Hello everyone! Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! And the messages wishing me luck on my midterms! I survived. I think. Several people also added me and Only Trying to Help to their favorites or alert lists. You guys are so awesome and encouraging!

Here is the next chapter. It's a long one. And very introspective. We get to look at Remy's thought process as he considers where he will go and what he will do now that's free of the Guild. Hopefully you like the way it turned out.

Just in case anyone had doubts, I don't own the X-Men or Marvel. If you think I do, I have some lovely ocean from property here in Arizona to sell you. :-) I also have no claim on the band that is playing in the bar while they are having dinner. I'll stick info on them at the end. But The Steeldrivers are awesome. Enjoy!

Layla

Rogue had been awake by the time he'd left the bathroom after his shower. She'd stared groggy-eyed at him for a moment before grabbing her bag and wordlessly entering the bathroom. She apparently wasn't a morning person even when she wasn't waking up from knockout gas.

He'd been pouring over their beat up old road map, plotting the best route to take the following morning while she showered. Besides 'staying in Louisiana' for the first night (he counted Vicksburg, Mississippi as close enough) and meeting up with Logan somewhere, they had no plans or directions except vaguely northeast toward wherever they would meet Logan.

There were essentially two directions out of Vicksburg that could help them: east to Birmingham or north to Memphis. Only one way to Birmingham, just stay on I-20 and drive. Two ways to Memphis. Go north out of Vicksburg and take the back roads, or head east to Jackson and then take I-55 north.

He appraised both routes. The straight path east to Birmingham would be the fastest way to get to Knoxville, which had the dubious distinction of being roughly halfway between New York and them. Probably a good place to meet up with Wolverine. But taking the direct route would be the more obvious choice, and that could get them hurt. They needed to lay down a false trail subtle enough to make the Marauders work for it, and therefore believe it, and still get themselves going in the general direction of Knoxville.

He glanced up from the map he had spread across the bed when the bathroom door opened. Rogue was dressed in her clothes this time, not Mercy's. Her hair was combed out, but hanging wet around her face and she hadn't put her makeup on yet. He caught the blush on her cheeks when she glanced up and found him watching her. He bit back a grin. Making her blush was entirely too easy and far too much fun. But he returned his focus to the map.

"Tell me more about your ID, chérie. What sort of background does Ms. Anna James have?"

Rogue answered while she put on her makeup. "Ah'm originally from Meridian, Mississippi. My family moved to Chicago a few years ago, and Ah'm living somewhere in New York. Ah'm supposed to have dropped out of NYU after a few months."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "How deep is that cover?" he asked, needing to know if it would stand up to Marauder digging.

Rogue shrugged. "Logan said he and Kitty would make sure it would hold up. That's why he's not leaving Bayville until tomorrow."

Remy flipped a pen between his fingers as he thought about that. He was reasonably confident that the Guilds would hold out for at least a day if not two before they let anything out about his departure with Rogue. It would seem suspicious if they rolled over too soon. And he knew enough about Logan, and in particular Logan's relationship with Rogue, to know that the Wolverine would do everything he could with the time he had to make sure Rogue was safe and her ID would hold.

He put the pen down and started flipping cards instead while he watched as she carefully applied her eyeshadow. "NYU, huh. Sounds like your parents have money, Anna."

Rogue seemed vaguely amused by his statement as she caught his eye in the mirror. "Grandparents, Cajun. My parents are dead. But Ah think that money was part of the cover. It's why Ah could get a credit card with the limit Ah did."

Remy nodded. A nice touch. It fit easily with Rogue's personality and independence. And would be lovely for their little cover story. He winked at her. "I have always have had good taste." He let the teasing comment linger, along with his eyes on her body, now that she'd turned to face him. He chuckled when she glared and blushed hard enough for the color to work its way down her neck. With a grin he brought the conversation back to business. "How do you feel about plannin' to rob your grandparents of the family heirloom painting they keep in their study?"

Rogue looked at him like he'd gone crazy.

He explained. "We paid for the room with your credit card. Tomorrow when we checkout, casually say something about going to Memphis. We take the interstate to Memphis, making sure to pay for gas or food or something small with your card while we're there. And we carefully leave a trail that says we're headed north. Like buying a map of Kentucky and Illinois or something like that."

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Ah take it we pay cash and head east as fast as we can once we leave Memphis?"

He grinned. She was a woman after his own devious heart when it suited her. "Oui. Knoxville is about halfway between New Orleans and Bayville. On the bike, it'll take us about 12, 13 hours, countin' stops to get there. About the same for Logan. Be a nice, safe place to meet up with him, and then give me time to set up for the Marauders once they figure out they're chasin' their tails."

He saw her body language change at that statement. Her shoulders drew in, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "You're crazy if you think Ah'm just gonna turn around and run home with Logan while you fight them."

Remy sighed. He'd been hoping she'd do exactly that, hadn't expected it, but hoped. "This ain't your fight, Rogue. Don't want you getting involved any more than you already are."

Her grey-green eyes flashed. "You realize that if somethin' went wrong and you lost, they'd end up on mah doorstep? Ah have my own reasons for making sure they don't come out of this lookin' for the X-Men."

He smirked. "From the Wolverine, I'd buy that. But not from you." He said, calling her on the half truth, and wondering if that was really the only reason she didn't want to leave.

She looked away, the faint color on her cheeks telling him there was more to her reasoning but she didn't say anything.

He let it drop. If he pushed her too hard, she'd either retreat entirely or push back at him. And right now he wasn't sure which option he liked more. He had no plans and no ideas for what happened after he dealt with the Marauders.

Pushing aside the awkward silence, Rogue picked up the burn phone. She glanced at Gambit and raised an eyebrow. "Knoxville tomorrow night?" she confirmed.

Remy nodded, his eyes tracing the route to Memphis. "Be a long ride, but we should be able to get there if the weather holds and we leave early."

He folded the map and stuffed it back into his bag, trying not to listen to Rogue talking to Logan. If she and Logan were going to stay and help deal with the Marauders, he'd have to come up with an exit strategy quickly. He had no idea where he would go after the fight was over, but if he didn't have a destination in mind, he had a feeling it would make things more difficult.

He heard Rogue confirm that Logan would leave tomorrow on his bike. They were avoiding using any of the fancy X-Jets to keep from attracting attention.

When she got off the phone, he suggested dinner and she nodded.

They entered the little restaurant across from their hotel to the sound of a twanging fiddle and picking on a banjo. The band was singing about four cold walls without parole and asking the Lord to have mercy on their souls, saying they wouldn't be in trouble if it hadn't been for love. The place was mostly full, and the food smelled wonderful. A young woman about Gambit's age sat them at a table and mentioned a special of fried catfish before leaving them to their menus.

Figuring the local girl's recommendation would be a good one, Remy tried to tune out the band and consider where he would go after all this ended. Bluegrass wasn't his favorite music style, but the band mixed in enough blues that it didn't drive him too crazy. He glanced at Rogue as she read through the menu before looking away.

She was only with him now out of necessity. What she did after this had no bearing on what he would do. He snorted silently. He didn't believe that himself any more than he'd believed her when she said it that night in Blood Moon Bayou.

The band had switched to a new song, now singing about a man on the run from a crime he didn't commit. He asked a kiss from his girl as he hitched a ride in a boxcar, not knowing when he'd get to come back to her.

A kiss before I leave you, and one more for the wind.
Everyday I hope and pray to be with you again

With a smirk at the band Gambit acknowledged it wasn't a half bad idea. Kiss Rogue goodbye, in whatever manner she'd allow, and hit the road. He could survive that way; he'd done it before. Taking small thieving jobs to get from day to day until he established a reputation as a professional thief that was separate from the Guild. Rogue would become a pretty memory he could pull out and think on when the days became too long.

He sipped at the whiskey the waitress brought when she came to take their food orders. The bourbon burned soothingly down his throat as he considered where that future would take him. He was a good thief, but without the Guild's protection it was a slippery slope.

It was rather ironic that aside from beating the hell out of each other, both the Assassin's Guild and the Thieves' Guild were snobs. They stayed out of the messy world of global politics, drug smuggling, and weapon's dealing.

The Assassin's weren't mercenaries for hire. They took single contracts for specific, single targets. Coups were left to other, less savory organizations. And though the Thieves would generally steal whatever was asked, they preferred the world of high profile art, jewels and bonds. And naturally they loved a good con. But they didn't take contracts for stolen weapons. It wasn't their style.

But to establish himself as entirely separate from his Guild past, Gambit knew he'd likely have to do those very things. And he was too highly trained a fighter not to end up working as a mercenary in some regard.

He took another sip and listened to band. They were singing about a gun who wished it had been left in the ground rather than become the weapon it had been fashioned into. It wanted to know why it was called a 'Peacemaker' given what it had been made to do.

If I don't deserve the credit, why do I deserve the blame?

With a bitter smirk into his glass, Remy considered. He'd hated working for Sinister. It had been a terrifying eye opener into the world of mercenary work. He'd had no control and no say over what he was asked to do. It was 'do it, or pay the price'. So he'd gone along until he'd found a way out.

He still couldn't make himself think about the consequences of what his work had been. He hadn't been the one bringing in new subjects, but he'd provided research and data that facilitated the experiments those test subjects had undergone.

He took a big swallow of whiskey to chase the sick feeling taste out of his throat. He'd done what he'd had to, but that didn't mean he'd liked it.

Magneto was 'mercenary work: take two'. For all that Magneto had lived through he was far from the most competent strategist or leader Gambit had ever worked with. He'd never really sent them out to kill Xavier's X-men. He'd mostly wanted to pull Xavier over to his way of thinking. Which was fine with Gambit. Other than the mess with Trask, very little about those days particularly bothered him. He'd mostly spent his time polishing his thieving skills, laying low, and trying to catch Rogue's eye.

He'd been lucky to wind up with someone like Magneto as his boss after leaving Sinister. He could so easily have been leaving one truly vicious man for another. It had seemed a perfect escape at the time. And in the long run it had paid off more than he could have ever hoped. It wasn't free, but the cost had been comparatively low.

Rogue shifted in her seat, drawing his gaze again. Her eyes were focused on the band, arms folded across her chest. As he studied the play of shadows across her face in the dim lighting, he listened to the lead singer sing about having two angels sitting on his shoulders, ones who only ever disagreed. One on the side of right and reason and the other on the reckless side of him.

With a bit of a glare toward the band for somehow signing songs that perfectly fit his inner turmoil he considered the words of the song.

I've spent a lifetime listening to the whispers
Always try to heed my second mind
Never done nobody wrong on purpose
But I've come mighty close a couple times

He took another sip of whiskey. Wasn't that the truth? He'd never intended to wind up as a mercenary soldier fighting to establish mutants as a superior race over humans. He figured Magneto's vision of the future was more likely than Xavier's, but he certainly hadn't had any particular attachment to it.

Rogue noticed his gaze and raised an eyebrow in his direction. He smirked, but looked away.

The angel on his reckless side taunted him. He'd be bored to death in ten minutes with a real job. He wasn't meant for a nine to five kind of life. So where did that leave him? He couldn't go back to the Guild. He didn't want anyone lying to his face about being a part of the family when they only kept him around because he was useful to them. And he didn't like the look of the road laid out before him if he went on thieving without the Guild. He knew without quite knowing why that that road lead to blood and no small amount of misery.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the waitress placing plates of food before them. Both he and Rogue had ordered the catfish, and it looked as good as the hostess had said. The band announced a brief break, but promised they'd be back before long.

He and Rogue both ate silently for several minutes before she spoke. "You missin' your family?" she asked hesitantly.

He blinked at her in surprise. "Non. Not at all."

She looked him in the eye for a moment. "You're thinkin' awfully hard about somethin'."

"Considering all the options, that's all," he deflected, giving her only a partial answer.

"Where will you go? I mean after all this is over." She looked away as she asked the question.

He eyed her carefully, not sure how to answer. A sharp response would push her away and end any further questions. She'd go into protective 'I don't need you' mode, and while that was probably the best for both of them in the long run, he neither wanted to hurt her nor end the easy connection between them. He settled for vague honesty. "Not sure, chérie. Got lots of way I could go."

She paused, and he was surprised to see her fidget uncomfortably. "Ah didn't think to ask before. Are you okay with not marryin' what's her name? Ah kinda took that choice away without meanin' to."

His eyes widened in astonishment. Of all the regrets he had in his life, and there were plenty, that was definitely not one of them. He reached out, startling her when he brushed her bangs out of her eyes without touching her skin. "Owe you my life for that, Rogue. Not having to marry Belle's like getting the keys to my life back."

Some of the tension in her shoulders released, but she looked at him in puzzlement. "Mercy sort of explained it, but Ah still don't get it. Why were you gonna marry her in the first place, if you obviously didn't want to?"

He took a bite of food and chewed while he considered his answer. "If you marrying …" he paused and picked out a name, "Pietro would keep the X-Men alive and end a war would you do it?"

She grimaced. "At least you didn't pick Blob. Or Toad. Ah guess Ah see your point. Ah was just surprised you stayed at all."

He shrugged. "Didn't plan on it. It just sort of happened. Stayed for Henri and Mercy's engagement, and then I got caught in the peace accord and couldn't leave."

She glanced at him, looked away, and then glanced back before asking. "You gonna go back once this is over?"

He chuckled wryly. "That's about the only thing I know I'm not gonna do." He paused before adding, "Well that and work for Sinister again. I guess I owe the X-Men for taking care of that too. Seems I owe you for several things, Chérie." He couldn't resist lightening the conversation with flirting. "You'll have to let know how I can make it up to you," he drawled letting his eyes linger on hers for a moment, and enjoying the blush it brought to her cheeks.

She glared at him, but he could see humor in her eyes as well. "Maybe Ah should have left you to Bella Donna."

He grinned. "You aren't that cruel."

They smirked companionably at each other before returning their food in comfortable silence. He was just finishing the last of his meal when she spoke again, his empathy picking up on her hesitation. "Don't take this the wrong way. But Ah know Xavier is always lookin' for new people. You could always join the X-Men. If you don't have somewhere else to go."

He was silent for a moment, weighing all the different meanings of 'don't take this the wrong way' and considering what the offer would mean. She wasn't being flirtatious or coy. She was giving him a genuine offer. But joining the X-Men meant playing by the rules and working as a team. Two things he wasn't known for being good at.

Still wondering why she'd meant with her condition, he asked. "What do you mean, 'take it the wrong way'?"

She glanced sideways before answering. "Ah didn't want you to think it was like your family. Ah mean, yeah, you're a mutant and you're good in a fight, but Xavier isn't like your father. He genuinely cares about people."

Gambit sat back, letting her words play over in his mind. That actually hadn't crossed his mind. He'd seen that Xavier cared for his team while he'd been working with Magneto. "I'm not nice and sweet like your family, chérie. Never have been."

She snorted. "Cause 'nice' and 'sweet' are the first words everyone uses for Logan."

He felt a smile pull at his lips. He hadn't been considering the Wolverine when he made that statement.

She kept speaking. "You wouldn't be the first of us with an interesting past, Remy." Embarrassed that she was pushing the idea too forcefully, she downplayed her argument. "Anyway, it was just an idea."

He didn't take the opportunity to let the subject drop. "I used to be your enemy," he reminded her.

"So did Piotr," she countered. "So did Ah. Mystique recruited me first. Or didn't Magneto tell you that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I heard rumors to that effect but never really believed 'em."

She gave him a bitter, tight smile. "Ask Scott about the time Ah tried to force him off a cliff on a snowmobile."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise, not that she played rough, but that she'd seriously played for the blue shape shifter. "How did Mystique get you in the first place?"

She looked away. "She knew the X-Men were comin' to recruit me. She and Irene told me they were out to get me in order to keep me away from them. She disguised herself as different ones of them and attacked me while they were tryin' to talk to me. Ah ended up stuck in a cemetery runnin' from her and the real X-Men thinkin' they were tryin' to hurt me. My mutation had just manifested and Ah'd accidentally absorbed a kid from school. Ah couldn't figure out who Ah was or what was goin' on. Without knowin' any better, she seemed like the best option at the time."

"We really could write that book about our parents," he muttered.

"Probably make a lot of money sellin' it as some bad movie," she added with dark humor, getting a smirk out of him.

He returned the conversation to its previous subject. "How long's Piotr been with you?" he asked, assuming it was fairly recent.

She glanced at him. "Apocalypse. He got in touch with us just before we went to fight and stayed after."

Gambit nodded. "Pete's a good homme. He'd fit well with you."

She nodded but didn't say anything.

The band returned to the stage, picking up instruments as the lead singer gave some background on the next song. Something about a slave during the Civil War deciding it was time to join the union soldiers and asking his wife to make the run to freedom with him.

The song had a softer feel than the previous ones, but it made a nice segue between general conversation and loud, live music. Not really trying to listen, the words of the song blended once more into his internal musing.

If he hit the road after they dealt with the Marauders where would he end up? Mostly likely fighting against the X-Men in some form or fashion. Either directly by working as a mercenary for someone like Magneto or worse, or indirectly through stealing information for the likes of Sinister. It probably wouldn't turn out to be that black and white, but the premise held true enough. He was a mutant and would likely end up involved in the mutant situation somehow.

He considered his earlier comment to Rogue, about owing her and the X-Men for getting Sinister off the streets. He did owe them for that. And he didn't want to work for men like him in the future. So that made him what, a thief with a conscience? He mentally snorted. That wouldn't work if he needed to make a living as a professional non-Guild thief.

Can you run, to the freedom line of the Lincoln soldiers
Where a contraband can be a man
With a musket on his shoulder
I've got to stand up tall before I'm done
Wrap these hands of mine around a gun
And chase the taste of bondage from my tongue
Can you run

The man in the song was willing to fight for his freedom, to stand up and risk it all for the chance that he and his wife could be free.

It wasn't literal slavery that pulled at Gambit. He was free do what he wanted; but that freedom also left him wide open to the consequences of those choices. He'd never really considered that side of the coin before. It had never been an option before.

He swallowed the last sip of his bourbon, and set the empty glass down. If he and Rogue didn't have to be up at dawn to drive he'd order another one. He sipped at his water instead.

I'm takin' nothin' with me
We've just got time to beat the sun
And the boys in gray are never far away
Can you run

Henri's words played through his memory, about new chances and being dealt a fresh hand. He was free of the Guild, free from both Sinister and Magneto. His ties to his past had been severed cleanly. But the world of shadows he'd been born into was always close by. If he didn't find a path that pulled him away, he'd wind up back in them again.

And even if I die, I've got to try
Can you run

Could he really do that? Learn to play by Xavier's rules and not just avoid scum like Sinister, but actively work against them? He'd get to play outside the law, keep his skills and combat training in top form. His eyes slipped over to Rogue as she watched the band play. There could be other benefits to that life too. Maybe.

He turned to face Rogue, his movement drawing her attention. "I'll think about it," he said.

It took a moment for his meaning to register, but he saw a start of a smile in eyes when she got his meaning. She nodded, and then turned back to the music, that faint smile tugging at her lips.

With a subtle smirk at her reaction, he turned back to the band. He stole one of Rogue's remaining French fries and settled in to listen to them sing about the ghosts of Mississippi.

Before anyone gets up in arms about my using Bluegrass music, yes I know neither Remy nor Rogue listen to it. That's sort of the point. All the music used here, whether just mentioned or actual lyrics being used, belongs to The Steeldrivers, specifically Chris Stapleton. If you do happen to like bluesy country and southern soul music with serious twang, I highly recommend them! They are awesome. Sadly Chris Stapleton no longer is part of the group, but he's the lead singer on their two CDs. But they are amazing musicians. I would love to find a little dive bar with great food where they are playing!

The songs that I used here are (in order):
If It Hadn't Been For Love (for those of you who are Adele fans, she also sings this song. Her version is fun, but the original is still my favorite)
To Be With You Again
Peacemaker
The Reckless Side of Me
Can You Run
The Ghosts of Mississippi

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think, and have a great weekend!

Layla