He declares he needs some time alone to think, changes and says he's going to hit the gym. Something's changed and it's in the air, he never says where he's going. Even so, I thank inwardly for that because I don't know for how long I can keep my cool. I need to be alone as well.

I go into the bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror. By this point, I am almost shaking in anger. Holding onto the bathroom sink, I close my eyes and all I see is that freaking skank he loves, staring at him with languid eyes. In my mind, I walk purposefully her way and place my hands around her neck and strangle her. I smile despite myself at that foolish mental picture.

One hundred twenty-four fucking years and this guy is making me feel this way, like I can't control myself, like I need pills, pills to calm me down and hopefully, make me think straight. I reach for the bottle in the cabinet and swallow some. That freaking hot Cajun has got some nerve! In all my long life I've never been cheated on. For starters, I was the one with whom men cheated on their wives. I, the forever young, forever cool and sexy chick was always the object of many men's fantasies.

You see, men will cheat for all sorts of reasons: horniness, insecurity, boredom, power hunger, compulsivity, self-destructiveness, hormones, and pleasure. But curiously, despite his Casanova reputation, I never thought of him as the cheating kind. And he isn't. He hasn't cheated on me for any of the reasons I have just cited, he cheated because he loves her. And it's so strong he can't rein it in, hold it back. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he had to go near her, he had to reach out for his chére, because he just doesn't know how to stay away. He's in love with her, he told me bluntly. And it fucking hurts me that he is. It does because I honestly thought he had moved on from her. He's told me how he had married his childhood sweetheart. And at some point in his life he was completely over her because, as if it never happened, he fell for Rogue and had this troubled relationship with her. So I thought, he's capable to that, of forgetting an old lover, he's done it before, so surely can do it again. It was my mistake that I assumed he loved Rogue no more. Rogue, her codename couldn't possibly have suited her any more that it has. She's a Rogue and an embezzler. Man, I fucking hate her guts right now.

After my husband there was only one man for whom I felt any empathy or affection and that was him, my red-eyed hunk. Now he goes and turns his back on me. How can Remy LeBeau just go and decide that I am not good enough for him? I'm furious and I can't be, I can't let it show. This is proving harder than I expected.

I need him, I need him to reach my goal. If he doesn't cooperate with this, it won't ever happen and I'll be stuck here forever more with the additional inconvenience of a broken heart. When things are bad, they can always get worse. I should have known that.

I head to our bedroom and look down at our bed with narrowed eyes. The fucker's brought her here and fucked her right in my territory. Did he say fuck? I guess he didn't, I guess he said he's made love to her. Love! I lay down on our bed regardless, breathing slowly I think I smell her on the pillows. Am I imagining things? I don't think so. He came smelling of her yesterday, perhaps it was his hair perfumed with her scent that left the sweet stench of that bitch all over my bed. I take it in and it makes me want to scream to the top of my lungs. I hate them both! The way he was all poetical about her kiss. Really? A kiss? Only a kiss? I can only picture that whore milking him, sucking him dry. He talks about her as if she's some innocent angelic virgin.

Okay, I gotta keep my cool for when he comes back, channel the Scarlet O'Hara in me to talk to him later. I don't know what he will have decided to do, but I can always stir him in the right direction. If he won't go to his enemy for help, I could always coach him to find his lost powers within himself. If he's done it before, I can't see why he can't do it again. The power must still be there, he's gotta believe in it, believe in himself. I'm so proud of myself because I managed to use the recently acquired information in my favour, if not for me, or for her and himself, he'll do it for his son. Oh yes, he will.

-O-

Two days went by without me hearing from him. Maybe I scared the hell out of him when I whispered 'I love you' in his ear that day under the pouring rain. But if felt so good, the rain washed away all my worries and insecurities, and it gave me renewed strength and determination. I love him and he needs to know, to hear it, as often as needed. I know deep inside it makes him happy so why the hell not say it?

I was laying in my bed, almost dozing off, I'd had such a strenuous day, when I notice a figure moving in the darkness of my room. I don't panic because I know the way he moves, so I know it's him.

"Remy?" I breath out.

"Chére."

"Let me guess, you were missing your thieving life and had to break in some highly secured place to feel good about yourself." I say playfully but he doesn't retort something witty as he always does. I can feel he's tense and it makes me suddenly very nervous. I instantly sit up to find his eyes.

"Chére, I needed to see you. I need…" I could hear the tension in his voice. He gave up saying whatever he was about to say and buried his face into my neck and breathed in, causing me to shiver. I pull away so I can see his eyes. The subdued lighting doesn't permit me to see much, but still I can figure him out. He wants to tell me something, but he can't. We've been in this situation many times before so it's easy for me to recognize it's happening again. Sighing, I lean in and brush my lips against his. Not innocently, like a tease but hot, fiery, passionate and demanding. He immediately responds to it, mirroring my passion, snaking his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him. It's as if he already expected me to take his mind away off the troubling issue he was dealing with. I use my hands which were resting on his shoulders to gently push him away. He avoids eye contact, he's so busted, that Cajun. He's obviously hiding something, something big!

"Spill it out, Remy! What's eating you?" I demand.

"Chére, I can't tell you. I chose not to, if all goes wrong… I don't want you to get you disappointed in me, again. But I had to see you, to say goodbye."

"Remy, what the fuck! What did you get yourself into this time?"

"There's this thing I gotta do, mon amour."

"Elaborate!"

"Oh, come on, chére. You don't want me to ruin the surprise, eh?" He says with a cocky grin. Remy LeBeau, you can't fool me for even a second, I think as I roll my eyes at him.

"So why you here, Remy?" He closed his eyes and breathed in deep and slowly, as if suddenly being reminded of the reason he was there troubled him.

"I wanted to see you before I go in this mission I have coming up."

"With the X-Men?"

"No, it's a personal thing. And it won't be an easy one, chére." He confesses reluctantly. I can tell he's picking his words carefully.

"Do you want me to go with you? I could take a leave from the work here and help you out. By your tone, it seems like you could use my help. "

"Non, chére. I gotta do this alone. I'll be going through completely uncharted territory, chére. I might not be going back, but the gain I could get if it works, it totally makes up for the risks."

"God damn it, sugar! You saying you could die? I'm yet to see a trap you can't get yourself out of, and I've never seen you this worked up about a mission. You're getting me worried. Besides, nothing is worth that risk, I don't wanna lose you, not again."

"I could get lost, chére. I just wanted you to know that if I don't make it back, well, think of me when you're riding Alex Summers and perhaps, who knows, in the future name your second child Remy."

"Fuck, Remy! This is no laughing matter." I hit him hard on his shoulder and he flinches.

"I know. I know it's not, sorry, chére. I'm…" He brushes my face with his hand delicately and pulls me into a kiss and stupid me, I take the bait. I know it's his way of silencing my questions, but I can't resist, I kiss him back even though my mind was swirling around, Remy could be gone? Lost? For how long and why? I'll look for this devil in Hell if I have to. Then he lays me back down and pulls my leg up around his waist, a soft moan escapes me before I can stop it and there goes my train of thoughts. Exactly the effect he wanted, I know it. In a second, my hands are all over his chest, his abs, I'm biting my lower lip as I roam his body. Then, he gently turns me around, lifting up my hair, he kisses the back of my neck. Oh sweet Lord, he knows just how to work my body. I love the way he kisses that spot, he gets me purring helplessly at the sensation. His lips never left my nape as he started to undress me, he pulls down my shorts, then my panties and I help him out by sliding it down my legs and ankles.

"Mon Dieu, I love that ass of yours." He whispers in my right ear, as he starts squeezing it a little too gentle at first, then a little too rough, I love the way he digs his long fingers on each side of my hips.

"You love it, don't you Cajun? Now show me some flesh." I say playfully as I remove my own top. He stares at my naked body like he's never seen it before. He's got stars in his eyes and it thrills me. Then, he flashes me a wicked grin that makes me insides twist and turn in anticipation.

He undresses, oh my, so sexily, his eyes never leaving mine as he does so, he does it so skilfully as if he were some high priced gigolo. Gosh, he's so sexy that I start touching myself at the sight of him and his moves and his now naked body.

"No need for that now, chére." He says as he grabs my hand and then licks each of my fingers seductively. He lays on top of me, by now, my breath came in short gasps. His left hand was now slowly moving down my leg, over my thigh only to gently guide it up. Our breathing was getting faster and I let out a gasp as his hand found its way between my legs. He's touching me in ways he knows I can't resist. I'm begging him to enter me but it falls on deaf ears. He kneels between my legs and starts, well, you know what he does.

"Sugar, please." That's all I can manage to say, he knows what I mean: "Please, just fuck me already!" He stops, glances up at me with those devilish eyes.

"You know how I love to taste you, chére. Don't deny me that." I know he does, he loves my 'flavor' as he said a million times already. Maybe he's even submitted it to the Lay's Do Us a Flavor contest, who knows. After the mind-blowing orgasm he gave me, his lips finally leave my sex. He pulls me to him and holds me tightly in his arms on top of his body. Hell yeah! Now it's my turn to command, I love riding him. The cutest cowgirl he's ever laid eyes on, he says, intending as compliment, sounding like his usual banter. Then, I ride him backwards, and I get his respect, no more jokes, just groans and moans and lots of swear words in French. He can't stop his hands kneading my ass and I know he's enjoying the view. I do those certain motions that I know will make him cum before he intends to. His pace quickened, his breathing became restless. His short, ragged breathing and rhythmic thrusting, almost like he's in a trance, did it for me too and after our release, we lay side by side, panting. He rolls onto his side and kisses my hair lovingly.

"So, will you tell me now what this is all about? This mission of yours?"

"Woo, shady, huh chére? You were only using me to get me to open up. I'm hurt, feeling used." He says in mockery and we both laugh out loud at that. "Can I sleep avec toi ici tonight, chére?"

Of course I let him, and as he drifts into sleep, he mumbles about it being his turn to leave me a note as good morning kiss. I sigh deeply at the comforting familiarity of having his body next to mine in bed for the night. I kiss his cheek and rest my head on his shoulder. My whole being was invaded by a sense of peace, of belonging.

I wake up in the morning and he's gone.

Dear Anna,

Wish me luck.

I love you.

Remy.

-O-

I'm sobbing on our bed when I heard the door squeaking open, and immediately after, the sound of his keys hitting the table. I run to the bathroom to wash my face. When I emerge out of it, he's in the bedroom, taking his shirt off. I take a good look at his back, that triangular shape of his muscled back that gets me sighing.

"So, have you done it?"

"What?"

"Seen her? Said your good-byes?"

"Oui." He replies in a thin voice as if he's ashamed of it.

"You know you're doing your best for her, if it works, if she's spared from the mental scars of that miscarriage…" He turns around to meet my eyes for the first time since he arrived home. He doesn't look too pleased at hearing me talking about her, a frown marring his handsome face.

"I'm gonna keep my promise, Joelle. I'll give you what you want from me. If I don't get lost somewhere in the time stream, eh?" He forces a chuckle, but it's pointless.

Remy has refused to go see Mr Sinister about getting his full powers back. However, he's agreed to try to use his powers, stretching them to their ultimate potential so he can do it.

He's much like his beloved mutant, he hasn't really embraced his powers, tried to tamper with them, he could be a semi God but shied away from it. Now he's gotta try and see what he's really capable of. Succumbing to my insistence, he's done some tests and trials and realized he can still time travel. It doesn't come cheap though, it takes a lot of his energy, could take his vital life energy, drain it if he doesn't do it right. But for him, his son, he's willing to take the risks. I'd do the same if I had the power. If there was anyway I could have saved my daughter, I would. So I understand his motivation, and his willing to self-sacrifice if it comes to it. He's got his plans. Although exactly how he's planning to solve my problem and his by going back in time, he doesn't share it with me.

I hope it does work, my pretty boy man and his glorious bravado, he's got his whole life ahead of him and I wish him to have a good one.

-O-

Author's Notes:

Happy New Year, everyone! May this be a prosperous, fun-filled one for all you guys out there. Thanks for reading, thank you those who recently reviewed and/or followed the story.

My reviewers are so insightful, damn right, it did look suspicious that Joelle took it all so well and now we know she didn't. She chose not to pick up a fight because she needs him on her side.

Well, that's all for now, folks. Please read and review. It makes my day when you do.