Rogue awoke the next morning still wrapped in Remy's arms. He held her tightly against his body, like he was afraid of losing her. She carefully worked her way out of his embrace, careful not to wake him. She sighed as she looked at his sleeping form. Last night was amazing and it took all her willpower not to climb right back in bed and wake him up. She stretched languidly as she went to retrieve her dress. She saw Remy's torn clothing and blushed, she glanced back to him and saw claw marks on his back. She had always known it would be like that between them. Hot, blinding, passionate, neither aware of anything but each other. God, she had missed him. Now she needed answers, as soon as he woke up she would hear what he was trying to say last night.

As she put her dress back on something caught the sunlight shining in through the window and reflected into her eyes. Curious, she went to inspect the object closer. She saw a familiar looking silver frame poking out of Remy's bag. Rogue retrieved it and saw it was the picture of her and Remy she had thrown out her window when he left. How did he get it, and in one piece? She picked up his bag and found her jewelry box in there as well.

Rogue looked at Remy's sleeping form. She walked out the door and headed towards her room. She had to think before she talked to him. Finding her things in his bag had thrown her for a loop. Last night had her confused. She wanted him, but was lust all that all that was between them? Rogue loved him still, but did she trust him? Could they make a relationship work? Rogue wanted marriage and kids, but what about Remy?

-

Remy awoke and stretched his tired limbs. He couldn't keep a self satisfied smile from his face. He reached for the source of that smile, but the bed was empty. Remy opened his eyes and peered around his room. Rogue wasn't there. His smile fell and his brow creased, he debated whether he should go after her. If she's mad then he definatley needs to wait. But if she's not, keeping her waiting will get her mad.

Remy sat there debating which way he should screw himself when an angry yell, that sounded like Rogue, tore through the air. He shot out of bed, pulled on his pants, realized they were torn beyond repair, cursed, and grabbed a pair of jeans. He ran barefoot and shirtless, buttoning his pants as he went. Rogue hadn't sounded scared or in pain, merely angry and distressed. Remy just prayed he wasn't the cause of that yell.

As he reached Rogue's room he walked through the open door and stopped dead in his tracks. Rogue's room looked like a tornado had hit it, or a madman. Her dresser drawers had pulled out their contents strewn around her room. Her pillows and bed spread had been ripped to shreds. Her mirror was shattered, pictures had been torn from the wall and destroyed. In their place bitch, whore, cheater and slut had been spray painted.

Remy could tell Rogue was angry beyond words. Her jaw was clenched so tightly he could see the tension making the veins in her neck bulge. Her fists clenched and unclenched on a wadded up piece of paper. She looked so angry Remy was afraid she was going to start throwing things.

"Anna? You o-kay, chere?" he asked, hoping to calm her down a little.

"Ah'm going ta find that little pervert an' Ah'm going ta kill him," she said dropping the paper and turning to face him. She wore her dress from the previous night, her hair was delicsiously rumpled. Long curls fell out of her formerly stylish up do. She was bare foot and rumpled, but she still looked damn sexy. It took all of Remy's willpower to keep a lecherous grin from his face. The seriousness of the situation quickly calmed his raging hormones.

"Mebbe you ought ta wait 'till you cool down chere. I mean dis guy did get through the security here, he might be dangerous," Remy tried to reason. But by the look on her face he was unsucessful.

"Ah don't need ta cool down. Ah need ta stop this psycho," Rogue began picking up her scattered clothes. She stripped off her clothes, not caring that Remy was standing there, and pulled on clean clothes.

"Let me go wit' you den. In case ya need help," he offered. Something about this guy gave Remy a bad feeling.

"Is everything o-kay? I heard a scream," Jean asked, poking her head into Rogue's room. "Oh my God. What happened in here?" she asked when she got a good look at the disaster that had been Rogue's room.

"No Remy Ah need ta do this by myself," Rogue said without so much as a glance in Jeans direction.

"Anna, wait," Remy called as she flew out the window. He ran to the window, leaning out as far as he could. "Rogue!" he screamed, but she kept going.

"Gambit? What's going on?" Jean asked again, drawing Remy's attention away from Rogue's retreating form.

"It's dat psycho stalker," Remy replied with a sigh and a shake of his head. "He came in here sometime last night an' did this," Remy spread his arms to indicate the destroyed room.

"But how? He was obviously in a rage when he did this, I would have felt emotions that strong. And how did he get past the mansions security," Jean glanced around the room a look of confusion on her face.

"I got a bad feelin' about dis guy Jean. I don' think he's human, otherwise, how'd he get past our security so many times?" Remy paced the length of the room, concern for Rogue making him edgy. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, savoring the way the nicotine calmed his nerves. He didn't think Rogue would mind the smoke given the state her room was in.

"You don't think he could actually harm Rogue do you?"

"Non. But I don't really know dat. Mebbe he's a mutant, an' dat's how he's been gettin' in here all de time. What if he's dangerous an' what if he can hurt her?" Remy stopped pacing and put his cigarette out on the bottom of his boot. He then flicked the butt out the window and plopped down on the corner of Rogue's bed with a sigh. He half hoped Rogue didn't find the guy, just so she wouldn't have to face him alone.

"Where was Rogue when all of this happened? Did she go out or something?" Jean glanced at Remy and even though she couldn't read his mind the answer to her question was written plainly across his face.

"No, she didn't go out she was...uh with me," Remy replied.

"I told you to give her space," Jean said raising an eyebrow at him.

"I gave her plenty of space, an' I didn' mean for anythin' ta happen, it jus' did,"

"Well at least she was there and not here. Who knows what that guys plans were, he must have saw you two together, and then came and did this,"

"Oui, dat was my guess too,"

"Well let's try and clean up this mess before Anna gets back,"

-

Remy sat in the media room idly flicking through the channels on the t.v., not really paying attention to the scenes that flitted across the big screen. The sun was setting outside and Rogue had not returned. 'It be all right. She's fine. You're just overreacting.' Remy assured himself.

"Hey man, if you're not gonna watch anything could you let one of us try?" Bobby asked, sounding mildly irritated.

"Sorry mon ami," Remy said getting up and heading outside. Once outside he lit up a cigarette and walked around the perimeter of the mansion. The sun was setting lower and lower on the horizon, and the sky was turning from a dark orange to a bright purple. Remy wondered if Rogue would be back tonight. He hoped she would. He also hoped they'd be able to talk about the other night. The anticipation of that conversation, along with worrying about Rogue had turned his gut into a boiling pot of bile.

Remy walked back to his room contemplating the events of the past couple of months. This was one of those times he wished life had a rewind button. He would go back in time to right before he left Rogue and made sure he never left her. Then maybe she never would have met that crazy guy and he wouldn't be stalking her now. He also would have been there when she got control of her powers. And then those other men wouldn't have touched her. Jealousy burned in him like a red hot rage. Every time he thought about it he couldn't keep images of her with other men out of his head.

Remy sighed when he reached the door of his room, shaking his head to try and rid his mind of the mental images of Rogue with other men. He pushed open the door and didn't bother turning on the lights, regret, guilt and jealousy had put him in a dark mood. He let his trench coat drop to the floor and pulled off his shoes, then lay back on his bed, arms behind his head.

"Sleepy alreadt sugah?"

Remy jumped with a start and noticed Rogue was sitting in a chair by his bed. She looked at him with an amused grin on her face. Remy let out a breath of relief at the sight of her.

"Anna? Where you been girl? I was gettin' worried,"

"I was at the police station havin' a friend of mine get the letters analyzed,"

"An' did they find anythin'?"

"No. Nothing. No DNA, no fingerprints, nuthin',"

They sat there for a few moments in awkward silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Not knowing how to start the conversation that was inevitably coming. This was either the beginning or the end. Both knew it, and didn't know where to start.

"Why'd ya leave, Remy?" Rogue asked finally, no longer able to bear the silence.

"Because, I'm pathetic. It was so hard to see you and want you and not be able to have you. An' den I'd feel guilty cus you didn' have no choice in de matter. But I didn' want to live without you. It was torture chere. An' den when you kept dat secret from me it was like de perfect excuse. It gave me a reason ta be mad at you. It gave me an outlet for all dat frustration, an' I even convinced myself dat I was really mad at you. Dat dat was de only reason why I wanted to leave. Dat I wasn't a selfish bastard," Remy barely took a breath during his whole speech. He stared into Rogue's eyes trying to read the emotions that flashed across her face. He just prayed she could find it in her to forgive him.

"Why'd ya say ya didn't love meh? You couldn't have just left. Ya had to hurt meh like that?"

"I tried to jus' leave, but you came an' tried ta stop me, an' I knew if I listened for too long I'd stay, an' I'd never get another excuse like dat again,"

"So you basically left cus of my powers, right? And now ya want meh back cus I can touch, is that what you're sayin'?"

"No, chere. I's not like dat. Livin' all dese years without you was hell. It wasn't livin', I've never been so miserable,"

"Why didn't ya come back sooner then? Why didn't ya come back for meh?"

"Cus I knew you'd never forgive me. An' I tried to forget you, I tried to move on, chere. I tried ta be happy knowin' you were happier without me, but when 'Ro needed me, it was de perfect excuse ta come back. An' when I saw you again, Anna, it was like I was alive again. Like my life had meaning and I looked forward to de day again cus of you. Without you I can't live I just exist. I'm sorry, Anna. Sorry I hurt you, sorry I lied. Sorry we had to live all those lonely years without each other. I don' know 'bout you, chere, but it was hell on earth for me,"

"Remy," Rogue sighed. She wanted to just forgive him and forget about the past three years, but it would be so hard to trust him again. "Ah don't know what ta do sugah. Ya know I still love ya, but sometimes lovin' you is a burden I'd rather live without. How can Ah trust you again? What if Ah lose control of my powers? Will ya leave again? And how can Ah live with ya if Ah don't have faith in us? Ah used ta believe we could get through anything together, but now, Ah don't know anymore,"

"Anna, I will do whatever I can to make you happy. I love you. More den I ever knew I could love someone. I only want for you t be happy, chere. An' if dat means I have ta leave again I will, whatever you want,"

"Ah don't know what Ah want, Remy," and that was the crux of it. Rogue wanted him, but didn't trust him. She loved him, but hated him for hurting her. She wanted him to stay, but couldn't stand to see him. She felt a passionate longing for him, physically, but that wasn't enough to keep their relationship alive.

Rogue stared at him, his eyes spoke volumes, as to the regret he felt. His eyes were filled with such sorrow it took her breath away. And the thought of never seeing him again caused her breath to seize, and her heart to tighten in her chest. The pain was so intense she wanted to double over and cry out. Just as she had when he left the first time.

"Why do Ah love you?" Rogue asked, sorrowfully. Remy looked into her eyes as they stared at him accusingly, sparkling with unshed tears. She looked so angry. Like it was all his fault she loved him. And maybe it was.

"If I could make y' stop lovin' me I would do it if made y' happy. I would make y' forget about me if I t'ought it would make y' happy, but I don' t'ink it would, chere. Just tell me what I can do to make t'ing right wit' us," his accent was getting stronger, a sure sign he was upset. He was starting to fear Rogue would ask him to leave. Remy didn't know if he could take her rejection. Maybe he should just leave now so he wouldn't have to hear her say she hated him.

"When you left, Remy," Rogue began, interupting his dark thoughts. "Ah felt such despair. Ah don't ever want ta feel like that again. To think that you have that much power over me, over my life. It scares me. Ah don't ever want to feel that way again,"

"What can I do so you'll forgive me?"

"Prove to me that you'll never leave me again. Prove to me that you'l never hurt me again. Give me forever, Remy. Ah want happily ever after. Marriage, kids, everything, and Ah want ta you to want that, "

"I do, chere. I want alla dat wit' you. I can't promise I'll never hurt you again, but I'll do everythin' in my power to make you happy. Can you just give us another try?" Remy stretched his hand out to her. Reaching for her but wanting to give her a choice.

Rogue stared at Remy's hand, wondering if she could take it and forgive him. Looking into his eyes she saw desperation and fear, and maybe even a little hope. Seeing him now, she knew she could never live without him. Slowly, she placed her hand in his.

Remy tried not to grin like an idiot, but he was so happy he couldn't keep a smile from his face. She may not have promised him forever, but she was willing to give them another chance and that meant everything to him. Things would be better know he knew it.

Or at least he thought he did, before the window came crashing in and everything changed.