothering the children of a 'thief', as he called him. He was also worried about the fact that Remy may be having a bit of an influence on your reckless behavior, as of late."

"Why couldn't you have just taken a secretarial job?" Ororo asked.

"Ah couldn't." Rogue hunched over in her seat, ashamed. "They wouldn't take a mutant freak."

"So you lied?" Hank asked. She didn't reply.

"And," Logan added, "you didn't call to say when you'd be back from the Acolytes. You scared the crap outta us, Stripes!"

"Ah'm sorry... Ah fell asleep. Ah didn't mean ta."

The Professor wheeled out from behind his desk and looked her square in the eyes. "I'm afraid sorry is not enough this time, Rogue. You must take responsibility for your actions." The words stung. She had just been talking Beast into letting her get a job by explaining how she needed to be a responsible adult.

"You're grounded," Hank declared.

Rogue darted from the chair and opened the door, throwing a few students across the room in the process. She ran into her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Ah'm eighteen. Ah can't be grounded anymore," she said through the tears. "Ah hate it here. Ah knew... Ah knew Ah never belonged with the X-Men. Ah hate life! Why can't it all just end?"

"Mebbe chère just needs a little break."

Rogue didn't turn around... she already knew who the voice belonged to. "Go away, Swamp Rat. Ah don't want any company. Or can't ya tell?"

"Y' know, y' a very unsocial creature." He sat down on her bed and stroked her hair. She sobbed into her pillow after taking a few long, deep breaths. "Chère, don' cry. It's all gonna be okay. Remy promises."

"How can ya be so sure?"

He leaned in and waved two train tickets in her face.

"Get y' bags packed up. We goin' on a little trip down south..."

- Yay! Another chappie completed! First of all, I don't own "Man on Fire" or the "Cheshire Cat". On another note... so, you probably guessed it; yep, Cajun Spice is next, which may take a lot of preparation depending if I get right to work. Okay, Rogue got busted for lying. I know a lot of you were wondering what in the world she was thinking. And the answer is... I don't know. But anyways... Rogue is now twenty-six weeks pregnant, just in case you wanted to know. Yes, this is after On Angel's Wings. And yes, Warren knew she was pregnant. He could tell by the belly. Sorry about the "Henry" mistake. I think I got something confused with the comics. I changed it though. Thanks for correcting me. Anything I missed...? Na. Please review and thanks for your guys' comments. xmengirlzrule signing out. -