Tiny Smiles

Chapter Four

A/N: Sorry for the delay. This chapter has been written for a while...but I delayed on posting because this story is just kinda getting away from me. But I'm going to keep pushing through and hopefully I can keep to my original vision.

Remy locked his bedroom door. He could hear his father's rapid footfalls on the stairs. Jean-Luc wasn't finished talking but he had nothing else to say to the old man. Anything his father had to say he could say to the distorted knotty faces of the oak door. When the footsteps halted the banging began. Remy ignored the noise. Instead he pushed the scattered pile of clothes on his bed aside and lay his daughter down.

He stared down at her. What was he supposed to do with a baby? He'd never thought of children let alone the thought of having any of his own. But here she was… growing more and more agitated by the second. He pulled the receiving blanket away from her and found her dressed only in a tiny soft pink t-shirt and a saturated diaper. Reine's aunt left no bag. He wasn't a genius when it came to taking care of an infant but he did know she needed diapers and bottles of food.

Her face reddened before a shrill shriek filled the room startling him. Remy quickly wrapped her back up as best he could. His mother would help him regardless of what his father said. He pressed his daughter to his chest and went to retrieve his mother. As soon as he opened the door Jean-Luc's furious face as well as his hands assaulted him. Remy stumbled awkwardly backwards. The shock of his father's hands around his throat was of secondary concern to the safety of the baby.

Remy fell backwards onto his bed and with as much care as he could muster in respect to the situation he laid the child on the bed. Within seconds, Remy had disengaged his father's clawing fingers and pushed him with all the might he could muster to send the man sailing to the other side of the bedroom. The highboy shook from the impact of Jean-Luc's back crashing into it. Remy fell back but kept his balance with one hand on the bed holding his weight and the other nursing his bruised neck. He gasps to catch his breath but didn't have long to recover. His father lunged at him again but this time Remy wouldn't be caught by surprise. He outmatched his father's attack with youth and agility. He'd never hit his father before but the sound of his howling child brought out an animalistic nature in him he'd never felt before.

He grabbed Jean-Luc by the lapel of his shirt and slammed his fist into his face as hard as he could. He drew his hand back for another blow when he saw the blood begin to spill from his father's split lip. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I'll kill you," Jean-Luc spat. "I'll kill you, boy." Remy tossed him back and watched him as he fell backwards once again against the highboy.

"You'll have to if you ever put your hands on me again."

Remy heard his mother's shocked gasp when she entered the room; he didn't need to see her to know she wore a look of horror. "Remy! What have you done?" she screamed running past her son to her husband's side. Jean-Luc slapped her hands away when she tried to get a better look at his wound.

"Ask your husband," Remy sneered in response. He turned away zipping the suitcase he'd been packing closed. He lifted it then the still wailing baby off the bed. "I need your help, Mother. She needs some things. I don't know what to…"

"You won't give that bastard baby my name," Jean-Luc interrupted as he struggled to get up from the floor. "I'll disown you. You won't get any of the LeBeau money…for you or your lil picininy," he finished as he stood. "Did you hear me, boy?" Jean-Luc bellowed. He took steps toward Remy but his wife held his arm.

"Mother," Remy ignored his father, "I need your help."

"Don't. You. Move, Martha," Jean-Luc pinned Remy with a cold hateful stare. His mother did as instructed and didn't move…not even to breath it seemed.

Remy wondered what hold his father had over his mother that made her so weak. Could it be love? Does love do that to a person? "For once in your life..." his frustration nearly got the best of him; he felt his throat tighten with barely restrained emotion. He took a deep breath in an effort to regain the little shred of composure he had left after his scuffle with Jean-Luc. "I don't know what I'm doing."

Martha's eyes darted briefly to the fretting baby. When she looked back into Remy's eyes he saw the desire to help just not the will. He snorted in disgust then turned and left the room and the house.

Remy thought once he'd gotten the baby asleep he'd finally be able to get some rest too. Even though he was deliriously tired sleep was the last thing his active mind wanted to do. The last twenty-four hours had been epically chaotic. Fortunately, he had his brother's unwavering support to counter all the preceding events. He thought all would be behind him once he landed in California. Only he didn't land in California. Instead he was in a motel room in Texas gazing down into the carrier at his sleeping daughter.

After he'd left his home he called Anna-Marie from the parking lot of a department store nearest the airport. She had several younger siblings; she'd know what he needed. One thing about her, she didn't ask too many questions. Once he told her the baby was his she'd only shown the briefest hint of surprise. After that moment she only smirked and grabbed a shopping cart. Inside it she tossed bare essential items. He just needed to get through the flight; everything else could wait.

Remy tried to calm his screaming child as he watched Anna-Marie open packages: powdered formula, single use baby bottles and a liter of bottled water. She popped her gum as she meticulously measured out scoops of milk then hydrated it. Unceremoniously she handed it to him and he was grateful. He watched with relief as his daughter greedily sucked down the food. Why hadn't Reine's aunt left her with any supplies? Selfish woman. She'd even taken the carrier she brought her in. He'd had to empty a basket his mother stowed magazines in to hold her for the ride to the store.

Anna-Marie watched Remy stare down at his child adoringly. She never thought she'd see the day. "It's that one chick…the weird looking black chick." It wasn't a question. She smiled when he didn't answer then walked over to him and took the baby. She looked at it before laying it to her chest and began gently patting her back. "I knew you liked her but not this much."

"How did you know?" he asked.

She shrugged and handed him the baby after it burped and began to cry again. "Subtle things," she said as she ripped into the plastic of a small package of newborn diapers and pulled one out. Remy followed as she began to walk out of the baby section. "You noticed her," she said leaving the shopping cart then opening the door to the family restroom.

Once Remy was inside she let the door close and found the baby-changing table. She prepped the surface with the rough brown paper towels from the dispenser. And with gentle hands she took the baby and changed her diaper. "When she goes number two, try not to get it in her vagina. Wipe away from it," she advised. "And don't get this wet," she said pointing to the umbilical cord stump. "It'll fall off by itself in a week or two."

Remy let out a sigh. At that moment he felt what a monumental task he'd taken on and for the first time ever thought he wasn't up for the challenge. Maybe he should have listened to his father. Let someone else that knew what they were doing take care of her. "I don't think I can do this," he said when Anna-Marie handed her back to him.

"You can do anything, Remy," she said. She had that admiring look in her eyes she'd give him every so often. The one that said she worshiped the ground he walked on and would do anything for him. She'd proven that on many occasions…on many nights. Usually he ignored it but this time he really needed someone to have faith in him. Remy leaned into her and kissed her, for the first time he kissed her the way she longed for him to…the way he'd kissed Reine. He felt her melt against him, careful to avoid the baby.

When he pulled away her eyes remained closed, savoring the lingering sensation of his lips. "Thanks for everything, Anna."

At the airport he'd paid the additional fee for changing his scheduled flight only to learn at the check-in counter that he'd need identification for his daughter. Identification he didn't have and didn't have a clue how to get it. But one thing he did know is that he was not going back home. He was moving forward with his plan.

After a stop at an automatic teller, he filled up his gas tank, bought a road atlas then got on the interstate and headed west. He drove farther than he'd expected. It seemed his little girl was a quiet, sleepy passenger when she had a dry clean diaper and a full belly. It was him that grew tired and weary and opted to find a motel and food for the night.

It had been an informative, long, tiring day and sleep was eluding him. Instead he flipped through the baby book Anna had so thoughtfully thrown into the cart. None of the information in the book penetrated through his main thought. Was he acting selfishly? Was his ego so large that he wasn't able to give his child to someone more capable of taking care of her? Hell, he'd forgotten to burp her after her last feeding and she'd vomited. What if she got sick? Fuck. He wouldn't be nineteen years old for another month! Anxiety began to set in. He wasn't ready for this.

"I don't think I can do this," he said into his cellphone. It was the third time he'd spoken to his brother that day. The number had almost exceeded the amount of times they'd talked, texting and social networking aside, in the last year.

"You just get here, bro. Once you get here Jeremy and I will be more than enough help for you."

"I don't know. I'm just like him…"

"You're nothing like him. He never would have done what you did. You know that, Remy," Claude said.

Remy sighed into the receiver of the phone. He knew his brother was right. Jean-Luc would never go out of his way to do anything for anyone else…ever, not unless it benefited him in some way. Maybe he wasn't like his father as he'd always thought. He was taking on the challenge of being a father not only for himself but for Reine too. Even though they'd only known each other for a short period of time he felt like he knew the kind of person she was…the kind of heart she had. She was perfect and he'd ruined her.

The silence on the phone stretched almost a minute before Claude spoke again, "I can meet you somewhere. I can fly to San Antonio and help you with the rest of your trip."

"No, I can do it."

"Okay, bro, but if you need me don't hesitate to call."

"I won't."

"Kiss my niece for me. I love you," Claude said ending the call with his usual parting words.

"I will and you too." That was Remy's customary reply…'you too.' He did love his brother but he'd never found the voice to utter that particular word to anyone.

Remy ended the call and looked over at his daughter. Her eyes were open, quietly watching him. She seemed to be pondering the last twenty-four hours of her life too. Who was he? And how did she end up with him?

"You're my daughter," he said to her. "I'm going to take care of you." She cooed back at him and he took the sound as her acceptance. Bending, he scooped her out of her carrier and sat back onto the bed. He held her and examined her face. She looked so much like Reine…she was beautiful. "You need a name, ma chere." He wondered what Reine had named her. She would have chosen something meaningful and feminine. Remy searched his mind for conversations he'd had with his child's mother. "Sadie…after your great-grandmother. Your mother would like that I think." Sadie began to fuss. Remy gave her a tsk-tsk. "Sadie is a beautiful name. Sadie Reine LeBeau."

"We made it to California and you know the rest of our story," Remy said and looked at his daughter.

Sadie tilted her head at Remy, "Is that all?"

"No, that's not all," his voice spiked with irritation. "I struggled with being a father. Your uncles had to help me with everything from money to childcare to trying to find your mother. And on top of all that you were almost four years old before my name was on your birth certificate and you were legally mine."

Sadie's eyes stretched in surprise of her father's outburst. "Geesh, Dad! Sorry!"

Remy exhaled running his fingers through he neatly shorn auburn hair. He was unbelievably more uncomfortable with the conversation than he'd anticipated he'd be. "It's not your fault. It's just that…it's all so complicated."

"I know but I mean, why didn't you tell me this a long time ago…about you and my mother?" Sadie clarified.

"What was I supposed to say, Sadie? How was I supposed to explain to my daughter what a bastard I was to her mother? How I'd taken advantage of a sweet innocent girl? Carelessly gotten her pregnant? Then how someone dropped you on my doorstep with a price tag?" Remy asked. He really wanted her to answer those questions. He'd asked himself those questions hundreds, if not thousands of times.

"I don't know," she responded softly. Her eyes fell to her hands in her lap. Remy leaned back in his chair and blew out a breath. He hadn't determined yet if a weight of the situation he had lifted off his shoulders. "Where is she?" With Sadie's question he realized it hadn't.

"I didn't know for a long time but I hired a private detective. The first time he looked for her he came up with nothing. But this time he found her. She's in Boston."

It had been a busy but satisfying workday. Working as a social worker in a big city's school system was a labor of love. Ororo did love it. She had the opportunity to help teens the way she'd needed someone to help her so long ago. It took her a long time to get to that point in her life but she'd done it.

Ororo smiled to herself as she made the final steps to her brownstone stoop. She'd done a lot of things in her life she regretted and this is how she would atone. Her job was one of the only few things she had to smile about.

"Hello, darlin'."

Ororo's smile instantly fell once she recognized the deep slow drawl of the voice behind her. She looked up the steps at the entrance to her home just a few feet away and briefly contemplated making a run for it. But she knew she'd never escape. Her past seemed to be hot on her heels…biting her on her ass.

She turned slowly and took in the smug bastard in front of her. Under different circumstances he would be someone whose physical appeal she could appreciate. As a matter of fact upon their initial encounter the man had piqued her interest with his masculine stature and rugged good looks. But it didn't take long for her to realize behind his soft chocolate eyes and promising smile resided a sadistic opportunist. She hated his guts.

"What in hell are you doing here, Logan? I thought we had an agreement."

"You sound like yer not happy to see me. I'm sure as hell happy to see you," he said as he leered at her body adorned in her favorite dark figure flattering skirt suit.

Ororo snorted her dismissal. "Go away, Logan. Our business is done," she said as she turned her back on him and began to ascend the steps. She felt his hand on her waist. His grip firm enough to halt her and frighten her but it was what he said that sent a shiver down her spine…

"Naw, darlin', he sent me back." He grinned when she turned back towards him. "Look like we have some more business to take care of."

End Note: Yeah. There's Logan! He's a bastard. Hell, everyone else is OOC. Why not? lol