I have decided this will be the last chapter. This story looks as if it will become a series. Honestly, I didn�t expect it to be received so well. I didn�t think it was very good at all, and I didn�t think I would have to write so much. Since I rarely read fan fics longer than five chapters, I have decided to make this the last chapter. I will continue this story, just under a different title and upload. So don�t kill me when you see the word "end." Cuz this part is definitely over. (Thank God.) PG-13 rated, for perverted use of ice cream. Hahahahaha!!!!! The End is the Beginning, by stormfreak Part Five: Confessions and Conclusions Salem Center, New York "Jean �" "Scott, I wish you wouldn�t bother me about it." "But she�ll listen to you �" "Scott!" Jean stopped packing and placed her hands on her hips, her green eyes flashing. "I am not going to convince Storm or Gambit to come back. I am going for a visit, and that is all. Their baby is due any day, and I want to be there." "They can raise the baby here. Jean, you have to get them to understand �" "Why? And who says they want to raise their baby here?" Jean took Cyclops� hand in hers. "Scott, you�re the full leader of the X-Men now. It�s been over a year. Why are you still upset?" "Who�s upset about that? I�m talking about teaching American History!" Jean laughed. "Oh, Scott, it couldn�t be that bad." She leaned and kissed her husband, then resumed packing. "Life goes on, and Remy and Ororo�s time as X-Men have come and gone. They haven�t come back in all this time, and I doubt if they ever will no matter what I say. I understand you don�t like teaching American history, but there comes a time in our lives when we all have to do what we don�t like. You will be fine." "I guess." Cyclops rubbed his forehead and sighed. "You still won�t tell me where you�re going, will you?" "Oh, Scott. You know I can�t." "I hate it when you keep secrets from me." "Do we have to go through this again, Scott? I told you, Storm specifically asked me not to tell a soul." "But I�m your husband!" "Do you think that gives you the right to know?" Jean sighed, then ran her hands through her fiery red hair. "Alright, Scott. But only because I�m sick of arguing. Gambit and Storm are in Africa. Harare, Zimbabwe to be exact." "ZIMBABWE!?" "Scott! Keep your voice down!" "Oops, sorry." Cyclops cringed. "But I just can�t imagine Gambit living in Africa. Storm, sure. But Gambit? There�s not enough liquor in the world to keep Gambit in Africa." "Well, it�s been over a year, so apparently everything�s okay." Jean glanced at a clock, then panicked. "Scott! I gotta run. I want to get to the airport early. Apparently the weather in Harare isn�t so well. I want to get there early in case the flight is cancelled." She kissed Cyclops again, then shut her suitcase and rushed out the door so fast, she didn�t notice the shadow that had been lurking behind her open door. * Harare, zimbabwe "Mon Dieu." Remy stared at the outside world, his unshaven jaw dropped. He had woken up early to climb to the waterfall and jump, as was his early morning custom. But there would be no jumping today. Remy shut the door and dashed up the stairs, two at a time, calling his wife�s name. He heard the water running and groaned. He knew Ororo�s shower would last forever this morning, and with good reason. Still yelling, he began trying to clean up the mess that was their bedroom, stripping the sheets and cover. Jean was coming to visit, and if she saw their bedroom, she�d laugh until a hernia developed. "What is it, Remy?" Ororo finally yelled back. "I am in a hurry! We are having a teacher�s meeting this morning, and I cannot be late!" He heard his wife give a cry of distress as the water continued to run. "Goddess, Remy, what convinced you this was a good idea?" "I dunno," he replied absent-mindedly, looking down at his chest. "You were with it t�whole time." He would have to take a shower too, and quickly. He rubbed at a sticky brown spot on his pecs and wondered how long it would take to get the ice cream residue off his body. "Stormy, have you looked outside?" "I have not had the chance. Dammit! What is this, caramel sauce? Goddess, I will have to shave off all my hair �" A wide grin spread across Remy�s face. He couldn�t help it. Ororo must�ve felt the vibe, because she hollered, "Not that hair, you twit!" Remy laughed aloud. "Don� touch a hair on your head. But seriously, you need t�look outside." A few more moments passed, and then there was silence. Seconds later, Ororo opened the bathroom door, allowing clouds of steam to roll out the door. Wrapped in a white terry robe, she walked to the nearest window and froze. "By the Bright Lady!" she whispered. The city of Harare was covered in snow. It had started with an idea. They had been lying in bed on a Sunday night discussing general parenting issues when Ororo had a sudden craving for cherry ice cream. As a dutiful husband and father-to-be, Remy had gone to the factory to get a large gallon when he was hit with a vision. He went to the store and bought a slew of items, including a large can of whipped cream and a carton of cherries. He spent approximately fifteen minutes concocting a large split on his wife�s even larger stomach, and it only took about ten seconds to destroy it. How they had managed to fall asleep in such a sticky mess has baffled him, but overexertion of energy can do such a thing. Ororo�s sexual emotions hadn�t been connected to the weather since they were newlyweds, and hail and thunderstorms had reflected the turbulence that had once tortured her soul every time Remy and Ororo made love. Over a year later, she had been able to control and separate the two; on occasion, there would be a gentle sprinkling of rain, but that was all. But now the two found themselves staring at nearly seven inches of snow. Remy spoke first. "So ice cream on your stomach makes you think of snow?" "It was cold!" Ororo rubbed her giant belly and wondered. "How in the world did this happen? Now it is snowing, Jean is on her way to the country � what else could go wrong?" The telephone rang. Ororo picked it up. "Oh, good morning, Bibi. Yes, I see it. I take it school has been cancelled. I know, how in the world could this have happened?" If only she knew! Remy smiled and began to search for clean sheets, wondering if the ones that had once been on his bed could be salvaged. * Adam Hartley, six months out of retirement from medicine for one patient, examined the sonogram pictures with a troubled mind. He did not believe anything to be wrong, but�what was that dark spot behind Ororo LeBeau�s placenta? Every time Remy brought his wife to the clinic, Adam examined that spot. it was driving him crazy. He couldn�t pinpoint what it was. The baby, a girl, was developing fine, and so was Ororo, but that dark area was still there, always there. As a physician, Adam pointed out the spot to Remy and Ororo, and had to confess that he didn�t know what it was. He concluded, after the months passed and everything else seemed normal, that either his equipment was faulty, or it was an extension of Ororo�s placenta. Worse case scenario, it was a large piece of fibroid tissue that would have to be removed after the pregnancy, but that was all. But it still bothered him. He considered himself to be a good doctor, and being baffled by a medical condition did not sit well with him. Ororo was due in about two weeks, and he would see her again that weekend. He was 99% sure it was a harmless piece of mass, but he would have to check it again. Just to be sure. * When Ororo opened the front door and saw her red-headed friend for the first time in over a year, she nearly fainted. While Ororo�s figure had ballooned, Jean Grey-Summers looked refreshingly the same; same red hair and green eyes, same dazzling smile, same petite figure. And after living abroad for so long, seeing a familiar face gave Storm a sense of homesickness. "Storm!" Jean had gasped, before hugging and kissing her dearest friend. "My God, you are huge!" "Jean, it is so good to finally see you." Storm ushered Jean inside. "It has been far too long, my friend." "I�m sorry; I wish I could�ve gotten away sooner, but your leaving caused quite�an inconvenience." Jean stalled, and there was an uncomfortable silence. "Ahhh." Ororo smiled. "Jean, you and I are friends. There is no need to sugarcoat anything for me." "Okay." Jean gave a thin smile. "The past year has been fucked up." "Fuck? Who wanna fuck?" Remy rounded the corner and entered the front room. "Gambit!" Jean cried, and ran to hug him. "Oh, man, you look completely different! Look at you! Where�s the skinny guy who left? When did you become some barrel-chested stud?" "Remy always been a stud, chere," Remy smiled and rolled his eyes. "Don� get it twisted, Red." He picked up Jean�s bags and took them to the spare room. "So how�effed up has life been, Jean?" Ororo questioned guiltily. "Surely it could not be that bad." Jean sat on the couch and pulled her knees close to her chest. " I think," she said, after thought, "that when you and Gambit left, you put mortality to the X-Men. It was proof that nothing lasts forever, you know? I think we all have had it in our heads that we would be X-Men until we dies, but as we see now, I will not happen. Not to mention the lack of morale since your departure. The Gen Xers are miserable without you." "Not exactly a reason to go rushing back." Ororo�s blue eyes cast downward. "Rogue�how is she?" Jean rolled her eyes. "I see you haven�t changed, Storm; giving thought and concern to someone who is not thinking of you." "That does not answer my question." "Rogue is�holding up, I guess. She doesn�t mention you, or Remy. She did come up to me a couple of times and asked me how Remy was doing. Whether he was happy or not." "What did you tell her?" "The truth. That Remy is very happy here, and that you are expecting his firstborn. I confess, I don�t think Rogue is very good at handling reality. She is under the belief that she and Gambit will get back together. I catch her stray thoughts, and I know she feels this in her heart." "I see." Ororo placed her hands on her giant belly and pursed her lips. "I am not a fan of rudeness, or lack of tact, but it would be in Rogue�s best interest to know that I will do anything within my power � mutant or otherwise � to prevent her from breaking up my marriage. I understand that she may still be upset at Remy�s departure. What I cannot figure out is why she is not � how to say this nicely? � over it." "That�s easy for you to say, Storm. You didn�t get your heart broken." "Yes, and I didn�t leave Remy to die, either." "No, you didn� an� I�m grateful." Remy reappeared and kissed his wife on the forehead. He placed his head upon her stomach, and Ororo ran her hands through his hair. "Hello, petit!" he called to his daughter "You are due any day now, an� I can� wait to see you." He was rewarded with a kick in the head from his future angel. "Neither can I," laughed Jean and placed her hands on Ororo�s belly. "So�what can you tell me about all this snow?" * "Gambit?" "Yeah?" "Are storms like these common here in Harare?" Jean asked, her hair whipping around her face as she watched the clouds turn the sky black. Remy stepped onto his back porch and tilted his hair towards the sky. "No, dis one actually looks pretty bad." Jean stepped back inside. "I�ve been talking to Storm since the day the two of you left. She seems to be taking her pregnancy quite well." "T�ank God you a telepath, or I wouldn� be able t�pay the phone bill." "Everyone misses you and Ororo, Remy." Remy grunted a reply, still staring at the sky. "Rogue misses you especially-" Remy whipped around and shut the door. "Get dis through your head, and hers too. I am not an X-Man, and neither is my wife. We ain�t X-men on reserve, and we ain�t goin� back. So take that back t� New York, in case anyone else asks." "You can�t speak on Storm�s behalf," Jean stated quietly. "Yes, I can. We were t�ieves together; we were X-men together, an� now we gonna be parents together. You see a pattern?" "Don�t be rude to me, Remy." "Why are you so in a bunch about dis?" Remy questioned. "Did you fly halfway aroun� the world jus� to hear me say no? You coulda asked me that in my head an� I woulda tol� you that." "I came to be present for Ororo�s birth; you know I wouldn�t miss it for the world." "No, no y�didn�t. You came to talk her into goin� back t�New York. I tell you know � de answer is no. She won� go where I won� go. Our lives are here from here on out." "Remy �" Her words were cut short as a window imploded. Thunder boomed across the sky and suddenly, the sky opened and rain began to pummel down in torrents. On the second floor, Remy and Jean heard the screaming � a downright, demonic shrieking � and they knew. It was time. Remy rushed to the telephone to call Adam. Dead. "Mon Dieu," he groaned. He knew his wife would never make it without a doctor, and the city of Harare couldn�t survive this storm. "Where the hell are you going!?" Jean cried as Remy grabbed his coat from the closet and threw it on. "Jeannie, Ro�s doctor lives a couple of minutes from here. This house is built on his land. I have t�go get him." "Gambit, are you crazy? That storm out there can kill you! Storm�s upstairs; she can�t tell whether she�s hurting you or not! Besides, this can�t be right! I thought she wasn�t due for another two weeks!" "I have t�go get her doctor, Jean. Go upstairs. Tell her everyt�ing�s gonna be fine." And Remy was gone. * What a storm! Adam thought as he flipped off all his electric lights. He turned on his lanterns and sat at his desk. Lately, the weather had been going crazy. First the snow, now this. Are we at the end of our days? he wondered, glancing at his Bible quickly. He pulled his chair closer to the desktop and brightened the lantern. Pulling out his notes, he turned his attention to the sonogram that had been stumping him for the past seven months or so. The mass had grown bigger, notably so, and it was beginning to scare Adam. It looked to be nearly two pounds, even more. It�s going to be a lot of cutting, he thought. The banging on his door interrupted his thoughts. Who in the world could it be in a storm like this? "This had better be an emergency!" he yelled before opening the door to find a wild-eyed Remy LeBeau soaking wet. "Remy! What in the world �" "My wife is in labor!" Remy cried. "Oh, my God. You can�t be serious, Remy. Tell me you�re lying! She�s early!" "She-she is! She�s in a lot of pain � we gotta get her to a hospital!" "We can�t! This weather is a mess, and I doubt if anything electrical can work." "The weather � my wife controls t�weather. She can make it stop �" "What?" Adam frowned. "Remy, you�re talking crazy." "No, no! My wife � she and I � were mutants � she can control t�weather �" Remy ran into the house and grabbed a small figurine, and suddenly, it exploded into pieces. "I do dat � and she controls t�weather � please, help me!" This story gets crazier and crazier. "Remy, calm down and answer me this. If I can calm your wife down, will the rain stop?" "Yes! Her emotions take over t�weather, but �" "Then that is all that matters." Adam interrupted. "I confess that I don�t know what�s going on, but I can certainly help. Let me grab a few things. But we must hurry, Remy." Adam ran to his back room and began to grab a few supplies, his thoughts on the mass temporarily forgotten. * Harare Memorial Hospital - Harare, Zimbabwe The hypodermic needle that had been plunged into Ororo�s side was full of a sedative that had all but knocked Storm unconscious. With the woman nearly out for the count, the storm had subsided, and Ororo was rushed to the hospital and placed in the maternity ward. That had been the easy part. Between the sedative and the epideral, however, the actual childbirth was becoming much more complicated. Ororo being less than semi-conscious meant that she was not able to use her lower muscle to push. That, and she was rambling out of her mind. She hadn�t stopped talking since she was sedated, and the strangest part was that she seemed to be talking about nothing at all. And if she was pregnant, she was highly unaware. "I�ll have to C-section," Adam had determined, after time had passed. "No, Adam!" Remy cried. He loved his wife�s stomach, and the thought of having a long scar down the center nearly killed him. "Remy, your wife is damn near out cold. I�ll confess; that is certainly my fault, but I had no idea it would take so much to sedate your wife. I don�t want to lose your daughter because she stays inside Ororo too long." And he rushed back into the emergency room. "Jean?" Ororo was whispering. "Yes?" "The X-Men�" "Shh." Jean stroked her hand through Ororo�s hair. "Don�t worry about the X-Men right now. You have a baby girl to bring into this world." "I�I do?" "Yes, silly. Remy, the doctors, all of us are waiting. Your daughter is like his father � stubborn." "Jean?" "Yes, Ororo?" "Tell�tell Rogue that�that I am sorry. I never meant to hurt her." "I will, Storm. I promise I will." "Tell her�tell her I love Remy. I�have always done right by him�and I always will." "Okay." "Jean?" "Yes?" "The Professor�tell him that I will not return�I am no longer�an X-Man�and I will never be again." With that, she was out cold. Adam came back into the room and turned to Jean. "You might want to exit at this time. You think it�s been bloody now, you�ll really freak when I cut her open." "Do you have to, Doctor?" "Yes, I�m afraid I do." Jean walked outside to the waiting room, her heart racing, her mind jumbled with the last of Storm�s words. "Remy �" "He tol� me," Remy replied, his head buried in his hands. "I�m scared, Jeannie." "Don�t worry, Gambit. It will all work out." * The white-haired, blue-eyed baby girl was delivered with little effort. Far less effort, Adam thought triumphantly, than what it took to get her here. I may be an old doctor, but I�ve still got it! He examined the tiny, crying creature and discovered no abnormalities, handed her to a nurse, and requested the little girl be cleaned and weighed. Now, the placenta. And that damned dark mass, he thought, chuckling. Finally, we shall see what the mystery was. I feel like I�m opening Al Capone�s secret vaults! He reached into Ororo�s womb and began to remove the placenta. And that�s when he saw what the mass was. "Oh�my�God." His eyes fixed around a tiny, bluish-looking baby still curled in the fetal position. "NURSE!" * Nothing. Jean scanned again. Nothing. She felt her heart breaking, but she tried again. Nothing. Ever since the nurse had broken the news to Remy and Jean that Ororo had been carrying two children, Jean had been trying to psi-scan the second child�s thoughts. But there were none. She could touch the mind of the little girl. Even Ororo�s mind, disoriented as it was, had audile thoughts. But the other child? She tried again, desperately. Nothing. In a hospital room, an elderly doctor�s thoughts were nearly identical to Jean�s. Nothing. He was at the end of his rope. The child wasn�t dead, but he wasn�t breathing, either. His heart had stopped at one point, but Adam was able to start it again. He felt his mind screaming, Do it, Adam! You have to save his life! You can do this! You have to! He hadn�t caught him while him was in the womb. But damn it, Adam could catch him before he went to his early death. Every second passing was a precious second lost. He tried CPR again. Nothing. So Remy is a mutant. So is Ororo. That explains her crazy blood work. Again. Will their children be mutants? Will they grow up like their parents? Nothing. Can I accept that? A band of mutants living on my land? Nothing. Concentrate, Adam, and ask questions later! Seconds turned into minutes. Just give it up, Adam. Let the poor soul rest. You�ve done all you can. Without warning, he heard the most beautiful sound in the world. The boy, barely three pounds, coughed, sputtered, and finally cried. "Remy!" Jean yelled suddenly from the waiting room. "Huh?" Remy held his head up. His face was streaked with tears. "He�s alive! The other baby � it�s a boy, and it�s �he�s alive!" At that time Adam came out, beaming widely. "Mr. LeBeau, you�re the proud papa of a daughter and a son. Your boy is quite tiny, but he will be just fine. I assure you that in time, he will grow to � Remy? Remy!" Jean knelt to the ground, where a grateful Remy was sobbing on the waiting room floor. "Remy," she whispered, her voice like an anchor in rough waters. "Calm down, sweetheart. Storm is fine. Your daughter is fine. And you have a son, too, and he�s fine. Come on, let�s get up and go see them." But Remy was crying too hard to move. Joy, gratitude, and genuine thanks had immobilized him to the floor. He, the former prince of the Thieves Guild, had been blessed � not once, but twice. What have I done, he thought, his cheek and jaw still pressed to the floor, to deserve such happiness? Jean read his mind, but she didn�t answer. Instead, she shut her eyes. Scott? No answer. Scott! Huh - what? Jean? Is everything okay? It�s 5:15 in the morning! Not in Zimbabwe, it�s not. Storm went into labor early. When the mansion wakes up, will you please announce that Remy and Ororo are the proud parents of a baby boy and girl? What? Really? Jean, that�s fantastic! Do they have names? Not yet. Storm�s out cold. I�ll be in touch. Okay. Jean? Yes? Did you talk to Storm and Gambit? Yes. And? And�they�re still gone for good, Scott. Pause. Okay. I�ll let everyone know. Love you. Bye. Happy, peaceful, and now the godmother of a matched set of silver-haired twins, Jean picked Remy off the floor and they made their way to the nursery. End "But wait! Dere�s more!!!!!!" � Scary Movie Prologue to The Watcher, next!!! |
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