I do not own X-Men: Evolution and/or Marvel in any way, shape, or form. Please do not sue, for it will inevitably just be a waste of time and money in trying to find a suitable legal representative. Thank you.
Shower
"Like, wake up, already!"
Rogue, groaning vociferously, as her rare, precious sleep had just been rudely disturbed, lifted her head off her comfy, feather pillow and averted her eyes to the unset alarm clock sitting on her nightstand. Unfortunately, and to her displeasure, it was only one o'clock in the afternoon... on a Saturday! Had she gotten any sleep the night before, she would've been okay. But being a tired, pissy teenager, and the added fact that she was pregnant and prone to frequent mood swings wasn't making her any more understanding of anything lately. She rolled around in bed, trapped in her sheets, and fell over the edge and onto the floor, ending up staring upwards at a perky Kitty, already dressed in her usual attire of capri pants and a pink sweater. Rogue's eyes burned. 'The colors,' she thought as she rubbed her squinting green orbs, '... too bright.'
"Kitty," she said, trying to resist the urge to yell and scream and kick and tear her good friend's head right off her shoulders. "Get outta mah room and let meh sleep! It's the weekend for cripes sake! Can't a gal get some peace and quiet?" 'Uh... Ah swear, she's so obnoxious, sometimes.'
The valley girl giggled behind her hands. "Like, come on, Rogue," she said, gently prodding her with the tip of her shoe. "Don't be such a party pooper... oops." She quickly re-covered her mouth.
"What do ya mean by 'oops'?" Rogue asked, sitting up and stretching.
"Umm, nothing. Just hurry up and get dressed. I'll be downstairs... waiting. Yeah. Bye!"
Katherine hurried out the door, leaving behind an utterly confused Goth, still sprawled out on the floor, to fend for herself and figure out what was going on and what Kitty was trying to hide from her. 'Ah wonder... Oh well,' she thought with a shrug and got up on her feet, heading into the bathroom, believing all her ideas to be crazy and paranoid. Once inside, Rogue locked the two doors on either side of the lavatory to ensure her privacy, and turned on the water for a quick shower. She stepped in, but not before making sure that the mat on the floor of the tub was securely in place. She quickly shampooed her hair and soaped up her body until she was a bubbly mess, rinse, and toweled off. A few drops of water splattered as they hit the floor. She blow-dried her hair and stepped off the cold tiles and onto warm carpet that felt so good between her toes.
A quick peek at the weather---brisk and cloudy, it was---was the deciding factor on her outfit: a green, long sleeved shirt that fanned out after cupping around her breasts, and a pair of denim low-rise, bootcut jeans. She walked over to her full-length mirror and studied herself. She certainly had grown in the past few months. 'Ah used ta be a C-cup...' she thought dejectedly, sucking in her stomach. 'Ah need ta get back in shape. Maybe Ah could sneak down inta the Danger Room...'
Taking a few more minutes to observe her body which she described as "falling apart", completing her look, makeup and all, and muttering about all the things wrong with her, Rogue then made her way downstairs and was shocked at the eerie emptiness of the building. The kitchen was deserted, a miracle, mind you, as was the dining room, and the sitting room. 'Where could everyone be?' Her last guess would be the living room, the most formal room in the mansion---usually, though, people didn't wander that far into the Institute, for fear they'd break something extremely important and be seriously reprimanded.
The room was dark. 'Now ta think of it, everythin' was dark. Was there a sudden power outage?' With her hands, she searched the wall for the light switch and flipped it into its upright position.
"SURPRISE!"
She jumped and fell backwards, shocked, only to be caught in Logan's outstretched arms, waiting for her. "Now, Stripes," he said teasingly, "no need to be afraid. It was only a bit of darkness. And you got the Big Bad Wolverine to protect you." He growled. "No worries."
"Ha, ha. Very funny, Logan. And Ah wasn't scared, thank ya very much," she said, detaching herself from the big, burly Canadian and walked into the room where all her teammates and teachers stood, smirking at and amused with Rogue's unexpected reaction. "Ya guys really had meh fooled." She noticed the pointy hats atop everyone's head. "So, what's the occasion? It's not mah birthday..."
"It's your baby shower," Jean supplied happily. "Kitty did most of the work... planning everything out and decorating and stuff."
Rogue smiled and hugged the sophomore who had done so much for her over the months. "Thanks Kit. Ya the best friend a gal could ever have."
"I know. Like, what would you do without me?"
"So," Kurt started, bouncing up and down with excitement, as if he were an energetic, hyperactive four-year-old child again. "Let's get the party started!" He pulled a video camera from behind his back and started filming, his mouth widening with every passing second of film he wasted. His fangs glinted in the light. "I'm going to catch every minute on tape. Smile, mein schwester!"
"Do ya have a death wish?" Rogue asked, raising a fist.
"First, a game..." Kitty said, ignoring the two bickering siblings and grabbing her notebook where all her plans for the baby shower were written down. "This one's, like, for the guys, since all us girls were already born with that maternal intuition... Wrap the Baby!"
The guys sat down in a row, some of their girlfriends standing behind them, whispering secrets that would ensure them success in the competition ahead, and others cheering them on and secretly laughing behind their backs. Storm, holding a red flag, raised her arm and brought it down with a yell, "Go!"
Each man began to dress a life-sized baby doll, one of those you might buy for your daughter or younger sister---not anatomically correct. Starting with a cloth diaper, the men would put an onesie on the youngster, and lastly, swaddle it in a blanket. Most of them were still stuck at the first stage, hopelessly trying to figure out how to pin the sides of a diaper together. The girls hooted and snorted at their pitiful and worthless attempts. Sam was in the lead, and not far behind, Scott and Bobby in tow, all three boys having been raised with at least one other sibling and being somewhat able. Jamie was dead last, looking totally cute, confused, and lost, as Rahne said. He was the youngest out of all the competitors and very inexperienced. Samuel quickly snapped the snaps of the onesie together and wrapped the baby in the blanket before raising it in the air and proclaiming victory, not even noticing the baby's poor, plastic head fall off and roll across the ground.
Kurt teleported around the room, recording the thrilling events from all different kinds of angles. The smell of brimstone filled the air as he continued moving around and experimenting.
"Next game... Baby Food Taste Testing!"
Everyone sat down at the coffee table and was handed a small, palm-size jar, in it, a specific baby food that they would have to guess the name of once sampled. All the labels were torn off and replaced with numbers corresponding to those on the pamphlet handed out, where they should write their guesses.
Amara hesitantly stuck her finger, unknowingly, in a jar of mashed peas, and slowly moved it into her mouth, touching it to her sensitive taste buds. Her stomach churned. She immediately gagged, the food spilling out from the sides of her mouth. "Eeew. What is this crap? This is not gourmet! This food is not princess edible!" Many more of the teenagers made disgusted faces as they swallowed or threw up the mushy, mashed food, vowing never, ever, to feed their children that.
Kurt took a break from his rewarding role as filmmaker and tasted the food everyone complained so much about, surprised to find it wasn't half bad. "Hey!" he shouted, slurping a jar down. "It's not that bad."
Everyone stared in disbelief as he devoured and digested every bottle of food, identifying each and every one as he went along---correctly. "Sweet potatoes... Peas... Carrots... Apples..."
"Okay," Kitty said, trying to force the upward surge of vomit in her throat back down. "I think we, like, know who won. Let's just, like, get to the next game before I get sicker!" She flipped a page of her notes. "... Pin the Diaper on the Baby! Let's let the, like, Mommy go first this time!"
"Don't call meh that."
A giant poster hung up on the wall, a blown up picture of a baby hand drawn on it. Rogue was blindfolded and handed a diaper with a pin to attach to the board. She was turned around---spun---until she was dizzy and let loose. Little did she know, she was being pranked. A gag joke was being played on her.
As quiet as a mouse, Bobby walked in with a small squirt gun in his hands. He came up from behind Rogue and squirted her until the tank was empty.
"Aaah!" She ripped off the blindfold and glared. "Who did it?"
"And that," Robert said, smiling evilly, "is to prepare you for all the surprises you are bound to experience when dealing with little boys and diapers!"
"Bobby Drake... Ah'm gonna kill ya!" She chased after him, not noticing all her craziness was being caught on tape and could be later used for blackmail by her 'loving' brother. "Ya come back here!" she yelled. "Ah swear, ya dead meat, Drake! As melted as a popsicle left out on the sidewalk!"
---------------------------------
"Open the presents now!"
"Yeah!"
Rogue, all dried off after being pried off Bobby and dragged away before she could do any permanent damage to the boy, sat down in one of the arm chairs sitting around, the towel wrapped around her shoulders, drops of water still falling from the brown, auburnish locks of hair growing from her scalp. She was suddenly bombarded with numerous amounts of gifts wrapped in baby themed paper that seemed to appear from nowhere. She picked one up, off of the ground, and carefully opened it, lest she ruin something someone paid so much for. The ripped wrapping paper fell off and revealed the present to be a baby bathtub full of sweet smelling shampoos and soaps. "Let meh guess," Rogue said, putting a finger to her chin, pretending to think. "Hmm, Amara."
"Uh-huh," the Nova Roman princess admitted. "Do you like it?"
"Ah do. Thanks Amara."
"Here," Jean said, handing Rogue a medium size package wrapped in lady bug paper. "This one's from Scott and me."
Rogue tore the paper off and smiled. 'Maybe she's not as bad as Ah used ta think she was...' She lifted up a transparent plastic box containing a cap for the baby's head, a pair of baby booties, and matching washcloths. There were two more sets in the box, all personalized with her babies' names: Jaimie, Aubin, and Chandler, embroidered in blue and pink thread on matching material a tad darker. All the colors coordinated with the babies' sexes and the names just made it all the easier to decipher whose was whose.
"Thanks, ya guys."
"No problem. It was fun... shopping for a baby." A dreamy look overcame Jean's face.
"Or three," someone added.
Rogue went through all the presents, thanking everyone along the way. In total, she had received tons of baby clothes---not to mention those Logan had already bought her with the furnishing of the nursery across the hall from her bedroom. There were also blankets and linens for the cribs, a triplet stroller, a carrier, a baby swing, and baby monitors.
"This one came in the mail. No sender."
She held the package in shaking, sweaty hands. 'It's him. Why does he keep botherin' meh? What should Ah do? Should Ah open it?' Rogue broke the seal and opened the box, puzzled to see a bunch of children's books. She picked one up and gasped, decoding the secret message he had sent her. 'The books' names----Hop on Pop... Snuggle Puppy: A Little Love Song... No Matter What... A A, You're Adorable. He wants ta be a part of the kids' lives. He's saying he loves meh, no matter what. And that Ah'm beautiful... Maybe Ah should give him another chance.'
She didn't linger on the thought. She would think later, when she was alone, in the sanctity of her room. She couldn't---wouldn't---let anyone see her cry.
Professor Xavier's donation was last, and for some odd reason unbeknownst only to Rogue, he insisted she come outside with him.
She followed after him, as did everyone else, and stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw dropping in awe as she laid eyes on a small passenger van, black with an emerald green base, parked in the driveway. "This, Rogue," he said, making dramatic movements with his upper body, "is your new car. It is what you wanted, am I correct?"
Rogue turned to face the Professor and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank ya, Professor. It's exactly what Ah wanted. This is the greatest, and so are ya. But... wasn't it expensive?" she asked, concerned about the amount of money he had spent on her.
"Don't worry about it. I am a millionaire, after all. And I know for a fact that you'll be needing it more than you think." He pointed to his balding head and winked. Her eyes sparkled and searched the car, and he could tell she was eager and itching to take a closer look. He gave her a little push in its direction. "Go ahead," the old man said gently, smiling. "It won't bite. I promise you."
She stepped up to the car and cautiously opened the driver's door, not wanting to get one scratch on it, and slid into the seat. Rogue placed her palm on the leather under her bum and treasured the warm, smooth feeling underneath her freezing fingertips. The keys were already in the ignition slot. She turned them, just slightly, and grinned from ear to ear when she heard the motor start up. She craned her neck to look behind her and was even more pleasantly surprised to see three infant car seats already there, provided for her.
And just as she was going to shout another word of thanks, Rogue felt a weird, uncomfortable, tightening feeling in her abdomen. She doubled over in pain and took deep, even breaths. Was this a contraction? 'That's not right... Ah'm only twenty-nine weeks. Isn't it too early? It's too early. Save mah babies...'
"Mistuh McCoy!"
- So, how was the chappie? Personally, I didn't think much of it, but that's usually the case with everything I write. "shrugs" Anyways, overall, are you guys satisfied with this fic? Good grammar, nicely written (most of the time)? Please tell me, for I only want to make you happy and entertained. Constructive criticism is welcome. So, is Rogue in labor? Will the babies live to see another day if so? And where is Remy? With the relationship remain it its current devastated state? Continue keeping your fingers crossed. "he he" On another note, I got those games off of a site on Google (which I do not own). In case you were wondering, the site is www dot babyshowerscentral dot com slash agames dot shtml. I do not own the names of the books earlier mentioned in the fic, either, by the way. See you guys later! I won't be updating Saturday, since I'm going bowling! Sorry. xmengirlzrule outie.
