Chapter Sixty-Two:


Looking around the room, Rogue sighed and dropped down onto one of the beds, gazing up at the ceiling overhead. Ah guess it'll do fo' now, she thought to herself.

After eight hours of driving, they'd decided to stop in Atlanta for the night, since there wasn't really any hurry to get to Charleston. Besides, they needed the rest after the long night they'd had the day before, and the hours of driving that followed.

So they'd rented a two-bedroom suite for the night at the Omni Hotel, taken some time to just relax and get something to eat, and then the boys had slipped off into the city, no doubt to pick a few pockets under the cover of darkness. All four of them had their wallets on them, Rogue had grabbed Remy's off their dresser back home and shoved it into her purse before their departure, but there was something to be said for having extra cash on hand in case of an emergency.

Before heading out, Remy had placed a call to the LeBeau estate in New Orleans, to let the family know that they'd all gotten out of town okay. Bella and Theo had both been at the house by then, so Rogue had gotten to speak to them for a bit, as well as with Mercy and little Jacques, who had immediately asked when his 'Tante Marie' was coming home. It had nearly broken her heart when she didn't have an answer for him, so she'd just told him 'soon' and thankfully that had been enough for the two year old.

The truth is, she thought with a sad sigh. It might jus' be a while fo' we can go back.

They couldn't risk endangering Jean-Luc and the others if Trask still had his eye trained on New Orleans, searching for them. When the coast was clear, as soon as it was clear, they would go home.

She just hoped that they weren't forced to stay away for too long, she missed her family already.

"Care to tell me what has been troubling you since our departure from New Orleans?"

Turning her head sideways, Rogue's eyes focused on Tessa, who stood in the doorway to the bedroom Rogue and Remy had claimed for their own, a curious look on her face. Had her sigh been that loud that it carried into the other room, or had she been broadcasting her thoughts a little too loudly? Knowing Tessa, either one was a likely answer.

"Ya mean other than the fact that we had t' pack up in the middle o' the night an' flee our home an' our family t' go on the run from some psychos wit' guns an' a bunch of mutant-killin' robots?" Rogue retorted.

"Yes," Tessa replied calmly, moving to sit on the other bed, facing Rogue. "I mean other than that."

Eyeing the cup in the telepath's hand, Rogue smiled. "Ah see ya found yo'self some tea at last."

"There was some in the lobby," Tessa nodded. "But do not change the subject, we are going to have this discussion."

"A gal jus' can' win wit' ya, ya know that, Tess?" Rogue shook her head in amusement.

"I am aware of that, yes," Tessa said, the corner of her mouth lifting into a faint smile. "Are you worried for the boy? Matthew?"

"A bit," Rogue replied. "Ah got a feelin' there's more t' this mutant safehouse than meets the eye, that's all. Ah jus' wanna make sure he's okay."

"You have a kind heart, Marie," Tessa said with a small smile, taking a sip of her tea. "I think it's one of things that drew Remy to you."

"An' here Ah thought it was that Ah'm the only woman stubborn enough t' put up wit' him," Rogue retorted with a snort.

Tessa chuckled. "That is certainly true. Sometimes it seems as if the two of you were made for one another."

"Yeah," Rogue agreed with a smile. "It does, doesn't it?"

And Remy had known it from the start. He'd been taken with her after their first meeting, during the battle between the X-men and the Brotherhood against the Acolytes, and after that he'd pursued her relentlessly. His determination was, and always had been, one of his most impressive qualities.

"If Matthew is only part of what is bothering you," Tessa said. "Then may I ask what it is that has had your emotions in such a twist all day?"

Rogue glanced at her in surprise, having thought that none of the others had noticed that she'd been rather quiet for most of the trip.

"They didn't," Tessa assured her. "But I'm a telepath, Marie, it's much more difficult to hide things from me than it is from Lucas and Remy."

"That's true," Rogue conceded.

"So tell me what is bothering you so," Tessa ordered lightly.

"Ah guess seein' those Sentinels again jus' made the threat real again," she said with a sigh. "Ah mean, it's like we've beeng livin' in a dream fo' the past few years, safe in our own li'l bubble, far away from the rest o' the world. Ah knew what was goin' on in the outside world, but it couldn't touch us, ya know?"

Tessa nodded silently.

"Ah'm an X-man," Rogue shook her head in frustration. "Ah should have been out there fightin', workin t' stop Trask an' his goons, an' tryin' t' reign in Magneto's misguided terrorism. Ah should have been out there keepin' the Professor's dream alive."

"It isn't your responsibility to do so, though, Marie," Tessa pointed out gently.

"Isn't it, though?" Rogue shot back. "We're mutants, Tess. The rest o' the world is full o' people who hate an' fear us. Unless we do somethin' 'bout it, that's the way it's always gonna be. An' if we sit back an' do nothin', then Trask wins," she said bitterly, spitting out the name like acid on her tongue. "He gets to run 'round herdin' mutants in t' camps like cattle, doin' his experiments, an' then throwin' us out like garbage when he's finished with us. What kind o' life is that fo' others like us?"

"A very dark one," Tessa agreed somberly. "But what difference can four mutants really make?"

"Maybe not a big one," Rogue conceded. "But it's a start. If there's one thing Ah learned from the X-men, it's that ya don' jus' lie down an' wait fo' the enemy t' run ya over. Ya fight, until ya can't fight no more, an' then ya exhaust the enemy chasin' ya, an' turn an' fight some more."

"Even if the battle is a hopeless one?"

"Especially then," Rogue said fiercely, green eyes flashing. "Ya ain't blind, Tessa, ya've seen the news reports, ya saw those soldiers chasin' after that boy last week an' they came after us now, too. Ya know what happens t' mutants who get found out an' captured. Well, Ah've been in their shoes. Ah spent three months in one o' Trasks damn bases, an' it felt like three years. The things he can do t' a person... they know things about pain and torment that no one livin' should ever have t' learn, Tessa."

"And what do you propose we do about it, then, Marie?" Tessa asked, her tone more curious than challenging.

"Ah don' know yet," Rogue admitted, rubbing her forehead wearily. "But we can' jus' do nothin'."

"No," Tessa said softly. "I don't suppose we can. 'All it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing'."

Despite herself, Rogue smiled faintly at the quote. "Yo' a walkin' encyclopedia, ya know that?"

"So Emil tells me," Tessa replied with a smile of her own. "I understand your desire to work for a better world, Marie, really I do. I think we all have the same dream in our hearts, the dream for a world where mutants and humans can coexist together in peace. Where people can put aside their fear and their hate, and accept each other instead."

"That's what the X-men stood for," Rogue said softly, her eyes going distant for a moment as the past caught up to her again. "Above all else, it was for the dream."

"And what if the dream is only a dream?" Tessa asked quietly. She wasn't trying to be difficult, Rogue knew, only realistic. Tessa hoped for the day when mutants could live without fear, the same as Rogue did, but the dark-haired woman had a more grim outlook on life at times. In truth, Rogue had often wondered the same thing, in the darkest corners of her heart, but she'd never dared to speak it outloud. "Nothing more?"

Rogue sat in silence for a long moment, letting the telepath's question really sink in. "Then Ah reckon we're all doomed," she said at last, lifting her gaze to meet Tessa's. "All o' us, mutants an' humans alike."

Tessa was quiet after that, so Rogue pushed to her feet, starting across the bedroom for the sliding door that led to the balcony outside. "Ah'm gonna step out fo' a bit, get some fresh air, okay?"

"Of course," Tessa nodded, standing. "I will tell Remy where to find you when he and Lucas return."

"Thanks, Tess," Rogue said, giving her a grateful smile as she opened the door. "Ah appreciate it, an' Ah appreciate ya takin' the time t' talk t' me 'bout this mess."

"You would do the same for me," Tessa replied simply.

That was true, but Rogue would have been less subtle about it. Instead of patiently trying to coax the answers out of the other girl, she probably would have either demanded Tessa tell her what was going on, or, as a last resort, she would have just sucked the answer out of her with her powers.

Tessa snorted, picking up on that. "I will see you in the morning, Marie," she said, smiling faintly as she slipped out of the room.

Rogue stepped out onto the balcony, leaving the door open behind her so that she would hear it when Remy and Lucas returned. Moving to the railing, she folded her arms on it, gazing out at the city below, and at the stars shining overhead.

She was still out on the balcony an hour later, when she heard Remy come into their bedroom, dropping his duster onto the back of a chair before coming out to join her. "Yo' back," she said with a sigh of relief as she felt his arms wrap around her waist.

"Did y' miss me, chere?" Remy whispered in her ear, his breath warm on her neck as he pulled her back against his chest, leaning his chin on her shoulder.

"O' course not," Rogue snorted, glancing at him playfully.

"Chere, y' wound me," Remy said with a pout, then his expression turned serious. "Tessa tells me dat de two o' had a li'l chat while Lucas an' I were gone."

"Figured she would," Rogue murmured. "We jus' got t' talkin' some 'bout the anti-mutant problem, that's all. Ah got some questions Ah wanna find answers t' down the road, but Ah'm not sure how t' go 'bout gettin' 'em."

"Wan' talk 'bout it?" Remy offered.

"No," Rogue shook her head, giving him a small smile. "Not tonight. Later, the four o' us can sit down an' figure that stuff out t'gether, decide what we're gonna do after we check up on Matt, but fo' now, fo' tonight, Ah jus' wan' ya t' hold me, Remy."

Her husband turned her around so that she was facing him, without breaking his hold on her waist. "I t'ink dat I can manage dat jus' fine, p'tite," he said with a smirk, and then he leaned down to kiss her.

Sighing in content, Rogue wrapped her arms around his neck, letting herself be swept away in his kiss. As cocky as Remy was about his romancing skills, it wasn't without warrant. There was something potent about his kisses, and he knew it.

A soft gasp of delight escaped her lips as Remy scooped her up in his arms, carrying her back inside, somehow managing to shut the sliding door with his foot. "What do ya think yo' doin', swamp rat?" she demanded with a laugh.

"What does it look like Remy's doin', chere?" he retorted with a grin as he dropped her onto the bed. "I t'ink dat y' had a long night wit'out yo' Remy, an' I know jus' want y' need t' fix dat."

Despite herself, Rogue raised her eyebrow in amusement, propping herself up on her elbows. "An' jus' what is it that Ah need, Cajun?"

Remy leaned down to kiss her again, leaving her breathless when he pulled away. "See?" he retorted with a smug smirk.

"Shut up, Remy," she commanded, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him back for another kiss.

Her husband was more than happy to comply.


A/N: I know that chapter was a little short, sorry about that. I haven't been able to find much time for writing this week, my thesis paper is taking up a lot of my time. I have Friday off, though, so I will try to get a new chapter posted this weekend, if I can.