Chica De Los Ojos Café: Glad you liked it, and see why Irene wasn't necessary.

Jenskott: Hey I completely understand not everyone can read that and I don't blame you for skipping and you'll see more of the stuff you liked in this later on.

Mark C: Yeah Warren and Betsy will join up later on. Rogue's powers aren't as they seem but you'll see that later.

Silver Warrior: It might be for Jamie maybe later on we'll deal with that. Yeah that actually made no real sense to me and Slickboy when that happened when it shouldn't have been able to do that. Consider that a mistake by the writers of the show for not doing the research.

The Uncanny R-Man: Yeah but then again with the way Hank looks he would have a complex about woman being interested in him. Glad you liked the chapter.

Simba317: Well we do our best glad you like it. Yeah I always thought it was unfair that the only really cool Canadian hero was just Logan so I made another one. We don't want to just rush everything so a few things we're going to take our time with, there's no plans for Pyro to show up though.

Aaron: Oh you'll see what's to come soon enough, yeah everyone is going to need to time to heal and I'm glad you like how the relationships are going.

Fireinu: You really need to read more carefully, Emma at her time in the Hellfire Club when doing the books for them, she skimmed some for herself for when she decided on leaving.

jade: Well she'll have other things to compensate but you'll see later what I mean.

Thanks to: X00001, GothikStrawberry, Wen1, crissy,

Hellfire and Brimstone

CHAPTER 24: PERSONAL MUSINGS

Kurt's Room

After spending the better part of the last few hours watching over his sister Kurt finally left the infirmary, but not after a whole lot of coaxing on Hank's part. He couldn't escape the fact that he still had injuries, but all his worries and concerns for Rogue had pretty much overshadowed any feelings of pain associated with them. Now that she was awake, however, he was left to think about the horrible experience he had endured with Selene once more.

While he was overjoyed to see Rogue awake again, she was noticeably different after what she had endured. She practically cringed at the slightest touch and felt anxious whenever anybody stood too close to her. The Professor said it was mainly the result of the trauma still lingering from the horrible rape she had endured, but in seeing the look in her eyes…Only he truly knew how bad it felt, for he had experienced it himself.

Kurt was tired, parts of her body were still stinging, and he still couldn't forget the images he had seen in Rogue's mind. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw a truly nervous wreck looking back at him. It was past nine and he wanted nothing more than to just sleep all this pain away. He promptly removed his shirt, which he had been wearing for nearly three days straight now and tossed it aside. But as his gaze shifted back towards his reflection in the mirror, he froze once again at what he saw.

He saw the bandages on his upper torso and slowly took them off, he could still see some of the lingering scars that had been inflicted by Selene. Even despite his blue skin and his fur, he could see them clearly…Forever reminding him of what he had endured. As he looked at them, images of that horrible ordeal with Selene flashed before his mind and he soon found himself short of breath. He remembered clearly the look on her face and her taunting words like how she did the same thing to his sister. And after being in Rogue's mind, he knew full well how devastating it had been for her. He tried to tear his gaze away from his reflection, but even as he did, he could still clearly feel the effects of the vivid memory that dominated his mind.

"Yes! Fell the pain demon!"

Selene's voice echoed in his mind as his breathing became somewhat irregular. A tear soon fell down his face as the sheer vividness of the memories fell upon him like a ton of bricks. Then…As he began running his hands over the many scars on his torso left by the insidious woman that were only partially healed over, he began to frantically scratch them. They didn't itch, but they still festered unlike any wound he had ever had before. As he looked back at his scars in the mirror, he began scratching more and with greater intensity.

"Off…They won't come off…" he said to himself as he began scratching to the point where they started to bleed.

He kept scratching, closing his eyes and trying so hard not to think about it. But it was no use…Images of Selene torturing Rogue and raping him just wouldn't leave his mind. He wanted to be rid of these painful reminders…He wanted to forget. More scratching caused more blood to start to flow as it started dripping his hands got some on them…But he didn't stop, he just kept going.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door, but he didn't notice it…He just kept scratching.

"Kurt?" said Wanda on the other side, putting her ear to the door to hear for any kind of activity.

Kurt still didn't respond, for his mind was just too focused on ridding himself of these tainted marks no matter what pain or injury it caused. However, this only caused Wanda to become more concerned as she turned the knob of the unlocked door and slowly took a peak in. But as she saw what he was doing to himself, a look of horror fell upon her face as she promptly entered the room and rushed over to his side.

"Kurt!" she exclaimed as she saw the blood on his chest, "Kurt stop it!"

"NO!" he yelled, pulling away from her, "I have to get rid of them! I have to remove them!"

"Kurt, you're only hurting yourself even more by doing this!" she said as she tried to move in closer, but watching him pull away once again.

"I don't care!" he said as he felt his bloodied hands, "I can't stand it…I don't vant to remember…I don't vant to remember…"

His body soon refused to support him as he collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap with tears streaming down his face and blood starting to soak his fur slightly, but luckily the bleeding was slow and wasn't bleeding worse or Wanda would have had to have gone get the adults. Wanda moved in slowly this time…Not wanting to add any more to his pain. She knew first hand how rape victims felt about touch, but she had to touch him if she was going to stop him from hurting himself any further.

"Please Kurt…Don't do this to yourself," she said softly, hoping to reach him through all the pain he was feeling right now, "I don't want to see you like this…Nobody wants to. You're okay now…It's over. I know it hurts…But it's over Kurt…Its over."

Kurt's breathing grew deeper as he finally began to stop his frantic act self-mutilation. He swallowed hard at the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach as tears continued to fall down the side of his face. He then opened his eyes and saw the worried look on Wanda's face. She was still keeping her distance, but she had to fight herself just to keep from lunging forth and embracing him like she so wanted to so that she could comfort him like any good friend should.

Then, she watched as Kurt looked down at his bloody hands. A look of great sorrow then fell upon his face as his pent up emotions refused to stay hidden any longer.

"Mein Gott I…Vhat have I…" but he couldn't finish his words.

Finally, he felt himself completely break down as he let his tears of pain and sorrow flow freely in agonizing cries as he curled up on the floor. Wanda quickly went to him and held him, crying his heart out from all the pain he felt. She held onto him tightly, letting him know that she was there and he wasn't alone.

"Shh…" she soothed as she felt Kurt's pained tears soak her shirt, "It's okay…It's over now. I'm here…"

The two troubled teenage mutants stayed in their embrace for an unknown amount of time. But Kurt needed to let it all out…He needed to let go of his emotions now matter how painful they were. Kurt was completely exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally now. This trying time had given him little time to rest. And despite his weakened and troubled state, Wanda managed to help him to his feet and lead him over to his bed. She then retrieved some bandages and placed them back on to stop anymore bleeding and to cover them, but despite his actions the scars were still there.

Wanda couldn't help but feel bad for Kurt, but she understood fully what he was going through. Like her, he had lived a life in a prison…Only he could never leave his because his prison was his body. Now, to have endured something as horrible as this…It just made Wanda feel sick with sorrow knowing that someone she cared so much for was in pain. Kurt was probably the only other person she knew that could possibly understand what it's like to live a life full of loss, isolation, and fear and seeing something like this practically tore her heart out.

As Kurt succumbed to exhaustion in his bed, he reached out to Wanda and took her hand in his.

"Stay…" he told her, his voice still distraught and tired.

"Don't worry…I'm not going anywhere," she assured as she laid down next to him, but not before laying a soft kiss on his cheek, which helped to sooth his inner trauma.

The blood was still drying on his torso and the scars were still there, but little could be done to change that now. Kurt Wagner had suffered plenty from what he had experienced, not just with this trying time but in general…But thanks to the love and support of his friends and family, like Rogue and the understanding of close friends like Wanda…He was left with a small sense of peace as he finally drifted off into a deep sleep.

-Danger Room-

Logan was in the Danger Room with several wooden swords and staffs. This incident with the collars the Hellfire Club used made him realize that the kids needed to know how to fight without them in case something like this ever happened again. The New Mutants were up first since the X-Men needed time to heal and not just physically, for he knew a lot of the kids were hurting how and he hated it.

The kids were set to come in about fifteen minutes or more. He was setting up when he heard the door open. He didn't think any of the kids would show up early, but then he caught that familiar scent and he turned to face her. "What's up Ro?"

She was in sweat pants and a lose shirt and from the looks of it she was planning on gardening, since she usually wore those old clothing of hers so she didn't ruin any of her good stuff. "I was thinking of gardening when I heard you were planning on self defence lessons now."

"Yeah, the kids need to know how to fight without powers. Besides, you saw what happened with them with y-" Logan stopped himself before that. They hadn't really talked about how he found her bent over that desk and the sight and smell of her like that was an image that still haunted and enraged him.

Ororo gave him a sharp look. "Go on say it…Like me." She said coldly. It wasn't like she never thought about what the man had done to her…It hadn't been the first time, but that didn't make it any less easier. She had to sleep on her stomach that night and every now and then, she thought back to that night. Now she didn't consider herself weak and yes, Logan did save her, but that didn't make her helpless.

"I am not some helpless woman Logan and even though I am grateful for what you did, do not presume that I can't handle myself without powers," she told him sternly.

"Look Ro, I know you can…I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"But you still think that I can't handle myself without my powers?" She noticed his look and narrowed her eyes. She had spent her teen years in a tribe in Africa after she and her sister got out of the city and she wouldn't let Logan peg her as the damsel in distress. She walked over to where there were two of the wooden swords and picked them up and threw one to Logan.

She got into a ready stance and Logan caught the sword and looked at Ororo. She had that determined look on her face and he knew her well enough to understand that she wouldn't stand down from this. He readied his own. He swung at her first with a high blow, but she parried and countered nailing him on the arm. "Don't you dare go easy on me Logan."

"Alright, if that's the way you want it…" he said, this time making a three point strike at her. She blocked all three quick blows, one high, then one to her side and then another high one. She shot back at him with a horizontal arc and when he ducked she did a side kicked to his ribs.

He backed away a few feet and grinned. She returned that grin as well as they started to move again. They continued on like this, at one moment one of them got the upper hand then the others would turn the tables on them and this went back and forth for ten minutes, both of them working up a sweat from the physical exertion.

They were now inches from each other's faces, both looking into each other's eyes seeing the inner strength each had their hearts pounding in their ears, sweating and panting as their hearts were racing both of them long forgot at that moment what had started this, but that no longer mattered to them. For the last few minutes the sparring had become a complicated dance that flowed through them, both partners never missing a beat or moment.

In that moment, they looked at each other and saw something that they hadn't noticed before. Logan saw the strong inner strength she had that was as beautiful as her appearance and she saw the noble side in him of a warrior.

Neither one of them knew who stared it…One moment they were in locking in combat and then the next their lips suddenly found each others. If it was the heat of the moment or just a building of something that had been there for some time and had let itself out, but neither of them could tell after it.

They were locked in a heated kiss as Logan took the back of her head in one hand and other on her lower back as she pulled him close with her hands on his back. They lingered there lost in each other, but then their minds finally registered fully what they were doing and they both pulled away both had shocked expressions on their face. Ororo held up a hand to her lips and dropped the wooden sword not believing that had happened. Her heart was hammering now and she wasn't sure why it was.

Logan was just as dumbfounded and couldn't muster anything to say. Before either of them could say anything the New Mutants started to come in, and Ororo took this time to escape before anything else happened. She needed to think on what just happened, and luckily the other students didn't notice the flustered look on her face.

Logan wanted to go after her, but to be honest he didn't have a clue what to say and he needed to start the kids on their new training.

After the Danger Room session, most of the others had retreated to their rooms to change out of their uniforms. Logan, however, lingered for a little while longer. While this was not unusual of him, there was a much different reason for that this time. This time…He wasn't angry, disgruntled, or just plain yearning to rip something apart to make him forget about the many things that troubled him…Instead, he was just plain confused. While he was rather use to the feeling after having lived with a huge chunk of his memories missing, this time it was in a completely different context.

This kiss between him and Ororo kept playing over and over again in his mind. Being a man who was never good at showing emotions, he couldn't help but feel something strange about it. Ever since he had nearly destroyed their friendship, his long standing friendship with the former weather goddess had been put into a new perspective. Ever since he had known her, he had always had a unique friendship with her. She saw him in ways that others didn't and liked him for who he was despite the animal within he always struggled with. But ever since they had worked through the turmoil caused by the Hellfire Club incident, he couldn't help but feel that their friendship may be growing a little deeper. The kiss earlier seemed to best signify that.

But the more Logan thought about it, the more uncertain he became. Ororo was a beautiful, smart, caring woman who was once worshipped as a goddess…And rightfully so in Logan's mind. He was a wild, temperamental, beast with serious issues and a half wiped memory bank. How could anybody possibly love that? Yuriko once had…And that certainly didn't turn out too well. But Ororo could have anybody she wanted…Why on earth would she ever want him?

As he considered such a strange notion, he passed the gym area and saw that Vincent was still in there hitting a heavy punching bag. Normally, few people stayed on this level after a session with the occasional exception of Scott, but after seeing how well Vincent handled himself as a fighter at the Hellfire Club, he figured he was just trying to get in some training before Hank cleared him for Danger Room.

"How's it going Vince?" said Logan in his usual low voice as the young man broke his intense focus and turned to see Logan standing there in the doorway, still in uniform, "The others are long gone…So why are ya still here?"

"No reason…" replied Vincent, never one to easily let people know what was on his mind, "Just getting in a little training time in before Mr. McCoy will let me do more complex moves. Why are you still down here?"

"I'm pretty much always the last one to leave," quipped Logan, "But since you're the new guy here, I don't blame ya for not knowing."

Vincent wiped the sweat from his face as he took a deep breath from all the physical and mental exertion he had been through. In addition to adapting to life here at the institute he also had to contend with meeting other people and trying to make new friends, the lingering prospect of returning home to the same place where Father Michaels had died, and the mysterious incident at the mall with the strange man known only as Slayer. And of course there was still Emma Frost…For she seemed to be clouding his mind ever since he was still a prisoner in the Hellfire Club.

"You looked pretty good not to mention back at the Hellfire Club…" commented Logan as he watched Vince stop to catch his breath, "You definitely have skill. You know how to fight…You know how to work through pain."

"Yeah…Comes from training and experience I guess," said Vincent in response.

"What, the fighting or the pain?"

"Both…" he answered, not wanting to go into any more detail.

Vincent just let out an exasperated groan, making it clear that he didn't want to talk about his problems just yet. Having just joined the institute, he was still not use to many of these routines. Not to mention he had yet to face Logan's scrutiny like most of the other students already had at this point, but given his secluded nature Vincent wasn't sure if he was really ready for that yet.

"Is this also have something to do with that mall incident that half pint won't shut up about?" said Logan, knowing that it had been the talk of the institute since Kitty and the others had returned from the mall.

"Part of it I guess…" said Vincent as his thoughts drifted back to the mysterious stranger that he had encountered, "I just…Some of the things he said about new and darker challenges have been really bugging me. And not just that…It's the way he moved and carried himself in both combat and poise that made him seem…I don't know, mysterious. It was almost as if he was there and somewhere else at the same time. He was weird…But I think he knew what he was doing when he spoke to us."

"Well like we've said bub, we're lookin' into this Slayer guy," said Logan, wishing somewhat that he had been there just so he could see what it was that had caused such great confusion and curiosity.

"And I hope you find something, but one of the other things he told us was that he'd come to us," said Vincent as he remembered what the strange young man had told him, "So that may be kind of pointless."

"Well don't let it completely throw you off," said Logan, "If he turns out to be a threat, he ain't gettin' in here. So don't worry about it."

Vincent nodded and went back to the bag and Logan watched a few hits, seeing how nearly perfect his technique was and grunted. When he was well enough he wanted to see what he could do in the Danger Room and then left. He had other things to think about at the moment.

- Xavier Institute, 2 am -

In his room Kurt was tossing and turning, his mind, even though it was less stressed now that his sister was awake again, was still haunted by the tortured memory of that woman. He had never thought there was anything like true evil and that there was a piece of good in everyone, but after that night he knew he had seen true evil. He was covered in sweat, causing his fur to stick to him like glue in the dank, annoying way he hated. He looked at the clock and knew he wasn't going to get any sleep and on top of that, he was hungry.

With a frustrated sigh he pushed the covers away and sat up on his bed. He sent a hand through his long and thick hair, getting one of the bangs out of his eyes. He figured he might as well get something to eat, since he doubted he would get to sleep anytime soon. He thought of going to Wanda, since that night she had stayed with him had been more peaceful, but he didn't want to bother her. After all, she had already helped him earlier and when he woke up had found her in his arms. But he chose woke her up and said she should sleep in her own bed or there would be even more rumours about them. Plus, he wasn't sure if such a thing was proper since they weren't even dating and yet they were sharing the same bed all the time. He was beginning to wonder if what Kitty had suggested about them had a ring of truth to them.

He pushed that thought aside again. He just couldn't understand how she seemed to be on his mind so much lately. Okay, yes he found her attractive, but she was just a friend and she wasn't attracted to him…Was she? He ported to the kitchen and opened the fridge, since he thought better while eating anyway.

Kurt wasn't alone that night for restlessness. Vincent himself had just woken up from a nightmare drenched in sweat and was sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He was breathing slowly, trying to calm himself down. Flashes of the Hellfire Club passed in his mind and thanks to his oh so 'wonderful' memory he could remember every blow, cruel word, electrical shock, and everything else in between. He wore a pair of cotton pants and a large T-shirt to help hide all the scars. He got up and decided to check the kitchen. Maybe he could find something to calm his nerves.

He silently made his way down there and saw a light on. He looked in and saw Kurt already there. He had heard that his sister was awake now, but he knew what that Selene woman had put her through. Hell, he had even tried a few times to reach her, well, when he was still conscious and could actually talk that is. "Hey man."

Kurt looked over to him, "Trouble sleeping?" Vince nodded and went to the fridge and looked for something to drink.

"There any hot chocolate or something I could use to calm my nerves? That always works to make me feel a little better," Vince asked. He probably could've made some coffee, but he didn't want to stay up. Kurt thought about it and went to the cupboards and found a few packs of hot chocolate, and to be honest he felt like some too.

"How vill ve get the vater varm? I mean zhe kettle makes zhat high pitched noise," Kurt didn't want to wake anyone else up in the mansion. Vince just smiled and after filling a few cups of water pointed his two index fingers at the water inside of them and a very slim crimson energy beam went into the water.

"Energy has a few different properties, one of them is heat," he explained to him. "It took me eight tries in order to get this working and the first time I burned a hole through the cup and into the table." Kurt smiled a bit at that wondering how many more things had gone wrong, but decided not to ask.

The water was starting to boil and so he stopped and took one of the packets from Kurt and dumped the contents into his cup and Kurt handed him a spoon as he poured his own in. "Got enough for one more boys?" They both looked to the doorway and saw Emma in a white silk robe on, some of her hair covering half her face.

"Something tells me this might become a casual thing for awhile," Vince said getting her a cup.

Upstairs Jean had woken up, her heart thumping in her chest and sweating profusely. She looked around, seeing that she was in her room and Scott sleeping next to her. She smiled seeing him there, and remembered that from now on he would always be there. She had another nightmare, only this one was of her being captured and while being forced to watch her friends and family die by the hands of the Hellfire Club.

He saw him sleeping a bit restlessly and hoped her nightmare hadn't affected him. She leaned back down and kissed his forehead and he seemed to calm down as his face became more relaxed. She just wished that could happen to her. She couldn't sleep and didn't want to wake him up so she very carefully got out of bed. She was wearing one of Scott's large shirts over her underwear as she made her way though the halls. She was wondering what to do when she sensed a few minds already awake and in the kitchen. She shrugged to herself and went to see what was going on.

She saw Emma, Kurt and Vince already upped and guessed the reason. "Looks like we got one more," Emma said sipping her own drink. Kurt took another cup and offered Jean some and she didn't see why not. After they all had something to drink they were a bit silent.

"I guess it's no secret why we're all here. I mean it's not easy to live with what we all went through." Emma stared off as she took another sip. She was sitting next to Vince as Kurt and Jean sat across them. She hadn't meant to sit next to him, it was just that she always seemed to feel a bit more relaxed in his presence.

Jean looked at her cup for a moment and thought about something that had been bugging her, one of many things actually, but she needed to get this off her chest. "Vincent…I'm sorry…About…About breaking through your mental shields like I did and allowing them to get into your mind." It was the truth, she had felt guilty about that ever since she got free from the Hellfire Club's control and seeing him around all the time only made it worse.

To everyone's surprise he smiled. "Well to be fair you weren't exactly 'yourself' at the time so I don't blame you. Just don't worry about it and if that doesn't make you feel better, then I forgive you for it so please, don't feel bad about that anymore. We all have enough on our plates as it is."

Jean smiled sadly and was thankful for that, but she felt a bit better now that it was out of the way and she had been expecting him to yell at her or something. Emma herself was surprised by that because personally, if it had been her then she would have been pissed, but it was that kind nature he had that she liked about him.

"Besides, we all carry scars from that day…Some literal and other emotional," he said and absentmindedly traced the scare on his face while Kurt touched his chest. Emma and Jean were both a bit silent remembering their own personal demons, although Emma hid her state better then Jean did.

"I still zhink about vhat she did to me," Kurt said softly, "I keep seeing it over and over again."

"Yeah…" Vince agreed, "I just wish I could forget…But that's not easy when you have a photographic memory," he explained seeing the look Kurt was giving him. "I remember every insult, every damn cut, whip, punch…All of it like it just happened."

Kurt looked at him with sad eyes as he thought about it. He had only been with Selene just once and he had been with her for two weeks. He couldn't imagine what she put him through and seeing the scar on his face. "Did she…Use you?" he asked him.

It took a moment to understand his comment, but nodded, "Ah…No…At least I don't think so. She might have when I was passed out…I mean she kept saying she was going to have me as her own person 'boy-toy' when my mind was theirs…And she did grab me in a few inappropriate places, but I don't think it went beyond that…As far as I could tell…And frankly, I don't want to know."

Kurt had to admit, he wasn't sure what was the worse…Being tortured for a couple of weeks like he had been or the physical beatings that Selene had done to him.

"Well now that things are so depressing how about we change the subject," Emma said who wasn't asking, she really didn't want to think about this and turned to Vince. "So…When do you think you'll be ready to see home again?"

Vince had been thinking about that and he knew he had to do it at sometime. "In a couple more days…I just need some more time before I can face it…I mean…" Kurt didn't know what exactly was going on with him, but he guessed it was bad and by looking at Jean, she knew why and would ask her later about it. Jean for her part did remember a few things about her capture, but her memories were a bit fuzzy from the mental illusions and nightmares.

She was thankful that not everything that had happened was clear she knew what had happened and what she did and did get a few images, but there were somewhat scattered. A few of the really bad ones stuck out though like a few times Shaw had his way with her and she had 'willingly' allowed it and the times she nearly killing Scott.

Emma looked at Vince, thinking about how he was the only person she was closest to here, mainly because of how they had been there for each other during their time in that prison. She figured she should be there for him again, for he would need support. "Do you want some company? I mean, doing this alone would be tough and I also could use a vacation and Toronto. It sounds like a nice place to go to anyway."

Vince smiled at her comment and nodded. "Thank you kindly Emma, I would love to have you along." Which was true since he was closest to her then anyone else here anyways and he wasn't sure if he could face it alone. Jean looked at the two of them and was starting to wonder about something, but they both kept their minds tightly guarded then she felt something else and jerked at the sudden sense of fear.

She blinked a few times and saw Emma tilted her head a little and closed her eyes. She guessed she felt it too and Jean searched for it and knew who it was. "Rogue's up," she stated.

Kurt looked up from his cup at her words. "I zhink I might check on her…Uh…Vincent do you mind?" He asked and the Canadian boy smiled and nodded as Kurt got another cup and then teleported off when it was ready.

When he was gone Vince, Emma and Jean decided to talk amongst themselves, not really caring about the subject as long as it wasn't Hellfire Club related.

In the infirmary Rogue had woken up feeling like she wanted to scream but hadn't. She looked around and saw where she was and fell back onto the bed. She would have laughed at one point if someone had told her she would have felt safe being in the infirmary a year ago. She was thankful that she had asked Hank to keep the lights on, for she didn't want to be in the dark.

She had been having a nightmare that Selene had captured her again and was punishing her all over again. Her memories of her rape were a bit hazy in some parts from the pain and the fact she didn't want to remember. Although she did remember enough, like the first few violations and then they just merged together. She remembered them groping and grabbing her painfully, being forced to do things like oral sex, and how painful they had forced themselves into her vagina and anus.

She had been torn a little on the inside and had been bleeding a bit at the end and was hurting as hell on both the outside and inside. She had never felt pain like that before and vividly remembered how she felt like she was being split in two and that they were killing her slowly. After that she had wished she had died…She wanted to so badly and didn't want to think about it.

But she was past that and she didn't want to be a victim, not again. Her 'mother' had done that enough with her and she wasn't going to take it anymore. She wouldn't allow her experience to control her life, even though the touch of someone else had been something she had craved for years not it made her a bit sick.

She hated irony.

But she knew that in time she would get over that part, at least she hoped so. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life afraid to touch again now that she could. It would take time, but she was going to fight this fear and she wasn't going to just lay down and take it.

There a 'bamf' sound and she knew who it must have been and she got a little smile on her face. "How did ya know Ah was up?" She just had to ask him and saw that he was carrying two cups of steaming hot chocolate.

"Jean, Vince, and Emma vere all up vith me in the kitchen and she sensed zhat you vere avake and I vanted to see how you vere doing." He came close to her, but didn't touch her unless she asked or wanted to and set down the cup next to her. "I also brought you somezhing. Ve're all drinking it and I zhought you might like some."

She took it off the small table next to her and saw it was hot chocolate and gave a small smile and took a sip. "Thanks."

There was a moment of silence before Kurt tried to breach the subject. "Sis…If you ever vant to talk about it…I'm here for you."

"Thanks Kurt…But…Ah don't think ya can understand." She didn't know about what had happened to the others and they hadn't talk about that yet, but then she saw a strange look on Kurt's face.

"I may know better zhen you zhink," he said sadly, as he took a deep breath and told her everything. Rogue looked wide-eyed at him in horror while on the inside there was a growing hatred for that woman. She had hurt and violated not only her, but the only family she had in this world. She saw Kurt closing his eyes as he was fighting back the tears.

She didn't think she just acted and pulled him into a hug as she felt him shutter. She didn't feel that same sickness with touching him because he was just like her…He had been hurt like her and maybe they could both be there for each other. Besides he was her brother and she knew he would never harm her.

After a minute of them both letting out some emotional strain, they wiped their eyes and felt a bit better getting that out of their system. They went back to drinking a bit more before Rogue spoke up. "Ah just can't believe all that's happened…I mean…But at least we also managed to get a couple of new people around here," she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Three…You forget Gambit, he's staying too," Kurt said to her. Rogue still wasn't sure how she felt about him. Sure she had a crush or something on him when they first met, but there was just so much she didn't know or understand. He was so contradicting sometimes and she wasn't sure why he was sticking around and she even voiced that to Kurt.

"I zhink he likes you for starters," Kurt said and saw her blush a bit but tried to hide it. "And…I zhink he cares about you too. He nearly bled to death trying to get here and tell us vhat happened. He also could have left awhile ago, but stayed to make sure we got you back."

Rogue didn't know what to say to that. She felt touched that he would do all of that, and add to that he had helped her not once, but twice already…First by helping her to overcome the influence of the Hellfire Club and then again to help bring her back.

"I zhink he feels responsible too, for failing to help you vhen zhey took you," He added.

Rogue knew that he did all that he could have. She had seen him get stabbed by that woman because of her and she never guessed that he might have cared that much about her. She would have to think on this, but then there was the memory of how she felt when someone got too close. She didn't want to feel that and hoped that she would overcome it soon. Otherwise there was no point in thinking about Remy in anyway just like when she couldn't touch.

They talked late into the night as they were simply there for each other and she thanked him for the drink, but after awhile she felt tired again and fell asleep. Kurt smiled down at her and felt like he could sleep again too. Jean had slipped back into her bed without waking Scott. He rolled over in his sleep and hugged her. She smiled and hugged him back as she soon fell asleep, feeling safe and comfortable in his arms. Vince and Emma moved to the living room where they talked a bit more, but in the morning they had found themselves both on the couch holding each other…After falling asleep again that night.

Luckily no one had seen them, but they both felt better after the sleep that they did get. Emma also had that dream again with him in that valley with the peaceful sensation again. She wanted to ask him if he had it too, but didn't for some reason. She just wasn't sure if she should ask him and kept it to herself…Besides, this was starting to make her wonder about a few things like how she only felt safe and comfortable around him whenever he was near. She just guessed she might learn more in that trip to Toronto.

NEXT UP CHAPTER 25: A TOUCH OF HOME