Here's chapter four! Thanks again for the reviews and follows! Jean-Luc comes into the picture this chapter so enjoy!
The next day Kathy dressed up nice, she obviously thought that meeting Jean-Luc was a big deal and asked Remy to put her hair in pig tails. She could do it herself but she said she wanted to make sure she looked nice.
He laughed and told her it wasn't that big of a deal but she steadfastly ignored him and he ended up doing her hair like she asked.
Tante Mattie came around noon and they took a walk to a meet Jean-Luc. He and Remy were a little stiff with each other but Remy put it aside for Kathy and Jean-Luc seemed to like her.
"So, I've had some people look into it. We're searching for records for Mark Caldwell's family. So far we have a sister named Julia Hoffman. Do you know that name?" He looked at Kathy.
She sat quietly for a minuet before nodding. "Aunt Julia." She whispered.
Remy sat back and shuffled a deck of cards. "Where does she live?"
"We're trying to find that out. We have her last address but we can't locate her current one."
Jean-Luc's eyes were fixed on Kathy and she stared back, meeting his gaze with equal intensity. "So, how has my son been doing as a pere?"
Gambit narrowed his eyes. "I'm not-" He started.
"He's really nice." Kathy said. "He bought me this new dress." She plucked at the fabric on her arm.
Jean-Luc smiled. "It looks lovely on you."
Kathy gave him a small smile and looked at Remy wanting confirmation that a compliment was a good thing. He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. "Sure does."
Tante Mattie sat in the corner stitching and smiled. "Did you have a fun evening?" She asked.
Kathy nodded. "He showed me all of the pretty houses."
Jean-Luc laughed. "That must have been quite some walk."
Remy leaned forward. "We didn't see all o' 'em. I'd be happy to take you to see more."
She nodded. "I want to live in a house like them. All big and pretty."
"It's called Queen Ann Style." Remy said. "When they make the houses all fancy and frilly."
Kathy nodded not really understanding and smiled at him. She must have thought him smart. "I really liked them."
He gave her knee a squeeze. "Glad you did."
The rest of the day they spent talking. Jean-Luc asked some questions about the X-Men and Remy asked about some of the people he knew but all in all they found conversation a little difficult. Only Kathy was a safe topic and fortunately Jean-Luc was very taken with her. Her intelligence and sometimes unchild-like comments fascinated and thrilled him.
In a moment alone he confessed that he had not spent much time at all around children since Remy had grown up and never with little girls. "She's like you in someways but not so in others. They always say girls mature faster than boys and you were very much a boy. Running around, getting dirty and sometimes escaping down to de swamps. Oh, and then there were your misadventures with girls."
Remy smiled a bit, thinking back fondly. He guessed he had been a bit of a trouble maker. "Nah Kathys' no trouble." He said. "She's a smart little lady. Me, I was a wild thing."
"She's smart. I think if she wasn't she wouldn't have lasted this long. How long did you say those people had her?"
"T'ink it was something like three or four months. Might have been more. She never said and she doesn't really talk about it. I don't think much went on for her. I t'ink dey just kept her locked up in dat warehouse."
Jean-Luc sighed. "Like I said, smart and tough."
Remy smiled fondly, leaning over the window sill on his father's office. "Yeah, I don't t'ink there's a soul alive who'd argue wit' you dere."
They stood silently for a while and then Remy sighed. "I'll be sad when I find her family."
Jean-Luc settled into his office chair and turned it to face his son. "You could adopt her. Like I did you."
Remy laughed at the idea. "Ah, I don't t'ink dats a very good idea. And I wouldn't feel too good about it."
"Why not?"
"I'm not in any place to have a kid around. And Kathy has a real family somewhere." He shook his head. "It wouldn't be right."
Jean-Luc stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose. Have you given any thought about what you'll do if you can't find her family?"
Remy stared out the window sourly. "Tante Mattie asked me de same question. Non, I don't know."
Jean-Luc waved his hand. "The Guild could take care of her."
Remy made a scoffing noise. "No offence, pere but dat's de last thing I'd do. Leave her wit' de Guild. She needs a real home and a real family. It's the same reason I ain't takin' her to de X-Men."
His father didn't seem at all offended, he only nodded his head. "Well, there are foster systems."
Remy frowned. "Dat's not very appealing either."
"I don't know what you want then. You won't take her yourself, you won't take her to the X-Men, you don't want de Guild to have her and you don't want the government to get her either. You don't have dat many options."
Remy knew he was right but none of them were options he wanted to pursue. "I'll figure something out. Right now lets just work on finding her family."
"Alright. I did some looking up on those loan sharks you said had kidnapped her, they're small time but you made them mad. They're afraid the girl will be able to testify against them in court."
"Do dey know where she is?"
"No. they have no idea. They aren't far reching. If they don't find her in the city, they'll give up and If they keep going, we'll pay them to quit."
Remy was a little surprised, his father was doing a lot more than he had asked of him. His mind briefly ran through a list of possible reasons, maybe he wanted Remy to owe him or maybe he really did just like Kathy or maybe he had some other angle but whatever it was he pushed it the back of his mind and thanked his father. Maybe Jean-Luc really did just like Kathy that much. He'd go with that one for now.
"So, anyt'ing new happen here?"
"Nothing particularly interesting. I recently came into possession of some Monets, very nice. I'm selling them down in Baton Rogue next week. They should fetch a good price."
Remy grinned. Came into possession was such a nice, undefined term. "Locally acquired?" He asked.
"You could say that."
They talked art theft for a while, even getting a laugh when Remy mentioned a painting he'd ripped off a sports announcer and Jean-Luc said he'd sold it to the man.
"Small world, eh pere?" Remy said.
Jean-Luc relaxed back in his chair. "Yes it is, mon fils."
The talked for a while more, leaving Kathy with Tante Mattie. Despite the initial awkwardness and the initial distrust, it wasn't that hard for Remy to talk to his father. He had missed New Orleans, and the people there.
Around evening Tante Mattie and Kathy called them to dinner. Mattie sad that Kathy had helped with setting the table and Remy smiled a little at the idea. Kathy sat between him and Tante Mattie, listening to the conversation. Tante Mattie had apparently told her several stories about young Remy and she asked him to confirm several point. Jean-Luc added in a few he had picked up, some Remy wanted to know where he'd learned, they were from before he'd been adopted and the way he figured it, his father had no business knowing those things but he'd long since accepted that the man knew just about everything he shouldn't and he'd die before telling how.
Kathy listened to all quietly and then Jean-Luc asked why Remy hadn't gotten her any shoes. "I did but she just won't wear them!" He protested.
"I made you wear them. It's sensible." Jean-Luc pointed out.
Remy ate his food crossly. "I wanted 'em but I coulda lived without." He made it a point not to be too bitter about his time on the streets with his father, there was a line there he knew shouldn't be crossed. Things would just get unpleasant for both of them when it was and really, there was no sense bringing that down on their heads.
The subject changed and was lighter for a while, He protested when he was told to clear the table. "I ain't even been back three days!" But he did it anyway.
Towards the end Kathy busied herself exploring the house and Remy sat with Tante Mattie and his father. "Remy, you sure do know how to take care of that child." Tante Mattie said.
He grinned. "Learned from you."
She gave a little cackle and settled back. "It's good having you back. Seems to me dat I only see you when there's trouble."
Jean-Luc nodded. "Well, he's always been a magnet for trouble."
Again Remy grumbled at the comment. A million retorts popped into his head but he bit them all back. "What can I say?" He sighed.
There was a pause and for a moment it was like he was a child again, in a newly acquired home and a strange family. He smiled a little. "T'anks for de help, mon pere."
Jean-Luc folded his arms and sat back at the table. "Of course."
"And you too, Tante."
Tante Mattie patted his arm. "No trouble."
There was a long period of silence before Jean-Luc cleared his throat and asked if Remy would like to go outside for a cigarette break before leaving. They got up to go outside, pushing their chairs in under Tante Mattie's strict watch.
Remy leaned on the columns in the front of the house. "Sure is nice to be back." He said.
Jean-Luc leaned against the pillar opposite. "I was thinking if you don't want the Thieves Guild raising Kathy, you could leave her with me."
Remy watched his father out of the corner of his eye while playing with his cigarette. "Non, I appreciate that but I don't think that's what she needs. Too many t'ings could go wrong."
Jean-Luc nodded and didn't press the subject and they smoked in silence.
Kathy came out with Tante Mattie not too long after and sat next to Remy, she was growing tired and he wondered if she would be able to walk back to his apartment.
"I'll call you tomorrow if we find anything." Jean-Luc said.
Remy nodded, evening was settling in and in the still blue sky he could see the first stars coming out. "Thanks."
"You bets be getting that child home now." Tante Mattie said pointing at Kathy who had fallen asleep on his shoulder.
Remy smiled down at her. "Sure." He picked her up and turned to shake hands with his father and to give Tante Mattie a kiss on her cheek.
"You take care now, you hear?" She said.
"I always do." He said.
And down the steps and down the street he went, walking with Kathy in his arms, her hear resting on his shoulder, her arms around his neck. In he darkness they might have looked like a real family. He hummed a little and even stopped to listen to a group of street performers wrap up. There was no worry of waking Kathy up, she was out like a light.
Someone in the band asked him if he enjoyed the show and he dropped them a ten. "Sure did." He said. "Sure did."
And home he went, tucking Kathy into bed and then settling down himself for whatever news his father would have in the morning.
Thank you for reading!