Breathe.

Just breathe.

Someone is speaking to her. She can feel the voice inside her head.

"Professah?"

Just breathe Rogue, just breathe. Show me what's inside you so I can get you out of the clouds.

Rogue opens up her mind and lets him in.

She feels like she cut open her knee and a doctor is looking for dirt. Not invaded. He is not probing. He feels like a grandfather.

He can see now. She is sitting on the couch. He can feel the grappling sense of insecurity wrap its slimy fingers around her heart. He experiences it like she experiences people. He is sitting with her now. She is standing up and at the tree. He can feel her desire and then her astonishment when Scott is there.

And then, there is someone else. Jean.

He can feel himself get angry but he won't let Rogue see that. Jean should not be doing this. Invading her mind out of anger like that. He knows what she is looking for. She is looking for feelings for Scott. Something she can use against them both. He can feel the effects on Rogue.

Rogue can feel a tingling in her fingers as he brings her out of the blackness. She realizes what had happened. She had touched Scott with her hand. She feels bad because she sees things now that belong to him. She tries to stop them but she can't. They are creeping into her air. She sees his hatred for Logan. But his admiration. She sees how he looks at the sky. Wants to leave sometimes.

She wants to tell him that she feels the same way.

But she can't. Because she sees that she is in a bed now. In the hospital wing. And he is next to her. Sleeping she hopes. Not like the last ones she's touched. She feels terrible now. Is he okay, professor? She asks.

He's fine, he's resting right now. You gave him quite a shock.

"Oh gawd…" She mumbles and rolls over in the bed. Her eyes float down to the white sterile floor as the stunning lightness of the room begins to blind her. "Ah can't believe Ah did that…" She trails off, her eyes stinging with regret.

"Rogue, it's alright. He'll be fine. You barely shook him, you just threw him off guard." Ororo is there and she's talking to her. She's reassuring her. She's trying to tell her that everything is alright but Rogue knows different.

"No. Somethin' happened. Somethin'… Ah don't know… Somethin' not right."

"Professor! What happened? Will Scott be okay?" Jean. That voice, so clear and sharp like glass. Rogue wanted to shatter her. She can feel the chill of the air as Jean rushes to Scott's side. Rogue turns her head. Logan's at the door. Looking at Jean. All of a sudden a feeling creeps upon her. All of a sudden Rogue is invisible. She turns back and pulls the covers up around her face so she blends in. Maybe she will get lucky and everyone will forget she is there. Forget she exists.

The empty, untouchable tree.

Rogue rolled over. Her head was swimming with everything that had happened. She still couldn't believe she had touched Scott. She opened her eyes and there he was. Lying there. Looking up at the ceiling like he was lying in bed in his room. As if nothing had happened. He must have noticed she was awake because he turned his head to look at her but she closed her eyes. She didn't want him to know she was awake.

She didn't want to have to apologize.

"I know you're awake." His voice floated over to her. But he didn't seem angry. She didn't want him to be angry with her. She knew that everyone must be angry with her but please, just not Scott. She could hear some rustling and all of a sudden she felt a hand touch hers through the covers. "I'm not mad at you Rogue, you didn't mean to do it and you didn't even hurt me. I just sort of got really tired. That's all. You didn't hurt me Rogue. And I don't have to forgive you because you didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes Ah did!" She cried out, surprising Scott, and then she rolled over so he couldn't see her. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't let herself believe that he wasn't mad at her.

"Rogue! No, you didn't! Stop saying that." He paused, trying to get her attention by running his fingertips over her hair. "Hey… Rogue…" She wouldn't look at him. Couldn't. She shook with a soft sob and she felt him withdraw. See. He was mad. He didn't want to touch her.

She took some time to calm down. He must've left because she couldn't hear him talk or move. She opened her eyes.

But no.

There he was. Sitting in front of her, arms propping his chin up on her bed.

For a split second she wished those glasses would disappear so she could read what expression was on his face.

She gasped. His fingers her on her bare skin, her cheek, wiping away her tears. She could feel tingles and shivers all over herself. He continued to move them back enough so she couldn't get enough to cause any effect, all she could get were glimpses of emotions.

He was being honest. He wasn't mad at her. In fact he felt something… she couldn't say what. But he wasn't mad at her. She swallowed harshly and opened her eyes again. She had stopped crying.

"Ah'm sorry Scott."

"No, I am. For what Jean did."

Rogue looked away. Why did he have to bring her up? "She didn't get much. At least not what she was lookin' for."

"What was she looking for?"

Rogue knew the answer. She had seen it when the professor was waking her up. "Just… childish stuff. Nothin' really." Rogue sighed and shook her head trying to play it off.

Scott was too good for that. She underestimated him. She wanted to tell him. Tell him that Jean was looking for a reason to leave him. But Jean didn't want to be the bad guy. She wanted to be the victim. Rogue wanted to tell him so bad.

"Rogue… what was she looking for?"

"You…" She trailed off, her eyes falling shut once more. She had to tell him. He deserved better than that.

"Me? What do you mean?"

"She was… lookin' for… if Ah… she…" Rogue struggled for words. What could she say? Scott, your fiancée is looking for a reason to leave you for Logan?

"Rogue just tell me."

"Ah can't."

"Why not?"

Rogue stopped. Why couldn't she? Why not? She knew Scott deserved to know but why could she not tell him. She all of a sudden wished she could send her thoughts to someone else. That she could show him what she saw. If it wasn't obvious already.

He had said something but she missed it. She was thinking too hard. "What? Ah'm sorry Ah missed that." She opened her eyes again and saw a serious expression on his face and felt her stomach crash at the thought that she was making him repeat what he had said.

"Was it… was it about Logan?"

Blinking Rogue closed her eyes. It would be easier to tell him if she couldn't see what he did. "Sort of."

He had stopped talking. Was it what she had said? She opened her eyes and she could tell he was looking for a straight answer. She left her eyes open.

"How?"

"She..." Rogue paused. "She was looking for… if…" She inhaled. This was really hard to do. "She was looking for… if we had… done somethin'… so she could… Oh gawd Scott, Ah can't…!" And with that she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.

For a minute all she could hear was his breathing. Then-

"She wants a reason to leave me."

Rogue held her breath.

"For Logan."

Her heart stopped beating.

"And she was searching for something that we had done to use it against me."

She could feel her head growing heavy from lack of oxygen.

"So she could leave me and have a good reason."

She exhaled and nodded. "Yeah."