Brown curly hair was splashed all over the pillow, sweet brown eyes smiled back at her mother. It was bedtime and the little girl was tucked in bed for the night. Around her shoulders was her old baby quilt, worn as a cape might be. As if all those cozy memories of her younger herself wrapped in that old quilt, cradled in her beautiful mama's arms gave her powers, the power to sleep peacefully all through the night.

Anna Marie watched her with adoration as she sang their customary bedtime lullaby. It was their best-kept secret.

"No one can know, mommy. If my friends find out you still sing me lullabies to sleep, they will make fun of me forever and ever!" The olive-skinned girl used to say. "But, you know what, mommy? I love it when you sing for me."

Before leaving her room, she kissed her daughter's forehead tenderly, inwardly prayed and thanked God for the blessing that child was. For their daughter happiness was quite simple. It was hugs with her mama and playing games with her dad, an uplifting story at bedtime and the knowledge that her mom and dad were always there whenever she needed them. Food was always available, she had a comfortable bed. She had friends and toys to play with. Her mom and dad sometimes walked with her in the woods where she could splash in the stream. That made her happy too.

Anna sighed as she left her little princess's room. For a moment she wished she could learn from her daughter how to be happy again, she wanted to see the world through her eyes. If you showed her a gold coin or a kitten and asked her to pick one, she'd take the silly cat every time. Treasure or fun? Fun! Stability or emotions? Emotions, of course! Vegetables or chocolate? Chocolate, surely! Lucas Bishop or Remy LeBeau? Oh, God! Why was she even making herself that question?

She climbed down the stairs and was intrigued by the silence. Every evening after she put her daughter down to sleep, she'd go to the living room and find her husband watching television. Most of the times Lucas didn't even know why he was watching it. He didn't laugh when he was supposed to, he didn't feel any tension during the drama, and he barely followed any plot. He just sat there next to the peanuts bowl until to his surprise they were gone. Anna would have taken the empty bowl to the dishwasher without him even noticing it. His eyes rested back on the flickering screen and found that in his brief distraction the commercials had begun. Often he preferred them to the show. They were short, attention-grabbing and required no intellectual effort, his brain had all been burn out down at the station. But not today, today there was nothing, graveyard silence. It was odd, his behavior that night during dinner, it didn't sit quite right. Now the silence was the nail in the coffin, Anna had butterflies in her stomach.

Lucas had his legs crossed and was tapping his Ray-Bans impatiently on the coffee table. He had been waiting for her to show up, it was obvious. Anna sat next to him on the sofa and he looked up from his phone, smiling in that tense way he did when he was about to vent. She placed both her hands on her lap gently, and swallowed self-consciously. She forced a smile just the same way she did for her customers at the shop. They never knew the difference and neither did he.

"Do you know a Mr. LeBeau?" he began, his attempt to keep things light already waning. Fuck! That was bad, really, really bad.

"Hmmm, well, yes. What about him?" She faked nonchalance.

"Well, for one thing, I don't know him. And my guys at the station have seen him and you, together at the mall." She went pale, a terrible actress she was. Then, despite the rising tension in his voice, he snickered. "What a loser, eh?"

Anna pursed her lips. What on Earth!

"What do you mean? Loser?" She asked him cautiously.

"Well, he obviously wants my wife, but he can't have her. Right?" He asked her, his voice was coarse, his eyes somehow menacing.

"What are you trying to imply here, Lucas?"

"Well, they told me he looks at you as if he wants to eat you!"

"What!? Are you crazy, Lucas? This is non-sense!"

"That's what the guys told me. And I said it couldn't be true. Not my wife! She'd not meet some fellow without telling me about it. Let alone go to coffee shops with another man! Smile and chat while her husband is busting his ass at work! But you have been keeping little secrets, haven't you, Anna? First this job, all this aloofness of yours, you haven't been acting the same. Now I know why!"

She could see it first in his eyes, then the tension of his muscles, an inability to think clearly soon followed. His fists stayed firmly by his sides, yet his words did more damage than they ever could. All that anger was born of pain, jealousy and sadness, he needed to calm himself, find himself, ignite his feelings of love and protectiveness in that moment of anger, but that task proved way too hard for him. His heart was completely shattered, never in his wildest dreams would he think his wife could cheat on him.

His words were hurtful, and in no time, they were yelling at each other. He wanted a confession from her, but one he wouldn't get. She had done nothing wrong, there were those accidental kisses when Remy LeBeau met her and thought she was a woman named Rogue, but other than that, they were friends.

When she didn't say what he wanted to hear, he shook her violently by the shoulders.

"Say it, Anna! Say it! Do you go down on him the same way you go down on me? Do you like his taste better than mine?" That was when she snapped. She shook his hands off her and slapped his face with all her might.

"Go fuck yourself, Lucas!" She ran to the kitchen, grabbed her bag and car keys and made her way to the garage. Her husband followed her, apologizing for acting so aggressive. A little too late. She would have none of it. In a moment of fury, she entered the car and slammed the door shut. Her tyres squealed, her heart raced, and before she could blink an eye she was calling Remy LeBeau.

-O-O-

"Anna! What happened?" He opened his arms for her slightly and right on she jumped into them. She had never been to his place before, but over the phone, she seemed so desperate, told him she had to see him. So, he made no objections when she asked him for his address.

Her eyes were glittering and she could not utter a single word, feeling the muscles of her chin tremble like a small child. She looked into his eyes with such intensity, as if his devil-like eyes could soothe her soul.

"Remy, I…" She trailed off. He didn't expect her to explain anything, it was all pointless, he knew. He had one thing to do, he had to make love to her and hopefully, that would make her remember. And now that the chance had just presented itself to him, wrapped in a satin bow, all shades of guilt engulfed him. But he had to push that feeling away. He couldn't miss it, or he might never get a good chance like that again. Or, it could simply be too late.

Panting slightly, he held her face in his hands, bent down and let his lips brush hers lightly, just a feather of a touch before he cradled her against his chest. She allowed it and welcomed his display of affection. That was great, right? But damn it! He was feeling too much, he thought.

"You just have to do it." He told himself inside his head. But that was not just some girl, that was not just any mission. That was Rogue, as in THE Rogue, his Anna, aka the love of his life. Oh well, he could lie as much as he wanted about it, but right now, when all their lives were at stake, it was as clear as day, she was the one. They were two idiots for pretending they were just friends. He remembered her asking him "Still?" when he flirted with her some days earlier, before all this crazy shit happened.

"Yes, still! Yes, I still want you in my life! Always!" He wanted to have said then. But oh well, he missed his chance and might never ever get another one. At the end of the day, it was all just banter, right? Fuck, they were two fools indeed!

Now there they were, in the astral plane, his Anna, unaware of all their history, into his arms. Her body was taut and shuddering, so he pressed her closer still. His other hand was laced in the cascade of her hair, cradling her head against his chest. She slid her hands to his shoulders and held on tight. He wanted to talk to her, ask her how she was feeling but knew he couldn't or he'd risk it all. He would lose the moment and that made him feel terrible, as if he was about to use her.

He felt an urge to comfort her, but also himself. So he did it with a kiss. Heat flared in his eyes. He crossed his heart and hoped to die as he brought his mouth down on hers, harder, hungrier than before. He entered her mouth, thrusting his tongue inside with an eager moan. They closed their eyes. Both their breaths were shaking. She gasped as he deepened the kiss. Their lips parted for a second, she rested two fingers on his lips and smiled deliciously at him. For a second, she seemed to be his Anna again.

"Thank you," she said in barely more than a whisper.

"For what?" He replied, his voice low and husky. Could it possibly be that now she remembered?

"For being you." Her voice wavered, exhilarated from the tension between them. "For showing me what an insipid life I was leading." She completed, leaving no room for hopes just yet.

Anna Marie gently leaned in and kissed Remy's warm lips. They pulled apart and took shaky, shallow breaths. Unable to contain herself anymore, her hands worked their way around his body, feeling each muscle, each line along his perfect physique. His mind swirled with all the emotions resurfacing at her gentle touches.

Boldly, she stepped back and eyed all of him, the corner of her lips slightly curved. His heart quickened as she brought the dress she was wearing down over her arms to her waist and freed her breasts. He couldn't help his mouth watering for a taste of them. Those pink nipples he knew too damn well and the sweet moans that usually followed when his lips met them.

The look on her face did not reveal her feelings. Was she going to let him make love to her out of lust or out of anger and frustration? He was in no position to wonder too much longer, hypnotized as he was by the sight of her perky breasts. She stepped closer to him, and reached upward, dragging his head down so that his lips encircled her breast. Like an electric current, a shock ripped through her. His teeth and lips were amazing around her nipple, his hand massaging the other one just the right way, just the way she liked. A loud moan escaped her lips before she could stop herself. The emptiness that had plagued her those last weeks seemed to be all but gone.

Unceremoniously, Remy's hands find their way to her dress that was pooled around her waist and pulled it all the way down her ankles. She helped him by stepping out of it. He then kissed down her chest and over her stomach, his hands never leaving her breasts, she whimpered, wanting a more thorough touch and not able to get it with her panties still in place.

"I never thought I'd be able to want a man as much as I want you now." She whispered. He stood frozen at her confession, stopping all the action, he looked into her eyes. Without a word, he lifted her from her feet and carried her down the hallway to his bedroom. He lowered her gently to the bed, and knelt across from her. Without looking into her eyes again, he took her panties off. She was now completely bare and she was his for the taking. She closed her eyes in excitement and gasped when his lips pressed gently against her sex. His hands found their way to her breast once again while he pleasured her, the same way he had done numerous times before. As his tongue worked her sex, ever so slowly, he could hear her breathing deeper. She couldn't remember feeling such intense pleasure, she trembled helplessly at the sensation. She cried out in ecstasy. A thin layer of perspiration caused her body to glisten in the faint light that filled the room.

"Remy! Oh, God! Mr. LeBeau, you're a devil in bed! I want you, I want all of you. I want more."

' Mr. LeBeau, huh?' He thought. It seemed that his work was not done yet. He stood silently as he removed his clothing. Work had in fact just begun.