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Chapter 8.

Rogue's mind was having a difficult time processing what was happening. One minute they were leaving, the next, they were met by gun wielding thugs being led by a woman. Her befuddled mind had made the association between the name and the files she had read. This beautiful woman with the strange gleam in her eye was Remy's ex-wife. Damn! This had been a day for exes, and of all the ones to run into, again, it had to be one who hated him.

Rogue put both hands up in an obvious gesture of peace. "Look, I'm not sure what's going on here, but there's no need for -"

Belladonna cut her off.

"You must be the flavour of the day. I know from personal experience Remy not worth the trouble, but I hope for your sake you enjoyed your time with him, chère. You didn't have any illusions that you were special did you? You weren't for him, and I certainly won't remember you when I'm finished here." Her violet eyes narrowed as she focused her attention on Rogue.

Rogue now noticed another three men closing in from Belladonna's right. They were crawling out of the woodwork now. The part of her mind capable of logical thought had registered the thought that they might be in serious trouble, but she hadn't panicked just yet. A quick glance at Remy showed that he had his poker face on.

"Look, the girl's got nothing to do this. Just let her go, Belle! This is between you and me." Remy spoke slowly.

"Bien. Ayez!" With a curt nod of her head at Rogue towards the exit, Belle turned her attention back to Remy with a smile.

Rogue was hesitant to leave Remy on his own, but she also knew that the only way to help now would be to let them think they had the upper hand. She moved cautiously toward the door passing Belladonna and the others in the process, step after step made in silence. When she was several feet away, she heard a small explosion behind her. She turned quickly to see that Remy knocked out the three men standing closest to Belladonna, who were sprawled ungraciously on the floor. Belladonna had seen the cards coming, and rolled safely out of their reach, almost simultaneously retrieving two small knives. Rogue used her borrowed telekinetic powers to repel Belladonna, sending her weapons and her body in opposite directions until she forcefully hit the wall. Her concentration was broken by the knife whizzing past her, grazing her in the process. She stopped the knife mentally, sending it flying back to the owner. Remy had been engaged with the final man standing, when a huge scary looking fellow with short dreadlocks and a scarred face seemed to visualize out of nowhere. Rogue would have sworn he had not been in the room before, but Remy seemed not to notice him.

"Remy" she was about to call out but everything around her seemed to be moving at the speed of sound. She heard the deafening explosions of gunfire and then Remy was lying on the floor. She unconsciously released her hold on Belladonna, as she ran over to where he lay.

"Gris-Gris, you fool. Didn't I tell you to leave him to me?" Belladonna hissed at the man, violet eyes flashing angrily.

Rogue took the opportunity to send a telepathic message putting them both to sleep, before kneeling to check whether Remy was still breathing. He was still conscious, but fading fast; from what she could tell he was losing a lot of blood, and she was afraid to move him.

"Rogue?" He called out weakly. It was getting dark around him, but he saw her felt her holding his hand, and the last thing he remembered hearing was her voice assuring him that Henri was almost there and everything would be fine.

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Rogue had a terrible headache. The healer was hurriedly ushered into the room Remy was placed in by his father. She wasn't sure how much time had passed while she sat waiting anxiously outside, with the rest of Remy's family, biting her nails nervously. A quick glance at her watch told her only two minutes had gone by, so she made a mental note to stop looking at it. She hated anticipating the worst. But she was afraid to hope for the best. It never seemed to her that the best happened in cases like this. She mentally checked off the people she cared about that she had lost, her mother, Irene, Joseph… She thought of Kitty's parents. She couldn't handle any more tragedy. Even if it was just Remy, she told herself firmly.

"You keep doing that, you gonna wear out the floor chère."

"Huh?" She noticed Henri smiling kindly at her, where she had unconsciously began to pace. "Oh."

She moved to sit down again, when he exclaimed "You're hurt."

"It's nothing." The pounding in her head seemed to be growing stronger. She held her fingers to her temples.

Ignoring her comments, he had already strolled over, examining her blood stained blouse, where she had been cut around the midriff. "We need to have that attended to."

"It's not a big deal, really. As long as Remy's being take care of. I just need a couple of aspirin." Rogue clutched her head, as the room began spinning around her.

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Rogue awoke to the whooshing sound of the ceiling fan overhead. It was light outside, barely, and so quiet. She stretched and pulled down the covers. It had been cool the night before, but the air was beginning to warm up in anticipation of the day ahead. The first time she had really slept in the days since Remy was…She shook her head to keep the thought from entering her mind.

Unable to lie down any longer she rose from the bed, opening the French doors to the balcony. The view was breathtaking. The LeBeau mansion sat on a huge property, stretching back to the morass. To her left, she noticed a row of small cottages. It felt good to just sit in solitude for a while. She was used to having an abundance of time alone when she needed it, and sometimes when she didn't. Since leaving her father's house, she'd had scarcely a moment to herself. Now she could finally think.

She could no longer remember how long it had been since she first embarked on this journey. A week, no surely it was longer than that. Two weeks, that was closer. It felt more like a lifetime. Time was such a strange thing. She remembered a poem she had seen in her parents' wedding album as a child:

Time is too slow for those who wait

Too swift for those who fear

At the time she had found it funny as a child that her mother had interspersed poetry with pictures. But now it made sense. It all went with the image of her mother she had in her memory. Tall and beautiful and artistic and loving and perfect. Again she tried to recant the poem she had memorised so may years before.

Time is too slow for those who wait

Too swift for those who fear

Again, she could only remember the first two lines. It wasn't important anyway. Why couldn't she remember? She realised sadly that she had forgotten to take the album with her when she left. She placated herself with the thought that it was sitting in its usual place waiting for her to get it. And she would.

Sighing, she left her room and headed down the corridor. She quietly opened his door, looking around quickly, she slipped inside. She sat at the edge of the bed, reaching down to smooth a lock of hair out of his face. Before he had been pale and gaunt, but now his face at least had returned to normal. She watched the rise and fall of his chest with every breath, and felt satisfied that he would awake soon, and be back to his usual stubborn annoying self.

"Hurry up, sugar." She whispered, then added "I should go before Tante Mattie shoos me out again."

She chuckled at the thought of the older woman clucking at her in disapproval as she had the afternoon before. Rogue had spent most of the past two days in the chair beside Remy's bed. She had barely slept, and despite her protests that she was fine, the dark circles under her eyes were a giveaway. The healer had sent her off to bed, in a way that made Rogue feel like a child again, being chastised by her grandmother.

Nevertheless, she sat there a while longer. She heard the turn of the door, and turned somewhat sheepishly to see the large black woman standing in the doorway.

"Good Morning, Tante Mattie. I was just checking on him. I'll be leaving now."

"Child, you must be set on springs. What on earth are you doing up this early? Didn't I tell you to make sure and get your rest?" There was that disapproving tone again. Rogue felt a little silly. She was a grown woman after all. Sure she had fainted in the walkway outside Remy's room in mid-conversation with Henri, but she was fully recovered now. A small neat bandage covered her wound.

"I slept for ages last night. Actually, it was the best sleep I've had in months."

Rogue perched by the window and watched as Tante Mattie fussed about Remy. "Is it normal for him to be out this long?"

"He's all right now child. I gave him a draught to make him sleep. When he wakes up, he'll be right as rain." She gave a reassuring smile as she finished straightening up.

"Why don't you come downstairs and help me and Mercy with breakfast. It'll give you something to do besides worry."

"Yes Ma'am."

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Being with Mercy was enjoyable but exhausting. Rogue had liked her immediately. She was warm and funny and very good at keeping up a conversation with very little input from the other party, unless of course she was curious about something, or someone. Mercy was a bundle of energy, chasing small children to their baths, and ordering the men of the house about. One of the things Rogue liked about Remy's relatives was how little questions they asked. They had put her up in their home and treated her like an old family friend. Maybe it was because they operated outside the law. Unlike regular people, they weren't afraid that she could rob them of all their possessions in their sleep; and they understood the need for privacy. Or more likely, they already knew everything about her anyway.

They had breakfast in the large dining room. At the head of the great mahogany table, sat Remy's father, who had insisted she call him Jean-Luc, insisting Monsieur LeBeau was much too formal. Remy had told her he was adopted, otherwise she would not have guessed, as they really seemed a lot alike. Jean-Luc was a very handsome man, despite his age, and had long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail that fell down his back. He was very charming and reminded Rogue a bit of an old pirate for some reason, an Acadian Errol Flynn. At the other end sat Tante Mattie, who Mercy explained was the unofficial matriarch of the family. She had been the guild traiteur, or healer, who had inadvertently helped raise the boys after the death of his wife. Mercy sat beside Rogue, across from her husband Henri, Remy's older brother. Then there were the cousins Lapin and Theoden, who seemed around the same age as Remy, and Etienne, the teenager of the group. Unlike Henri, Etienne and Theoden who had inherited the dark hair and features of Jean-Luc, Lapin had red hair which seemed to complement his personality; less suave and charming, he was more humorous and mischievous. And finally, there were Mercy and Henri's twin sons.

Rogue could feel the affection between them, and between Lapin's jokes and the twin's antics, the time passed pleasantly. She could easily imagine how noisy and chaotic it would have been without Tante Mattie and Mercy there.

"Do you enjoy being the only woman in the house besides Tante Mattie of course?" Rogue asked Mercy as she held up a white cotton button-down shirt.

The two were in Mercy's sitting room. A far cry from the ornate traditional décor of the main living spaces in the rest of the house, this room was a mercifully feminine sanctuary; airy, light and elegant. Somehow Mercy had gotten several closetfuls of clothes delivered to the house so she could indulge in her hobby of shopping without having to take Rogue off the property. Mercy's explanation to a bewildered Henri was that Rogue needed things to wear, and this was the safest way. And this way, they could, ummm, Rogue could have plenty of choices.

"Are you kidding? Sometimes I think I could just scream. I love my family, but after all these years the simplicity of the male mind still astonishes me, sometimes. I would really welcome more female companionship around here. We had been hoping for a daughter, but as fate would have it, we got two sons instead. Not that I've given up. I may raise a few potential shopaholics yet."

"Are you the only woman in the guild as well?"

"No. There's Zoe as well. But she's a bit young for me. So, Henri told me about your 'meeting' with Belladonna."

Rogue wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement. But Mercy seemed to be waiting for a response from her. "Why do they hate each other?"

Mercy looked thoughtful. "It's a long story, and I think it's really Remy's to tell. But the long and short of it is this. The thieves and the assassins guilds had been fighting for as long as I can remember, and believe me, I'm older than I look. The marriage was arranged for their eighteenth years when they were still children with the expectation that it would unify the guilds. Let's just say the wedding day was very eventful. Remy sought an annulment and there have been hard feelings ever since. The best thing for everyone, as far as I'm concerned."

"How long are you staying?" Rogue was caught off guard by the question.

"Umm. Until Remy recovers fully, I guess."

"Pity. You should try these; they'll be really great in the heat." Mercy handed her a pair of lightweight embellished blouses.

"This is just so much. I can't accept all this. Don't misunderstand me, its not that I don't appreciate it, but you don't even know me. How do you know I'm someone you can trust? You all have been too kind already."

Mercy looked up with an expression of surprise. "Why wouldn't we be nice to a friend of Remy's, who was instrumental in saving his life?"

"Well, it all sounds so rational when you put it that way." Rogue smiled.

"Besides, we were expecting you. Remy had said he would be coming 'with company.' " Mercy smiled knowingly.

Rogue started hesitantly. "Mercy, I think you have the wrong idea about Remy and me. We're not together."

"Maybe not yet. But you obviously care about him. Maybe it's just a sister's vain hopes for Remy to settle down before too long, but I don't think so. I have a sense about these things." She studied Rogue's face carefully, noting the sadness there.

"Is being with Remy such a disturbing thought?"

"No. It's just that there's a lot you don't know." Rogue stopped there without elaborating, but Mercy wore an expression that clearly said "Do tell."

Sighing, Rogue launched into the whole story, outlining how and why they had met, and some of the events since.

"I know it might not make sense to you, but you have to understand my life. My father is a very unpleasant person, to put it nicely, a hard man to live with. He is so concerned with appearances, and making sure nobody knows his daughter is a mutant, that he would never allow me the freedom to leave. He's powerful enough to have it his way. My options were to pretend to be the happy dutiful daughter and maintain some semblance of freedom, or face a proper imprisonment, someplace where I couldn't damage his political credibility. You honestly have no idea what he is capable of. Joseph was a great person. He was in love with me, but for my part, he was my best friend. I couldn't really imagine a romantic life with him, at first. But if we were married, it would have been a way out, away from my father."

Mercy regarded her pensively, saying nothing.

"Well, I told you it was complicated." Rogue sighed heavily again, as she plopped down into the soft chair.

"I'm really confused. I like Remy, a lot. So, o.k., you weren't far off. I don't blame him for what happened to Joseph anymore. He didn't personally and deliberately cause his death; they just happened to be on opposing sides, with Remy at the helm of the side that lived. It could have easily been the other way around.

"And, on one hand, maybe I've gotten a chance at something real with Remy that I wouldn't have had with Joseph. But on the other hand, I feel completely guilty and just evil for wanting that something. Joseph was willing to make a huge sacrifice knowing I didn't feel the same way about him that he did about me. Don't I owe him some loyalty? Besides, I don't even know how Remy feels. Maybe he's not really interested in something serious. Maybe it's just too soon. So, I may be worrying myself sick for no good reason."

Mercy chose her words carefully. "I don't know what Remy's intentions are, but it seems to me that you deserve the chance to pursue happiness, whether that's with Remy or someone else. I don't think anyone who truly cared about you would want you to be alone, out of some misguided sense of devotion. As for time, you and Remy have been through more in a short space of time than most people in an entire lifetime. Who determines the length of time it takes to fall in love anyway?"

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For the millionth time in recent history Rogue wondered how she had gotten herself in this situation. For some reason, Mercy had asked her to baby-sit the twins, despite Rogue's protests that she really didn't know what to do with children, and wasn't entirely sure she considered them people. The family was off at a guild meeting, she guessed to discuss the unprovoked attack on Remy by the Assassins. Surprisingly, it was not as horrific as she had envisioned. Marc and Jacques had decided that they wanted cookies to eat, so she had struck a deal with them. If they helped make the cookies, she'd let them have as many as they wanted to eat. She knew Mercy probably wouldn't approve. It was cheating somewhat, but who cares; as long as the two five year olds weren't destroying the place on her watch. Besides, she had a plan. While the cookies were in the oven, she'd have them eat dinner. They couldn't eat that many cookies once they'd had dinner, right? The boys were kept occupied with cutting shapes out of the cookie dough.

"What are you up to, mes petits?"

"Oncle Remy!" Simultaneous squeals of joy alerted Rogue from her position in front of the oven. She whirled around to see Remy leaning lazily on the counter, with a twin attached to each leg.

"You're better now. Tante Anna is helping us make cookies."

Rogue went hurriedly to his side. "Boys, I know you're happy to see Oncle Remy. But he's not fully better yet. Why don't you go wash your hands for dinner, and afterwards, we can share some of you delicious cookies with him?" They ran out, racing for first place to their destination.

"Are you sure you should be up. Sit down here." She commanded, pulling out a stool. "Are you ok? Do you need anything?"

He grinned at her, looking better than he should for someone who had come this close to dying. "Just wondering where the welcome committee is. What's so important than nobody's here to take care of me?"

"Tante Mattie is around, and what am I? Chopped liver?" She took a decidedly irritated tone.

"Oh, chère, were you worried 'bout this thief?" He chuckled. "It would take more than a couple bullets to stop the ragin' Cajun."

"I'm glad you can joke about it." She busied herself with wiping off the counters so she wouldn't have to look at him. "And yes, I was worried. We've all spent the past few days at your side. Your father called a guild meeting. That's why you're stuck with me now."

"Come over here." He ordered softly.

When she ignored him, Remy closed the gap between them, tugging her chin up, so she was forced to face him. With his thumb, he wiped away the tear running down her cheek. "Cherie, what's wrong?"

She struggled to find something to explain her behaviour, and then decided not to. She impulsively reached up, pulling him into a hug. "I'm just glad you're o.k." She mumbled in his shoulder, before pulling away. He reluctantly let her go.

"Now for the last time, sit down. I don't want you overdoing it. Tante Mattie might beat me with a frying pan, if I don't keep you under control." She adding, eliciting a bark of laughter from Remy.

"That may be easier said than done, chère." He winked.

Anna rolled her eyes. "You're definitely feeling better."

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Rogue and Remy - So many enemies, so little time.