A/N: Just a quick note to ferretlady for taking the time to leave a review. I appreciate the kind words and the encouragement! It really does help. Thanks for taking a chance on this fic! :)

CHAPTER 16

Push and Pull

"Hello, little one."

Rogue felt the tears prickling at the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill over at a moment's notice. She blinked once, and then once again, attempting to clear her vision and confirm that she was not imagining the things she was seeing.

"'Ro?" she whispered in disbelief after hearing Ororo's voice. She openly stared at the figure standing a few feet ahead of her. The last time Rogue had seen her, she had been lying unconscious in the hospital's ICU room. Rogue almost didn't trust her own eyes, although they clearly showed the older woman standing tall and regal before her, and most certainly conscious.

Rogue flung her arms around Ororo and embraced her tightly. "Yoah okay," she murmured tearfully, relief flooding through her.

Ororo returned the affectionate hug, smiling warmly. "Of course, I am, little one. Why wouldn't I be?" She took a half-step back as Rogue released her, catching sight of the silent figure who had been observing them. "Remy," she called, but paused to study him further. "But not exactly Remy…?" She turned a questioning gaze to Rogue, as the discreet inquiry passed her lips.

"No, that's still th' swamp rat," Rogue confirmed before glancing over her shoulder. "Jus' from a year or so back, when he got a li'l too cocky, an' mah powers got th' better o' him."

"Ain't no way, no how, petite," Remy jeered at the comment, smoothly making his way toward them. He gave Ororo a cursory once-over, searching for injuries that might not have been readily visible. "How you feelin', Stormy?"

"I feel well enough to send a lightning bolt your way if you insist on using that horrid nickname."

Remy flippantly shrugged his shoulders as he instinctively moved closer to Rogue. "T'ink it suits you, chère. Who else in de world is as strong, an' unpredictable, an' beautiful as you?" He grinned mischievously at her.

Suppressing her own smile, Ororo began wandering down the small dirt path leading further into the valley. She gently cradled a yellow rose bud along the way. "That charm of yours is going to get you in some serious trouble one day," she declared, turning back just in time to notice Rogue take several obvious steps away from Gambit.

Rogue was about to pitch a warning scowl to her boyfriend's psychic residue but caught Ororo's stare, and averted her eyes instead. Evidently, it had slipped Gambit's mind that nobody knew they were seeing each other, and that little fact was supposed to remain a secret. Without thinking, he was crowding into Rogue's personal space like the two-year lover he was and not the mortal enemy that they were still trying to make everyone believe.

Ororo took a deep, cleansing breath and faced her companions squarely. "Now, since Remy is in here with us – or at least this version of him – I presume this isn't my subconscious we are strolling through. I take it, then, we are presently in your psyche, Rogue?"

The younger woman nodded.

With mock petulance, Remy pouted and folded his arms across his chest. "It's always de Cajun dat's done away with first," he griped. He gestured to the scenery surrounding them. "F'r all ya know, dis could be my mind. 'O course I t'ink an infinity pool would prob'ly be more relaxin'… Maybe a bit o' de ocean… Def'nitely be needin' more ladies shashayin' around in biki– "

"That's exactly why she knows this ain't yoah noogin, swamp rat," Rogue interjected, arms akimbo. "You always gotta turn things sleazy, don'tcha?"

"Now dat's jus' downright prejudiced, chère." He mirrored her stance, preparing to verbally square off with her. "Jus' 'cause a lady's wearin' a two-piece dat automatically makes her sleazy?"

"It does if she's struttin' around in yoah seedy thoughts."

Remy allowed a lazy smirk to curl at his lips. "Sounds t' me like you wanna be joinin' de ladies up in my head, petite. Y'know, all you gotta do is ask. Be more dan happy t' make you a cozy li'l spot, all ya own."

She threw a condescending smile at him, scoffing, "Boy, do Ah look demented ta you?"

Remy stroked his chin thoughtfully, considering. "Well, now dat I t'ink about it…"

"Ah'm perfectly happy stayin' as far away from yoah backwater brain as Ah can get, thank you very much." She wended down the same flower-lined path Ororo had taken. "Any time at all, Cajun, feel free ta climb back up that tree you were hidin' out in."

"Dat's real cold, petite – even f'r you. An' after I helped you find 'Ro an' ev'ryt'in'."

A number of paces ahead of the squabbling couple, Ororo cleared her throat loudly. "Are you children finished yet?" she asked patronizingly. "Not that I don't cherish the sound of you two bickering, incessantly, but why again are we here?"

Wordlessly, Rogue extended her arm, revealing the golden shimmer encasing her right hand. "This is Logan's healin' factor," she elucidated. "Ah borrowed it from him earlier, so Ah could pass it along ta you."

Ororo nodded slowly, not quite certain she understood. She knew Rogue's absorption ability allowed her to use another mutant's powers, but she hadn't known that those same powers could then be transferred to a third person. She mentally ran through possible scenarios where she would need Logan's healing factor. Each one seemed to be more ominous than the last.

Purposefully reining her emotions in, Ororo inquired, "What exactly has happened?"

"You were in a car accident." Rogue tried to keep the answers succinct, not wanting to bombard her with too many details all at once.

Worry suddenly tinged Ororo's features as a concern pushed its way to the forefront of her thoughts. "Is Logan all right? Was he in the car with me?"

"Non, chère, non. Logan's fine," Gambit soothed gently, stepping in and laying a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Rogue's got his healin' mojo, 'member? Can't get dat from him 'less he's okay, d'accord?" He looked over at Rogue, silently asking her to verify what he had just stated.

"Yeah, o' course Logan's okay. When is he ever not okay?" she contested. "As a matter o' fact, he's waitin' fo' us right now, back in th' hospital. So, th' faster we get you all healed up, th' faster we can get outta mah head. Truth be told, it's startin' ta get a li'l crowded in here anyway."

Just as she had done with her brother previously in the diner, Rogue extended her hand in offering. Ororo eyed the iridescent luster enveloping her skin for a moment, before raising her gaze to meet Rogue's. With only the slightest of hesitation, she reached out and grasped the other woman's hand with her own.

Nothing happened.

There was no blinding flash of light. No intense physical pain. No dramatic, drawn-out speech. Not even a subtle tickle of movement.

"Well, dat was kind o' anti-climactic… What 'sactly are we supposed t' see here now?" Remy inquired, cutting through the expectant silence that had fallen.

Rogue mumbled, "Beats th' hell outta me, Cajun." She assessed the glimmer still surrounding her right hand. It was easy enough to draw Logan's healing factor into herself – she had done so numerous times before – but she had never actually scrutinized what it would take to release it out of herself. There really hadn't been any need to explore that thought. The effects of her own mutation were temporary, so any borrowed abilities would wane and eventually dissipate without prompting. She simply let them fade away on their own.

"Dis is ya skull, ain't it, petite?" Remy tapped his temple and then pointed to Rogue across from him. "Jus' t'ink about it an' make it happen. 'Sactly like you did wit' findin' Stormy in her garden."

Ororo used her free hand to snap a quick lightning bolt next to Gambit's foot. Instinctively, he jumped back from the electrical charge.

"See? Even Stor– 'Ro's got control in here. No reason you can't do de same, non?" He threw Ororo a cheeky wink, amending to curb the dreaded nickname for the time being, but impishly hinting at its inevitable return.

Ororo shook her head at his antics. Smiling lightly, she admitted, "As surprising as it may be, I believe Remy makes a valid point."

"T'anks f'r de vote o' confidence dere, chèrie." He mock-saluted her.

Continuing as if he hadn't spoken, Ororo reiterated, "This is your mind, Rogue – your domain. You have command over everything and anything within, including the use of your powers. It's simply a matter of exerting your will." She laid an encouraging hand on Rogue's shoulder, softening her tone. "And I have it on good authority that both you and your brother have that in spades."

"An' den some…" Remy chimed in.

Rogue appraised their linked hands once again. She wished it could be as effortless as they were making it sound. It was one thing to goof around with the sunlight and the temperature in her mind's eye, but manipulating her mutant powers to limits that she wasn't accustomed to was a whole other thing altogether. She was finding it difficult to shove aside her own doubts about her abilities.

But you were th' one that pushed fo' this, she reminded herself. You were th' one who convinced Logan that you could do this. She squared her shoulders, building her determination up. So, let's go on an' do this then.

From the corner of her eye, Rogue saw Gambit's signature smirk begin to form. "What're you grinnin' about over there, swamp rat?"

Her question only made his smile widen. "Not'in', chère. Jus' saw a li'l peek o' dat willpower seepin' out."

Ororo raised their joined hands and asked, "Is there anything that we can do to help?"

"Ah don' think so…" Rogue answered after a few moments of rumination. She repositioned their hands so that her own hand was on top and then began light, swirling patterns on the skin using the middle finger of her left hand. "Whenever Ah'm here inside mah head, this is how Ah draw in a person's mutant power. Ah make small circles on their hands an' pretty soon their power wants ta follow along."

Sure enough, as she explained, the small ripple gradually swelled into a golden whirlpool, spinning after her finger's rhythmic movements. "Then Ah can jus' pull it inta me." She demonstrated by withdrawing her middle finger from the contact, thus shifting the gold aura from her right hand to her left.

"Have you tried pushing it, instead of pulling?" Ororo asked.

Rogue shook her head but placed her now-glowing left hand on top of her right. "Nope, but here goes nothin'," she whispered and then closed her eyes to concentrate.

- oOo -

"Chère!" Remy exclaimed as Rogue nearly collapsed after releasing the hold she had on both Logan and Ororo. He caught her deftly and gently lowered her to the hospital room floor.

She blinked in surprise, almost unsure that Gambit was actually crouched down in front of her. "Remy?"

He grinned, relief finally flooding through his system. "Might want t' give a body some warnin' next time ya feel like faintin', mignonne. It's pretty close quarters in here, seein' as you, me, an' de Ice-Pick ain't even supposed t' be here." He brought a hand up to caress her cheek softly. "How you feelin'? You okay?"

Rogue frowned and massaged her fingers into her temples. "No… Mah head is killin' me…"

"Want an ice pack?" Bobby offered from across the room, half joking.

Rogue's lip curled into a semi-smile for him. "Not really sure if Ah'm happy yoah here right now, sugah."

Before Bobby had a chance to retort, an arm shot out and physically separated Remy and Rogue, nearly knocking her to the floor completely. As she got her bearings, she looked up and gasped. "Logan!"

Her brother had effectively pinned Gambit to the wall, with his right fist firm against the younger man's throat. His first and third claws were clearly visible on either side of the Cajun's neck. It was only because of the fact that Gambit was still breathing did they know that Logan hadn't extended the middle claw… yet.

With a menacing growl, Logan sneered, "You gotta be the stupidest SOB alive, Gumbo."