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Guest #1
Poor Gambit and Rogue indeed. Nothing worse than getting interrupted while getting it on!
The snack thief will be revealed! Stay tuned!
missmarvelgirl
Yes, people are mean. That's unfortunately the world we live in.
Glad you're liking this story. Thanks for the review!
MakingT'ingsGoBoom
Haha, well 5 year olds tend to have an obsession with certain things. In this case, she's modeled after a friend of mine.
Real life happens. Things always pop up that you least expect and I always want to portray that.
amd5551
No problem :) I feel this is more personal answering and commenting back to y'all.
Yes, kids wake up early. I know I did when I was little (still do on my days off).
Exactly! I want this to be as real as possible. Sure I love the traditional fighting the X-Men do, but they also have to deal with real life situations like this.
Indeed more surprises are on the way. Don't turn that dial!
tx peppa
Good thing about having sex at night - it's dark. LOL!
Of course Remy's a good dad. He's the world's best dad!
Yeah, Sam's got it rough right now. Stay tuned!
Guest #2
I sometimes I don't shower after being in the pool. Especially if I'm worn out. Call me gross, don't care ;)
As for Rogue being pregnant, it's only been a couple of days since her and Gambit have been together intimately. If you recall, Sam tells Gambit and Wolverine in Chapter 3 that he hadn't had sex in probably 8 months and Gambit replies with, "Damn. An' I t'ought I was havin' a dry spell." So, keep that in mind while reading.
Of course the giraffe has a name. All stuffed animals need names!
It's funny you mention that, because you will find out her daughter's name!
"Haven't been here since you and Anna got married." Sam said with a smile on his face as they pulled into the garage. "I'll get to see Leila."
"Oui." Gambit said. "She be runnin' ever which way."
When they parked in the garage, they got out of their cars and Logan led them to the door. Before opening it, Gambit grabbed Sam and got his attention.
"About Leila." He said. "She got powers now. Dey jus' developin', so she can' control 'em."
"Okay. I understand." Sam said, nodding.
"Non, wait." Gambit said, looking at Logan. "Y' gotta watch wha' y' t'inkin' 'round her. If she see yo' eyes, she see wha' yo' t'inkin'."
"Oh." Sam said, looking at Logan before looking at Gambit. "I gotcha. Don't worry, Remy. I'll keep my mind clean."
"T'anks." Gambit said as they continued on into the mansion.
Walking down the hall, they came to the kitchen to find Craig, Kitty, Kurt and Charles talking. When they entered, the four turned their attention toward the trio.
"Hi." Sam said with a smile and a wave.
"Professor, Sam's gonna be stayin' with us for a little bit. His place was burned down by mutant hating scum." Logan said. "Torched his business, too."
"My sister's a mutant." Sam said.
"I am sorry to hear about your losses." Charles said. "Please feel at home among us. If there is anything you need, please ask."
"Thank you." Sam said, looking at the other three. "I remember you from their wedding."
Kurt smiled. "Doch, I am hard to forget." He said, standing and walking over to shake Sam's hand. "It is goot to have you vis us."
"Thanks." Sam smiled, shaking Nightcrawler's hand.
Just then, an exotic looking woman in her early thirties walked in holding the hand of a little boy. "Hey, Rikki." Logan said with a smile and a nod.
She smiled back and winked at him as she looked at Gambit. "You know, I haven't officially met you yet, but I've heard all about you. The man with the black and red eyes." She said, extending her hand. "I'm Rikki Morales."
He took her hand and shook it, adding a smile. "I 'pologize fo' not introducin' m'self sooner. Been busy." Gambit said. "Remy LeBeau."
"That's alright. No worries. You teach the culinary class, right?" Rikki asked, seeing him nod. "And you have the little girl with the brown hair that runs around with Madison."
"Oui. Dat's my li'l hellion." Gambit said, making the others chuckle.
"She is so adorable. I can't wait to teach her class." Rikki said, patting the boy's shoulders. "This is my five year old son Micah."
Gambit smiled at the boy as he shook his hand. "Bonjour." He said, seeing the awkward grin on the boy's face as he looked at Gambit's eyes. "Y' met my daughter yet?"
"Uh huh." Micah said, nodding. "I like her."
"She fun, hun?" He asked, ruffling the boy's hair as he looked at Rikki, noticing her look over his face. "So, wha' yo' ability?"
Rikki, pursed her lips together before she spoke. "I heal people." She said, shrugging. "So far, I've been able to heal anything from a scraped knee to life threatening injuries."
"Huh." Gambit said, placing his hands on his hips. "Now dat be a power we need here 'round t'ese kids."
"Ain' dat de trut'." Craig said.
"Wow, everyone seems to be down here." Jean said, walking in from the hallway.
"Hey, Red." Logan said, looking at her baby bump. "How ya feelin'?"
Jean shrugged. "Alright, as of right now." She said, smiling at Rikki. "I see you've finally met Remy."
Rikki smiled and looked back at Gambit. "Yep. Just now." She said.
"Don't forget about the staff meeting this evening at six." Jean said to them as she walked over and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge.
"Daddy?" Leila called out, walking into the kitchen.
"He's right over here, kiddo." Logan said, moving out of the way so she could see.
Gambit knelt down as she walked up to him. "Wha's wrong, petit?" He asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.
Leila reached up and played with the neck of his shirt. "Can I go outside?" She asked, quietly.
"Not by yo'self." He said, patting her thigh.
"Can you come with me?" She asked.
He smiled and Kurt squat down beside her. "I vill take you. Vee still need to play hide and seek, remember?" He asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Leila smiled as she looked up at Sam. "Who's that?" She asked, looking into his eyes.
"Dat's a friend o' me an' Uncle Logan." Gambit said, standing. "His name is Sam. Can y' say hi?"
Leila hugged Freddy as she continued to look into his eyes. "Hi." She said quietly.
"Hi, Leila." Sam said with a smile. "Wow, I remember when you were a little, tiny baby. Do you remember me? I know it's been a few years since we last met."
Leila shook her head and cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you want to kiss my daddy?" She asked, causing everyone to look at Sam.
Gambit narrowed his gaze at Sam. "Oh, jeez. This is awkward." Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"She wants to kiss you, too." Leila said, looking back at Rikki.
Rikki blushed. "I-uh." She stumbled, letting out breathy chuckles.
"Everyone wants to kiss him." Kitty joked, lightening the mood and causing Gambit to smirk.
"Dat's m' curse." He said, looking at Rikki.
"So, Rikki, is there anything you'll be needing for the kids on Monday?" Jean asked, getting her attention and changing the subject.
"Um." Rikki said, trying to recover from the embarrassment she was feeling. "I-I think I'm good." Rikki glanced at Gambit once more and he smirked again, winking at her, causing her to blush. "I'm, uh, going to make sure my classroom is ready for Monday. You wanna join me, Micah?"
"Okay." Her son said as they left the kitchen in a hurry.
Jean smiled and shook her head. "You need to stop that." She said to Gambit as she took a sip of water.
"Jus' playin' 'round." He said, looking at Leila and then Kurt. "T'ought y' was goin' outside?"
Leila beamed. "Oh yeah!" She said, grabbing Nightcrawler's hand and leading him out the sliding glass door.
Turning the treadmill off, Rogue got off the machine and tried to slow her breathing as she walked around the gym. Grabbing her towel, she wiped her neck and forehead off before taking several gulps of water and squatting down to stretch out her legs. She looked up when someone walked in and smiled, seeing it was Kitty.
"Hey, hun." Rogue said, standing and holding on the the rail of the treadmill and pulling her right leg back to stretch it out further.
"Hi." Kitty said, walking up to the treadmill beside the one Rogue had been using. "You missed quite a scene in the kitchen earlier."
She smirked. "Did ah, now?" She asked, stretching her other leg.
Setting her bottled water in the drink holder, Kitty draped her towel over the right rail of the machine. "Leila used her powers and called a few people out who wanna mack on your husband." She said.
Rogue smiled and rolled her eyes. "What else is new?" She asked, placing her hand on her hip as she took another sip of water. "Who was it?"
"Their friend Sam and the new teacher, Rikki." Kitty said.
"Rikki, that's her name." Rogue said, snapping her fingers. "Ah couldn't remember it for tha life of me."
Kitty smiled as she leaned against the machine's rail. "So," She said, letting Rogue know the subject was going to change. "Rumor has it, you guys are adopting."
"Mm hmm." Rogue said with a smile. "Ah miss havin' a baby."
"Yeah." Kitty said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I miss Madison being a baby."
"Y'all gonna have another?" Rogue asked, draping the towel over her left shoulder.
She nodded. "We're working on it." Kitty said.
Rogue nodded as she looked at the ground before looking at Kitty. "Well, good luck with that. All these babies is crippling our team." She joked.
Kitty chuckled. "At least there hasn't been a whole lot going on the last few years. Kinda wonder what's up." She said. "Of course, Scott is always on alert."
"He's got to, though. And with him about ta become a daddy, ya know how uptight he's gotta be." Rogue said, seeing a few students enter the gym. "Well, ah'm gonna get a shower. Ah'll see ya later, Kitty."
"Alright." Kitty said as Rogue gave her a wave and left the room and head down the hall toward the stairs.
Climbing up to the second floor, she made her way down the hall and took a left and then another left seeing Gambit and Wolverine standing with Sam at the end of the hall. "Hey Sam." She said, walking up to them.
"Anna." He said with a smile as he moved into hug her, but she moved away.
"Ah'm all sweaty." She said, warning him.
"Oh, please." Sam said, hugging her anyway. "Women don't sweat, they glow."
She smiled at his comment before being serious. "Ah'm sorry about tha bar." She said, seeing him shrug.
"Thanks, but that's life." He said.
"Those bastards torched his place, too." Logan said. "So, he's going to stay here a while until he can get back on his feet."
"My lord." Rogue said, looking at Sam. "Ya let me know if ya need something."
"Everyone's offered. Thank you." Sam said. "Just need me some clothes, is all, for right now."
"Well, ah'm sure Remy has some he can lend ya." Rogue said, smirking. "Ah don't think any of Logan's would fit, bein' as ya way taller than him."
Wolverine smirked. "True." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Taking Gambit's hand, Rogue looked at Sam and Logan. "If y'all will excuse me, ah need a borrow my husband for a few minutes." She said, walking to their bedroom.
"See ya later!" Sam said as they disappeared behind the bedroom door.
After closing it behind them, Rogue looked up at Gambit to see him smirking. "Only fo' a few minutes?" He asked.
Rogue smiled as she led him over to the bed. "Ah wanna talk ta ya." She said.
"A'right." He said, placing his hand on her thigh.
"If we're plannin' on adoptin' we need ta get tha process going." She said. "Ah don't know tha first thing about legally adoptin' so we need ta do research."
"Okay." He said with a smile. "When y' wanna start?"
"Right now." She said, placing her hand on his. "Remy this could take months. Possibly a year until we get ta adopt a child and it ain't gonna be cheap."
He placed his hand on the side of her face. "Y' know money ain' no issue." He said, turnng and reaching for his laptop. "Le's see what de average wait time is."
Typing in a few things, they were brought to a page with information about adopting. Scrolling down, they saw that it could take as few as six to ten months to adopt.
"Why's it gotta take that long?" She asked. "Ah don't see how interviewin' and meeting could take that long."
"Well, de baby gotta be born, chere." He said, patting her thigh. "Pro'lly why it take so long. Maybe we look int' adoptin' a toddler. Two years ol'?"
"Ah'd rather have a baby." Rogue said, seeing him smile.
"An' I rat'er dey come potty trained." Gambit said, making her smile. "Leila learnin' t' be potty trained was a nightmare."
Rogue laughed. "Ah think they're all nightmares." She said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Ah think we should talk to Charles. See if he has anyone we can talk ta about this."
"A'right. We goin' now or later?" He asked, closing his laptop and putting it behind them on the bed.
"Let's go now." Rogue said standing. "Ah don't wanna wait any longer than ah already have ta."
"Den we go now." He said, standing and taking her hand as they left their room and head downstairs toward Charles' office. "Y' really wantin' dis baby, huh?"
"We've been tryin' for almost four years, Remy. Of course ah'm wantin' this baby." She said as they walked closer to his office and knocked on the door frame.
Charles looked up and smiled at them. "Well, you two look like you're on a mission." He said, motioning for them to sit.
"We're sorry ta interrupt ya, Professor." Rogue started.
"Nonsense." He said, placing his hands on his desk and giving them his undivided attention. "Please."
"We decided we wanna adopt." Gambit said.
"And, we were wonderin' if ya had anyone we could talk ta. Get advice from or even help us out." Rogue said.
Charles smiled warmly at them. "I would love to help you two with this next step of your lives." He said, opening the bottom drawer on the right of his desk and taking out a folder. "I have a good friend that has given me legal advice for the past thirty five or so years. His son actually came to stay with us when his powers started developing." He flipped through several pages before coming across a business card. "Here. Let him know you're former students and now faculty at the school."
Gambit leaned forward and took the card. "Merci." He said, looking at the number. "Don' know de proper steps t' doin' dis. I wasn' quite adopted legally."
"It takes a while. Several months." Charles said. "But I'm sure my friend can work something out with you."
"Being mutants ain't gonna hinder us from adoptin', is it?" Rogue asked.
Charles shook his head. "It shouldn't." He said. "As far as I know, they haven't rejected any mutant parents' applications for adoption. I don't think they can afford taking it to the courts and trying to prove that they aren't fit for children."
Gambit smirked. "Dey try dat a'ready with hom'sexuals." He said, seeing Charles nod.
"Exactly. There's no case if they bring that up." He said, smiling. "Well, I wish you two the best of luck. And please, if there's anything else you need, just come and see me."
"We will." Rogue said as they stood. "Thanks, Professor."
Making his way to Jean's office, Gambit walked in and saw a free seat beside Ororo. Smiling at her, he walked over and sat down, making himself comfortable by slouching slightly in the chair. He looked up as Kitty walked in with Rikki, talking about something. Rikki made eye contact with Remy and smiled as she walked over and took the empty chair beside him.
"Mind if I sit here?" She asked, looking at him.
He shook his head. "Not at all." He said, stretching his legs out and crossing his right ankle over his left.
Jean took her seat in front of the group of teachers and smiled. "Alright, let's get this meeting going." She said, placing her hand on her stomach. "First of all, I'd like to welcome Rikki Morales to the staff. Since we have a few parents staying with us, we saw fit to create a class for them to learn in a safe environment. Rikki's been a kindergarten teacher for eleven years, so she's more than qualified for the job. I think everyone's met her and I believe she'll fit in just fine. Her son, Micah, is with us as well."
Rikki smiled as the other staff members looked at her. "Thanks for having me, guys." She said, adding a little wave.
"Alright, moving to the next subject." Jean said, looking at Gambit. "This year, we've allowed our youngest students of thirteen to start the culinary class. I'd like to get your input, Remy."
Gambit shrugged. "Long as dey don' kill demselves wit' de knives, should be a'right." He said with a smile. "Don' t'ink dere gonna be a problem."
"And there was something you wanted to address." Jean said.
"Oui." He said, sitting up and turning to the other staff members. "I been findin' some t'ings in m' pantry goin' missin'. If any o' y'all see anyt'in' fishy, let me know or jus' take care o' it. Some of de t'ings dey takin' are needed fo' de first couple o' classes."
"What's going missing?" Rikki asked.
"Chocolate, mos'ly. But I be findin' pasta gone and all kinda stuff." He said, turning and looking at her before looking at Jean. "If it be a'right, I like t' put a lock on de pantry."
Jean nodded. "That's fine." She said, looking around the room. "Are there any other problems we need to address, since we're on the subject?"
Kitty raised her hand. "Are the tutoring schedules the same?" She asked.
"Yes." Jean said. "Tutoring will still be thirty minutes after classes. We need to be an encouragement to the students, so don't grumble or complain if they ask you for tutoring." Gambit smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, knowing full well she was talking about him. "They're here to learn and need to feel they can come to each and every one of us for any problem they might have. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"
"Will there be any extra curricular activities?" Storm asked.
"Not this year. It didn't turn out so well the past two years. No one was interested." Jean said. "Last thing on the list. I'll need every one's classroom progress reports by the end of Friday each week."
"Y' accept day late?" Gambit asked, still smirking. "Y' ain' got a crazy chil' runnin' every which way and pullin' y' in ten diff'rent directions."
Jean smirked back. "End of Friday, Mr. LeBeau. No expections." She said, seeing him nod. "If you have to lock yourself in in your classroom to get it done, then so be it."
"She run a tight ship, no?" Gambit smirked at Rikki, making her smile.
"Alright, anything else you all can think of?" Jean asked, looking around the room at everyone. "I'm trying to keep this short, as promised."
Everyone looked around at each other before they looked back at Jean.
"Then we're dismissed. I look forward to working with you all this school year." She said as everyone stood and started to leave her office.
Heading out of the office, Gambit put his hands in his pockets and headed toward the kitchen for a snack. "Remy?" He heard Rikki.
Turning around, he smiled as the woman walked up to him. "Yes'm?" He asked.
She smiled back as her eyes dipped to his lips and then went back to meet his gaze. "I was just wondering how far along your daughter is. Can she read and write?" She asked.
Gambit nodded. "My daughter be de smartest li'l girl in de world." He said, making Rikki smile wider. "So."
"Yes?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"When do I get t' meet Mr. Morales?" Gambit asked, seeing her mood change and her smile fade. "Somet'in' tells me I shouldn've said anyt'in'."
"No, no. It's fine." Rikki said, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. "My husband was deployed two years ago and was killed in combat."
"Mon Dieu." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks." Rikki said, forcing a smile. "It's been hard. Micah doesn't really remember him because he was always gone, so he doesn't really understand death."
"Must've meant a lot t' y'." Gambit said, pointing to her left hand. "Y' still wear his ring."
Lifting her hand, she smiled as she looked at it. "He did." She said. "But he'd want me to move on and be happy. He always liked to see me smile and laugh."
Gambit smiled. "Same fo' me an' m' wife." He said. "Anyt'in' ever happen t' me, I'd want her t' move on, bes' she could."
"It sounds ideal, but it's difficult." Rikki said. "Every man I've met is infatuated at first and then once they learn about Micah, they ditch me."
"Dat's 'cause dey ain' man enough fo' de responsibil'ty o' raisin' a child." He said, giving her a warm smile.
"Yeah, well, I've stopped looking and just started keeping the ring on." Rikki said. "Don't think there are any real men out there, any more."
"Mm, don' know 'bout dat." Gambit said, smirking. "Saw de way y' wink at Logan earlier."
Rikki nervously laughed. "He isn't what I need." She said.
"Why not? He good wit' kids." Gambit said.
She shook her head. "It's not like I'm not attracted to him." She said, watching the rest of the staff members disappear into different rooms of the hallway. "He's a little too rough around the edges."
Gambit chuckled. "He a teddy bear, chere. It be a front." He said. "I t'ink y' need t' give him a try. He seem int'rested, no?"
It was Rikki's turn to chuckle. "We'll see what happens." She said, looking over his face. "Though, there are others here I'm interested in."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are y' now?" He asked, trying to coax it out of her.
"We'll save that for another conversation. You're wife is on her way towards you." She said, jutting her jaw toward Gambit.
He turned around and smiled as Rogue walked up to them. "Anna, don' t'ink y' met Leila's teacher yet." He said, placing his hand on Rogue's lower back.
"Not officially." Rogue said, shaking her hand. "Said hi once or twice on my way out. Ah'm Anna."
"Rikki Morales." Rikki said with a smile.
"Hope ya ready for all these children." Rogue said, crossing her arms just under her bust.
"I'm excited." Rikki said. "I've never had a small class, so I'll actually be able to work with them."
"Well, ya call me if Leila starts givin' ya trouble." Anna said.
Rikki chuckled. "I'm sure she'll be fine." She said, lightly shaking her head. "With my son being in the class, I'm going to try and treat him the same as the others."
Rogue smiled. "Ah understand." She said, looking up at Gambit. "He'd definitely treat Leila differently."
Gambit shrugged. "Daddy's li'l princess." He said.
"Sounds like Leila calls the shots in the family." Rikki joked.
"Non. Dat's Anna. She tell me wha' days I can breathe. T'ankfully, dis one o' dem days." He said, making them chuckle.
Rikki's phone rang, interrupting their conversation. "I'm so sorry. Excuse me." She said, turning and walking down the hall before answering it.
Rogue turned to Gambit. "Ah was thinkin' we could take Sam out for dinner. Do somethin' nice for him." She said. "We can invite Rikki too. Get a babysitter."
Gambit nodded. "Sounds good. Y' set up de babysitter an' I ask Rikki." He said, kissing her forehead before he watched her head off down the hall.
A/N: More exciting things coming soon!