Epilogue

A month passed them by swiftly. Little Oli couldn't possibly be any happier now that his mommy and daddy were back together again. However, Remy still struggled. Adjusting to his new life was proving much more challenging than he had imagined it would be.

He was in a great place now. It was all he ever wanted, Rogue and his child, safe and well, living happily with him as a family. Never had he regretted playing God with his time travel, not even for a single second. But the hard-cold truth was that his life had changed drastically. The life events that they had gone through without him shaped them, and this timeline meddling Remy LeBeau hadn't lived those days with them, he hadn't lived those changes.

That completely new reality was just there, ready for him, his son and all his five years of memory of his playful and caring father, his whole married life, even his role within the X-Men was not the same he remembered either. He was teaching a subject he'd never taught before, mentoring students he hardly knew.

Since the Remy he never got to be spent much more time in the mansion, in this timeline he never became the King of Thieves, and still, there was a lot of current X-Men stuff he just didn't know.

Taking all of that and more into consideration, it was perfectly understandable that the current life he led was confusing to him, to say the least. How unsettling it was when people talked to him about things he couldn't remember ever doing. Most times, he simply didn't have the slightest idea of what people expected from him.

Besides, everything was still very fresh in his mind. For him, only two months passed him by. Two months since he followed Rogue to the cemetery and found out she had carried his child, and never shared that information with him. They had made life during their most sublime days in Valle Solleada and that child never had the chance of living outside his mother's womb.

Those mind-blowing news changed him, he'd never be the same after knowing that she suffered in silence for the both of them. She mourned the death of their son alone and he couldn't stop thinking about her pain when he decided he had to do something about it. It had been only

a couple of months ago, and yet now, there he was, a handsome five-year-old boy named Ollie who had had him as his father all of his young life. There were songs he used to sing him, games they had played, stories he read at bedtime. A whole universe of things he was not familiar with, but the boy was sure to point out each of his shortcomings.

"Come on, Daddy. Not that one again, it's The Gruffalo that we read every night."

"Every night? Same story every night?"

"Of course! You do the fox and the Gruffalo voice, mommy is the snake and the owl. And I'm... I'm the little mouse!"

He would scratch his head and call Rogue to rescue him. She had been wonderful in helping him as well as she could. His beautiful woman, his sexy lady, had added 'greatest mom in the world' to all her other abilities. Watching her parent their child made it seem easy. Apparently, it all came to her effortlessly.

He was the one who had to learn how to be a daddy to their little boy. Love came easy, instantaneously, really. But the boy wanted to play games with his father that he, Remy from the future, as Rogue had called him during the long five years when he was nothing but an apparition, a memory, Remy from the future simply couldn't do exactly as the little one remembered.

"No, daddy! You're doing it wrong!"

"Isn't that how we play with lightsabers?" He would ask in frustration. He held it as if it was his bo staff and apparently, that was not the way to go.

"No!" The little brown-haired Jedi exclaimed with exaggeration. "I'll have to teach you again." He said in exasperation, blowing his chocolate brown hair off his pretty face.

"What did I do wrong this time?"

"You're not doing that hurricane move! That is your special move!"

Then the boy proceeded to show him exactly what said move entailed. Rogue's son tried as hard as he possibly could to sweep the blade up and behind his head while rotating his little body so that the blade is pointed at his father. Poor thing was only five, so he was a bit clumsy as one would expect him to be. Remy ended the show by holding him in his arms, then shaking him all around, making him giggle incessantly while Rogue would beg him to be careful.

"Chére, really? Do you think I would ever accidentally drop Ollie?" He did a few more throwing of the little boy in the air to the child's complete delight.

"You guys are gonna give me a heart attack one of these days, I just can't watch it." She would complain. That was a facet of Rogue that was completely unique of his new Rogue. He couldn't imagine the Rogue he knew fretting about that, she knew how accurate and precise his motions were. But his wife, no, she was different. She knew very well what a superb acrobat he could be, but she couldn't help feeling extremely protective of her little cub. Had his past version acted like her? He would never know.

After they'd told the Gruffalo story and put their child down to sleep, Rogue told him she'd prepared a little something.

"I cooked you a little something for us to celebrate your second month married to me." She announced with a huge smile adorning her lips.

"Is that so, chére? That is a nice touch." He commented, enveloping her with his arms and pulled his wife into his chest. His lips found her neck where he planted sweet little kisses, making her moan lightly. "Thank you for everything, chére. For being so understanding, and teaching me how to be a father, and your husband. It is not easy, but these are the best days of my life." He pulled away for a second so he could stare into her eyes while he caressed her face tenderly.

"I only pray and hope that it remains that way."

"It will, chére. I know it will, we will make it work. "

"In my heart, I feel that way too, Remy. I will always love you, future Remy." And she blinked as she called him that. He noticed how her eyes lit up at his gentle touch.

Sex was the only thing that had not changed at all. All the emotions that woman made flourish inside of him, the longing, the desire, the most complete form of surrender. It had been there before and it was still intact in this timeline. That's where he found familiarity, a sense of belonging.

Throughout the years, even when all they knew were casual encounters, memories his wife would never have, ever since the very first kiss, the very first time they made love, they had an astonishing sexual connection. They managed to build incomparable intimacy. Consequently, their love, the love they made most nights had been a key component to the sense of belonging he felt. He belonged with her, belonged with their son. He was part of it, part of the little family that was about to grow.

That night was no different. His red irises darkened to a richer red, like a pool of blood. He watched his wife undress for him with appreciation. She completely took his breath away; her pregnant figure was so appealing to him. It was funny to remember how scared he was at first. His hands found her neck, and he gently held on to her, staring at her shining green eyes as he did so. Her heart picked up a beat. Anticipation or desire, she wasn't sure which. Eagerness took the best of her such was her sudden obsession to run her hands all over her man He kissed her sweetly and she felt the heat drifting through her body.

He stopped in front of her, and for one frozen moment in time everything seemed to be suspended in the air, words, breaths, gazes as the charged air pulsed between them. His mouth moved perfectly synchronized with hers as their kiss grew more urgent by the second, shutting out everything just like night shut out day.

They were so high in each other arms, making love to each other. Remy gave himself over completely to pleasuring his beloved woman with deep strokes of his body. When the end came in an explosion of sensation and desperation, the intensity of it filled his whole being. He was snuggling and sleeping into his woman's arms in no time.

"Men!" Rogue commented sarcastically as he watched him drift into sleep next to her. She planted a softs kiss on his lips and turned off the bedside lamp.

In the middle of the night, half-asleep she rolled in bed, trying to claim his side of the bed as she usually did, finding nothing but the empty mattress. Startled she sat up in bed, all of a sudden, she was fully alert. It took her a couple of seconds until her brain finally told her what was going on. She knew exactly where to find him. That had happened before, and she wondered when it would be the last time it did.

Silently, she tiptoed to Ollie's bedroom and opened the door slowly. And right she was, there he was, crouching down next to their child's bed, watching their little angel sleep. As she approached, she noticed his eyes were shining with tears about to fall. She joined him on the floor, she reached for his hand and held it in hers.

"Another nightmare?" She asked him, her voice barely audible.

"Yes. This one seemed so real." He whispered back at her.

She stood up and guided him back to their bedroom. Both of them sat up in bed. She watched him cautiously. He never told her much about the nightmares that drove him to go to his son's bedroom in the middle of the night just to make sure he was real, but that night he finally broke the silence.

"Tonight, it was so real, chére. I woke up feeling terrified, gasping for air. And you, you were sleeping like a log." He tried to humor her, to disguise his unease. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work. He couldn't fool her for half a second. His muscles were all tense up, and there was something about his eyes. Over the last two months she respected his silence, he had never told her the details and she didn't press him with questions; after all, whatever happened in his past was not part of his life any longer. But it seemed her luck was about to change that night.

"I saw his grave." He continued. "It was so real. Exactly as it happened the day I found out about his existence."

She frowned at those words; he wasn't making much sense. Hadn't he been at the service? Was he not there when their son was buried? She pursed her lips and sighed.

"I dreamt of it, chére. I saw it happening all over again. Late at night, I followed you, because I wanted to see you. I needed to see you, ever since I saw you at the fundraiser gala, I couldn't get you out of my head. I went with Joelle; we were an item and she knew about you and made a point of kissing me when you were looking our way. Then I saw the hurt in your eyes, and it hit me hard like a ton of brick. I could never have imagined, it seemed I still meant something to you…"

"Are you kidding me? And You didn't know that already? You always meant a lot to me!" She protested.

"Well, you don't know how far apart we'd grown and I never knew exactly what force pushed us apart. We just drifted away, you pulled away from us." He paused. "Only after that night I realized that you had grieved our lost pregnancy all on your own, you opted not to share that heavy load with me. I saw you, in the dark cemetery in front of a grave which read 'Etienne Darkholme'. I put two and two together and you fessed up."

"Was that how you knew? Only five years later, is that it?" He then explained to her all about how she thought he didn't need to know, their baby's life was lost and nothing would change that. The knowledge would only bring him unnecessary pain.

"You thought you could save one of us from the heartache." His voice was low, words caught in his throat.

"That sounds like something I would do. And also, hiding in my own shell." She agreed. Tentatively, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, gently rubbing his arm. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of his body pressed against hers. He relished that moment, enjoying her warmth, appreciative of the kind gesture. "Perhaps, these nightmares you've been having, well, you're having them because you're afraid. Afraid you'll wake up and suddenly be there in your past, but let me tell you something, handsome. You did it, you changed our lives forever and I love you so so much for that, that and all the other things that are great about you." He smiled broadly at her words. "Just don't go getting too full of yourself, swamprat."

"I won't, ma petit river rat." That's when a pillow found his face, and another one tried to hit the same target, but he ducked. Before she could keep the pillow fight going, he tackled her down and they both fell in the mattress, she started giggling as he tickled her.

"Remy! Remy!" She pleaded. "We are going to wake Ollie up!"

"Oops, sorry!"

"Forgot you had a son sleeping next door, didn't you?" She teased. He went back to tickling her. "Sorry! Sorry! I know! Low blow!" She surrendered.

"Well, I may get confused with present and past from time to time. What if I told you had a thing with Alex Summers in my timeline?" He sniggered.

"Liar!"

"Not a lie!"

"I do not believe you! I would never!"

"You also slept with Johnny Storm! People called me to tell your every single love conquest, you know? You have no idea!"

"Johnny Storm? That man-whore? I would never! Wait, no! Maybe I would, I married the biggest one, didn't I?" She sniggered.

"You break this Cajun heart of mine, chére!" He placed his hand over his chest, playfully acting out an exaggerated reaction. He knew he was in for hours of banter the way this was going. And he absolutely loved it. Then, to his utter surprise, she pulled a serious face.

"Honey, I know all these changes in your reality, it can't be easy on you. I just want you to know, I am here for you, every step of the way, sugar."

"Merci, mon amour. Let me also tell you something, I'd do it all over again." His lips brushed hers. "Over and over again, I'd do anything until I got our different paths in life converge into one."

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A/N: Years later, upon request, here is the epilogue. I hope you have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

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Update: I'm writing a spin-off to this fic: The Story of How Accidents Happen.

It's an account by Remy from the past explaining how he managed to get his wife pregnant even though she wanted his ass on a plate for going away with Joelle (and, according to her perception, cheating on her)

If you liked this story, you're welcome to check it out.