Thanks to all my readers for being so patient! I seem to have little bursts of inspiration to write then nothing for weeks, it's really frustrating! But here's the next chapter and sorry to everyone eagerly awaiting Rogue and Remy to get it together... I love the push and pull of their romance so it may be drawn out over a 'will they wont they?' scenario for a while yet.

Anyway enough chatter on with the show!

"Sorry mate, didn't mean to upset the little lady." Pyro scratched the back of his head nervously. Remy looked back to the door which Rogue, only moments ago, had nearly knocked off its hinges.

"Mebbe next time you see people having a private moment you should just walk back out de room, mon ami." He sighed and got to his feet. He picked up his discarded water bottle and threw the towel around his neck. His mind wandered back to Rogue and if he should go chase after her or grab a shower and let her temper cool off before talking to her about this.

"Private moment?" Pyro laughed loudly once again. "The middle of the gym is hardly private mate! You two should get a room next time. Although," Pyros expressions turned quizzical, "maybe a bedroom isn't right for you guys if hand-to-hand combat is your idea of foreplay." Remy turned and glared at the fire-conjurer.

"Exactly how long were you watching, homme? Pyro only grinned at his thieving friend.

"Came in just before she knocked your ass to the ground which, by the way, was highly impressive. Don't think I've seen anybody take you down before. I can see why you like her; she's spunk even for a sassy gal."

"Spunk? Interesting choice of words Pyro."

"Well we Aussies have a different meaning for the word don't ya know."

"Err… Remy don't t'ink dat it's just Australians that use it to mean that… and Remy don't see how that's … I mean we hadn't really gone that far…" Pyro looked at Remy, confusion twisting his features than suddenly laughed his typical manic laugh.

"Crikey mate, no need to be crude! Aussie's use it as slang for someone we think is sexually attractive and judging by… eh… your current trouser situation… I think my description was bang on." Remy looked down and realised what Pyro was gabbing on about. It wasn't very often Remy got embarrassed about things, but even he felt his cheeks turn slightly red as he pulled his towel down in front of himself to hide his shame.

"'Though your brain probably just heard that as 'bang her!' right?" Pyro let out another fit of laughter. Remy let out a growl and launched his water bottle at the unsuspecting man; it caught him square in the face with such force that he fell backwards off the running machine, and landed in a pile on the floor, still in fits of laughter. Remy turned away from his insane colleague, and headed for the gym showers.

"No need to be so aggressive mate, that's a sign of sexual repression ya know!" Remy mumbled several profanities as he left the Pyro cackling to himself.

xXx

'She's 17!'

Wolverine's words echoed through the Cajuns exhausted brain as he held his head under the warm water cascading down from the shower head. Of course he was troubled that she knew the truth about him having kidnapped her but his worries about her memories slipping could not shift his thoughts from their current concern.

Seventeen…

He knew she was young but somehow he always thought she was a few years older than that.

-Merde-

That would mean she'd only been 15 when he'd first met her down at those docks a few years ago. He'd never made a real move on her then because he knew she was too young, being as she was still in school, but fifteen! Never in his life had he felt like more of a dirty old man than he did right then. Sure he was only 24 but still… seventeen… that meant there were seven years between them. Maybe that wouldn't seem so much a few years down the line but right now she was underage; barely more than a child and here he was, at 24, having already spent several years living the life of an adult.

He'd tried to convince himself that it was wrong; hell that was why he'd been in the gym in the first place. For one thing to try and avoid her, and as a second, to try and work out some of the frustrations she left in him. But then why'd he kiss her? He couldn't answer that; one minute they were fighting and the next thing he knew he had her lying underneath him. That touch, that one little touch sparked something powerful in him and all logical thought had flown out of the window. He could touch her.

-Merde-

He slammed his hand against the wall. How the hell could he touch her?! He could see no reason for them to suddenly be able to touch; it made no sense. Maybe karma really was catching up to him, he thought tiredly to himself; her powers were all that were slowing him down, up until he realised her age and decided he should back off a bit, yet as soon as he'd made that decision he found that they could in fact touch. Remy Lebeau was not a religious man but right now he definitely believed someone upstairs was laughing down at him.

xXx

Rogue crept through the quiet hallway as quickly as she could, in hopes that she didn't bumped into anyone on her way to finding the security room where Logan was being held. She wanted to push all thoughts of Remy out of her head and needed something physical to do that would sufficiently distract her.

She was back down on the sub-level of the base; where the med-bay and gym were. So far she had discovered that there were also male and female changing rooms and two more doors on this level, both of which were unfortunately locked. She didn't have time to try and unlock both doors so she picked the one she believed would be the larger of the two rooms based on what she knew of the schematics of the level above.

Deciding on the one right at the end of the corridor she quickly knelt next to the lock. She checked the cost was clear then turned her attention back to analysing her chances with the security device. It was electronic; a number pad system but not a particularly high-tech one. While she was no Remy Lebeau, Mystique had at least taught her the basic on how to get past this type of system. She worked as quickly as she could but not having had much practice at this she felt like she was fumbling around for too long. Eventually the door clicked open; she cast another glance around then stepped into the room.

Upon entering she was met by a series of blinking lights on a large computer system directly in front of her. The room didn't initially feel as large as she'd expected but then she realised that most of the space was taken up by a series of cells along the right hand wall. In the middle cell a man was sat on a cot bench with his head bent over in thought - Logan - She walked into the middle of the room to announce her presence but also to get a better look at him. He didn't look up.

"What you doing in here, kid?" he asked quietly, as if knowing she didn't want to be discovered.

"Will ya tell me something, if Ah asked?" The gruff man sat up so his back was rested against the wall.

"Anything, darlin'" For some reason him calling her that made her head hurt. She took a deep breath, and cleared her thoughts knowing she could easily end up blacking out again if she wasn't careful.

"Tell me a time when something bad happened at the mansion, something bad to me personally," she hesitated trying to make herself clearer, "something that made me feel… Ah don't know… unwelcome." Now he did look up, surprised by the question. She could see him thinking for a long time. He looked unsure. But after several moments he spoke.

"I guess the only time I can really think of is when you brought that kid back without permission. What was her name? Christy?"

"Risty."She corrected him; he held her gaze curiously but didn't say anymore. Rogue waited for about a minute, to see if any signs of a headache would appear as she thought back to the night Risty and herself had left a party early, and Rogue had taken her back to the mansion to show her around; nothing. She tried a different question.

"What was the last thing you said to me before I left the mansion?" Logan sucked in his breath as he tried to think back to a few nights ago.

"Don't remember exactly, but we were talking about Gumbo… Gambit." He corrected himself, "You… reacted inappropriately… to a holographic version of him in a danger room session and I wanted to make sure you knew you couldn't trust him. Then I told you dinner was ready… wish I'd made you go down with me then and there; we wouldn't be in this mess now if I had." Logan studied the girl as she thought about his answer. Her head began to hurt the minute she'd tried to think back to the last time she remembered seeing Logan. Her memory did fit with what he was telling her though, which made her blood pound in her ears and tension to knot behind her eyes.

"That's not right," she said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, it is." He stood up and came closer to the bars; concern clouding his features. For some reason this made her angry. 'Why should he care?!' something in her brain shouted at her.

"NO, you threw me through a window in that session! Then basically told me I was a waste of time!" A sharp pain shot through her brain and she clasped her hands to either side of her head, pressing in as hard as she could.

"Rogue, calm down and breath. I don't know what's happening but I think it'd be a good idea to stop thinking whatever you thinking. Go lie down, whatever this is, it's hurting you bad."

"No I need to know the truth! Are you saying you didn't throw me through that window?"

"No it wasn't me." Logan gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Who…who was it?" She asked as she felt her legs give out from under her causing her to collapse to her knees.

"Colossus… a holographic version of Colossus." Logan, now on his knees too, gripped the bars of his cell; it seemed they only electrocuted him if he tried to get out. He watched her, desperately wanting to help but unable to reach her.

Rogue fought against the memories that forced their way to the front of her mind and search for anything that might show her that Logan was telling the truth. Black dot threatened her vision but just before she finally blackout again a memory flashed in her mind; it was vague. Barely a glimpse of what must have been a much larger picture at the time; it was more like a photograph than an actual memory.

She was part way through the air, Colossus right in front of her, as she sailed upwards, him having just let go of her arm. Kitty was on the floor with Kurt sprawled on top of her, both looking at Rogue with a mixture of shock, concern and fear.

Just before the darkness took her Rogue opened her eyes and smiled at Logan

"Ah remember." With that said, she fell forward into oblivion.

xXx

"Rogue!" Logan pushed his arm between the bars and tried to reach for her unconscious body. It was no use, she was too far away. "Rogue! God dammit Stripes, wake up!" He jumped to his feet and started banging on the bars of his cell.

"Help! Somebody help!" He shouted making as much noise as he could, trying to get someone's attention. "We need medical attention in here!" He didn't care that he was calling for help from his enemies; he would take anyone that could reach Rogue at this point. That is until he saw who came through the door.

Sabretooth.

"What's all the fuss about Wolverine? Being locked up as boring for you as it is me? I could let you out so we can have a little fun." He smirked at the man locked in the cell and flashed his claws so that Logan could see.

"This isn't about you and me, bub." Logan looked down at Rogues vulnerable form on the floor, "she needs help; a doctor. She is supposed to be on your team isn't she?" The Canadian glared at the oversized cat that studied the unconscious girl on the floor. Sabretooth walked forward and knelt down next to Rogue; studying her with a sneer.

"Don't just sit there; help her!" Logan growled at Sabretooth.

"You always did have a thing for women, Logan. You want to be careful… someone might take advantage of that." Sabretooth grinned as he rolled Rogue onto her back so he could look at her better. "hmm… this one is quite pretty though." Logan let out a furious snarl and threw himself against the bars of his cell once more.

"You hurt her, Creed; I swear to God you will die… slow and painful." Sabretooth laughed at Logan's threat. He rose to his feet and stood before Logan in his cell.

"That just makes it all the more fun, Wolverine."

"What de hell is going on in here?" Gambit asked as he watched the two men warily from the door.

"She needs a doctor." Logan ground out without taking his eyes off Sabretooth. Gambit looked confused for a second then spotted Rogue passed out on the floor.

"Merde!" Gambit ran forward and tried to gently wake the young woman. "What happened?" He asked to no-one in particular.

"The same thing that happened last time," Logan said as he continued to glare at Sabretooth. When Rogue wouldn't wake up Gambit gathered her limp form up in his arms and turned to walk out the room. "Hey Gumbo," Logan called after him, Gambit turned back to look at the grim man. "You want to watch this one," he motioned to Sabretooth, "don't think he's much of a team player."

Gambit cast a quick glance at Sabretooth, understanding Logan's more subtle warning, before leaving the two adversaries alone to battle out their threats while he attended to the unconscious Rogue.

xXx

Rogue opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light, and found herself in an all too familiar room.

"Gawd Ah'm really starting to hate waking up in this room." She grumbled to herself as she rubbed her head.

"Pourquoi? You've barely been here two days, chere." Remy appeared from her small bathroom with a damp wash cloth. He sat next to her on the bed and pressed the cloth against her forehead; the coolness soothed her headache. Rogue gazed at him steadily while a faint blush crept over her cheeks at the feel of his bare hand on her head. She looked away as a rush of images and emotions from the gym rushed to the forefront of her mind.

"What happened?" She asked him quietly.

"Was hoping you'd tell moi." He watched her steadily for a moment but when she didn't answer he was forced to continue, "found y' in the security room, with Sabretooth. Chere, what were you doing in dere wit' him?"

"Sabretooth? Ah wasn't in there with him. At least he wasn't there before Ah passed out."

"Den how'd you get in? Dat room is locked and as far as Remy knows you don't have password clearance yet." He asked quizzically.

"That lock isn't exactly Fort Knox, ya know." Rogue answered a sly grin.

"Hmm… well, you are just full of surprises, cheri."

"At least one of you is. Gambit I'm not surprised at all to find you sulking around my daughter, again! But Rogue I am astounded that you'd let him." Mystique glared at the two of them before telling Gambit to leave immediately.

"Remy?" Rogue called after him as he stood to go.

"It's all right chere," Remy said, not taking his eyes of the girl's mother, "Remy's got to go upgrade a few locks anyway."

As Remy left the room, a moment of silence hung between the two women while Mystique waited for the Cajun to get out of ear shot. A sickly sweet smile spread across the blue mutants face as she turned back to her daughter.

"Rogue, sweetie," she walked forward and held the girls shoulders, "that boy is no good for you. You realise he's only after one thing; you're untouchable… that makes you a challenge to someone like him. He'll use you then toss you aside." Rogue unsure if she could hide the suspicion from her eyes cast her gaze to the ground.

"What if he's not just using meh? Maybe he does actually care, isn't that possible." Mystique put her arms around Rogue and pulled her into a hug. Mystique was a good liar but the hug didn't quite feel right… it was awkward and even though she held Rogue to her tightly the blue mutant still felt distant. She gently ran her fingers through Rogue's hair soothingly but Rogue still didn't feel safe, it was almost like hugging a tiger. It may feel warm and soft at first but there was always the danger of getting your head ripped off at any moment.

"I've watched that boy for a long time Rogue, I know he only wants one thing. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. Trust Momma and stay away from him."

"Okay Momma," Rogue sighed in defeat.

"Good girl." Mystique abruptly realised Rogue from her arms as soon as she'd gotten the answer she wanted. "You should put some hours in the gym, I need you at your best. I have big plans for your future, my dear." Rogue nodded in response and the cold woman exited the room leaving Rogue alone with her thoughts.

She knew she could no longer trust her memories, and her gut told her not to trust Mystique but Remy was an enigma she couldn't figure out. She desperately wanted to trust him but all reasonable logic told her she shouldn't. He was the one who brought her here yet he knew her memories were slipping and he had told no-one as of yet. She need to figure him out but couldn't risk confronting him again, he was a master at lies and manipulation so any confrontation would likely end up one of two ways; Remy tricking her or Remy kissing her again… either way she would get no answers. She figured the computer system would be too hard for her to hack into so that meant she had to get answers from someone other than Remy. She quietly exited her room in hopes of bumping into either Piotr or Pyro but as she turned down the hall after shutting her door she noticed that Sabretooth was leaning against the wall further down the hallway. He was just standing there watching her with an evil smirk on his face. Not wanting to show how unnerved she was, Rogue returned his glare with a bored expression before turning and heading towards the room with the sofa's.

Upon entering the room she let out her breath and felt her shoulders relax; she hadn't realised how tense she had become. She leaned against the door heavily and listened for any sound that would indicate that Sabretooth had followed her. After a moment she was pretty sure he hadn't, she looked about the room and realised that Piotr was staring at her curiously from the sofa.

"Are you alright?" He asked as she straightened up self-consciously.

"Err… yeah Ah'm fine, just Sabretooth being a creep." She said as she walked over to one of the comfy armchairs and sat down, curling her legs underneath her.

"Yes, that man still unnerves me sometimes." Piotr replied as he returned his attention to a sketch pad balanced on his knee. This piqued Rogue's interest, she loved to sketch; her diary back at Xavier's was full of drawings.

"Ah didn't pin you for the artistic type. Would you mind if I took a peek at some of your work?" Rogue asked curiously. She herself would never let anyone see her drawings… they were too personal.

"Alright, but you let me draw you while you look."

"Erm sure, okay." Piotr smiled and handed one of his pads to her. She took it and settled back into the chair, suddenly very aware and concerned of what she looked like now that Piotr started to scribble on a new page. She tried to not look bothered as she flicked slowly through his work. The first thing Rogue noticed was that he was very talented. There didn't seem to be anything he couldn't sketch. As she turned each page she was met with a different subject but all seemed to be live drawings; various plants around the base, furniture bathed in shadows and light, but the most impressive sketches were the people. Piotr had captured many moments of his fellow acolytes as they did various things around the base. There seemed to be a lot of Remy; him playing solitaire, working on his bike, brooding pictures of him smoking in what looked to be the very chair Rogue was sitting in now.

"You seem to like drawing Remy." She said to Piotr, not really asking question but more stating a fact.

"It is not that I like to draw him more than the other things but Remy is the only one here that sits still for long enough." That made sense to Rogue, she liked to take a long time over her sketches but most of her work was done from memory rather than a live subject. She imagined that it would be hard to pin someone down for that length of time. It was partly why she had never bothered with it back at the mansion.

"Can Ah ask you something?" Rogue asked the quiet Russian.

"Da," he replied without stopping his sketch of her.

"Does Remy… does he care about meh? Mystique thinks he's just after meh so he can say he had the untouchable girl." Rogue thought about her words as she said them, 'the untouchable girl', it turned out she wasn't so untouchable to Remy after all, yet he wasn't trying to flirt or seduce her into bed now. Sure he had practically pounced on her in the gym but the shock of being able to touch had sent her hormones into overdrive at that point too. And where was he now if all he wanted was to get in her pants? She was actually starting to think he was avoiding her. He hadn't come after her when she ran from the gym and he hadn't stuck around in her room long.

"Remy is a complicated man. I wouldn't pretend to know what goes on in his head, but I do know that he shows more concern for you than I have ever seen in him for anything before. Here," Piotr got up and took his sketch book from Rogues hands. He flipped to a page nearer the back and handed it back to Rogue. "I did this not long before you got here."

The picture showed Remy sitting bent over the kitchen table with a hand wrapped in his hair as he looked down at a piece of paper in his other hand. He had obviously not been paying attention to the fact that Piotr was sketching him. The details were so good Rogue could almost feel the tension rolling off him as he chewed his lips with a frown, a rare moment when his poker face was not hiding his true emotions. He was so torn up over the paper in his hand it made Rogue's chest ache.

"What is he looking at?" She asked Piotr quietly.

"A photograph of you. Magneto had just instructed him to bring you back to the base."

"He didn't want me here?" She asked feeling a little hurt. Piotr looked uncomfortable for a second but didn't seem to be able to ignore Rogue's hurt expression.

"I believe he was worried for your safety should he bring you back here."

"Why? I am in danger here? What does Magneto want with me?" She asked in a rush hoping to get some questions finally answered but Piotr stood and took his sketch pad from her hands.

"I don't know Rogue, I've already said too much but know this; Remy, nor I for that matter, will let anyone put you in danger." With that he turned and left her alone in the room.

Don't forget to let me know what you think guys!

R&R

Aza x