Five
It had been a long flight for Anna-Marie; forcing an eight year old to sit still for three hours was cruel and unusual punishment. Only Tante Mattie's iron will and threats that they'd turn around and go home had managed to keep all of the little girl's energy reined in. Anna-Marie was not giving up on meeting her namesake; even if it meant not kicking the back of the chair in front of her. The smelly man deserved it but he wouldn't keep her from meeting Rogue.
Fiddling with the image inducer around her wrist Anna-Marie was locked in Tante Mattie's grip as the older woman claimed their baggage. Normally, Anna-Marie preferred to just wear sunglasses but both Merci and Tante Mattie had insisted that if they were going to catch Rogue by surprise they'd have to disguise the eyes that announced loud and clear just who Anna-Marie's father was. It was a good plan; Anna-Marie wanted to get to know Rogue a bit before she found out about her Papa. The little girl wanted to make sure that this woman liked her before becoming her new Maman. Plenty of the women her Papa had dated over the years had tried to be nice but really it had been just a show to impress him not Anna-Marie. Usually, between her and Tee-Jean they could scare off any of the clingy fortune hunters.
"Well Petite," Tante Mattie looked down at her young charge, "You ready?"
Nodding Anna-Marie looked towards the area where people would meet the arrivals, "Oui Tante Mattie."
Hand in hand they moved forward through the crowds; Tante Mattie cursing under her breath in her heavy Patois when someone would bump them. Having a much lower point of view Anna-Marie was surprised to catch sight of the group first; but then it was the only large group of kids in the airport. Apparently, there were several flights arriving around the same time. Growing up in a busy household Anna-Marie had never been a shy child, she was a little too like her father in that respect; it stood her well now. Pushing forward she released Tante Mattie's hand much to the old woman's dismay and ran forward to the group.
Normally Anna-Marie would look for potential friends amongst the other children but today her eyes were all for the adults; immediately she ignored the men and started appraising the women to try to figure out which one was Rogue. There was a stately black woman with shockingly white hair, a red head that seemed to be just as pregnant as Tante Merci and a bubbly brunette dressed in pink. They were all very pretty but Anna-Marie just knew that none of them was Rogue. After all none of them had white streaks in their hair-Lapin had seen the mystery woman once when Papa had brought her to Mardi Gras and had shared that bit of information when told about the 'quest'.
"Yoh gonna be in trouble when yoh nanny catches ya Shug." The familiar twang from the telephone drifted to Anna-Marie's ears from behind her.
Spinning around the little girl couldn't help but flash a heart-melting grin; this was Rogue. The woman wasn't tall or short but average height, her hair pulled back in a simple messy ponytail with the white bits floating near her face making the rest seem even more auburn. Her makeup ran more towards the blacks and purples but was tasteful as was the fuzzy black sweater she wore with a pair of well-worn jeans. Anna-Marie tried to think of what she could say to this beautiful woman.
"Mon Dieu!" Tante Mattie heaved as she caught up to them, "Anna-Marie! Yo gonna give me de heart attack…"
Anna-Marie tried to look chastised as the woman who helped raise her began to lecture her but didn't miss the conspiratorial wink Rogue gave her before holding out her hand to Mattie. "Good thing Ah caught the runaway then. Ya'll are tha last ta arrive. My name's Rogue; I'm one of the instructors at Xavier's school for the Gifted."
"Merci boucoup Mademoiselle Rogue." Tante Mattie shook the offered hand that Anna-Marie noticed was covered in tight black leather glove, "De pischouette's Papa woulda had fits if his petite fille came ta any harm. It be nice ta know dat a good Mississippi gal be lookin' after de chile."
Rogue nodded and gestured to the luggage in Mattie's hand, "Ah'll take that for ya'll. Ya'll from Louisiana Ah take it?"
"Oui," Anna-Marie found her voice at long last, "We be from Naw Orleans…"
"Dat right?" One arched eyebrow rose as Rogue looked down at her, "What you doin' leavin' de Big Easy ta come all de way up here then Squirt?"
"I blew up de wall." Anna-Marie looked down at her shoes feeling a little nervous about her ability, "My PawPaw said dat Monsieur Xavier helps mutants wit dere powers…my Papa din want me ta come so far…" she pulled Rogue's sleeve so that she could whisper to the woman who obligingly knelt, "Mais, I gots ta learn somehow oui?"
Still kneeling Anna-Marie could see that Rogue's bright green eyes were serious, "What about ya Momma then Squirt? Sure she and yah Daddy be missing you."
"My Maman died." Anna-Marie told her with the openness of a child, "She died when I was born."
For a second there was a bit of sadness that crossed Rogue's face that Anna-Marie recognized. Most people pitied her for not having a Mom; she was pretty used to it. Somehow this time it actually made Anna-Marie sad; after all if it hadn't been for her Maman her Daddy might have married Rogue and Anna-Marie wouldn't have been born. It was a lot for an eight year old to think of and a glistening of tears appeared in her eyes, closing them Anna-Marie tried not to cry in front of Rogue. Just as quickly though she felt strong arms wrap around her and the sweet smell of vanilla.
"It's okay Squirt," Rogue's voice was soft, "I neva really knew my Momma either. As long as you got othas that love ya it don mattah."
Rubbing her eyes Anna-Marie couldn't help but grin at the woman when a bright light flashed. Turning Anna-Marie saw the Brunette and Redhead standing there with a camera. With a toss of her long brown hair the younger smiled, "Rogue we like had to get proof no one back at the school would like ever believe that you were like…being maternal."
As Rogue stood Anna-Marie grabbed the woman's hand to hold and watched her shoot daggers at the two other women, "Ah wouldn't if Ah was ya'll…Ah reckon Ah still got pictures from your Stag and Doe party that Scottie and Piotr would be interested in seeing."
"We'll make sure you have the original and the negatives," The Red Head answered quickly after paling then looked down at Anna-Marie, "What's your name little one?"
"I'm Anna-Marie." She stated proudly.
The woman nodded, "I'm Jean Grey-Summers and this is Kitty Pryde…We teach at the school with Rogue."
"Ya got a last name Squirt?" Rogue asked and looked back to Tante Mattie, "We're gonna need ya to fill out some forms and all."
Smiling up at the three women Anna-Marie made a choice. She'd liked Rogue and didn't want to hide from her-not when she'd been so nice. "My last name is Lebeau."
Pacing back and forth in his office Remy could help wringing his hands together anxiously. His thoughts flew quickly back and forth between all the reasons why he still hadn't heard from Tante Mattie or Anna-Marie. They should have arrived hours ago and had promised to call right away.
"Relax mon brave," Lapin's voice was bored as he played solitaire at Remy's desk, "Dey probably haven't even got dere yet."
Remy spun his eyes flashing, "Why de hell not? Mattie said dis Traiteur live near Baton Rouge…dat only takes deux heures."
Putting the cards down Lapin ran a hand through his unruly red locks and looked his cousin straight in the eye. "Tante Mattie threatened my life if I tole you but…Dey didn't go ta Baton Rouge."
"Were'd dey go den?" His clenched his jaw and nearly growled; this was his little girl they were talking about.
"Xavier's." Lapin answered quickly not wanting to get on Remy's bad side, "Dey having a mutant summer camp…Merci and Tante Mattie thought dat mebbe dat be best for Anna-Marie."
Remy was livid; he was about to launch into a tirade about meddlesome women not knowing what was best for his child when the phone rang. Diving for it Remy tried to not sound frantic, "Remy Lebeau."
"Allo Papa."
"Anna-Marie!" He did growl this time, "Do you have any idea how worried you had your Papa…"
Over the phone line she didn't sound all that repentant, "Oui Papa…but dis place is fantastique! Dere's all sorts of kids and dey all have powers too! And we get to play games in de Danger room…and we get ta swim in de piscine…and dere's deux fuzzy blue men…they like big teddy bears…"
"Oui," Remy couldn't help but smile; she sounded genuinely thrilled to be there, "How about you let Papa talk to Tante Mattie Chére?"
"And Papa," She seemed to ignore him as well as the other women in his life, "Dere's dis trés belle femme…her name is Rogue and she's super strong and can fly!"
Remy felt his hand going limp around the phone; his little girl was with Rogue…they'd talked. The strangeness of the situation washed over him for a second then Remy heard something that brought him back to earth; Anna-Marie was coughing. "You okay Chére?"
"I'm just a little malade Papa." She coughed again making Remy's heart plummet.
His jaw still clenching and unclenching Remy shook his head, "Papa be dere on de next plane. Je t'aime Chére."
"Oui Papa," Another round of coughs, "Je t'aime aussi."
They both hung up and Remy started franticly making preparations to get up North-job or no job. He'd travel to the ends of the earth and face a million evildoers to be with his little girl when she was sick.
Setting the phone down Anna-Marie smiled brightly at Tante Mattie, "He be commin on de next flight."
"Bon Chére," The old woman smiled her mahogany face creasing, "I tole you dat your Papa come if he thought you be sick."
"Oui Tante Mattie," She grinned and bounced on her bed, "Don you tink dat Mademoiselle Rogue is de trés belle femme?"
The old woman sat on the edge of the bed and handed over Anna-Marie's pj's so that the little girl could change into them once she'd had her bath, "Oui, she is quite de looker. Bettah den some of dose hussies your Papa dates."
Hopping down she looked up at her caretaker, "You tink she'd mind bein' my new Maman?"
Leaning down Tante Mattie kissed the little girl's forehead before giving her a light smack on the rear end to push her into the bathroom where the tub was full of bubbles and waiting, "She bettah not hein? Now scoot. Its almost time for ya to go ta bed."
Teeheehe...Aren't I evil. I know this wasn't as speedy but I was on vacation for the Canadian Thanksgiving...sigh...anyone else want turkey...I have a fridge full of it.
IvyZoe: Glad you enjoy...I've really stolen the format from the movie...check it out it has subtitles and it's not that scary. I purposely didn't show Rogue's reaction. Plus it's not that uncommon a name...especially in the South. But I hope you like how I wrapped out some of the loose ends. The next chapter will have more of Rogue's reaction.
Ishy: Yeah i didn't want any sympathy for Carol here...and in your fic she's nothing but a trampy, whiny bitaaaach. Kill her off...please? For me? I swear I'd never ask anything again. Come on...she can't NOT have doubts about this...She's not marrying Remy. As much fun as the whole Church thing would be I've got a plan for this...a big one...it'll be good.
AM Bookworm: LOL. You've put a lot of thought into this one haven't you? And honestly I'm still blushing about all the praise. Hehehee...The reason for the delay of this part was that I partied too hardy at the monthy East Indian night at a club here...Was out til 4am dancing to Bollywood tunes like a drunken Punjabi...ack. Very good time but I'm glad it's only once a month, I'm too old todo that more often. Glad you saw all the character comparisions...veryglad though the Professor isn't much like the Col...at all.
EE's Skysong: Yes you should stop...I like reviews. I feed on them.
Rogue14: Devdas was HUGE it hadAishwarya Rai in it and Shahrukh Khan in it. Very long and sprawling. All angsty and about unrequeited love. Oh yeah...I've had the character in my head for a bit...tehehehe. But I shall continue...no worries.
The Rogue Cajun: Well I can't have her too excited about marrying Joe...other than him not being Remy...In the movie the guy she's marrying is through and arranged marriage...that doesn't culturally translate to North America...so this was how I'm going around it. Glad you're enjoying it though. Stay tuned.