I opened my eyes to see Gambit standing over Belle.
"It's over Belle." He told her softly, I tried to sit up, but my whole body hurt.
"Remy, don't leave me again." Belle pleaded crying on the ground looking up at him, Gambit sighed.
"Dis is not my home, I am not tief or assassin, I am an x-man, And I'm never comin back." He told her setting her ring down next to her, she sobbed into her arm as he turned back to me. He came over offering a hand to help me up, I took it letting him all but carry me, but I was still mad that he had left without telling me.
"Don't you trust me?" I asked once we were away fro the thieves, and assassins, Logan and Storm passed them, knowing they weren't supposed to hear this part.
"Of I trust you Cher, how can you even ask Gambit that?" He asked, I rolled my eyes, I was too angry to abide by his ridiculous third person habit.
"God, stop referring to yourself in the third person and just talk to me, you had a real problem and instead of letting me help you, you just ran off without even saying goodbye. I love you sugar, and I want to be there for you, but you gotta let me." I told him firmly, he smiled leaning down to kiss me, I couldn't have stopped him if I'd wanted to, he had so much love shining in his eyes when he looked at me.
"Dieu Je t'aime, tu es si parfaite. (God I love you, you are so perfect.) I'm sorry cher, I won't let it happen again." He promised, I couldn't help but smile back at him, stupid Cajun.
"Better not sugar, the way that swamp witch was touchin you I thought I might have to beat her, now get in the on that bike so I can take you home and remind you just where you belong!" I told him, he chuckled slapping my ass.
"Oui madame!" (Yes ma'am) he leered getting on the bike, I rolled my eyes going to follow him.
"Hey kid, tell the prof that me and Ororo are gonna take a little drive, might not be back for a while." Logan told me, I smiled waving them off as he drove away, I climbed onto the back of the motorcycle, but before he could pull away my stomach jumped up into my throat.
I spun around running to a tree and leaning on it while I threw up everything I'd eaten that day and then some.
"You alright Cher?" Gambit asked rushing over to me, I tried to get my stomach to play nice, but it would have none of it.
"I hit my head pretty hard, I think it's got me a bit woozy." I offered, but if I were honest it hadn't been until I'd thought about the steak I wanted to have for supper that I'd gotten sick.
"Well, let 'ol Gambit take care of ya cher, you just hold on and relax." Gambit told her getting her on the bike wishing he had something to offer her to clean out her mouth. We stopped at a little gas station, and while Gambit got me a soda and some mints, I snuck something a little more overwhelming into my pocket.
When they made it back to the institute, she told Gambit to go tell the professor Logan and Storm were out while she went to see Jean to make sure her head was okay, but really she was in the bathroom with the door locked.
She was staring at the little blue plus sign in total shock, she had been feeling tired and sensitive, but she just thought that was because, Gambit didn't like to let her rest without a good distraction, and he was very distracting.
"Hey, are you almost done in there, other people have bladders too!" Kitty called through the door. I tried to snap out my bewilderment, but I just couldn't stop staring at the little blue mark.
"Sorry, hun, I'll be right out." I told her putting the plastic cap back on the stick and putting it in the little box, slipping it into my pocket. I opened the door and she looked me over for a second.
"Are you sick?" She asked, I laughed coldly, I was way more then sick, I was screwed; There was no was I was ready for a kid much less Remy.
"Just stressed." I told her turning to head to Jean since I had promised I'd go there, and I really needed to tell someone.
"Ya, okay." Kitty dismissed it letting me go, I all but ran to Jeans lab knocking frantically, she opened the door looking worriedly t me.
"Calm down Rouge, what's going on?" Jean asked closing the door behind her, I pulled the test out of my pocket dropping it on the table. I waited to see how she'd react, running my hands frantically through my hair as she looked down at it.
"Are you?" She asked unable to finish the question, I nodded not trusting my own voice, she took me by the hand pulling me in for a hug.
"It'll be okay, your with family here, is it Gambit's?" She asked, I shot her a look of disbelief, who else did she think I was sleeping with.
"Ya, of coarse it is." I told her, she held up her hands in a gesture that said she hadn't ment it that way.
"Have you told him?" Jean asked, I looked down at my feet, he wasn't in his room so I'd come straight here.
"Not yet." I answered honestly, she smiled one of those reassuring big sister smiles that secretly meant she knew better.
"Don't you think you should be having this conversation with him?" Jean asked, I rolled my eyes I should have known better, I picked up my box and rushed back to Gambit's room. He still wasn't back so I curled up on his bed, our bed really, and wrapped myself in the blanket that smelled like him.
I woke up to him getting into the bed wrapping his arms around me, I rolled over burrowing into his bare chest. He held me tight littering my neck sweetly with open mouthed kisses, I moaned wanting to let him take all my worries away, but first we had to talk.
"Remy, Sugar, I gotta tell ya somethin." I told him, he stopped propping himself up on one elbow to look at me.
"What's that Cher?" He asked, I rolled off the bed, I couldn't look at him, I was so sacred he would run once I'd told him. I would have run if it weren't my problem.
"I'm pregnant." I whispered, he got off the bed coming around to get a better look at me.
"You sure Cher?" He asked, not sounding panicked or terrified like I felt, but I knew he had a hell of a poker face.
"Ya." I whispered, he came over to me lifting my chin so I'd have to look at him.
"Then we'll figure it out together cher, Gambit will support you whatever decision you make." Gambit told her, I looked up at him with wide innocent eyes full of shock.
"And if I want to keep it?" She asked, he smiled kissing me gently.
"Then I'll be here with you mon amour, for both of you." He told me running his hand down my shoulders and letting them come to rest on my stomach.
"How'd you get so sweet sugar?" I asked kissing him before he had a chance to answer.
Hours later I was laying on his chest with my hand on my stomach thinking about how my life would change with this baby. My baby, our baby, Gambit's baby. I looked over at him letting my hand slide down his chest.
That was what got me every time I stared to think about it, Gambit, Remy Lebeu, I was having his baby. Anyone else and the very idea would be horrifying, but here with him it didn't seem so awful or scary. I wanted to spend the rest of my life right here in his arms.
"Rouge, please meet me in my office as soon as you have the time." Xavier's voice echoed in my head wresting me from a peaceful sleep. I made a face trying to burrow back into the comfort of sleep here in Gambit's arms, but it was no use, I was awake now. I rolled out of Gambits arms to get dressed feeling like crap.
"Morning Belle amie." He mumbled rolling over the sheet falling off him, I couldn't help but stop and stare holding my shirt in my hand. He smirked leering over at me, I shook my head, I'd been summoned and she certainly didn't have time for that.
"Mornin sugar, I gotta go see the professor, you gonna make me and you baby breakfast?" I asked, he smiled stretching out before he rolled off the bed falling to his knees kissing my stomach, down to my belt line.
"None a that sugar or I'll never go anywhere." I moaned, I could feel him smirk against her skin, he leaned back looking up at her.
"Mm, I'll see ya downstairs Cher." He said letting me go, I pulled my shirt on hurrying out of the room before she got distracted. She went straight to the professor's office so she could get it over with.
"Hey sugar, what'd you need?" I asked taking a seat in the comfy chair he smiled puing something out of a drawer.
"We think we've come up with a cure." Xavier offered setting a vial down in front of her, she picked it up looking at it. She put her hand on her stomach then setting it down.
"I can't, I..." I started, Xavier smiled in a fatherly way, the kind of smile that said, it was okay because he was there for me.
"It's okay, rouge I know that learning to manage your power will be hard, but with help you will learn to turn your power on and off." Xavier tried to comfort me, I ran my hand through my hair not sure how to explain this without being obscene.
"No, it's not that, I, I'm pregnant, I just don't know what my powers would do to the baby." I told him, he was stunned silent for a long moment.
"Well, I suppose congratulations are in order, but I know your powers could never hurt your child, it's a part of you, much like your powers are." Xavier explained, I looked down at the vial, if it was really safe she wouldn't mind getting back to learning how to control her power.
"Are you sure?" I asked, Xavier smiled again.
"Absolutely." He told me, I nodded getting up out of the chair.
"I need to talk to Gambit first." I told him turning to leave.
"Of coarse." Xavier replied as I left still holding the vial he had given me, I wasn't sure I trusted that my powers wouldn't hurt the baby, but Xavier seemed so sure.
"Just in time Cher de bacon is done." Gambit told me with a smile I was going to ask about the vial, but the smell of the cooking bacon hit me and my stomach flipped into my throat. I ran back out and to the bathroom heaving up stomach acid.
"What's wrong Cher?" Gambit asked through the door, I took a swig of water gargling it before I answered.
"I don't know why sugar, but the smell of cookin meat has my stomach doin flips like it's tryin out for the circus." I told him, he grimaced feeling bad that he'd caused this.
"You go on back to the room Cher, Gambit'll bring you breakfast in bed." He offered, I smiled opening the door and kissing his neck since I could still taste sick in my mouth.
"Thanks sugar." I said slapping his ass before I left, I crawled into bed staring at the small greenish yellow vial. Gambit came in a few minutes later with a tray off food that did not include bacon.
"What happened to the bacon?" I asked as he set the food down on night stand with a little grin.
"I gave it to Logan." He told me, I giggled, of coarse he had, Logan would eat anything meaty and delicious, if she couldn't stand the smell of meat for the next nine months she was going to get rather cranky.
"They think they found a way to cure me." I said quietly as I picked at the eggs, he sat down next to me putting his arm around my shoulder and picking at my food.
"Isn't that good Cher?" He asked kissing my neck absentmindedly, I leaned into him letting my eyes drift closed.
"I wouldn't get to touch you, Xaveir says I can't hurt the baby, but I still worry." I told him honestly, he ran his hands up under my shirt just enjoying touching me.
"I'm sure xavier knows what he's talkin about cher, and we'd figure out the other, but dat don't matter you only have to take it if you want to." He told me, I smiled glad that he wasn't pushing one way or the other. We ate in relative silence while I thought about it, I couldn't lie about who I was anymore.
"I'm gonna take it sugar, I feel like I'm lyin about who I am without my powers, I need to learn how to exist as me, but before I do me faire l'amour." (make love to me) I whispered, he set the tray aside climbing over me and kissing every inch of my body, before making his way back up to spend some time between my thighs.
"Here goes nothing." I whispered a few hours later holding the small vial, Gambit squeezed my hand reassuringly. I drank the bitter liquid waiting to see if I would start drawing from Gambit, but nothing happened.
"Well that was anti climactic, do you think it worked and I just gotta wait, or was it a bust?" I mumbled looking at the vial feeling rather cross, I'd been all hyped up for nothing. Gambit kissed me though taking my mind off it entirely. Just before we were forced to break apart for air I felt a familiar draw from my powers.
I kissed him again, and it was the same, like it was taking longer for the power to rise to the surface. I backed away smiling while I held his hand the draw never came, it was there deep down I had my powers back, but unless I was actually trying to pull them up nothing happened.
"I have my power back, but it's switched off or somethin, I can turn it on, but it's not revvin up to suck the life outta anybody I touch!" I exclaimed excitedly, if it stayed this way life would be perfect.
"Magnifique cher, then Gambit don't have to stop kissing you." He smirked pulling her in to a passionate kiss.
"Don't you ever go down sugar?" I asked in shock as he pulled me flush with his mostly naked body.
"Not with you cher." He whispered against my neck sending a shiver down to her core.
"Xavier." I managed to mumble, Gambit stopped looking up at me in shock and disgust.
"Not even close cher." ambit rumbled, I shook my head clearing the fog that his touch always caused.
"No, I have to talk to Xavier, to make sure my power won't snap on while your inside me swamp rat." I told him rolling my eyes at the thought that I might have said the name on accident, Gambit sighed.
"Alright cher, but when you come back, Je vais vous posez et vous crier mon nom." (I'm going to lay you down and have you screaming my name.) He leered, I smiled blushing deeply as I gathered up my clothes.
"I'll hold ya to that sugar!" I told him hurrying out the door to Xavier's office, he was waiting for her.
"Yes?" He asked before she even shut the door, she smiled practically hopping with nervousness.
"I took the serum or whatever I have my powers back, but it's like I turned them off and I can use them when I want, it's not just whenever I touch people, it's not gonna like snap on or anything is it?" I asked in one long breath, he chuckled.
"No rouge, your powers have recessed as they should have when you first got them, but because of the traumatic nature of there awakening they
locked on full. Your powers are as they should have been, now go back to gambit before my ears bleed, you're thinking rather loudly." Xavier told me, I blushed running out of the room back towards our room.
Time flew while I learned how to use my powers as second nature, and my stomach grew, the baby didn't seem to like it when I absorbed Logan, and with all the memories of storm sex I wasn't fond of it either so I decided to train with Gambit instead, which the baby seemed to like, plus it was flattering to see myself through his eyes.
"They say we can find out the sex of the baby today if we want." I told him, he smiled running his hand over my stomach gently.
"I'd like that Cher." He said he'd been doing his best not to refer to himself in the third person I'd been kind of moody and it was one of the things that set me off some times.
"Which do you want it to be." I asked he kissed his way down to my belly with the little grin that was on his lips most days lately.
"I always wanted one of both cher, Deux petits enfants courent partout pendant que nous regardions ensemble de notre porche , (Two little kids running around together while we watched from our porch) it would be perfect." Gambit told me effectively dodging the question, she got out of the bed throwing him his clothes so they could go to the medical wing.
"Well I hope you two have a name picked out because it's gonna be a boy." Jean told us happily, Gambit squeezed my hand with a huge grin that he couldn't seem to wipe of his face.
"What should we name him Cher?" Gambit asked while we finished up the sonogram, I looked don at our hands clasped together.
"What do you think of Edward?" I asked, he grimaced shaking his head. "hmm, maybe Oliver?" I asked, he thought for a second rolling it around in his mind.
"I like it Petite, Oli Raven-Lebeau, rolles off the tongue eh cher?" He said kissing my now clean stomach. I giggled as his whiskers tickled my sensitive skin.
Months later we were back in the same room with me crushing Gambit's hand covered in swear while the doctor worked. I early passed out from exhaustion when they finally let Gambit cut the cord, the doctor smiled up at him.
"Congratulations Mrs. Lebeau you have a healthy baby boy." The doctor told her while the nurse cleaned the crying child before handing to her in a little blue blanket.
"Oh we're not married." I whispered absentmindedly taking little Oliver smiling down at him happily. Gambit frowned his fingers brushing over the velvet box in his pocket.
"He's got your eyes, sort of." I said when He looked over at Oliver he had the same black whites but his eyes were a brilliant blue, which must come from his mutant side because neither of them had blue eyes, though there was no way they could know what color Gambit's eyes would have been.
"He's perfect Cher." Gambit told me with a smile, Xavier had given them a more private section of the mansion that was on the top floor, it took a couple of days to get settled back in with Oliver with everyone stopping by to see him. It was almost two weeks later when Gambit had let Kitty take Oliver for the night with the promise that she and Jean would take care of him.
"Wow." I whispered when I came into our room to see it lit with candles and covered with flowers, a table set up in the middle with a beautiful candlelight dinner set up on it music playing softly. Gambit came out of the shadows in a tux, his shaggy chocolate hair brushed back into a very short ponytail.
"Rogue vous belle déesse, Je t'aime! (Rogue, you beautiful goddess, I love you!) Marry me?" He whispered going down on one knee, I was stunned, everything was perfect she wanted to cry she was so happy.
"Yes, hell yes sugar!" I yelled jumping at him happily, he leaped to his feet catching me and spinning me in a circle. "I thought you'd never ask!" I whispered against his neck kissing him all thoughts of food out of our minds.
"Didn't want to ask while you were pregnant Cher, didn't want you to tink it was for de wrong reasons, Je t'aime belle (I love you beautiful) want to spend de rest of dis life wid you!" His voice was a soft low rumble of a baritone that had her quivering for him. It was amazing that after a year he could still do that to her. She pushed him back into the bed, that tux was hot, but definitely in the way.
"So when are you two having the wedding?" Kitty asked the next morning when I picked up Oliver.
"Well he wants to run off and do it tomorrow, but I told him I wanted to do it right, so it could be a while." I offered, I kind of wanted little oli to be in the wedding, but I didn't think I could wait that long.
"Well I can help you plan everything! I love weddings!" Kitty offered, I giggled still looking down at my sweet little oli.
"I'd like that, but no pink anywhere, ever!" I told her finally looking up to make sure she got the message. Kitty huffed crossing her arms.
"Fine, but it's your loss." Kitty teased sticking her tongue out at me, I laughed.
"I think I'll manage." I told her, turning to go back to Gambit who was still asleep after the night they'd had.
Almost two years later I was standing in front of a floor length mirror in a beautiful white dress no gloves needed, but she'd fallen in love with the long white ones she had on.
"You look so good!" Kitty told her spinning over in her little blue brides maid dress happily, I smiled nervously.
"Well that was the idea." I told her, she just laughed singing around loving the way her dress spun out around her.
"Well don't take too long, I'm off to walk down the isle with Scott." Kitty laughed, Logan came in through the door she'd left open in his crisp tux clean shaven and everything.
"You ready kid?" He asked, I was having him walk me down the isle, he was like a father to me and kitty while we were in school, and my real dad wouldn't even take my call.
"Ya, I am." I said firmly turning and taking his arm, they went over towards the isle to wait for there turn.
"You just say the word and the Cajun's history if he ever hurts you." Logan grumbled, I giggled, I just couldn't stop smiling as we went around the corner to the isle, Oli was standing with his father holding the ring boxes and fidgeting impatiently, but it was his father, Gambit, who drew my eye.
He was standing at the alter looking back at me with unabashed adoration in his eyes as he smiled back at me. He was dashing, his hair trimmed to almost short, and the tux was crisp and black with a small red rose bud on his chest that made her think of his eyes.
The ceremony had me in tears while I stood there with him holding his hands tightly, I'd let him wear his silly gloves even.
"I do." They whispered in turn as the pastor read them the vows and Gambit slipped the delicate silver diamond ring on her finger, and she slid the thick silver band on his.
"You may now kiss the bride!" The pastor told them, Gambit kissed me sweeping me off my feet while I clung to him. They were caught in a whirl wind of perfection for the next two years.