Chapter Sixty-Seven:


Yawning, Lance Alvers rubbed his chin as he trudged down the back staircase into the kitchen. He needed a shave, he decided, heading for the coffee pot on the counter. As soon as the pot was filled with water, and new coffee grinds added, he started the machine.

Thank God Kitty bought this new one, he thought with a groan. Their old one hadn't been fast enough. As far as he was concerned, five minutes was just entirely too long to wait for his morning coffee.

Stifling another yawn, he made his way across the kitchen and opened the back door. He had to shield his eyes from the bright morning sun as he stepped out onto the patio, but his eyes narrowed when they spotted the morning paper waiting for him. He bent over to pick it up, then took a moment to just breathe in the fresh air. It looked like it was going to be a nice day out, after all.

Tucking the paper under his arm, he turned and slipped back into the house, shutting the door behind him. As he looked up, though, he was startled to see Rogue coming down the stairs, dressed in a pair of gray yoga pants and a black tank-top, her damp hair left lose to tumble over her shoulders. She had clearly showered already, but hadn't bothered picking out her clothes for the day yet.

"Morning," he said, lifting the paper in greeting as he started forward to pull out a chair at the table.

"Where's the coffee?" Rogue grunted groggily.

Lance smirked, nodding towards the pot that was just brewing. "Should be a few minutes. Sorry, no one else is usually up this early."

"Yeah, Kitty never was one fo' mornin's," Rogue muttered with a yawn, running a hand through her hair as she dropped down into a chair across from him.

"She still isn't," Lance replied, unfolding the paper in front of him.

"Mind if Ah take the front page?" Rogue asked.

"Sure," Lance shrugged, handing over the top section. "I'm more interested in the sports section, anyway."

"Why am Ah not surprised?" Rogue said dryly, rolling her eyes, and a comfortable silence fell over the room as they started reading.

When the coffee pot beeped a few minutes later, Lance got up to pour them both a cup, adding cream and sugar, then placed one of the mugs in front of Rogue before settling back down in his chair.

"Thanks, sugah," she said, shooting him a grateful smile as she took a long swig. "Real sugah? Ya remembered."

Lance's lips curved up into a wry smile. "How could I forget? You used to throw a fit if there was no sugar left."

"Hmm," Rogue pressed her lips together lightly, but chose not respond as she went back to reading the paper.

Lance chuckled to himself, earning a look from Rogue. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was just thinking how familiar this is," Lance replied, waving a hand lazily. "You and me, already at the table by the crack of dawn, reading the paper and gulping down coffee."

"If we were back at the boardin' house, Freddie would be lumberin' down the stairs as soon as breakfast got cookin'," Rogue said with a smile. "And Pietro would get up five minutes before we had to leave and still manage to shower, get dressed, eat, and beat us to school, without so much as a hair out of place."

"And Todd would be catching flies the whole way to school," Lance added with a smirk.

"Ah, the good ol' days," Rogue snorted.

"We missed you when you left us, you know," Lance said evenly.

Rogue bit her lip, looking down at the coffee mug in her hands. "Ah know," she said softly. "Ah missed ya'll, too."

Now it was Lance's turn to smile. "Yeah, I know."

Rogue chuckled. "Yo' still as cocky as ever, Rocky."

"I could say the same to you," Lance retorted with a grin. "Nice to know some things never change."

Especially when so many other things did.

As Rogue turned her attention back to the paper in front of her, Lance took a moment to study her thoughtfully. She had changed during the past few years, that much was obvious, and the change was more than just her powers or her appearance. True, the ability to control her imprinting powers had no doubt made her life a little easier, and her skin was now a healthy tan that set off her emerald eyes and the fetching white streaks in her hair, but simply put she seemed happier. Happier than Lance had ever seen her, really.

She laughed more, she smiled more, she didn't flinch when someone touched her. Gone was the insecurity that she kept hidden behind her mask. The woman before him was confident and bold, and it showed in every movement she made.

I wonder how much of that is because of Gambit? Lance mused, and then mentally reminded himself that the former Acolyte's name was Remy. That was, perhaps, the biggest change in Rogue's life, and the most surprising one.

Who would have thought that Rogue, the Brotherhood girl turned X-man, would end up married to an Acolyte?

But she was happy, and that was what mattered, right? Besides, from what Lance could tell, it seemed like she'd had a pretty good life in New Orleans with Remy and his family. When she spoke about them, her eyes lit up and her expression brightened. It didn't take a telepath to see that she loved them dearly, and loved her life with them.

As much as it pleased him to hear that she'd been happy these past four years, that troubled Lance a bit. He knew how much it meant to Kitty to have Rogue back, and he knew how ecstatic the other X-men would be when they found out, especially Kurt. They would expect Rogue to stay, and Lance wasn't sure how they would react if Rogue decided she wanted to return to New Orleans instead.

Sighing, he shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. The others didn't even know she was alive yet, there was no need to get ahead of himself. It had been an unanimous decision to wait to call Xavier until that morning, since they couldn't get a flight to Westchester until that afternoon.

At least Logan and Mystique won't be there when we arrive, he sighed to himself. Maybe Xavier could think of a way to break the news to them that Rogue was married where they wouldn't both go crazy and try to kill Gambit. Remy, he corrected himself yet again with a groan.

"Somethin' wrong, sugah?"

"Huh?" Lance looked up to find Rogue looking at him in concern, then shook his head. "No, sorry, just dazed off for a bit."

Rogue looked like she was about to say something, but footsteps on the stairs cut her off, and they looked up to see Lucas and Tessa descending into the kitchen. "Mornin'," Rogue called with a smile. "Ya'll make sure Remy was up an' outta bed?"

"He has already showered and is getting changed as we speak," Lucas nodded.

"An' here Ah was worried he'd jus' turn off the alarm an' Ah'd have t' beat him wit' the pillows t' get him up," Rogue mused, reaching for her coffee cup, but Tessa picked it up instead, and claimed it as her own. Rogue blinked, startled, and stared at the telepath for a moment in annoyance, then sighed in defeat. "Ah guess Ah really don' need anymore caffeine anyway," she grumbled.

Tessa remained silent, but the corners of her mouth turned up ever so faintly.

A few moments later, Remy joined them, bending to kiss Rogue as he dropped into a chair at her left. "Y' got up early t'day, didn' y'?" he asked her.

"Ah couldn' sleep," Rogue said with a shrug.

"Too excited?" Remy inquired.

"Yeah, Ah guess so."

It wasn't long after that when the others arrived, all of them already showered and dressed for the day, courtesy of the alarm clocks Kitty had set the night before to be sure they had plenty of time to get everything done before they had to leave.

As Kitty and Amara got out the cereal for everyone, Wanda pulled bowls and spoons from the cabinets, leaving Todd to grab the milk from the refrigerator.

"We have a wide assortment," Kitty informed Remy, Rogue, Lucas and Tessa. "Everything from 'Honey Bunches of Oats' to 'Lucky Charms', so take your pick."

"Y' ain't kiddin'," Remy observed. "Dere any cereal y' don' have?"

"If you think this is bad," Lance said dryly. "Wait until you see the cabinets at the Westchester Academy. It's like being on the cereal aisle at the grocery store."

"Worse than at the Institute?" Rogue asked curiously.

Lance nodded. "Definitely."

"Poor Jeannie," Rogue grinned. "Ah bet grocery shoppin' is a pain in the..." she trailed off as Matt stepped into the room, and the teenager rolled his eyes.

"Like I've never heard anyone use the word 'ass' before," he said sarcastically.

"Matthew," Kitty sighed in frustration.

"Sorry," Matt said, sitting down at the end of the table, but he hardly looked sorry at all.

Rogue winked at Matt, then turned to offer a polite smile to Heather and Davis Cameron, a pair of brother and sister mutants only a few years older than Lance, as they came into the room. Their father had been the head of a crime-syndicate in Australia, and his own men had turned on him when his kids had been revealed as mutants. To keep him alive, Heather and Davis had left Australia for the States, where Ororo Munroe and Hank McCoy had recruited them. The siblings had decided that the safehouse was the branch of the Xavier organization that they wanted to be a part of, and they'd been working alongside Lance and the others for over a year now.

"Where are the other kids?" Kitty asked Matt as she placed a plate of eggs in front of him.

"Watching television," he replied, picking up his fork. "They'll be down later."

"Saturday morning cartoons," Todd sighed. "I miss 'em, yo."

Wanda snorted. "You watch cartoons every other day of the week, Todd, you can give up Saturday mornings."

"But those are the best ones," Todd muttered.

After everyone had helped themselves to the cereal they wanted, Wanda turned on the small television on the counter, displaying the morning news. For a while, the television was the only noise in the kitchen as they ate, although upstairs teenaged voices could be hear laughing in the bonus room.

"So what's on the agenda fo' t'day?" Rogue asked once she finished her cereal. "We've got a few hours t' kill b'fore we have t' be at the airport."

Lance glanced over at the clock on the wall and frowned thoughtfully. It was only nine o'clock, and their flight didn't leave until noon. That would put them in for arrival in Westchester at about two, if everything ran smoothly. Kitty had already called ahead and rented two cars from the airport rental service, to make the fifteen minute drive over to Salem Center, the suburb where Xavier had decided to build his new school. He was sure that Xavier would have sent someone to pick them up, but he had a feeling the reunion between Rogue and the X-men was going to be pretty emotional. Better to have it take place at the mansion, rather than in an airport terminal.

"Todd and I need to swing by our jobs and tell them we need a week off for a family emergency," Lance answered.

"Ah'm an emergency?" Rogue raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Maybe not an emergency exactly," Kitty smiled, clasping one of Rogue's hands across the table. "But just as important."

"Speakin' o' work," Remy looked up from his plate, his red-on-black gaze fixed on Rogue. "Lucas an' me got some business t' take care o' in town b'fore we leave, so y' can stay here wit' Tessa an' catch up wit' de filles, if y' want."

"Great," Kitty grinned. "We can get totally get in at least an hour of shopping before we have to leave, then."

"Tessa?" Rogue asked, looking over at the dark-haired telepath. "That sound okay t' ya?"

"If you wish to go, I will be happy to accompany you," Tessa replied evenly.

"Don't worry," Amara told her with a smile. "It'll be fun."

"You'd better believe it, girl! Hey, Rogue, remember when we hit the mall with Jean to pick up our Bayville Sirens costumes?"

"Do Ah ever," Rogue said with a laugh. "Ah only wish Ah'd had a camera, t' take pictures o' ya'll doin' Charlie's Angels poses in front o' the mirror!"

"You know you were doing it right along with us," Amara accused, poking her spoon in Rogue's direction.

"Ah have no idea what yo' talkin' 'bout," Rogue replied dismissively, but the corners of her mouth turned up into a guilty smile.

"Sure," Tabby said with a smirk. "Regardless, Kitty is right, we should get some things for our trip. How long are we staying, anyway, Lance?"

Lance shrugged. "I guess that depends on what Xavier has to say when we get there. Just pack for a week or whatever. You can do laundry if you run out of clean clothes."

"Or hit up the Westchester Mall later in the week," Tabby retorted, her lips curving up into a wicked grin.

"You need Shopaholics Anonymous or something, you know that?" Todd shook his head. "You spend so much time in the mall, it's disgusting, yo."

"This from the guy that eats flies," Wanda said pointedly, and Todd grimaced, but didn't reply.

"Try to pack up your stuff before heading for the mall, so we don't run late," Lance suggested, rising to his feet and taking his dishes over to the sink. "Matt, I think it's your turn to do the dishes."

"I did them last night," Matt complained.

"I'll take care of them," Heather volunteered, pushing out her chair. "Who's done?"

Rogue, Wanda, Davis and Tessa all handed her their plates, and she carried them over to the sink, turning on the faucet.

Lance gave her a grateful smile, then turned back to face the table. "I'm going to go call Xavier before I head out," he announced, and all eyes turned in his direction. "I need to tell him we're coming, and let him know how many rooms he needs to have prepared."

"And about Rogue, right, yo?"

"Yeah," Lance nodded. "I figure it's better to tell him ahead of time so he doesn't have a heart-attack when she walks through the door or something."

"Five minutes after you hang up the phone, everyone else is going to know, too," Wanda said with a roll of her eyes.

"Word travels fast through the X-vine," Tabby quipped with a grin. "Besides, this is a big deal. It's Rogue we're talking about, the others are going to freak!"

"About that," Lance said slowly, looking directly at Rogue. "I have no doubt that Xavier will call the Canadian complex right away, but do you want to go ahead and call them yourself?"

Rogue bit her lip, looking down at her coffee for a long moment, then shook her head. "Ah'd like t', really Ah would, but... Ah'm not ready fo' that yet. Ah need t' sort some things out b'fore Ah see them."

"We understand," Wanda said, giving her a faint smile. "It's not easy to figure out what to say to a parent who's hurt you the way Mystique has."

And Wanda, of all people, would know.

"Yeah," Rogue said softly, giving Wanda a look of gratitude, and something passed between them, an understanding, a friendship born out of common experiences.

Any argument anyone would have made, any urging to call anyway, for Kurt or for Logan, was forgotten after that. If anyone so much as suggested it, they were likely to get a tongue-lashing from both Rogue and Wanda.

"Okay, then," Lance said, stepping aside to let Matt take his dishes to the sink. "I'm going to call Xavier from the bedroom, then head over to the construction site for a bit. If you girls are going to the mall, get going soon. We don't have too much time."

"Chill out, man," Tabby rolled her eyes. "We won't be late."

"Fine," Lance sighed. "Just be sure you're ready to leave no later than eleven, okay?"

"Okay," the girls, save for Tessa, chorused in annoyance.

Remy gave Lance a sympathetic look. "Jus' y' an' Todd against all dese filles? Yo' an inspiration, mon ami. Don' know how y' survived dis long."

"Neither do I," Lance sighed. "Neither do I."