13/13

Scott regained his consciousness slowly. He took note of his surroundings; there was virtually no noise to speak of and he was lying down. Out of sheer reflex, his right hand shot out to where his shades should lay in his bedside desk.

It wasn't there. He groaned.

And then he heard some shuffling sounds and the next thing he felt was that someone was putting on his glasses for him.

He opened his eyes slowly and cautiously and saw the worried face of Rogue.

"Hey," he greeted her, his voice raspy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that he was here beside her and not in some plane beside Warren. Also, he took note of his environs and found out that he was in his own room.

"I'll just go and call the professor, okay?" she said softly, as she prepared to stand up from her seat. His hand shot out to hold her gloved hand.

"No, I want you to stay here with me for a while," he said, his thumb stroking the back of her hand in an effort to erase the look of worry in her face. He almost didn't want to ask, as he had a tiny inkling as to what he thought happened, but he knew that he had to. "What happened?"

Her face fell and he knew that she was trying hard to keep the tears from falling. "The second serum . . . it didn't quite work as permanently as we thought. I had no idea that my powers were back, and I'm so sorry about what happened this morning."

He shushed her quietly and shot her a lopsided grin. "Stop. I'm only too happy that I got to kiss you."

"Scott, you don't understand: my powers are back. The Professor and Dr. Hank won't give me another shot and it would take a really long time for me to control my powers. I don't even know for sure if I can do it . . . and if you want to go back to just the way we used to be, then I'd totally understand--"

"Why would I want to do that?" he asked her.

"Because my powers are back." Rogue answered automatically.

"Rogue, I fell in love with you and not with your powers. I don't care if they're gone or not, I still feel the same about you, okay? And I know for a fact that you can control them and up until that moment, I'll be there beside you."

She smiled at him gratefully. It was only a matter of seconds before she broke down and began sobbing onto his bedside. After she regained her composure, he decided to change topics. "So, I noticed that you're still here. Where's Warren?"

"He's already on the plane on his way back home," she said with a smile, wiping away the stray tears that still clung to her cheeks. "I told him immediately that I couldn't go with him to see his wedding because of this new situation. He understood perfectly, of course, although I suppose he was a little disappointed in me."

"I don't care if he's mad; you're here with me now, and that's all that matters."

She smiled a genuine smile once again after such a long time. Scott felt her grip in his hand tighten a little bit. "Scott, I'm scared," she whispered. Somehow, with her sharing this, he knew that the trust that that had been gone for a while was finally starting to return. "Of it never happening; of it being too hard."

"Rogue, I think that it's supposed to be hard," he said honestly. Sweet words and false hopes would do her no good at this point. "But I'm willing to offer myself for you. I promise to be there every step of the way, okay? You'll never have to worry about being alone in this,"

She smiled once again. "Let's work on this, shall we?"

All he could do was nod. Really, he had nothing to offer her but himself at this point. The mere fact that she accepted made his heart soar through the clouds. And suddenly, he knew that everything would be all right with them.

Fin

A/N: muchos thanks to all of those who've stayed behind this fic. i owe you a lot, more than you'll ever know. special thanks to jupiterhime, who was my first ever reviewer and to chica de los ojos cafe, who practically reviewed each and every chapter.

and i'm off. hope you enjoyed your stay.