Chapter 15:

Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews! I appreciate your input and am really happy that you enjoyed the last chapter. Now, onto Jubilee and Remy!

Jubilee was frustrated. Okay. Frustrated wasn't the right word, but she was upset. Well, that was true as well, but it still didn't adequately describe her emotional state. Fear? Regret? Sadness? Was there even a little bit of anger there? She rolled out of bed, giving up on sleep. What did it matter anyway?

She tugged on some clothes and headed downstairs, avoiding the bright dining room and living room. She settled at the kitchen bar, squinting at the large sliding glass door, but at least grateful that the outer area was covered by the upstairs deck, effectively cutting down on the amount of sunlight coming in. After a moment, she stood up to close the French blinds, doing the same with the blinds over the window and sitting back down at the bar again. She didn't bother turning on the lights. The darkness suited her mood just fine. She stared solemnly down at the bar top, tracing a vein of marble with her finger.

Upstairs, she heard a door open and close. The tread was softer than Logan's who could sometimes stomp around like an elephant when he wasn't trying to be stealthy. She heard the footsteps pause at the door of the suite she and Logan were staying in before they continued down the stairs. The sweet scent of tobacco and a hint of bitter red wine preceded Remy, though deep down, she'd known it was him and had just been hoping it wasn't. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen for a few moments before he switched the light on.

Jubilee didn't move; in fact, she held her breath and remained as still as a statue, wishing for the power of invisibility. To her relief, he didn't approach the bar, instead moving to the fridge and pulling out a few items. She didn't look up to see what he was doing, but she heard soft noises at the counter, the pop of a cork slipping free, and liquid splashing into a glass. She stared at her hands which had formed into fists, forcing herself to begin to breathe again in slow, shallow breaths.

He came back to the table, and a plate of sliced cheeses slid into her view as he sat down on the stool across from her. He didn't say anything, so she did lift her gaze to watch him as he bit into a piece of cheese and chewed slowly. He stared right back at her, but he didn't say anything.

Her throat felt tight. Why wasn't he angry? None of this made sense. Why hadn't he attacked her on sight? Or had Laura do it? She scowled as he selected another piece of cheese. He wasn't acting at all the way he should. Hell, he'd even smiled at her a few times over the course of the trip. Didn't he know that she was responsible for what had happened to him? Didn't he realize that he should blame her for whatever they'd done to him? She clenched her teeth as he nonchalantly sipped his wine, still watching her.

"Ain't never seen somebody so angry about cheese." He commented as he picked up another slice.

Jubilee blinked her eyes, the scowl disappearing. "Cheese?" She asked dumbly.

He held up the piece he'd just taken a bite of. "Gruyere. One of de best dere is, even if Laura does say it smell like stinky feet." She just watched as he chuckled and popped the rest of the piece of cheese into his mouth. He picked up an orange piece of cheese this time, and ate it in two bites, watching her as he did so. "Don't you think it be about time we clear de air?" he asked after he took another sip of his wine.

Jubilee was silent for a moment before asking, her tone defensive, "Why?"

He smiled softly as he set his glass down. "Well, for one, Remy ain't mad, for two, de way things currently stand don't make none of us here happy, and for three, you been 'bout as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room fulla rockin' chairs." He winked.

Despite herself, she cracked a smile. "Rogue used to say that all the time," she commented.

He nodded and took another sip of his wine. "She still does from what I hear."

There was another moment of silence as Jubilee recalled the last time he had sought her out.

Caleb strode into Jubilee's chambers without bothering to knock. She tried her best to ignore him and to focus on what the charming human male currently in her bed was doing as he kissed his way down her neck, but Caleb simply stood at the foot of the bed, looming over them. After a few moments where she was completely unable to block him out, she pushed the boy away, pointing to the door. He obediently stood and left without a word, knowing his place well enough to not question or show any sign of unhappiness at being sent away.

Jubilee tugged her clothing back into their proper positions and pouted at Caleb. "That was uncalled for, Caleb." She complained. "Now I'll have to go hunt him down again."

He said nothing, sighing in his bored way. He was tall with blonde hair cut short and spikey. He was tall, handsome, and dressed in dark evening wear. The fact that he only continued to stand there, his arms crossed over his chest, was a clue that something was wrong. She pushed herself into a sitting position, "What's happened?"

Caleb let out a long suffering sigh and paced away from the rumpled bed, seemingly satisfied now that he'd gained her full attention. "You seem to be the problem, my dear. You've only been with us for a few months, and you keep bringing bad luck to our home."

Jubilee shook her head, "Bad luck? What does that have to do with me?"

Caleb moved toward one of the windows that looked out upon the dark night. "You've got another visitor," he said simply.

Now Jubilee scowled. When would they get off her back? With a curse, she pushed herself to her feet, "I'll get rid of this one, too." She said as she headed to the door until his words stopped her.

"I don't think so, dearest." The endearment sounded tinny and false to her ears, and she froze. Slowly, she turned back around to face him.

"What are you saying?"

Caleb studied her for a long moment, his eyes sweeping her form. "I said I don't think you should be the one to deal with him."

"Why is that?" Jubilee asked. Him. Lord help her, please don't let it be Wolverine.

Caleb studied his manicured nails for a few moments, picking at an invisible hang nail. He didn't speak until it was clear that his silence was unnerving her. He was a master at manipulation, which was why he'd been the clear leader of this group of vampires for over 100 years. Finally, he buffed his fingernails on the lapel of his dark evening jacket and met her gaze. "You see, Jubilee, you've spent enough time here that you should be ready to make a final decision." As he spoke, he dropped his hands to fold them in front of himself.

"A decision?" she squeaked. She couldn't leave. There were so many humans here free for the taking. Yes, she had to fight with other vampires sometimes to get one, but there were few rules, and they kept her well dressed, housed, and fed. "I've made my decision, Caleb. I want to be here."

He raised a pale eyebrow. "Oh?" He turned to look out the window again, sighing dramatically. "Then I suppose you won't mind if we have someone else ask this 'Gambit' to leave?"

She barely refrained from sighing in relief. Not Logan then. "That would certainly be fine."

He nodded, but didn't turn to face her. "You do realize, Jubilee, that he'll have to be an example to the rest of them. To make it clear not to come back." When he did turn to face her, he smiled at the dismayed shock of her features. He clucked his tongue and took a step toward her, spreading his hands in front of him. "You've got to be logical about this. He's the second? Or third? There have just been so many that have found our home because they were looking for you. Every person who knows where we are is a potential problem, and your frequent visitors are a rather unpleasant security risk. The safety of the members of this household are more important than your former attachments. We made it clear when you joined us that you wouldn't be able to continue with your past life. You have to decide, Jubilee: Us. Or them."

He tilted his head as he waited for her to respond. She thought of what waited for her back at the school and felt her lips twist into a snarl. "It's you." She said definitively.

Caleb nodded, a pleasant smile lighting up his features to make him appear almost angelic. He moved toward the door, pausing to brush his fingers on her shoulder. "Lovely. I'll make sure that I have your little friend returned to you no matter what he's gotten swept up in. It was terribly rude of me to interrupt."

Jubilee waited until he was halfway out the door before she spoke his name. He paused to look over his shoulder at her, an eyebrow raised in question.

"If you kill him, they'll only send more."

He nodded and smiled. "Then we will just leave it to fate." Then he was gone, and Jubilee was left standing in the middle of her luxurious room feeling as if she wanted to throw up.

Shaking herself free of the memory, Jubilee finally said, "Why aren't you mad?" Truthfully, she didn't know the details of what had happened to him, but from what she'd heard from other former friends, not to mention Laura when she'd fought with her, it had been bad. Certainly bad enough that he should despise her.

Remy answered almost immediately, "Life too short to hold grudges, petite. Not against de people you care about."

Jubilee turned her face away from him, feeling as if his words were a sharp slap. She shook her head vehemently, not turning back to look at him.

He sighed, and she heard the stool creak as he shifted his weight. "Listen, Jubilee. Dey was de ones who hurt me, not you- -"

She cut him off by slamming her hand down on the bar, turning back to glare at him, "Yes it was! It was me. I allowed them to do that to you. I gave them permission."

He frowned at her words, "Remy sure you didn't have a choice…" his words trailed off as she began to laugh bitterly.

"I don't understand how you can all be so naïve. I left because I wanted to be a different person. I became a different person. No one held me down and forced me to allow it, Remy. It was my choice to stay with them and let them have you or to leave." She finally turned to meet his stare, her own gaze level and hard. "I chose to stay. I was more concerned about getting back to my midnight snack than trying to save you."

He was silent for a few moments, his face an emotionless mask. Finally, he drained the last of his wine and stood to go to the counter to pour more into the glass. After he recorked the bottle, he remained standing there with his back to her for a few moments.

Jubilee clenched her fists tightly in her lap as she stared at his stiff back. "I wasn't sorry, and I didn't regret it." She watched his body jerk as if she'd hit him. "I was stupid, and selfish, and addicted to the blood and the violence and the pain." She swallowed hard before continuing, feeling as if her throat were stuffed with cotton. "But I am sorry now, Remy. I regret it now. You shouldn't have been hurt because of me." When she finished speaking, her voice was a soft whisper, and she stared down at her fisted hands.

She heard him walk toward her, stop behind her, but she still jerked in surprise when he placed his hands on her shoulder, and pulled her back against his chest as he squeezed her shoulders. "Dat's all dat matters," he said softly. A strangled sound escaped her throat as she turned on the stool so that she could slip her arms around his waist and rest her head against his shoulder. In that moment, while he hugged her as if nothing had changed from when she was a teenage mutant girl, she started to realize everything that she could have lost for good, and was more grateful than she'd been in her life.

Author's Note: This is where we'll end this chapter, but we'll learn more about what actually happened to Remy in the next. Stay tuned!