The Game

Strawberry Wine

By Deana Carter

(Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison)

He was working through college on my grandpa's farm.

I was thirsting for knowledge and he had a car.

I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child.

When one restless summer we found love growing wild.

On the banks of the river on a well beaten path.

It's funny how those memories they last.

Like strawberry wine and seventeen.

The hot July moon saw everything.

My first taste of love oh bittersweet.

Green on the vine.

Like strawberry wine.

I still remember when thirty was old.

And my biggest fear was September when he had to go.

A few cards and letters and one long distance call.

We drifted away like the leaves in the fall.

But year after year I come back to this place.

Just to remember the taste.

Of strawberry wine and seventeen.

The hot July moon saw everything.

My first taste of love oh bittersweet.

Green on the vine.

Like strawberry wine.

The fields have grown over now.

Years since they've seen the plow.

There's nothing time hasn't touched.

Is it really him or the loss of my innocence.

I've been missing so much.

Like strawberry wine and seventeen.

The hot July moon saw everything.

My first taste of love oh bittersweet.

Green on the vine.

Like strawberry wine.

The Game

1992

Remy LeBeau couldn't believe his eyes.... He was on a college campus. Across the way from him was a younger version of a woman he knew back in Westchester. The girl looked at him and smiled a familiar smile, Serina, the newest of the X-men and the hardest to get a date with.

"Moul-dou, I must have hit my head harder than I thought." He muttered to himself as she came running to him.

She threw her arms around him, "Your late." She kissed him passionately. "You and I were supposed to pick up our clothes for the wedding today." She said, leading him to a group of people sitting on a blanket.

"Wedding?" He said blankly as she led him.

She stopped, "Remy, are ya feelin' alright," She said with a thick Scottish brogue. "Yer not backing out, are ya? Steve really wants ya as his best man. I'm Samantha's maid of honor, remember?"

"Oh, yeah... studying too hard, I guess." He replied. This isn't right, Serina was supposed to marry Steve, not this Samantha, who ever she was.

"Hey Sam, Remy and I are gonna go get our outfits, we should be back a little later, if ya know what I mean." Serina winked at the girl. Samantha turned around, Gambit was dumfounded, he was looking at an exact duplicate of Serina, only she had dark red hair and normal eyes.

"Sure Sis. See ya at the dorm later." Samantha replied.

She drove him to a tux shop were, to his surprise, they had a tux ready for him. They had him try it on, then hung it in a clothing bag and gave it to him. It had already been paid for. She then drove to a bridal shop and went through the same procedure. She then drove to a little bistro on the edge of town.

"Remy, is everything alright, yer acting a little strange." She asked, ordering their usual drinks.

"I got hit with a stray baseball, I guess it did something to my memory." He said, which was partly true, he did hit his head, but it was in Henry's lab.

She leaned closer to him, inspecting his head. "It's a little bruised, but I duen see any abrasions. Did you see a doctor?" She leaned closer, pressing her lips gently to his head.

"Didn't think it was necessary. I'm sure I'll be fine in a day or so." He replied, surprised by how her touch effected him.

"Well, just to be safe, I'll cover for ya. Just tell me if ya don't remember someone or something and I'll tell ya." She leaned back in her chair. "The wedding is in a week. Samantha is my sister, my younger twin, and Steve is her fiancee. We have a rehearsal tomorrow and a banquet on Friday. You live in your own apartment on fifth street and I stay in a dorm on campus. We have been seeing each other for three years and we've planned our wedding for next February 14. Need any more?" She smiled.

"Just one thing...... have we... have we, you know...." He felt uncomfortable asking.

"Slept together? Yes, several times, why? Don't you remember?" She asked embarrassed that he couldn't remember.

"Honestly?..... No, I'm sorry, Petite, I don't." He admitted, "Care to refresh my memory?" He asked, giving her a sly grin.

"Ohhh, .... sounds tempting, but I have a bridal shower to prepare for on Thursday, and shopping to do..." She slowed on her speech because Remy had slid to her side and began to kiss her neck. "Well, I guess I can spare an hour or two." She said, kissing him back.

"Let's go back...to my... place..." He said between kisses. She threw a couple of dollars on the table as they left the restaurant.

They drove to a large apartment building on fifth street and went to a door on the third floor. To his amazement, she had her own key. She opened the door and turned on the lights. It was a small, two bed room apartment, decorated in black and white motif. The walls had Nagel paintings and art decco on them. The windows over looked the Hudson Bay, it was a beautiful sight. The bed room had a Henry the eighth bed and was done all in black and midnight blue, satin sheets donned the bed along with sheer drapes. The second bed room had been done in burgundy and grey, and had a wrought iron bed in it, it's walls were covered in art decco. While he looked over the place, she poured them glasses of wine, turned on the stereo, and went in to the black and blue bed room and put on a silk negligee and was sitting on the sofa.

"Oh, you're back." She said sarcastically, lounging back on the cushions, her hair cascading all around her and down to the floor.

He kneeled beside her, breathing in her fragrance. "Oh, Petite~, you are so beautiful." he said, remembering the vision of her lying on the sofa, her hair cascading across the back of it and down to the floor. He just realized how long it was, she usually kept in a braid or pulled up. He liked her like this, she almost made him forget Rogue. She began kissing him, hitting his sensitive spots easily and accurately. It didn't take much for him to fallow her lead, he lifted her in to his arms, the rich emerald green silk spilling across his arm, and carried her to the bed room. She had already lit candles, insence and pulled the bedding back. They made love long and slow, it was incredible to him. He had never felt like this. He made a mental note to make this something the two of them would try, if she (or Rogue) didn't kill him first. He laid there watching her dress, memorizing her every curve and move. She was so graceful, so beautiful, and so deadly. She was Emeryld, one of the most dangerous woman to get involved with.

He was pulled from his thoughts by her velvety voice. "I will expect you to be ready in the morning, you promised to help me shop tomorrow and we have...." There was a knock at the door, "I'll get it" She replied, "Hello,..." There was some low whispering, then a earth shaking scream. He jumped from the bed and ran in to the room, she was sitting on the floor in shock.

"Renia?!" He said, hearing someone just beyond the door.

"Hello. Are you Mr. LeBeau?" The officer asked.

"Yeah, can I help you?" Asked, kneeling beside Serina.

"I'm afraid there's been an accident. Samantha MacPhearson." The officer explained.

"What hospital is she in?" Remy replied softly, knowing this was wrong. Serina was the one shot, and she survived, he did not.

"County General." The officer replied. "We'll take you there when you're ready.

"Give us a moment." He replied, pulling her in to his arms, cradling her as she cried. "We need to go." He pulled her away, slightly. She slowly nodded, standing to leave.

He drove her to the hospital and walked her to the room that held her sister. The machines were still on, but the doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid that she's brain dead. Too much blood loss, not enough oxygen to her brain."

Serina whispered, "I am her blood type, we're twins." She moved closer, "Take what you need, I have little use for it with out her."

"You have your life, Miss, that may not seem like much, but it will later." The doctor replied, trying to comfort her.

She turned on him, almost growling, "She's all I have left of my family. She's everything to me."

Remy figured that this would be a good time to intervene. "Petite~, please. Let's go talk." He turned to the doctor, "Let us know if we can help."

"If she's determined to donate blood, you can take her to the lab, but only a pint, no more." The doctor stated, leaving the room.

Current Time...

Henry McCoy entered his lab with his X-partner, Serina MacPhearson, to see an unconscious Gambit next to their latest project. It was a time traveling devise and it wasn't perfected yet. Henry kneeled beside Gambit. "He seems to have a concussion. Probably hit it on the terminal."

"Ah, shit." Serina announced, "He's back in time, and if this is reading correctly, he's in 1992, February, Oh my Goddess! It's the day before Steve was killed. He's changing time."

Henry move to the monitor beside her. "It seems that he has changed history, your history." He turned to her, "Let me see your scar." Serina showed him where it should have been, and it wasn't.

"You have to send me back." She stated flatly.

He gave her a confused look, "To when?"

"Louisiana, June 1988."

"You can't go and change anything there, it may make the rift worse." He advised.

"I'm not. I'm going back to where I first met Remy." She replied, attaching herself to the computer.

"I thought you met him here?"

"Yeah, so does everyone else. No, he helped me when a gang tried to rape me. We saw each other for a few weeks then I transferred to New York State University. I was attacked June 3, 1985 and transferred June 29, 1988. Set it for the third, read my second journal page 34 while I'm gone if it will ease your conscious, but send me back. It'll set things right." She explained.

"Ok, relax. Breathe deeply......." His voice trailed off.

1988

"Oh, come on Petite~, don't do this to me. Dey tink I wan't to be first." She heard Remy's voice, as he patted her hand. "I can' hold dem off forever, Please, I never hurt a lady, promise, never will." He begged. She opened her eyes to see a very young Remy LeBeau. She shrank from him a bit. "No! Don' scream, dey'll hear you. Do you live near here?"

"Yes." She whispered, seeing that he was trying to protect her. "I go to the university. Can you get me there?"

He took a quick look around, "Yeah, come on." He said, helping her up. They ran a few feet away before he spoke again. "I'm Remy, my friends call me Gambit."

"I'm Serina. I'm staying in the dorm. I'm the only Serina there." She said, trying to keep up with his pace. It wouldn't have been so hard except they were in the swamp land and she wasn't used to the ground.

He heard them calling for him. "Can you find it from here?"

"Yes, I think so." She answered, looking through the bushes.

"Good. I bring you purse tomorrow. When I say, run, run fast." He heard them again, "Run girl, run!" it was the last thing she heard from him. She knew something happened to him by how they were cussing about her. She kept running until she found the main road, she then began to walk slowly.

She walk for what seemed to be hours before she decided to stop at a tree and rest. "Pssssst. Petite~." She heard from the other side of the tree. She jumped and began to run, running right into Remy. She began to scream when he kissed her. "Please don' scream. It' just me, Remy."

She relaxed, sighing, he was a good kisser. "You scared me. Why didn't you just walk up to me?"

"I thought you'd run." He looked around, "Dey're looking for you." He said, looking back at her, this time full in the face. She could see that he had a bad cut on his head.

"What did they do to you?" She asked as he pulled her out of sight.

"Not'ing, I did it so you could get away. It don' hurt so don' worry, it is worth it." He replied, "We gotta go, now. Dey're gettin' close. I'll walk you home." He said, urging her to walk, taking her ways she'd never seen before. They walked for a long while before he spoke again. "Dey still have your purse, I get it for you tomorrow. Dey took de money, though."

"It's alright, they didn't get much." She replied, making him smile. They talked the rest of the way to the dorm. The dorm mother met them at the door.

"My God, what happened?" She asked, taking a good look at the two of them.

"He saved me when I was attacked, but they got my purse. He felt better walking me home." Serina explained to her as she tried to clean up Remy's wound. Things are going just as they originally did, she felt relieved.

"You're a hero, young man. Thank you for bringing her home safe. Have you talked to the police?" She asked.

"Yes, earlier." Serina answered, her brogue becoming thicker as she spoke.

"I gotta go. I'm already late." Remy stated, "Thank you, Madmosell, it feels much better." He began to leave.

Serina rushed after him as he walked out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"I give you my word, with or without de purse, I'll come." He stopped, turning to face her.

"With out it. If you brought it, it would make you suspicious." She moved closed to him, "Thank you. You probably saved my life." She put her arms around him.

"It was....." He was interrupted by a sensual kiss.

"It was everything to me." She said, pulling away slightly. "If you don't show tomorrow, then always remember me." She let go of him and backed away, "There's a picture of me in the wallet, keep it to remember me by." She said, blowing him a kiss and going inside. He stood there in the dark for a few minutes, speechless. Then he smiled and ran for home.

They saw each other every day for three years, acting like best friend. On June 20, Serina got word on her transfer as an exchange student. She had completed her first degree at Louisiana State University and now she was being transferred to New York to begin her ancient history degree. Now she had to find a way to break it to Remy. They had plans to meet for lunch at a little Cajun restaurant, and that is where she'd do it, done it, it was getting hard for her to remember. No, she didn't tell him, he found her at the airport, they separated angerly, then she met Steve and lost Steve.

It was too hard to go through again. The day before she was to leave, she told him she needed to talk to him, and as usual, he came. They took a walk on campus.

"Remy, there's something I've been trying to find away to tell you." She said, nervously sitting down on a bench.

"Just say it, Petite~." He said, sitting beside her, taking her hand in his.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." There, she said it.

"How long will you be, this time?" He asked, giving her a silly look.

She swallowed hard...."I'm not, comming back." She looked away, seeing the pain on his face. "I'm being transferred."

"Why" He whispered, gripping her hand tightly.

Tears were forming in her eyes, "I'm a foreign exchange student and my visa is up. I was so distracted with you, I forgot, you always make me forget." She said tearfully.

He pulled her to him, "Don' cry, Petite~, It'll be alright. We've got tonight and I'll see you off tomorrow. We'll write to each other until we find a way to get together." He said optimistically. She knew that they would see each other again, only he will have forgotten her with Rogue.

They spent the next 24 hours together, almost doing what she swore she'd never do with him. They rode his motorcycle to the airport and said 'good bye'. She fell asleep on the plane and woke up in Henry's lab. "You're back. I hope it worked." He replied.

Serina looked at the scar that was missing when she left and smiled, "It did, trust me it did. Now, let's get him to the infirmary and gather everyone in the lounge. I got an idea on how to teach our resident Cajun here not to be nosy, especially in here." He gave her an agreeable grin.

Remy awoke and found himself in a totally different place. Serina sat by his bed and look to be asleep. "Wow, what happened?" He asked, sitting up.

Serina jerked awake. "You're awake." She threw herself on the bed, pulling him into a tight embrace, sobbing. "I thought I lost you. I just couldnae handle another loss, not right now."

"What did you loose, Petite?" He said, trying to clear his fogged mind as he comforted her.

She pulled away from him just enough to see his face, "You don't remember? Just before the accident, we lost our daughter. She was four years old." She said, tears streaming down her face.

"Our WHAT?!" He exclaimed, "We don't have a daughter!"

"Oh!" She began to cry harder, "You've lost your memory!...." She ran from the room as Henry was coming in.

"How are you feeling?" Henry asked, checking Gambit's head wound.

"I think I lost somet'ing, Henry. Did Serina and I have a baby?" Remy asked, really confused.

"Yes, you two were married when you came to Xavier's school. She was pregnant and Sasha, I mean, Natasha was born six months later, why?"

"I don' remember. What about Rogue?" He asked, now remembering what he did.

"What about her? She's been seeing Logan for a year now, they're getting married in a week." Henry explained, re-wrapping Remy's head (even though there's nothing more than a bruise) "Would you like to go to your room?"

"Yeah, I think I have some apologizing to do." Remy replied, rising from the bed. Letting Henry guide him to his room.

Serina new they had to work fast, Scott and Jean were due home from Muir Island in two days. It was almost 9pm, so she decided to dress for bed. She pulled out her emerald green silk negligee, and began to brush out her weave (she had it done earlier so Gambit wouldn't know that it had been cut when Steve died). Remy entered their bed room, seeing the light on in the bathroom.

"Serina? Dat y'?" He asked, slowly approaching the door.

"Yes, love, I'm just brushing my hair before bed. Are you feeling better?" She asked, setting the brush down and turning off the light.

"Yeah, just a little cloudy still." He said, uneasily undressing and getting into bed. He had just got comfortable when she walked into the room, one look at her in her gown, that gown and memories came flooding back.

She crawled into bed and kissed him with a passion that made him want to forget what he had done. "Good night, love. Everything will be better in the morning, you'll see." She said, turning off the lights.

He didn't sleep one bit the whole night and he was miserable. She awoke, her body intertwined with his and a smile on her face. She looked up at him, "How'd you sleep?' She asked, kissing him lightly, and slipped out of bed.

"FFFFFine."He shuddered as she undressed and redressed in front of him.

She walked back to him, "Well, I'm off to work. Take it easy, your memory will come back to, I'm sure." She said, kissing him good bye.

He went to see Logan, he had to find out what was going on. "Ahh, Logan, can I talk to you?" Remy asked, seeing him kiss Rogue before he tuned around, (or so he thought).

"Sure, Son. What's up?" Logan asked, enjoying seeing Remy squirm.

"I wanted to take Renia to lunch, but since I hit my head my memory has eluded me. Where does she work?" He asked, feeling heated.

"Oh, she is a professor at the college, room 232 history building." Logan replied, (Serina had called in on a favor from a friend of hers and was subbing).

"Thanks" Remy replied, walking out before he lost it. He went to the college and to his surprise, there she was, teaching.

He knocked on the door to get her attention. She came to the door with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" She inquired, not surprised.

"I wanted to take you to lunch." He said, handing her a bouquet of roses that he picked up on the way.

"How sweet. This is my last class, why don't you come in and wait?" She asked, opening the door wider.

"If it's alright?" He said, entering the room and sitting at her desk. As the class left they all said things like 'Good bye Mr. LeBeau' and 'Glad to see you're better, Mr. LeBeau'. He didn't remember any of them, but remained polite.

He and Serina spent the rest of the day together. She had made plans with the rest of the X- men to tell Remy that this was a prank for messing with her past tonight. But she was enjoying the torture it was putting him through. What she didn't know was that Scott and Jean had returned early and they was real curious as to where the head stone came from and why it was in the garden. Henry and Storm explained to them what Remy had done and what Serina had done to correct it. they had to admit, it was amusing, he even surprised them by going along with it till after dinner.

When they got back and Serina found them there, she decided enough was enough, calling Remy into the office after talking to Scott, Jean and Henry.

"Please sit down, Remy." Serina said, sitting behind Scott on the window sill. "Do you realize how dangerous it was for you to be in Henry's lab? You tampered with time, MY time. You came damn near to getting my sister killed." She had a hard time controlling her anger, "I had to go back an clean up your mess."

"You mean, we're not married?" He asked, dumfounded.

"No. And we never will. You almost made me do time for murder, loose my degrees, my sister, everything. Stay out unless invited." She said leaving.

"Whew, what a relief." He stated, looking at Beast, "We're not married.... Wait a minute. That bitch! She... she.."

"Got even, my friend. She got even." Henry replied, patting him on the back.

R.