Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Students-6 years after Logan left

Rogue awoke with a start. She looked around her room quickly before collapsing back onto the bed with a sigh.

"Not again," she muttered. She climbed out of her bed and went to the window. She had dreamed of him again. She looked out the window at the frost-covered ground and frowned. This was awfully late for frost. The garden she had so meticulously cared for since Logan's departure would need extra care now. Maybe she should ask Remy to warm up a few objects to put out by the garden. Suddenly a memory arose within her, unbidden.

"I'll take care of you," he said in a low voice. "You promise?" she asked softly. "Yeah, I promise."

Rogue moved away from the window, now angry. She didn't want to think of that promise right now. Six years and not one damn word. 'Move on, Marie.' She moved quietly out of her room and down the hall. She stopped in front of a door and knocked softly.

"Remy? You awake?" she whispered.

"Am now darlin'," he replied after a few moments. "What can this Cajun do for you?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Uh.ah was wonderin' if you could warm up a few things for me to put out in the garden."

If Remy was surprised at this unusual request at.let's see.3:37 in the morning, he hid it well. "Sure darlin'. Let me get on somtin a bit warmer."

As Rogue waited for him, she wondered what the hell she was doing. Any damage the frost had done-She stopped her thoughts with a sigh. 'Don't kid yourself, Marie. You know why you're here.' Rogue turned as Remy came out of his room.

"You ready?"

"Of course."

The walked silently down the stairs and out the door. They went quickly to the garden.

Remy's voice broke the silence. "So cherie, you wanna tell Gambit why you really got him out of bed dis mornin'?"

Rogue looked at him. "Ah think you can guess why," she said quietly.

Remy looked down. "Been dreamin' of him again, huh?" At her nod, he smiled sadly and shook his head. "I don't even know de man, an' I don't like 'em."

Rogue smiled briefly. "Don't worry. He probably wouldn't like you either," she murmured.

Remy chuckled. "He don't like de competition?"

"He doesn't like thieves. He's one of the last people who should be picky, but." she trailed off as she shrugged. "Besides, there is no competition."

"Because you don't want it, or cause dere is already a winner?"

At the unexpected question, Rogue's eyes flew up to meet his and Remy had his answer.

"I could have made you happy, ma petit."

Rogue smiled a bit longer this time as she reached up to stroke his cheek with her gloved hand. "You already have. You've been a good friend to me, Remy. Much better than I have to you."

"I wouldn't say dat." Remy replied, reaching up to grab her hand. He kissed the back of it briefly, and then let it go. "So, let's get dis job done, den we can get back in de house, no?"

Rogue nodded as they started to go through the garden.

After they had finished, the two walked through the house to the kitchen to grab something warm to eat and drink. They were surprised to see Ororo already there, sitting at the table.

"What are you doin' here, 'Ro?" Rogue asked.

"It seems that I am not the only one who could not sleep tonight. The weather is quite unusual," she replied, waving her hand at the outside.

"I didn't have any trouble sleepin' tonight." Remy replied. "I was sound asleep when dis girl wake me up." He jerked his thumb toward Rogue. Ororo looked to Rogue.

"What was the cause of your sleeplessness, if I may ask?"

"Just had some dreams." Rogue answered.

"Of Logan?" Ororo asked softly.

Rogue snorted. "Am ah that transparent? How embarassin'."

A corner of Ororo's mouth curved upwards. "No, just very few other things cause you to have sleepless nights except for Logan. Did you have another of his nightmares?"

Rogue shook her head, coming to sit down at the table with her. "No, ah just dreamt of the first time ah met him."

Remy perked up. "Never heard dis story, cherie. You gonna tell it now?"

"You want to hear it?"

"Gambit always like to hear more about you."

Rogue smiled faintly at the memory. "Ah was in this horrid bar in the middle of Nowhere, Canada," she began. "Ah was running away-"

"Running away?" Remy interrupted.

Rogue's smile faded. "Back home, ah had my very first kiss with a boy. My power manifested and he was in a coma for three weeks. Ah couldn't stay there anymore; not with the way everyone was treatin' me," she finished in a whisper.

"I'm sorry." Ororo said, reaching over to hold her hand. Silence took over for a few moments.

Rogue straightened quickly and shrugged, seemingly recovered. "Well, like ah said, ah couldn't stay there, knowing what ah had done. Ah decided to use the route ah had planned out as a road trip for after high school. Ah found myself at this bar." The smile came back. "Ah was completely out of my element. Ah had never seen anything like this place before. In fact, " she continued on thoughtfully, "ah couldn't see much of anything. The whole place had about two lights in it. Except for the fighting ring. That's where ah first saw Logan, from the back, at least."

"What did you think?" Ororo asked curiously.

A low blush stole over Rogue's cheeks. "That his jeans were so tight, he looked like he had been poured into them." Ororo hooted with laugher. Rogue gave a slight grin. "He was the champion fighter. Some big, bald guy went in to fight him. He got a few blows in before Logan decided to fight back. He beat the guy so quickly, ah knew that he had to be different like ah was. He didn't even have a mark on him. And-" she cut herself off abruptly.

"And?" Ororo teased gently, having a good idea of her thoughts.

Rogue blushed furiously this time. "When he turned around, ah thought he was one of the best looking men ah had ever seen on God's green earth, and that ah should thank him for not having a shirt on."

Ororo laughed so hard at this, tears began to come down her face. Remy merely looked annoyed.

Rogue grinned. "He was hot."

Remy sniffed and turned to Ororo.

"Well?"

She managed to stop laughing long enough to choke out, "Logan is quite attractive. Every female who is so inclined is drawn to him."

"Remy feelin' real bad right about now." Remy grumbled.

Ororo patted his hand. "Don't worry, Remy. You too are quite attractive and a great deal more charming than Logan."

Remy flashed her a smile. "You tink so, cherie?"

She nudged him with her elbow. "Stop it," she admonished. "We still have to hear Rogue's story."

Rogue was startled out of her reverie. "What? Oh yeah. After the fight, ah stayed at the bar to see if ah could talk to Logan." She glossed over her failed attempt at theft. "He came to the bar and ah tried to catch his eye, but we were distracted by a news report about Senator Kelly and the mutant registration bill. Then the bald guy that Logan fought came up to him, angry that he had lost. Logan warned him off, but the guy came back after him with a knife. Logan's back was turned to him at the time. He must have known the guy was coming, but ah didn't know that. Ah screamed and found out about Logan's unique abilities."

"He killed de man, right?" Remy questioned.

Rogue shook her head. "No, he framed the man's neck with his two outer claws and let the middle one slide up to his neck." She tried to demonstrate on her own neck, but ended up looking a little ridiculous. "Anyway, when the bartender held a rifle to his head, Logan slice the barrel in two and his claws up under the man's neck. Ah was terrified. The man ah thought could help me was going to kill two men in front of me instead."

"So what happened?" asked Ororo, caught up in the story.

Rogue's face took on a thoughtful look. "Nothing. He looked at me, then turned and walked out the door. Ah figured that he might not be as bad as ah thought," she said slowly. "Ah followed him out and slipped onto the trailer he was towing behind him. After a while, he stopped the truck and discovered me in the back. Ah must have been making too much noise trying to get warm. Still," she said, considering, "he didn't seem too surprised to see me. Then he kicked me out."

"He kicked you out in the middle of Canada?" Remy asked, outraged.

"Well, it took a little convincin', but he let me back in the truck." Rouge said with a grin. "Even gave me some food."

"And did you tell him of your powers?" Ororo asked.

"No, he found out about those right away. He noticed ah was pretty cold and tried to grab my hands to move them by the heater. Ah had taken my gloves off, so ah panicked and screamed at him not to touch me. He got such an angry look on his face for a second, then he told me he wasn't trying to hurt me. Ah told him then why ah had freaked out. He seemed to understand then why ah had sought him out."

"He was like you," Ororo said, nodding.

Rogue gave a brief nod. "We made small talk-"

"Small talk?" Remy interrupted.

"Yeah, small talk. Ah insulted his truck, he threatened to kick me out again.small talk." Unwilling to talk about the dog tags that currently rested around her neck and her real name, she continued, "He told me his name and the next thing ah know, we hit a tree that had suddenly fallen on the road and he goes flying through the windshield. Ah was wearing my seatbelt, so ah wasn't hurt," she said, sounding strangely smug to her listeners ears. "Turns out Sabretooth had pushed the tree onto the road and he attacked Logan. Ah tried to get out, but my seatbelt was stuck, and, of course, a fire had started in the back of the truck and was moving forward towards a propane tank. My life can never be easy." Rogue finished, rolling her eyes. She looked towards 'Ro. "You know the rest."

Ororo nodded. "Scott and I came to your aid and rescued both you and Logan."

"Logan had been knocked unconscious by Sabretooth and was laying on the hood of the truck." Rogue explained to Remy. "We were transported to the school, where we both recovered."

"You had an interestin' start, petit." Remy murmured. "You feel better now dat you talk to Remy and 'Ro?"

She nodded, a smile gracing her features. "Actually, I do."

"I wonder if your dream tonight meant anything." Ororo mused.

"What do you mean?" Remy asked.

"Well, only that normally Rogue is plagued by Logan's nightmares. This is the first time that you have dreamed about him," she said, looking to Rogue. "The fact that your dream involved your first meeting may be significant."

"What do you tink, Rogue? De dream mean anytin' to you?"

Rogue pondered it for a moment. "Maybe." she began slowly, "maybe it means Logan is coming home."