Y'all know the dilly yo, that I don't own these characters, marvel or anything else. Blah blah blah

Author's Note: I'm going to finish this story. This story will be wrapped up in four more chapters, I think. I need this story to end because I have a new story brewing in my mind, wanting to get out. So, I'm still trying my best with this story, but my patience is waning. Excuse me if I don't edit it close enough, I do apologize. But in all honesty, this story should have ended months ago if it wasn't for the fact that I lost my first account. No point crying over spilt milk, and this story will be finish by the end of January, if not sooner. This story is my first priority, then Shouldn't Be So Hard, and then, I will start a new story while writing Breaking The Habit. Thanks to all my readers for sticking with this story and me. Kisses to all!

On with the story…

The Wedding

Chapter 13

"Gals, Ah don't see why ah have t'be blindfolded." Rogue whined while being led towards an unknown destination.

"Oh, hush! Just shut up, we're almost there." Betsy reprimanded impatiently.

"Don't have to be such a bitc…" Rogue began but was immediately cut off by Jean.

"What Betsy means is that we're almost there." Jean explained.

"Jeanie, ya shouldn't even be out here. Hank said ya were supposed to stay in bed." Rogue pointed out.

"Phooie! If I have to stay in that room for another minute, I'll lose my mind." Jean huffed.

"At least it wouldn't be the first time that happened." Ororo commented lightly and all of them except Jean burst into laughter.

"Just don't tell Scott." Jean instructed sternly. The X-ladies continued their giggling, however, until Jean finally said. "We're here."

The four ladies entered the store, and Rogue didn't miss a beat with ripping the blindfold off. Shock overcame her as she gasped at the sight of all the white in front of her. She was in a bridal boutique.

"So, we thought with the wedding in a couple of months, you still haven't chosen a wedding dress so here's your chance." Ororo explained.

"Also, we wanted to make sure you don't choose hideous bridesmaid dresses for us." Betsy added in.

The other three girls gazed at Rogue eagerly, waiting for a response. Finally, she gave them one. She took a big gulp of air and said, "Ah guess we better start finding the perfect dresses then."

At once, the women spread out, each of them attacking a rack. Rogue walked towards a clothing stand, and started browsing rather lethargically. Her heart was clearly not in the activity since she had already told Remy that she had cancelled the wedding. Although she hadn't told anyone else about the cancellation, she, also, hadn't actually cancelled any of the plans. All she had been doing was avoiding any issue that held any reminder of the wedding. She had figured that if she ignored it long enough, the wedding would cancel itself. That, or Remy would return and they would have the perfect wedding that they had originally planned. But with him being gone for almost a month now, the latter hope of hers was becoming smaller and smaller.

Two hours passed and the three ladies had decided on a simple strapless silver dress as their bridesmaid dress. Rogue, however, have yet decided on anything. She was in front of the three-panel mirror and was trying on the 20th dress. Betsy looked at her impatiently and said, "Take that off. It's tacky and downright hideous."

"Betsy… the clerks can hear you." Jean said quietly.

"Well, they should hear me! Who the hell would sell such an ugly dress like that?? Rogue, go and take that off, I can't stand looking it any more." Betsy ordered and Rogue did just that, not bothering to argue at all. She knew how ugly the dress was, herself, and that was why she had tried on the dress. She had purposely been trying on the ugliest dresses that she could find because at least that way, she wouldn't have to decide on any dress today. It was her way of avoiding the wedding preparation. As she was changing out of the last dress, Betsy yanked open the curtain.

"Betsy!" Rogue squealed as she tried to cover herself.

"Don't be so modest, Rogue. It's no like I don't know how a women's body look like. And I'm not attracted to you either. But, try this dress on. It's the perfect one." Betsy demanded and shoved an elegant white wedding dress in her hands. She closed the curtain again and Rogue sighed, but eventually put the dress on which was a big mistake on her part.

When she left the changing room and the other ladies looked at her, they all gasped.

"Rogue, that is the perfect dress. You found it." Ororo stated earnestly.

"I knew that dress was perfect for you." Betsy said smugly.

"That it is. What do you think, Rogue? Go look at yourself in the mirror." Jean insisted and pushed Rogue in front of the mirror once more.

As soon as Rogue gazed at the elegant v-neck satin white dress that clung to her curves perfectly, her eyes became teary immediately. She looked away and stalked quickly back to her changing room.

"Rogue, what's wrong, luv?" Betsy quickly asked, surprised by Rogue's discontented reaction.

"Nothing." Rogue said as the tears flowed. She took the dress off and threw it aside. She changed back into her jeans and t-shirt and marched out of the changing room and the store without looking back. The other three girls followed her quickly, exchanging apprehensive looks between one another.

"Rogue, darling, what's wrong?" Ororo asked calmly while she tried to catch up with Rogue.

"Nothing. Ah'm just tired." Rogue dismissed quickly.

"There's something more than that. Just tell us what's wrong." Betsy demanded and caught Rogue's wrist to stop her. Rogue looked at her with tears streaming down her face.

"The wedding's cancelled." Rogue snapped.

"Oh Rogue, why didn't you tell us?" Jean asked as she attempted to hug Rogue. However, Rogue took off into the sky and flew away from her friends without another word said.

-xoxo-

"Remy, what did you do to her?" Ororo's calm voice asked through the phone.

"Stormy… what happened?" Remy's concerned voice asked.

"That's what I would like to know. We brought her out to shop for a dress today and out of nowhere, she tells us the wedding is cancelled. So, would you like to explain the rest of the story?" Ororo ordered more than asked.

"De wedding's not cancelled." He said firmly.

"Rogue apparently doesn't know that important fact." She said pointedly.

"Stormy… I need y' to do me a favour." He requested.

"A favour? You haven't even given me any explanation and your want me to do you a favour?" She asked impatiently.

"Y' don't need to know what's going on. But, promise me dat y'll keep de wedding plans going even if it's behind Rogue's back. I'll do all dat I can here but I need someone at home t' ensure dat the plans are still happening. Please." He pleaded.

"I don't know about this, Remy. It doesn't seem right. And where are you anyway? Have you talked to Rogue about this?" She queried apprehensively.

"Trust me, Stormy, dere ain't no use for us t'talk. She's set on canceling de wedding and I'm set on preventing dat from happening even if I have t'keep it from her. Please just do me dis favour. If not for me than for y' godson." He begged.

"I need to know one thing." She stated.

"What is it?"

"Are you going to come home on time?" She asked.

"I wouldn't miss it for anyt'ing." He assured her.

"Good. I don't want you to disappoint your family. Now, what do I have to do?"

-xoxo-

Bobby Drake also known as the Iceman was laying on the couch in the recreation room. It seemed that all he did recently was lay on the couch. He had been feeling rather… he wasn't even sure anymore. Perhaps disappointment was the emotion that was closest to describing what he felt. He rolled over and faced the backing of the couch. He closed his eyes and attempted to subdue the aching in his heart.

He was stupid for feeling this way, really. It wasn't as if Emma was his girlfriend who had recently dumped him. It wasn't as if he was in love with her. It was just a silly crush and he knew from the beginning that the chances of her and him getting together were slim to none. He knew all this, so why did it still hurt so much?

"Bobby?" A flowery sharp British voice cut through his thoughts.

"Bets, I'm not in the mood to do anything or even talk." He said calmly, not even bothering to turn around and face his friend.

"Hmm…" Betsy mumbled but instead of leaving, she took a seat on the edge of the couch.

"Bets, did you not hear what I said?" Bobby queried with a hint of impatience.

"Yeah, I heard, but I choose to ignore it. Now, tell me what's wrong." She probed openly and without any hesitation.

"Nothing's wrong. Now… bugger off." He said weakly.

"Okay, now I know you really need to talk. C'mon, tell me what's wrong. Is it about a girl?" She queried.

"No, it's not about a girl." He denied though she didn't miss that gulp he took during his response.

"Is it about a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and two bazookas that could put your eyes out?" She asked, half-teasingly and half-seriously.

"Bets, stay out of my head!" Bobby snapped.

"I wasn't in your head. It doesn't take a telepath to notice that you're hung up on her." Betsy replied rather calmly.

"This is none of your business, Bets. Anyway, she's dating your ex-boyfriend so who the hell cares anymore!" He exclaimed loudly and sat up.

She flinched slightly from Bobby's exclamation but remained cool. "Well, if you like her then you should do something about it. But in my honest opinion, she's not right for you."

Immediately, Bobby stood up and cried, "I never asked you for your opinion! I wanted you to leave me alone! You can't even do something simple like that so I guess I have to leave and don't follow me."

He, then, poignantly stomped out of the room.

-xoxo-

She tossed.

She turned.

She couldn't keep still.

She had been at this for an hour now. She didn't know what was bothering her. The temperature was nice and cool, not too hot and not too cold, just the way she liked it. She was wearing her favorite pajamas, the comfortable but rather expensive silk purple set that she had bought a year ago. Her mood was fine for the most part. She wasn't dwelling on Warren anymore nor was she at all upset with what happened between her and Bobby that afternoon. Physically, she was fine. Emotionally, she was fine. So, why did she feel as though something still wasn't quite right?

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she kicked the covers off her body. She slid into her slippers and strolled towards her balcony door. Grasping the handles tightly, she swung open the doors and stepped out onto the terrace. The chilled breeze enraptured her as she closed her eyes and relished at the harsh yet, refreshing touch.

Within minutes, she sensed another presence. She turned around, but it was too late. He immediately grabbed her into his arms and took off into the night. She glanced up at her captor and found herself staring into the familiar blue eyes of a blonde millionaire.

"WARREN! What the hell do you think you're doing?!?" She exclaimed as she began struggling within his grasp.

"Don't struggle, Betsy." He merely stated calmly.

"Don't struggle?! You're kidnapping me and you expect me not to struggle?!? You let me down this instant!" She demanded as she continued to squirm.

He simply tightened his hold on her and she could see the corners of his lips struggling to restrain from curving up. He was finding this amusing, she realized. Well, Elizabeth Braddock wasn't going to stand being made a fool of.

A long pink blade formed from her left hand as she raised it to jam it into her captor's head, however, he didn't even flinch when he saw what she was prepared to do. "If you stick that thing in my head, we're both going to fall to our deaths." He calmly reminded her.

She took a look down and realized that they were thousands of feet up; he was right. The psionic blade disappeared followed with an indignant huff by her.

She remained silent for the rest of the trip that seemed almost endless. When they finally reached their destination, she was shocked that he had brought her here. Though, she bit her tongue until he let her down. Once he did, she slapped him across the face.

"What do you think you're doing by bringing me here?" She cried angrily.

"I think we need to talk." He replied and rubbed his right cheek where her violent hand had struck.

"After seven and a half months, you think we need to talk now? And here of all places?!" She exclaimed, still infuriated with him.

"I thought at least here, you might give me a chance." He said softly.

She shook her head in disgust and turned her back on him. All this time, she was trying to restrain the tears from falling, but it was undeniable that he had brought her to a place that gave him the slightest chance of being heard. They were on top of the water tower where they had first declared their desire for each other all those moons ago.

"Betsy, I'm…sorry." He finally said at last.

She whipped around, anger burning in her eyes. "Sorry? Is that all? After so long, you finally came up with the courage to say you're 'sorry'?"

"But I am. The moment you walked out of that door, I was remorseful. Please…"

"But you let me walk out that door. You didn't come after me. It's clear that you don't care about me. So if you're looking for forgiveness, then fine, I accept your damn apology. Now, take me home." She snarled at him.

"Can't you just give me a chance to explain?" He pleaded.

"Explain what? What is there to explain? You have clearly moved on in your life and perhaps the only reason why you're apologizing to me is that you actually have enough of a conscience to feel the guilt from the pain you caused me. Obviously, you need me to forgive you so you can move on with her – guilt-free. I offered you my forgiveness, now, I want to go home." She demanded, a few tears escaping her eyes.

"Why do you keep saying that I'm with whoever this woman is? I haven't been with anyone since you left me. I haven't been anything since you left me. Don't you understand? I need you in my life." He insisted as he took a step towards her. She took a step back as the hurt tears fell wildly now.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why are you lying to me? Do you know how pathetic you are right now? Just admit that you are with that blonde bitch!" She yelled at him.

"I'm not with anyone and I'm not lying to you." He stated persistently.

"Cut the bullshit. I know you've been sleeping with Emma!" She accused him.

"Emma?" He queried confusingly.

"Don't act like an idiot. She told me… more like taunted me constantly about what a brilliant lover you are. Frankly, you were always mediocre in bed to me." She insulted irately.

"Well, she's lying, Bets! I'm not with Emma. I never slept with her; I haven't even seen her since that night at the ball. And we didn't even leave in the same car together. We only went together that night because we were both desperate for a date." He explained.

"I don't believe your lies."

He grabbed both her wrists, gripped them firmly and pulled her to him. "Look into my eyes, Betsy. I was never with Emma. I wasn't with anyone since you left me. There is nobody else for me. You are the one and I was just too stupid to tell you that before."

She gazed into his blue eyes and knew that he was telling the truth, but she didn't want to believe it just yet. "Then, how come you didn't come to me sooner?" She asked softly, her anger subsiding tremendously.

"I'll be honest with you. In the beginning, I was scared. I was arrogant enough to think that I could live without you. But as the days passed, I knew I was fooling myself. By the time I was brave enough to approach you, you seemed to be pretty happy with him." His eyes dropped to the ground and he let go her wrists as soon as he mentioned the other man.

Betsy knew he was referring to her friendship with Bobby, but she didn't want to tell him the truth. A part of her still wanted him to suffer for the hell he put her through, and the other part of her wanted answers.

"So, why now? I'm happy with Bobby as you said. Why bother rehashing the past?" She asked him blatantly.

He gazed into her eyes once more and said, "Because if I don't at least fight for you one last time, I would know that I truly don't deserve you."

His reason caught her off guard and all she could utter was, "Oh."

"For the seven months that you were gone, I felt numb inside. It felt as if something was missing in my life. Every day, I would dread waking up because I knew there was nothing to look forward to that day. Your smile, your laughter, your voice – you and your entirety was never there and could never be there if I kept acting like the moron I am. I just needed to let you know this in case I still had any sort of a chance – however, slim it may be. If you're happy with Bobby, then that's all I want for you. But if you just have to know that you'll always have a man, albeit a rather dense stupid man, who loves you." With that comment, he summoned the courage to look at her. He expected her to be angry with him, but his expectations fell short. Instead, she was emotionless – a blank, which was worse than if she had been angry with him.

"Betsy, I'm sorry I brought you here. I'll take you home now." He said in defeat.

She, however, took a seat on the water tower. She looked across the brightly lit city and said softly, "I think we still have some stuff to talk about. There's no rush to get home."

A smile spread across his face and he eagerly took a seat next to hers. They spent the rest of the night talking. When morning dawned, she was in his arms and the world seemed right again.

-xoxo-

Jean Grey was staring in the mirror and she was aghast. Her midriff had grown huge and there was still two months to go. Then, slowly, a content smile appeared on her face and she lifted her shirt to examine her belly closely. Inside, her child was growing. She was finally going to become a mother.

After several more minutes of joyous vanity, she pulled the shirt down and turned around to return to bed. Scott wouldn't be too happy if he had known that she had gotten out of bed. During her whole pregnancy so far, he was attentive and loving. He even had the scar on his forehead to prove it. She beamed when she thought of how much Scott and her had endured to reach this point of absolute bliss. She died twice, was possessed by the Phoenix more than several times, both their lives were constantly in jeopardy over and over again, but it was all worth it.

Little did she know that fate had one more test for them to go through.

Suddenly, she felt an excruciating pain rip through her body. It disappeared and she gasped for air. The pain didn't return and she sighed with relief, but as soon as she did, another unendurable pain attacked her body from within. Something wasn't right.

"Scott! Scott! Anyone!" She shouted at the top of her lungs while she struggled out of bed. She attempted to walk to the door and just as she was reaching for the knob, the door swung open. And she fell into her husband's arms.

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