Disclaimer: Yep, I know what your thinking. I still don't own the X-Men.

V.V.V.V.V.V.V

Gambit cautiously sneaked into the garage. He knew Logan had an alcohol stash at the bottom of his tool chest, and he was planning on borrowing a few things. He pulled out his lock picks from his coat pocket and with a flick of his wrist, had the door open. :Hmm, de tequila, it'll get him drunk faster.: He took the bottle and closed the door, and then made his way silently to his cousin's room.

It had been days since the incident on the beach, and nothing had been resolved. At this point, everyone was being affected by the mood in the mansion. The older students and adults had all made a promise to the Professor not to tell the younger students what exactly had happened, but there were already rumors. Especially when Amara had seen the bite mark on Brooke's neck one morning as she was coming out of the shower. It was hard not to notice that something had happened between Etienne and Brooke, who prior to Saturday had been joined at the hip.

He opened the door to Etienne's room and looked around, noticing the balcony door open and his cousin not in residence. Remy walked outside and looked around.

"What y' want?"

He looked up on the roof and saw Etienne smoking a cigarette. "Come down, Gambit didn't steal Logan's alcohol t' drink it by himself."

"What y' get?"

"Tequila."

Etienne grunted and jumped down, landing on his feet. "Hope y' got enough." He led the way back into his room. He turned around in time to see Remy pull out a bottle, two shot glasses, and a deck of cards out of his pockets. "What are dose fo'?"

"Drinkin' game o' course. Can't jus' waste de alcohol." He grabbed the trashcan and pulled it into position.

His cousin snorted. "Speak fo' y' self."

Remy just looked at him. "Throw de card into de trash o' take a shot. Loser is de one who passes out first."

"Oui. Give me de card den." He took the card Remy handed him and tossed it at the trash only to miss. "Oops, I missed." He poured himself a shot and downed it in one gulp. "Gah! Forgot how bad dis stuff tastes."

Gambit merely smirked and tossed a card into the can. "Y' turn."

Two hours later they had drunk over three-fourths of the bottle, and Etienne was loosing badly. He could barely keep his eyes focused. "Y' know, I hate y'."

Remy, who was still sober, looked at his cousin in surprise. "Why?"

"Y' don't have t' deal wit' having a girl in de back o' y' head all de time." He tossed a card, only to miss again. "Gimme anot'er shot."

"What do y' mean?" Remy had long ago been pouring the alcohol because his cousin couldn't keep his hand steady enough not to spill it.

"Ever since I met her, we got a connection so dat I can feel whatever she is." He gulped the drink down. "Remember dat time I hot wired y' bike an' den told y' I went joy-riding?" When Remy nodded he continued. "I took it t' de store t' pick up some chocolate chip ice cream 'cause she had a craving. Males o' de species just weren't meant t' deal wit' PMS like dat." He shook his head and threw another card.

Gambit stared at his cousin considering. "Can y' feel her now."

"Oui. It's gotten worse since t' other night." Etienne turned and cocked his head to the side, his eyes unfocused. "She's sleeping."

Gambit threw his card and missed, but didn't pour himself a drink. "Have y' told de Professor 'bout dis?"

Etienne blearily turned his head and shook it carefully. "Non. We got enough problems wid' out him buttin in."

"Maybe y' should t'ink about it."

When he didn't get an answer he looked at his cousin, who had passed out on the floor. "Bout time." He pulled the cover from the bed and grabbed a pillow, leaving Etienne to lie on the floor. Then he gathered the bottle and glasses and left, trying to sneak back to his room.

"What you doing Gumbo? And why do I smell tequila?"

Remy froze and turned around around to face Logan. "Gambit was just checking on his cousin."

"Uh huh. Show me the bottle."

Knowing he was about to die, Gambit took the bottle out of his coat.

"That's my brand of tequila." Logan gave him a hard look and then sighed. "Since it was for a good cause, I'll let you get away with it, but don't do it again. He is still underage."

Remy just nodded in complete surprise as Logan passed him to continue down the hallway.

V.V.V.V.V.V.V

The next morning pounding on his door awaked Etienne. He groaned feeling like his head was going to split open. Slowly, moving very carefully so that he wouldn't jar his head or unsteady stomach, he moved to the door and opened it. A way to perky looking Kitty was standing there.

"Logan sent me to get you for Danger Room practice."

He muttered something impolite under his breath and slammed the door in her face. That was a big mistake because the noise set his head to pounding worse than before. He threw his door open and passed a surprised Kitty, barely made it to the bathroom before retching. At least now his stomach was feeling better.

Kitty had walked next door to Brooke's room since she was late also. When Brooke didn't answer she continued down the hallway. As she passed the girl's bathroom, she heard the sounds of someone being sick.

"Brooke, is that you?"

"Yeah. Tell Logan I'm going to be late."

"Do you want me to get Dr. McCoy?"

"No, I'll be fine." Brooke wiped her mouth and looked in the mirror. She looked like hell warmed over. There were huge bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, and she had lost weight since she hadn't eaten in two days. The signs are all there, but I don't want to start taking the medicine again. She brushed her teeth to get rid of the taste in her mouth and left for the Danger Room.

When she got there Logan had already divided everyone up into pairs and they were sparring with staves. "Guess you'll have to spar with me today." She nodded and grabbed a staff from the rack on the wall. She was doing as well as could be expected when fighting Wolverine when she saw Etienne walk in the door. Since her attention was distracted, she didn't notice the blow coming at her head. Wolverine's staff knocked her flying and she fell on the leg Etienne had slashed earlier in the week. The pain stunned her for a moment.

Etienne had just entered the room when he happened to look up and see Wolverine's strike throw Brooke to the floor. He could feel the crack against her skull through their link, and instantly went into a rage. Without consciously thinking about it, he was across the Danger Room, grabbing Wolverine and trying to decide which part of his body he was going to rip off first.

Brooke slowly stood, seeing the tableau when she turned around. She stumbled towards them, ignoring Scott's motions that she stay back out of harms way. As she got closer, she realized Etienne was growling at Logan, who hadn't moved since he was seized. "Put him down."

Etienne turned his head and looked down at her. "He hurt us." His hand tightened on Logan's throat, making him grunt.

Brooke looked past them to where the older X-Men were advancing across the Danger Room. She shook her head, warning them to stay away. She knew if they came closer he would feel it necessary to protect her from them also. "He isn't a threat to us, put him down for me."

He looked at her but didn't move. Abruptly he let go, leaving Logan to stumble to his feet. "Y' should let me kill him."

She shook her head only to sway when she got light headed. "No, you can't kill anyone just because I wasn't paying attention." She put a hand on his arm to steady herself, but because of the loss of blood and lack of food, she passed out.

V.V.V.V.V.V.V

"How is she?" Professor Xavier had come down when he had been notified of the happenings in the Danger Room only to find Logan and Scott waiting for him in the Medical Bay.

McCoy sighed and looked at his newest patient. "She's severely dehydrated, slightly malnourished, suffering from shock and blood loss as well as a probable concussion." He pulled back the cover to reveal four deep gashes down her right thigh. "She's also been hiding these since the occurrence two days ago."

The Professor sighed and shook his head, looking over at the other bed where Etienne was laid out on his back. "And how about him?"

"I don't know. He passed out the same time she did, but physically I can't figure out why."

Xavier turned to Logan. "How are you doing?"

Logan rubbed his neck. "I'll be fine, but you should know a couple things. When he grabbed me, Etienne's eyes were slitted like Brooke's are when she shape-shifts. He also mentioned the fact that, 'he hurt us,' when she was trying to talk him into letting me go."

Xavier nodded. "This proves what we already guessed, they seem to have some kind of an unconscious empathic link." He looked at Hank. "I would like to speak to them when they wake up."