8. SOMETHIN' BAD

Tante Mattie had taken up residence at Rogue's bedside while the green eyed woman lay unconscious in one of the spare bedrooms that had been long ago converted into a make-shift hospital room.

Mattie was akin to a guard dog as she sat quietly in a chair near Rogue's head and silently knit the beginnings of an afghan. In the few hours Rogue had been unconscious, Mattie had already shooed away the juvenile antics of Theo and Etienne, along with the curious eyes of Mercy and the up-to-no-good presence of Jean-Luc.

Every so often, Rogue's heart beat would spike and her body would twitch. Mattie had stopped jumping to her feet to investigate as it had become a regular occurrence. In fact, sometimes Rogue would even mumble incoherent sentences, but Mattie had been able to make out a few words here in there, mostly it was just names she muttered.

Mattie found this peculiar, but figured it was a good sign that Rogue spoke at all. She wasn't in a coma, she was just unconscious, and that was the best thing that had come out of that day so far. The worst being that her favorite love seat in the entry way had been destroyed. Mattie did her best not to fret about her lost antique.

When Rogue finally started to come to, Mattie watched her curiously. The first thing Rogue did was run her free hand down the cord that attached her right index finger to the heart monitor she was hooked up to. She blinked exaggeratedly a few times and then rolled her shoulders to test for stiffness.

"Bon, yo awake." Tante said, calling Rogue's attention, "Gave us quite de scare. Couldn't even properly medicate yo', de IV kept comin' outta ya hand. Ain' never seen nothin' like it 'fore."

Rogue nodded weakly, "Yeah, tha feral mutant, Wolverine, he has ah very nice healin' mutation that Ah absorbed when he stabbed me."

"I see," Mattie commented, accepting that explanation. She scratched her cheek and said, "Yo' very fond o' dat Wolverine, no?"

Rogue looked at her puzzled before replying with a shaken, "No, not anymore."

A sly smile crossed Mattie's lips, "Mmmhhmm,." she hummed, not believing Rogue for a second. "Tell me, Cherie, what was it like t'be stabbed by an' den stab yo' former friends?"

Rogue eyed Mattie long and hard, she was searching Mattie for what she thought the right answer was. When Rogue found no answer in Mattie's eyes she settled for one word, "Liberating'."

Mattie raised an eyebrow, "Dat so?" she mused. "Den yo' always cry out names in yo' sleep?"

As Rogue's eyes narrowed, "What names exactly?" she asked suspiciously.

Mattie shrugged, "Mostly men's names, Logan, Jean-Paul, Cody, even tha name Carol... Dose yo' ex's?" her tone was suggestive.

Rogue's lips pursed as she tried to swallow a smile, "Jus' one. Ah'll let'ca guess as ta which one that is."

Mattie laughed at Rogue's dry tone, "Tell me, Rogue, how do yo' absorbin' work, per say, wit' de other personalities?" Mattie couldn't help herself; her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

Rogue examined her hands and said, "ah lotta people think Ah steal souls with a simple touch, but it ain' like that. Ah don' take ya soul, instead ah piece or ah copy o' tha psyche- tha ID, tha Ego, tha Superego alla it imprints itself inta m'mind.

"So dey become apart o' yo'?"

Rogue shrugged, "Sorta. When there's ah-lotta someone in my head they tend ta take on their own personalities an' ain' afraid to voice their opinions on my daily tasks. It's like havin' ah critic backseat drivin' every damn choice Ah make."

Mattie's face softened as she continued to regard Rogue, "Interestin'. An' how do' yo' tell yo' own thoughts from dere's?"

"Ya think ya psychic, ya tell me."

Mattie chuckled, "M' inner voice can' read de extra inner voices in yo' head."

Rogue looked at her smugly, "Fair enough. Ah can tell tha difference 'cause my thoughts don't scream in my head." She remarked as she started to sit up in the bed.

Remy had been leaning in the doorjamb for most of their conversation, but with their backs to him, they had failed to notice. However, when he felt that Tante Mattie had begun prying too far into the enigma that was Rogue, he cleared his throat. If anyone was going to solve the puzzle that Rogue presented to them, it would be him.

"Tante." he said, "Stop wit'choo twenty questions. Let de femme rest."

Rogue and Mattie turned at the sound of his voice. Rogue gave him a stony look and Mattie looked at him in amusement

"It's 'bout time I made breakfast anyway." Mattie spared a glance at Rogue as she stood up, "Feel better soon, Cherie."

With Mattie's abrupt departure, only Rogue and Remy were left in the room. Rogue turned her attention to Remy, "Ya know how long Ah've been out?" she asked, rubbing her face in exhaustion.

"Goin' on six hours." Remy replied slipping into the chair Mattie had just vacated.

Rogue inspected his face, "Don' look like ya've slept."

Rogue's statement doubled as a question and Remy thought back to the last time he had actually slept... he was sure she was staring at the dark circles under his eyes, "Been a few days, I guess." he said nonchalantly.

Rogue raised an eyebrow, "days?"

"A thief keeps strange hours." he crossed his arms as he got comfortable in the chair.

"So Ah've noticed," Rogue muttered dryly.

As the silence sunk into the air around them, Remy became more and more uncomfortable. Actually, he wasn't sure what was making him uncomfortable the silence or the guilt of Rogue laying in a hospital bed bearing down on him. "Does dat happen often?" Remy mumbled to the point that Rogue almost didn't hear him.

"Gonna haveta be more specific, Sugah." Rogue blanched.

"De t'ing where yo' powers overload." Remy clarified.

Rogue took a deep breath that trembled ever so slightly, "More times than Ah'd like ta admit."

Remy's mind started to race as he attempted to piece her together. "Is dat why yo' hate de X-men? 'Cause instead o' helpin', dey made it worse?" Did they exploit her? Cause her to absorb too much and send her into a worse off state than the what he was currently witnessing?

"Among other things." Rogue replied cryptically, not meeting Remy's gaze.

"Y'know, I know a t'ing or two 'bout bein' unable t'control m'powers." Remy's tone was soft.

Rogue let out a breathy chuckle, "Really? 'Cause Ah don' see ya accidently blowin' shit up evah."

A small smile crept on Remy's face, "Not anymore, non. Mebbe I could help yo'."

Rogue shook her head, "Tha greatest telepath in history was unable ta help me. What makes ya think ya can." she inquired.

"Experience. Arrogance. Determination." he replied.

Rogue stopped paying attention to him; she had lifted up a clenched fist and was examining it intently as three bone claws tore through her skin. She watched it sadly, turning her hand this way and that so both she and Remy could see it at every angle.

"There ain' notin' ah thief like ya could do ta help me. Not with this." she replied quietly. Before Remy could reply, Rogue started to flinch, in a seizure-like episode she shut her eyes and clenched her jaw as she attempted to ride out the wave of pain washing over her.

Remy jumped to his feet and hovered over her as he waited helplessly for her episode to pass. Her breathing was irregular, like she was losing oxygen. Just as Remy was about to call Tante Mattie back into the room, Rogue stopped her seizure-ish performance and lumped back into the bed, her breathing and her heartbeat stabilizing.

"Rogue?" Remy asked worriedly.

"Ah'm fine," Rogue panted, "Ah jus'... tha voices... sometimes they're so loud that Ah can't function."

Remy's brow furrowed, "Yo' gettin' worse every time yo' use yo' powers." he realized.

"Job hazard." Rogue muttered as she sat up again, "Don't worry ah-bout me. Ah'll be fine. Ah jus' gotta lock those psyches back up ah-gain."

Remy didn't comment as Rogue's eyes fluttered shut. He figured she needn't been interrupted while she attempted to piece back together the fragments of her fragile mind. Instead, he sat down at the foot of her bed. With Tante now in the kitchen, someone needed to keep watch over Rogue. He didn't trust his family to let her recover in peace. He was sure that some of them didn't even want her to recover.

About an hour later, Remy had repositioned himself back into the chair at Rogue's bedside. He was lost in his own thoughts when the door flew open and two more peopled joined them inside the room. Remy was less than thrilled by who the new occupants happened to be.

Belladonna was flanked by her brother, Julien. Remy did his best to keep himself composed. If there was one person he resented more than Belladonna, it was Julien. Remy looked at them boredly, "Somet'ing de matter?"

Belladonna's eyes narrowed, "Oui. Yo' should be makin' weddin' preparations wit' me, but instead yo' holed up in here. Wit' her." Belle's eyes lingered on Rogue longer than Remy was okay with.

"Yo' really made de trip over here at seven in de morin' for dat." Remy asked testily.

"Non." Julien replied before his sister could. "We had matters about the upcomin' truce t'discuss an' word o' yo' showdown last night spread awful quick."

Remy resisted the urge to huff out a sigh, all that Julien's veiled mock meant was that on top of all his other problems, his Guild had a rodent infestation.

"Everyt'ing was handled, as yo' can tres well see." Remy replied harshly.

Belle crossed her arms, "Pray tell, why are yo' here wit' de mercenary yo' hired?" she demanded.

Ignoring the ironic hypocrisy in her statement, Remy replied, "She saved m'life. De least I can do is nurse her back t'health or at least consciousness."

"I'm sure dat's all yo' wanna do wit' her." Julien muttered out of the side of his mouth, walking around Belle and Remy so that he was standing at the foot of Rogue's bed. He examined her sleeping form with interest, "She awful belle, LeBeau. Shame 'bout her…condition. She a fine piece o' ass."

Remy sprung out of his chair before he could even consider his actions, "Yo' shut yo' mouth." he growled to Julien.

Julien's head tipped to the side, "Struck a nerve, did I? Shoulda figured. Remy LeBeau always has a soft spot fo' de newest an' shiniest toy on de block."

The sounds from their heated exchange was enough to bring Rogue from her regenerative sleep, as her eyes fluttered open and she looked confused as to the horde of people around her bed.

"Don' mind me." she said sleepily, "Ah'm jus' recoverin' from ah hulkin' migraine. But please, continue ta yell. It is doin' wonders for my pain levels." she said dryly. She looked curiously at Julien, "Who's de walkin' ball of creepy?"

"Julien Beaudreaux." the man introduced himself to Rogue with far more respect than he had had when speaking of her a moment earlier.

"Ahh." Rogue hummed, "Another assassin. Joy. Do me ah favor, if ya try ta kill me, don' touch me. Ah can' handle another psyche right now."

"Yo' assume yo'd survive an attempt on ya life from me?" Julien asked incredulously, his head tilting slightly.

Rogue said an eyebrow as she kicked off the blanket covering her body. "Oh, Ah know Ah would."

Remy slipped between Rogue and Julien's line of sight, blocking Rogue from the Assassin Prince's view. "If yo' here t'discuss an accord wit' mon Pere why are yo' in here? Jean Luc's office is on de other side o' de house. Y'know dat."

"Annoyin' when people don' do what dey're supposed t', no?" Julien quipped.

Remy glowered at him, "Ain' it 'bout time yo' scrammed?" It wasn't a question.

Rogue, already having enough of the ongoing pow-wow around her, kicked her feet off the side of the bed. Without another second's hesitation, she got to her feet. She watched in curiosity as Belladonna and Julien's eyes widened at the sight of her. Rogue followed their line of sight as caught sight of the ripped cloth around her stomach that was stained a dark red with her own dried blood.

Despite the three tears in her shirt, she had neither cuts nor scars that left any evidence that she had been stabbed just a few hours earlier.

Rogue shrugged, "Ain' exactly easy ta kill me." she said as she ripped the heart monitor off of her hand. As the monitor flat lined, Rogue sauntered past all of them. "Ah was contracted ta carry out ah job, an' Ah intend ta see it through." she said confidently.

She left the three New Orleans natives standing in the room. She was not in the mood to participate in one of their immature bickering matches. As Rogue trifled through the house, she paid little to no attention to where she was actually going. She didn't really care, her head was throbbing so much that she just wanted to be in some peace and quiet. She'd been through five hour Danger Room sessions with Logan that were more relaxing than being in the same room as those three.

As Rogue turned yet another corner, she bumped into someone. She was less than thrilled then she caught sight of the salt-and-pepper hair that belonged to Jean-Luc. The patriarch of the Thieves Guild backed up a couple steps immediately and sized her up. "Rogue?" he said in surprise.

"Jean-Luc," Rogue replied cliptly.

"On yo' feet already?" he was clearly impressed.

Crossing her arms, Rogue replied, "Everyone seems so surprised."

Jean-Luc shrugged, "Us normal people take more den a few hours t' recuperate... dat an' yo don' look like one o' dem."

"One ah them?" Rogue repeated coarsely.

"Mutant," Jean-Luc clarified, "Remy got dem eyes, but yo'... yo' look like everyone else. Jus' wit' questionable taste in headgear." he motioned to Rogue's ever present bandana.

Rogue's jaw clenched, "Yeah. Ah guess Ah do look like everyone else." she said dangerously, "But don' forget, Jean-Luc, Ah ain' like everyone else. Ah am ah mutant, an' Ah ain' a mutant that yah can't manipulate on ya chessboard o' greed."

Jean-Luc smiled, he shook his long crooked index finger at her jovially, "An' dat's why I like yo'. Yo' a wild card. Now like de wild card Remy likes t't'ink he is, a legitimate one dat don' take nobody's shit."

Rogue's fists balled at her side. "Don' try ta butter me up." she seethed, "Ah know ya type. Ah see how ya exploit ya family, ya son. Ah had an adoptive mother jus' like ya. Ah know all tha tricks 'cause Ah've already fell for 'em all. Until we officially move tha item, ya'd be wise ta keep ya comments to yaself."

With that Rogue brushed past him rather violently. She had had it up to her forehead with the entirety of this job and was counting the seconds until she could pack up and leave this shady Guild forever.

Remy sat in Jean-Luc's office, rubbing his face in exhaustion. Belladonna and Julien had finally left after an hour of nonsensical bullshit. They had not come to discuss matters of the treaty like they had claimed when the stormed into Rogue's hospital room. They had come to not-so-covertly check out what exactly had happened that morning.

Jean-Luc still sat behind his desk, unconsciously mimicking Remy's face rub.

"When do we move it?" Remy asked.

"Tomorrow night. Fence is still finishin' up a deal in de Mediterranean. He should be back by den t'take it off our hands. Good riddance." Jean-Luc added in annoyance.

"He's got a buyer?"

Jean Luc scoffed, "Boy dat wasn' no smash an' grab fo' de hell o' it. It was contracted. We jus' needed t'wait fo' de most opportune time t'have Fence deliver it t'de client."

Remy's eyes narrowed, he hadn't known that. "Who's de client?"

Jean-Luc smiled broadly at him, "Dats need t'know, Remy. Yo' don' need t'know."

Remy sucked his teeth, "Do y'know what dey plan t'do wit' it? Do yo' got any idea how dangerous it can be?"

Jean-Luc shrugged, "Dat ain' m'problem. M'only business is de price dey willin' t'pay. An' dey willin' ta pay a lot." he said happily. Jean-Luc caught the sullen look on Remy's face, "Cheer up boy, fo' once everyt'ing is goin' right. De X-men are twenty four hours away from being outta our hair, de Assassins Guild are one hundred forty four hours away from bein' a smaller pain in de ass an' we might jus' be able t'convince dat femme t'stay on as a contractor." Jean-Luc was practically giddy. Remy had never seen him giddy, it was unnerving.

Remy shook his head as his father. Of course, Jean-Luc was once again scheming. If Jean-Luc had his way then by the end of the week Remy would be wed to his worst nightmare, Rogue would become another one of his pawns and Jean-Luc would get to sit on a fat pile of money.

Remy stood up and bid his father a quiet goodbye. With his gaze on the floor, he left the room and made up his mind as to what he would do.

A/N: AANNDDD I'm back. I have returned from my trip tanner, fatter and with a renewed hatred for sand (that's right folks, I went to the beach with mia famiglia). That said, updates will now return to the usual weekly schedule, sorry again for my absence.

So I realized after I posted the last chapter that it was either the best or the worst chapter to leave as a two week cliff hanger. I hope that no one hates Rogue after that and I know I don't really address what happened with the Xmen in this chapter, BUT we did get a smidgen of pseudo-Rogue POV that dropped some hints as to her issues with the Guild/Remy. More to come on that subject later.

NEXT WEEK: We find out what this "item" is (finally). There may or may not be some smooching (not telling who). And Somebody makes a terrible mistake (possibly more than one somebodies, depending on your interpretation). Enjoy!