A/N: Here we go, another part to read! Thank you all for the reviews, they really make my day.
"Room right over, Gumbo," grunted Logan, following the Cajun when he left again, seven-year-old still clutched in his arms.
Gambit entered the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, depositing Teddy at Harry's feet. The child once more took a position between his father's shins and rested his cheek against his knee, gazing up at the face of his primary caregiver.
Gambit himself started by checking Harry's pulse at his neck, then testing his breathing by placing his finger under his nose and leaning forward to rest his ear against the younger man's chest, staying there for a few seconds before he let out a large sigh and got up to start pacing, passing both hands in his less than orderly hair.
"He'll be fine now," grumbled the Wolverine, eyes directly on the unconscious man.
"Shouldn't be here! Should be home avec les petits! Where be the cubs?"
"Social services got a hold of them last night, from what I got. Took the littlest ones from the accident and musta gotten Lily from school," shrugged Logan. "We're getting 'em back, someone's on it right now."
Gambit let out another sigh, shoulders slumping. He glanced at Teddy again before pushing Logan out into the hall, looking around to make sure no one was too close before talking.
"Need 'em before Harry se réveille, Gambit not too sure, mais Harry gonna wake very, very mad. Les cubs be Harry's life," urged Gambit, nervously biting his bottom lip.
Logan nodded his head.
"I know, but we gotta wait 'til they bring 'em in. Shouldn't be too long and if Harry wakes up before they're all here," Logan shrugged a shoulder before continuing, "we'll go get 'em ourselves. We're already pushing as it is right now, not being family and all that."
Gambit looked at Logan with a raised brow, as if he wanted to say something, but he held back and instead they both turned when they heard the elevator ding and then the doors opened. Lily immediately saw them, and she broke away from the hand of a social worker to run to them.
"Monsieur LeBeau! Monsieur Logan!" she called, barreling into Gambit's legs before reaching for Logan.
Gambit only had time to pet her hair once before Logan picked her up and gave her a strong but careful hug. The Cajun then made his way towards the elevator where Mr. Lane was coming out with another social worker who had Caiden in her clutch, the infant being very fussy.
"Thanks, Remy'll take le bébé now."
The woman glanced over to Mr. Lane, who looked less than pleased but he nodded, having looked over at Logan who was glaring at the two. Teddy, who was peeking out of the room at that point, saw his siblings and he made his way to Logan, the man taking the boy up in his free arm as if he weighed nothing. Lily immediately latched onto her step-brother, letting out a small whine.
"The others?" asked Gambit once he had a subdued one-year-old in his grip, stepping back subconsciously to keep them away from his charge.
"We're contacting the homes they were placed in. It shouldn't take too long," replied Mr. Lane, nodding for his coworker that she could leave.
"Homes?" asked Gambit with a certain disbelieving tone.
"We weren't able to find a foster home who could take in four children of lower ages all at once. The best we could do was to keep the girl with the youngest boy while the other two were sent to separate homes. Given time we might have been able to place them all together, along with the eldest, if the family didn't come claim them by then," replied Mr. Lane with a monotone voice, waving in Teddy's direction at his mention.
Both men tensed, a growl coming up from deep within Logan's chest, his instincts calling on him to injure the man, even if it was just his job he was doing and nothing else.
"Just get 'em here as fast as possible," managed out the Wolverine, stepping back into Harry's room to let Lily see her father, also hoping to calm Teddy from the news of his brothers being separated and all alone with strangers.
It only took a minute before Rogue was in the room, Lily immediately latching on to her as the little girl was unable to shake her father awake, needing the comfort of someone she trusted.
"They take you out of school?" Rogue asked, once seated on the chair by the bed, giving Lily the chance to hold onto Harry's hand from her knees.
"Daddy didn't show up to pick me up after school like he usually does. They tried calling him, but no one answered. A lady and a policeman showed up and they took me to this building where they later brought Cal, Ty and Caid. Then they took me and Caiden away to this lady's house who said she'd take good care of us. She had another boy there and two girls. I had to share the room with them while Caid was put in the boy's room," the little princess said with a deep frown, clearly not having liked the experience.
"No worries now, it's all over. Your pa'll wake and then we'll all go home and everythin'll be fine," reassured the teenage girl.
Lily nodded and leaned heavily against Rogue, her brave behavior seemed to just pop out of existence, leaving a very tired five-year-old. Logan left them there, taking Teddy in the waiting room to see how Caiden was doing. Mr. Lane was still present and Gambit was glaring darkly at the man from the corner where he managed to get the infant to sleep against his chest, arms wrapped protectively around the youngest Potter child.
Once Teddy was safely sat besides Gambit, Logan got a hold of the television remote, turning on the electronic device and putting it on mute before channel surfing. He soon found what he was looking for, a news channel showing some footage of something, but it wasn't long before they were able to see the video Evangeline had mentioned when she had arrived.
Someone was filming some of their friends joking around, and it was easy to see the people milling around in the background, the intersection clear over the teenagers' heads. Logan's eyes easily found Harry, who was waiting for the lights to give permission to walk, talking towards the back and the front. It was only once he started on the road that you could see he was pushing a stroller and pulling the trolley containing the twins behind him.
Something must have made a loud noise for Harry to look up sharply and then it was clear his only option was to push the three children away from himself before the view was hidden from them by a car and smoke. From this angle, you could only see that the stroller was pushed far enough away to avoid being hit by the out of control vehicle, the force of the push making the front wheels go up until the stroller fell on its back, Caiden still strapped in and leaving a bad feeling as to what condition the child might be in after such a brutal collision.
Logan closed his hands into fists, keeping himself from grabbing onto the infant in the other mutant's grasp, reading the caption at the bottom of the screen, announcing the accident had occurred the afternoon before and that the man had been hospitalized and there was no word from anyone at the moment.
"I will need all contact information if you intend to leave with the children," said Mr. Lane after he got off the phone, "There will be someone sent to the house you are going to keep the children at in a few days, to make sure it is a proper environment. Let me warn you right now that anything and everything that should be found out of order will have to be rectified before the next visit otherwise the children will be taken to safer facilities."
"Unless Mr. Potter wakes up and takes them back in hand, right?" asked Evangeline, rolling her eyes.
She had gone to get herself a cup of coffee from the cafeteria while Logan and Gambit had been in the other room, the lawyer giving the Cajun a warm smile, which he returned with a certain twist of the lips that left the adults to wonder what was their relationship in this whole ordeal, especially since Evangeline had mentioned being married in a present tense.
"Indeed, 'if' Mr. Potter wakes up. Will you be representing these gentlemen should it come to a court battle?" asked Lane with a sneer, clearly not liking the British woman.
"Considering I am already fighting in court for a few of Mr. LeBeau's…speeding tickets and slight public disturbance, I would gladly take on this case so I know the children will be properly cared for and all of their needs will be met."
Gambit rolled his eyes as Mr. Lane sharply looked at him.
"Gambit not start the fight and la police ended it. S'not Gambit's faute l'homme prejudice. Allowed to have drinks, Gambit's right! Because monsieur don't like mutties no mean Gambit not allowed to sit in bar," grumbled the red haired man, looking at no one in specific.
Evangeline was holding back a laugh, clearly amused at his antics.
"Mr. LeBeau was caught in a slight altercation where he was assaulted for being different. While defending himself, others decided it was their right to also express themselves physically and everyone involved was charged for public disturbance, except for the man who started the fight who was charged with assault against my client. Nothing that would deny Mr. LeBeau custody of the children until Mr. Potter is back on his feet."
Mr. Lane didn't look pleased at those words, but he kept himself from replying as he once more left the waiting room after glancing at the rerun of the accident on the television.
"Looks really painful," Scott said, wincing slightly as he watched Caiden's stroller falling back again.
"Flesh wound," waved away Remy, not looking at the screen. "Le arm presque rip off be worse."
"The what?"
Cyclops had stood up at that admission, incredulity plastered to his face.
"Almost ripped off, almost!" cut in Evangeline, glaring over at the Cajun for his odd speech. "And he's not talking about Harry, he's talking about-"
"Victoria," sniggered Gambit.
Evangeline rolled her eyes and promptly ignored him as she turned her back to him and faced Scott fully.
"Yes, she almost got her arm ripped off after a bar fight which she thankfully wasn't charged for, as everyone left before the cops arrived and the owner was more than happy not to say anything since he had other venues he did not want investigated. I swear there's not a time where the two of them don't go out and have a quiet evening."
Gambit just smiled more widely, and it was clear that their relationship could translate to one of annoyed and annoyance.
"And when does Harry have time to go out with those occurrences happening?" Jean found herself asking.
"Oh, don't worry about it dear. Harry finds ample time for himself. At three of those sorts of occurrences, dear Mr. Potter was actually the main instigation for the fights. Too often he gets mistaken for a woman by very intoxicated men and it seems that Victoria does not appreciate her mate being sought after," giggled the lawyer.
"When Harry don't boss we around to garder un oeil on the cubs," Gambit laughed with her, staring down at the child in his arms and rocking him from side to side, not that it woke Caiden up or anything.
"Uncle Draco also supervises on those nights. Daddy says it's best to have as many eyes on the game as possible. I don't get it, it's not as if we're that bad," Teddy ended with a shrug, his eyes filled with mischief, even as he pushed Gambit away from him, the red-on-black eyed man chuckling.
A ding from the elevator had the boy's head rising up sharply, Logan stepping out of the waiting room to see a woman coming off with Mr. Lane by her side. And she didn't look too happy as she was carrying a clearly angry twin, the boy going so far as to bite her to get free when he spotted the Wolverine.
"Ow! Tyler, don't bite!" scolded the woman, but the child only went on ahead again and bit her a second time, to which her response was putting him down and he immediately freed himself from her and ran to Logan.
The Feral picked him up as soon as he reached him, the boy burying his face into the man's collar.
"I've got ya boy, I've got ya now. It's alright, ye're safe," soothed Logan, glaring back at the woman who had arrived with the child.
"This is the man you want to leave Tyler with?" she hissed to the social worker.
"It is what it is," replied Lane grumpily.
"How long till Caleb gets here? Boys shouldn't have been separated in the first place," snapped Logan, rubbing Tyler's back.
"We are still in the process of contacting the family he was placed with, please be patient with us," snapped the social worker, moving away from them.
It left the woman who had brought the two-year-old in and Logan to glare at each other.
"Do you even know the first thing about children?" she asked with a scowl.
"Ya feed 'em and ya potty train 'em. Rest of the time they have fun wreakin' havoc all over," replied the Wolverine coldly.
She shook her head at him in disgust.
"You'll ruin this child and his siblings' lives, all because you can't even understand that they are not pets you keep around the house!"
"I'll ruin 'em? Wake up lady, ya've done more damage to them in the last day than I could in a whole year because you wouldn't take more than one of 'em in!"
"How dare you? I have done my best to comfort him since he was brought to me yesterday! I have clothed him, bathed him and fed him! All I was given back in return were bites and food wasted all over the place! I don't know how this father of his raised him, but it's a good thing he won't be taking care of any of them anymore!"
Logan growled as he stepped forward, claws itching to come out, but before he could say or do anything else, Rogue came out of Harry's room and spoke up.
"They dun eat alone, Tyler and Caleb. S'why he won't eat. Harry told me they've always done so, even sharin' the same bottle. I'll bet Cal ain't eatin' either, not till he's back with his twin. They ain't supposed to be separated, s'what broke one of their uncles, when his twin died. Ty and Caleb are the same," she said, an accusatory tone in her voice, glaring at the woman.
"And it's pure nonsense. I've had twins in my care before, and I didn't always have them both with me. A little time apart won't do them harm," she countered.
"But they ain't normal twins. Ya ain't seen 'em together, but there's somethin' more about them, somethin' magical about how they are with one another. The other kids too! They're in their own world and them and you people splittin' them apart is like breakin' their whole existence, even as small as it is! Ya had no right to take Tyler in nor refuse any of the other along with him! Shame on you, thinkin' you could care for homeless children!"
The woman could only gape at the teenager, not able to wrap her head around the accusation being made against her, but Rogue completely ignored her and she went back into Harry's room only to come back out with Lily in her arms. The little girl noticed the lady immediately and glared at her before her gaze settled on her brother in Logan's arms and the two siblings reached out for each other, Tyler giving out a whimper as he wasn't able to touch her.
"Here, go bring 'em to Gumbo. It'll calm 'em all down till the last one gets here at least," grumbled Logan as he passed the boy to the teenager, Rogue easily wrapping her arms around the lithe child as Tyler was wrapped into his sister's arms.
"Play nice," Rogue whispered with a thin smile, leaving the corridor to obey his command.
Turning back around, Logan raised a brow.
"Bites a lot, you said? Haven't see that yet from him on anyone but you. Might be there's somethin' about ya that he don't like. Word of advice; leave before their father wakes, because he will and when he does, it ain't gonna be pretty."
Giving a loud huff, cheeks flushed with anger and eyes glaring daggers, the foster mother turned around and hit the button for the elevator, the doors opening almost immediately as if some high power knew that she shouldn't remain in the vicinity too long.
Looking around, Logan wasn't too pleased to see that Mr. Lane had managed to disappear while he was confronting the self-righteous woman. He shook his head, deeming the man too scared to stay close at the moment, before he headed back into the waiting room. He raised a brow at the picture he found.
Gambit was now seated on the floor, legs spread wide to accommodate the four children leaning against him and holding each other, his arms loosely wrapped around the lot of them, Rogue sitting on a chair right at his shoulder and leaning forward to run a gloved hand in Tyler's pale-black hair.
"Ain't ye the family lookin' guy," Rogue was teasing. "How come ya ain't got yer own pack of babes?"
Gambit smirked right back at her.
"Oh, Gambit's have babes, mais 'em being lots older, chère," he sniggered.
"She don't want to know 'bout your harem, Cajun. And keep your hands to yourself there, got me?" growled the Feral playfully.
Remy raised but his gloved hands in the air, leaving the children safe in his embrace, the man grinning up at Logan with mock innocence.
"Easy, homme. Remy just playin' li'l bit. No harm."
"Keep it that way, even if she didn't already have a boyfriend," Scott said with a scowl visible over his sunglasses, the man having his arms crossed over his chest and clearly not happy with how close the teenager was to what was clearly a lecherous deviant.
"Ya'll know I can take care of myself, don't ye? It's not like I'm defenseless," Rogue rolled her eyes with exasperation.
"Don't mind them dear, it's a macho show off. They do it all the time no matter how many times we tell them off," laughed Evangeline. " Mr. LeBeau is actually a gentleman, despite his appearances. And from what Harry has told me, he'd be the first one to card you as soon as you enter somewhere where a sweet thing like you ought not to be."
Gambit pouted up over at the lawyer.
"Ah, Eva! Be mean to say Gambit's secrets!"
"So says the guy talking in the third person. How many times have you ratted out what Draco's been up to in the shop to Harry, huh? The poor dear already has enough on his hands, he doesn't need the two of you teasing him at everything because some random women visit the shop and give him doe's eyes!"
"Needs d'l'affection! No wrong takin' one pour un tumble b'tween les sheets!" exclaimed the red eyed mutant.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with him taking his time finding himself someone perfect to enter a relationship with! Jumping into bed with all sorts of women will eventually lead to accidents that while may give Scorpius a half-sibling, will only complicate Mr. Malfoy's life!" she snapped back, hands on her hips.
Gambit raised a brow at her, tilting his head to the side.
"Gambit not talkin' 'bout les femmes," he said with a slow smirk.
She threw her hands up in the air, giving up the argument altogether.
"Merlin, you'll be the death of me! See if I take on anymore of your cases after I'm done with the ones I presently engaged myself in!"
"Okay, Gambit simply not get caught anymore," sniggered the Cajun.
She placed one fist against her hip and pointed at him with her other hand, leaning forth to impose on him from her height advantage, but before she could get out any sound, there was a sudden loud explosion-like bang from not too far, the walls shaking visibly along with anything attached to them.
Everyone stood frozen to their spot, none sure what had just occurred, but the answer came from the smiling lips of a five-year-old.
"Daddy!"
A/N: See ya all later!