(Three)

The crowd parted and dispersed quickly as Molly entered the small space curtained off around Remy's bed. She had only just been told something had happened and she had made her way down here to the Lab quickly. Once they were alone, she stood over her husband, her face still dark as she sniffed at him, assessing his condition.

"Don' be mad, chere," Remy said softly. Her shine was dark with anger, she was on the edge of being feral. She never took kindly to his being injured.

Kimble did this, she signed, her movements losing grace in her fury.

"Oui. Don' be mad," he repeated, doing his best to appear as placid as possible as he released vibrations of calm. " 'E didn't do it deliberate."

Molly wasn't budging, she had reached her limit. Too many times her husband had been injured, she was starting to think that some of these rumors about Kimble going off the deep end were true. Kimble was dangerous. He had killed and now Remy was hurt – again. Her ability to forgive was being sorely tested.

"Let me explain," Remy offered, patting the bed next to him. He could read her so well, they were much too close for him not to be on a near telepathic level with her as well.

Molly came closer, taking the offered seat, but she was tense.

Remy took her hand, rubbing it gently. "You know Set' been sick? Been all out of sorts?"

Molly nodded, relaxing from his touch and easy vibrations of comfort.

"Well, today we find out why. 'E gettin' de empathy, just like Kimble and me. It was wiggin' him out, gettin' all out of control. De way to fix dat is for someone wit' de power to come along an' kinda shock you wit' it, give you a big jolt of it. Kimble done dat."

He did more than just that. I heard all the yelling. Logan isn't the only one upset about what he did. With all that has happened Warren wants to put Kimble on a sex offender list . I didn't even know we have one here but I guess we do now.

Remy blanched a little at that. He had heard some arguing but hadn't paid it all that much mind. He figured this round would go as all the others had - first came the screaming and yelling, then he would plead for Kimble's sake. He had won more rounds than he had lost but these days Kimble was making it harder and harder. He didn't know if he was going to be able to get Kimble off the hook this time, but he would certainly try.

Remy tucked his feelings away and nodded at his wife, acknowledging the dark swirl in her shine. There was more to what she was saying. She was fully aware of the indiscretions between the pilot and her husband. Maybe they hadn't talked about it since the last time, but there was an accusation hanging there now - Kimble had fucked up again, this time with someone else. How long before he did he did it again?

"Oui. Kim and Set' took it jus' a little too far. Keep in mind, Set' beg Kimble fo' dis. Set' was sick, even 'Enry got some proof to back it up. 'E t'ought Kim could fix it. Set' beg 'im fo' help and Kim make a choice. He done it to take the sufferin' from 'is brother, it's jus' dat dey took it too far, dere so much love between dem."

Like there is between you and Kimble.

Remy nodded, not even trying to squirm or evade. He knew better than to hide anything from her, that it would only make this worse. "Oui. Like I told you, what dere was 'tween me an' him it was only ever love. He'd get upset and I'd try to 'elp. Jus' dat we took it too far, de same way Set' and Kim' take it too far now."

Molly shook her head, not quite mollified. If something happens once, you can argue that maybe something got out of hand, Remy. But this is twice. This time with his own brother! How sick is that? There has to be blame somewhere. Kimble is not that innocent, no matter how much we love him. He's sick, sick inside his head and in the way that he thinks.

Remy was forced to nod again. "Some of dat is true. 'E don't always t'ink de way he should but what folks jus' don't ever seem to understand is dat Kimble was made fo' sex, fo' lovin' people. When 'e care about someone, he just react dat way. When Set' come at him all upset, he react de way 'is programmin' say 'e should. You know we talked about dis before, about how 'e is. Dat ain't never gonna change."

Remy sighed, trying to word this correctly. "De empathy 'ard to control. I gotta fight it every day, just like Kim and de others do. Kimble, when 'e got in 'is mind to help someone, someone 'e care about, it swamp 'im. It got away from him dis time, too. Set' ain't got no restraint either, not even close. Dere's blame for dis on all sides. Aiden explain dat sex don't have to come into it, but none of dose boys was listenin'. Don' 'ate Kim fo' what he do. 'E wasn't alone in dis. Dere's plenty of blame to go around."

Molly nodded, considering his answer. She surprised Remy next by stating what seemed to be obvious to everyone else - If Kimble can't be controlled, Angel should never go back to him.

Remy closed his eyes, feeling the loss of support of one who had been firmly in Kimble's camp until now. His list of allies was growing thin. "Oui, je sais. But you gotta make me a promise, chere. You can't tell Kimble dis. We can't be takin' away what little hope de boy's got left. He's in bad shape. Real bad, chere. Gambit can fix some t'ings... but mebbe not dis. Not dis time."

Molly sensed his despair, but also his honesty. She moved on, asking, Why did he hurt you?

"Fallen yell at Kim, den Kim yell at 'imself. I jus' was in de way. De whole t'ing one big disaster. Kimble hurt me, but not deliberate. 'E was jus' lashin' out, blamin' 'imself fo' de whole t'ing when none of it was 'is fault. 'E breakin', chere. 'E breakin' again, an' mebbe dis time dere ain't nuthin' goan stop it," he finished, his fragile facade of control cracking as his voice broke.

Molly reacted quickly, all her anger vanishing at the sight of Remy's ashen face. He hadn't been deliberately manipulating her away from her anger, but his misery worked just the same. She turned and pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly.

Remy sank into that embrace, greedy for it. This he had really needed. This was better than a hundred painkillers. "Oh, my Molly girl. Mon ador'ee. You de sweetest t'ing. Je t'aime, Gambit love you so much!" he whispered and closed his eyes, breathing in her smells.

Molly and Gambit lay on the bed together, quiet now. No words would ever be necessary, their communication existed on a whole other level. His Kundatesh had evolved with their relationship and allowed them a closeness few other couples would ever have. She kissed him and squeezed him until he laughed and she knew he was really okay.

I was so scared, she signed after a moment.

"Nuthin's gonna 'appen to Gambit, not wit 'is Molly girl to love 'im."

Are you ready to go home?

"Non. Gambit's got a bad situation 'ere. All de Siskans screwed up bad. Dis time it was Set' dat started it. Go figure, eh? Guess 'e was jealous of all de attention Kimble get. Gotta make de rounds, get dem all straight."

How are you going to do that?

"No clue, but Gambit's still gotta try. You wanna wait? Don' know how long 'e gonna be. Could be awhile."

I'll go now that I know you're okay. I'll get Angel, bring her down after school.

"Dat'd be nice. Kimble's gonna need 'er. I love you, baby," he said and gave her another kiss.

She laughed and pulled away, smiling at him as she walked out. He loved her strength, her will. She would never be frail, she would always be there for him. Always. Gambit lay his head back and took a deep breath. So much work, so little time.

(break)

Gambit hobbled out into the Med Bay's main Recovery Room. As Henry had said, he was back on crutches again, but he tried to make the best of it. Remy was centered now between his four destinations. He could see Seth in one of the nearby beds, curled up under a blanket. Fallen was still seated in Henry's office with the door open so she could look out at him. The two holding cells were full, one Siskan each. Where to begin? He waited half a moment and Karen walked in, taking her place beside him.

"Don't worry," she said when she saw the look of suspicion on his face. "I won't get in your way. I'm here just in case things get out of hand."

He nodded and made his choice. He selected Seth first, he was the most fragile, all things being relative. He made his way to the bedside and pulled up a chair, relieved to be off of his feet. Karen followed him, but leaned against the wall out of view. Seth was balled up, buried under some warm blankets. His eyes were closed and his cheeks still wet from tears. "Hey, buddy," Remy whispered and touched him gently.

Seth opened his eyes and looked at him. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying. "Hey," he greeted in return.

"You feelin' all right, mon petit fils?"

"I guess so."

Remy touched him again and used the Kundatesh to make sure. Seth was exhausted and swamped with guilt over the whole affair, but otherwise okay. Gambit felt Seth shiver from his use of power, and felt an answering vibration from within the young Siskan. It was stronger than he had expected and he hoped Seth wouldn't be afraid. "You feel dat, eh? Gambit won't hurt you."

Seth sniffed and smiled, now perfectly relaxed. "He never does."

"Why didn't you come to me wit dis?"

"I did. I told you it was making me crazy."

"You didn' say nuthin 'bout changin' yo' codes, 'bout you wantin' to fool around wit Kimble."

Seth lowered his eyes, feeling guilty. "Who told you about the codes? Was it Henry?"

"Oui. Don't be mad. 'E was just worried about you."

"It's okay," Seth replied with a shrug. It didn't matter anymore, not after this. He went on to explain, "The thing with Kimble just kind of happened. I was upset and took off. He came after me and tried to make me feel better. It just happened on its own."

"An' when 'e was done wit you?"

"I was better. It was like the door was stuck and he kicked it open. I can see the shines now, Remy. I needed what he did for me. I tried to explain this to Fallen but she just got mad. She thinks Kimble was being mean, but that wasn't it at all."

"Kimble say you promise not to tell."

Seth tucked his head down and lowered his eyes, feeling guilty. "I can't hide anything from her. I thought if I told her the truth up front she wouldn't be so angry. She- she locked me away in the bathroom and wouldn't let me out! Again! It's not fair!"

"It's all right. She didn't mean it."

"I'm a man, I have rights," Seth whispered softly in anger. "I'm not a dog."

Gambit sighed and gave Seth's head a rub. "You gotta 'ave dat talk wit 'er jus' like Gambit told you. She still t'inkin' you a child. You gotta stand up for y'self, cher. Jus' don' get too carried away. Whatever you t'ink went on t'day, she was jus' protectin' you cause she love you."

"I know she does, it's just that it still hurts. I can't believe she went for Kimble like that. I hope he's gonna be okay. Fallen was so angry...!" Seth shivered again, this time with real fear. "I saw the darkness in her shine. I didn't know what it meant."

Remy smiled sadly and then as best he could, carefully began to do what Kimble had not had time for, explaining about the colors in the shines and what each one meant. He explained as best he could how to build defenses against the vibrations and how a calm and serene mind could be maintained with some patience and hard work. Lessons for life as an empath. Seth listened with rapt attention, his computer driven mind memorizing all of it immediately. He wouldn't forget. He wouldn't make that mistake with his Mistress again.

Gambit saw it, understanding completely. He ruffed Seth's hair and gave him a squeeze, not wanting that fear to come from thoughts of his Mistress. Seth was going to need her to help him get through this new change. "Gambit's gonna talk to 'er. See where she's at. Den he talk to your brother. He gonna be okay, you'll see. Get some rest."

"Thanks. I love you."

Remy smiled at the familiar line. This time Seth sounded like he was the one who really needed to know it so he gave his ritual response and another kiss. "Gambit loves you, too. Sleep now."

Gambit withdrew and went to his next challenge. Fallen sat smoking in Henry's office and sipped at a cup of coffee, hogging Henry's nice large easy chair. Like Remy, she had played with quitting smoking over these past years, but things just kept getting in the way of it, this seemed as good a time as any to start back up again. What a disaster. Her eyes were red from crying and her wrist was neatly wrapped in a plaster cast.

Remy hobbled in, taking his time as he moved, all the better to get a read on her shine. He could see she was scared and still quite angry. That anger was driven by a sense of guilt too blatant for him to even need to read her shine to see it. She was a lot like him now, left in the lurch while everything had blown up around them, with neither of them seeing it coming. Like him, she was wondering how much of this was her own fault. Just knowing these things made it a little easy for him to know how to approach her, they were on common ground.

Fallen watched him as he came, tracking him with her eyes as he sat down on the edge of Henry's desk. Her posture became instantly defensive, her face hardening as she saw Karen lean in the doorway as well.

Karen wasn't blind. She tried to ease the tension by waving at Fallen with an easy smile as she softly greeted, "Hey, Fallen."

Remy watched as Fallen only nodded at Karen, he could see Fallen was feeling a little cornered. He said gently, "Karen's just here to make sure you an' me don' get all rowdy. We just gonna talk, dat's all. You okay?"

Fallen calmed a little, trying to relax. "Yeah. How is Seth?"

" 'Enry say he okay. He tell you how dis whole t'ing started?"

"No, he didn't," she returned, unable to hide her hostility. It was misplaced guilt but he knew that.

"Well, a while back, when we firs' come here, Set' found a way to alter 'is codes. Said 'e got de idea from de Games Master, but 'e only waited until now to try it. Don' know exactly what 'e was after, but what 'e got was de Kundatesh like Kimble does. 'E seein' de shines now."

"So you say. It sounds like a convenient excuse for Siskan misbehavior," Fallen snapped, her face hard with disbelief.

"It a real t'ing, chere. Gambit's been livin' wit it ever since we come back from Cerise. Kimble give it to me when we share de files. It de same way I know de Siskan. It ain't so easy to live wit. It can be wonderful an' scary all at once."

"That's a lie. If Seth was in that kind of trouble, he would have told me," she argued, not wanting to hear it. To believe would mean that Seth didn't trust her anymore or worse – he no longer loved her.

Gambit grumbled internally at her stubbornness. He wasn't nearly afraid of her enough not to speak his mind. He was still so amazed that Seth could've been that bad off without his Mistress knowing something was wrong. In order to get her to see the whole picture, he had to deflect her share of the blame from Kimble back to her where it belonged. "But 'e didn't. 'E change 'is codes weeks ago, but 'e don' say one word to you. Ever wonder why dat was?" he said in a deliberate taunt.

Fallen's face darkened at the challenge. "That's none of your business."

"Oui, dat's true," Remy agreed readily enough, but he wasn't letting her off the hook. "But it is yours. You don't take dat seriously, you gonna lose him for sure. You so scared Set' gonna break, you gonna break 'im y'self just by holdin' him too tight."

"How do you know so much?" she sneered, her anger not diminished by his boldness. She felt he was talking down to her. She knew Seth well enough without Remy dictating Siskan protocol to her like he did to everyone else.

" 'Ow could I not know? All de Siskans trust me. I ain't never given dem a reason not to."

Fallen glared at him, blasting him with her hurt. She couldn't even speak, she was so angry at the idea that he would know Seth better than her. Just because he thought he knew Kimble didn't mean he knew everything.

Remy saw it but proceeded anyway, hoping to keep this going. "Set' talk to me. 'E say you an' him been 'avin' some trouble lately. You not feelin' so close."

"We're close enough," she snapped, still not liking his tone.

"Really? You de one lockin' 'im up. Ever wonder what dat feels like? Not 'avin' control?"

She glared at him, her face flushing instantly. The fact that his point had merit made it all the more painful. She didn't like being psychoanalyzed like this, even if it was an accurate hit. "It's my duty to protect him. How I chose to do that is my business. I won't see him ruined."

"It look like it gonna 'appen anyways, you not too careful. 'E's changin' and you might not realize it, but 'e's all scared 'e gonna lose you for good. He love you like de world."

"If that were true...he wouldn't have cheated on me," she replied, lowering her eyes. For the first time, her anger receded enough to reveal the deep hurt inside.

Remy reacted to it at once. This he could use to try and make her see what he was so desperately trying to show her. He leaned forward, balancing on his crutches as he reached out to her, willing her to understand. " 'E make a mistake, it don't mean he don't love you, fille."

"I can't...I can't compete with Kimble and Aiden. I'm not a man."

Remy laughed and shook his head. This always happened, folks getting hung up on gender with Siskans. "You been livin' wit Set' for how long and you don' know a t'ing about Siskans, chere?"

She gave him another angry glare. He was back to this again, thinking he knew so much more about Siskans than she did.

Remy saw the rip in her shine and knew what it was. He would have to be careful and work around her resentment. His voice was even and instructive as he began to explain in the most unthreatening voice he could find, "See, dis how it is. Dey ain't no boys, dey ain't no girls. Set' feel de Kundatesh. De empathy call to 'im, not what dose boys got 'tween deir legs. Set', he curious, sure. But dat ain't enough to turn 'is head. Not dat by itself. If it was, 'e woulda done dis a long long time ago, n'est ce pas? He was in a jam an' Kimble helped him."

Fallen's face reddened at Remy's defense of his Siskan. "Kimble didn't help him, he fucked him! He took advantage of him and raped him. Aiden put him up to it, the bastard," she said, snapping out each word in her anger. "Probably wanted him broken in nice and easy."

Gambit snorted at that, always amazed to what lengths people will go to avoid their own culpability. Even this was a leap he never would have made. "Quoi? You t'ink dis some kinda stupid conspiracy to deflower yo' Siskan? S'il vous plait! Kimble didn't rape nobody. Set' was in pain and since you an' him ain't so close as you t'inkin' -" Remy barely paused as he saw Fallen's anger surge. At least she was listening to him as he continued, " ...'e begged Kimble to help him. Kimble done it, sure. 'E done it 'cause he love his brother, 'cause Set' was in pain an' he couldn't take it. Aiden didn' 'ave nuthin' ta do wit dis, other dan he worried 'bout Set' goin' t'rough some kinda change he couldn't cope wit. Dere ain't no rapin' goin' on here. You too cruel fo' sayin' dat to Kimble. How stupid could you be? Kimble's gonna break. You can't never 'cuze him of rape, he can't take it. Dat's why 'e shatter in de firs' place!"

"Kimble's just being a baby. He wants the right to do whatever he wants. When he doesn't get his way, he just breaks down because he knows you'll give in to him. He's been doing it for years!" Fallen countered, an icy edge to her voice.

"Dat's not fair. Gambit's been takin' care of him fine."

"Oh? You didn't stop him from killing that girl. Now look at him. He's running all around like some kind of out of control child and when it blows up in his face, here you are trying to get me to admit it was all my fault. Well, it isn't going to happen, mister. Not this time. I know better. Kimble is a child, he can be influenced by anybody who appeals to him the right way! He was with Sabretooth of all people, cried when he thought the man was dead! Who knows what Aiden has done with him, what he's used to screw around with Kimble's head? Well, I'm not taking any chances! Kimble is staying away from Seth and that's final! I won't let him break Seth, no way. If I have to keep Seth away from everyone I will!"

Remy smiled at her arrogantly. "So dat's it, eh? You say Kimble never really broke yet you all scared de same gonna 'appen to Set'. Don't quite make sense to me, fille. Can't 'ave one wit'out de other."

"I will do whatever it takes to keep Seth out of Kimble's madness. That's final," Fallen said, her voice firm and brooking no argument.

Remy wasn't frightened, he changed tack instead, giving voice to those thoughts he had kept silent for so long. He was nice and direct as he got right to the point. "Would you keep Set' so 'idden away if 'e was a real man?"

"What?" Fallen replied, confused by the change in tack.

"It's a simple question, chere. Would you 'old Set' back if 'e was a real man? If 'e was 'uman?"

"That's not a fair question."

"Of course it is, it just one you ain't never asked y'self, is all. You sit back on yo' high horse and say to everybody dat you don' believe in Siskan ownership yet you didn't t'ink twice 'bout lockin' Set' away in de bathroom. You didn't listen to 'im when 'e begged you to let 'im out."

"He was upset."

"Non. 'E was a man wit feelin's an' you didn't listen to dem. You doin' de same to Kim. You don't see 'im as real, even now."

"That's not true!" Fallen said, but her eyes betrayed her.

"Kimble's pain is as real as 'is soul, chere. You so used to t'inkin' of Set' an' Kim as possessions, not as real men. When you look at dem as real, it change how you act, how you t'ink. What happen today, it all make more sense when you t'ink of it as Kim 'elpin' is brother, not just two Siskans foolin' around. Kim wouldn't 'ave done what he done wit'out good reason, no matter what Aiden tell him. If 'e wanted Set' for just a simple fuck, 'e woulda taken 'im a long time ago."

Fallen turned away, wilting under the weight of Gambit's truths. "I'm sorry."

"It ain't me you should be apologizin' to, hien?" Remy sat back and took out another cigarette, Henry's admonition be damned. He lit it and took a drag before speaking. "Gambit was in de same place as you, not understandin'. An' he was in de same place as Set', wit a door half open. A few days at Trishnar's took care of dat. Got buried under a whole pile of Siskans, empathic Siskans. Got all de Kundatesh he could 'andle. Kicked de door wide open fo' me, just like Set'. It was Aiden dat did it."

"Aiden?" she whispered, looking at Gambit funny now.

"He change to a girl, jus' like Kimble useta do. Made Gambit see, made Gambit understand. No girls, no boys. Just who dey are inside. De Kundatesh like a messenger 'tween us all. We know where we at and it also change 'ow we t'ink about t'ings. Set' wasn't cheatin' on you, not in 'is mind. He was askin' fo' 'elp an' Kim gave it to 'im. Dat's all."

Fallen started to cry again, her face crinkling in anger. "Kimble knows better. He knew this would hurt me."

"Yeah, he know. But he love 'is brother, too. 'E make a choice. Set' begged him, Fallen. Both of dem tell me dis and de Kundatesh, too. Can't lie wit de Kundatesh, it jus' ain't possible. If you really love de boy, an' I t'ink you do, try to forgive 'im. Forgive dem both fo' bein' chil'ren dat make a mistake."

She broke down and he got up awkwardly to hug her, silently cursing the throb in his leg. She fell against him and he soothed her. He let her feel a vibration of comfort, just enough to prove his own words. She shuddered and gripped him even more tightly. He laughed a little and reached into his pocket. He handed her a couple of morsels of chocolate. "Dis de language all Siskans understand. You go give dis to Set' an' den you give de other to Kimble. Your boys need you, Fallen."

He gave her one more. "An' if you brave enough, you can give dis one to Aiden. He don' mean no 'arm to nobody. He all broke up inside like Kimble was. De two of dem just tryin' to feel deir way around. Gambit's gonna talk to him firs', get him square before you try. He didn' mean to cause no trouble."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I know 'cause I know Aiden. Besides, did 'Enry tell you about de scans he make?"

Fallen nodded. "Yes. He said Seth has been changed."

"Dat's right. Dis isn't all made up stuff, chere. Aiden saw Set' was sick. De only mistake Aiden make was in not trustin' any of us humans to 'elp him. 'E went to dose 'e he knew best. 'E went to Kimble and Kimble only tried to do what he t'ought would help. Maybe 'e go about it de wrong way, but 'Enry say Set's scans de better for it. I know you don' trust Aiden, but just look at him wit yo' eyes, feel 'im wit yo' heart, chere. He just another lost boy, dat's all. One more fo' Gambit's collection."

Fallen nodded, giving in to his logic or at least was too tired to fight about it any more, and hugged him in thanks. She left him and slowly made her way to Seth's bed. She hugged her Siskan and he grabbed onto her tightly, ending any fears Remy might have had of him rejecting his Mistress. Seth needed her so much and now she was here and no longer angry. Nothing had frightened him so much as that.

"You're very good," Karen commented to Remy when Fallen was out of range. "I have no idea why Logan thought you would need my help."

Remy just smiled at her. "Ain't been to see Kimble an' Aiden yet. Dey de ones gonna give me de mos' trouble."

"After you, then."