| PART 2 Author: SisterWine Rating: PG Archive: I guess. But, give proper credit, please. Warnings: None, really. Summary: Sequel to "Memories of the Future". Disclaimers: Not mine, don't own X-Men. But, KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF MY RHYTHM! Remy sat in her room. The lights were off, but the moon shone so brightly through her window that it had lit up the entire room in soft blue. A small, cartoonish bed sat off to the left hand side of the room. He sat on the edge, and looked about himself. Her pillow, in fresh white linen with pictures of butterflies of various colours lined the edges. The soft lightweight, lavendar blanket, laid neatly over the mattress. The plastic bedposts made to look like oversized penciltops, and her tiny red cap that she had insisted on wearing each time Logan or himself would go out to fix a vehicle, had dangled from the post beside her head. The tiny white, polished wood dresser sat across from him, on the other side of the room. The top had been lined with numerous picture frames with pictures of many combinations of the four of them. The tallest frame had sat in the middle of them. A silver wire frame that had been twisted into shapes of flowers growing on a vine curved around a family portrait. Remy focused harder on the picture. He and Logan stood to either side of a tall-backed throne-like chair, while Rogue was sitting and holding a very small Rhythm on her lap. They were each dressed nicely in suits and dresses, and smiled, but the biggest smile was on the tiny face of an angelic looking 2 year old. His reflection in the tall, square mirror, behind the picture, portrayed that of a man who had waited for so long to have the room around him filled with his daughter, that he had forgotten how to live. Logan had passed the room and saw Remy's glowing red eyes as he sat on the bed. Stopping in the doorway, and leaning on the doorframe with his left shoulder, he crossed his arms and sighed. "She comes home, tomorrow, kid. No need to sulk." Remy's eyes glanced from the picture on the dresser to Logan. "I know." He sighed. "Jus' hard t' t'ink o' her growin. An' all dat we missed. Sh' not gonn' be de same girl." He looked away and stared at the floor in front of him. Nodding and coming to sit besde Remy on the bed, Logan remembered her tiny voice each morning as she'd tiptoe into his room and jump up beside him on the bed to say "good mornin!" And, how she'd often copy the way he or Remy would hold a fork or a spoon, to eat, and watch them for motions and mannerisms. Looking to the right, at the end of the bed, his eyes caught the top of a giant fluffy brown bear that Logan had given her when she was only 3 years old. He smiled. "Remember when I gave her that...?" Pointing to the bear and continuing as Remy followed Logan's point. "She couldn't lift it, but she was hell-bent on cartin it around. Upstairs, downstairs, and it had to sit beside her on the front porch swing while she watched us do yard work." Remy smiled. "Yea. We had ta carry her, an' dat damn t'ing all over de place." He laughed as he pictured it, clearly, in his mind. "De bear was taller dan she was, an' he's sittin down." "Well, I bet she can cart him around by herself, now." Logan laughed and stood up. "Come on kid, sooner tomorrow comes, soooner she comes home." Yawning and looking to his left at her pillow, Remy leaned over to lay on the tiny bed and yawn. "Jus' a few minutes, no?" Logan smiled and nodded. "Alright, kid. Night." "Night." Leaving the room and walking down the corridor to his room, he listened, very keenly, to Remy's even breathing and knew the Cajun was asleep. Stopping at his door and sighing, he couldn't imagine how the child would react to have been gone for so long, and then slipping back into the laid back rhythm of home. Logan shook his head and opened the door to his room and went in. *********************** Rhythm wriggled out of her seatbelt and slid off of her seat as the small jet landed in Remy's front yard. Hopping on one foot and then the other in a frantic pace, she clapped and squealed giddily as she waited for the doors to open. "My poppa! My poppa! An'- an'- Logan!" She looked out the window before looking over the tall captain's seat to her left, and waited for Rogue. "Open de door, momma! Please! Open de door! My poppa!" She stared at the door, impatiently, hoping it wouldn't be stuck or that Rogue would tell her to sit back down until she calmed down before letting her out. "Ahright, ahright. Calm down, or yer gonna sit there, like ya did at the table, this mornin." Rogue unlatched the door and slid it open before steeping to the side to let the girl pass. She watched as Rhythm jumped down and ran as fast as she could towards Remy who stood on the porch. Standing on the long porch, and watching as Rogue had gotten out of the passengar's side and turned to open the door behind hers, Remy smiled. He had waited all morning for the jet to touch down and his little girl coming running into his arms. His casual jeans and blue T-shirt offset Rhythm's white cotton pants and sleeveless white T-shirt as she ran to collide with him at the bottom of the porch steps. Bending down to pick her up and swing her around in a circle before hugging her and kissing her cheek, he whispered to her that he missed her. "My poppa! My poppa!" She echoed and smiled before looking back into the house to find Logan. "Where Logan, poppa? Huh?" Violet eyes stared back to him in wonder as she hadn't found the other man. Her black silken ponytail bounced as she was shifted in his arms to the left side. The bow that held the ponytail had once again matched the violet in her eyes. Her arms latched together at the fingers around his neck and hung there, loosely as she hugged him again. Remy smiled and glanced at Rogue, briefly, before answering. "He be back soon, petite. Runnin some errands, den he come home. But, he say he loves you an' for me ta give you--" Putting his mouth against the left side of her neck and blowing on it, he tickled her and made funny noises at the same time. Stopping after a minute and laughing with the tiny girl in his arms, he patted her back and set her on the ground. "Shugs is in de backyard, lookin f'r you." Watching the girl run to the backyard around the right side of the house, he focused on Rogue who had closed the passengar door and was now holding a small purple suitcase and walking towards him. "You sure that's wise, Remy?" Snug fitting jeans and a tucked in red blouse had fit Rogue well. Holding the bag low, in front of her, she came to a stop a few feet from him and set the bag down at her feet. He shrugged. "Dey remember her. Dey been sittin on de porch, waitin on her for a year, Rogue. Shugs won' let anyt'in happen ta her. He love her dat much." He watched her closely as she listened to him. Rogue's hair had straightened and was a bit longer than a week ago. Her eyes had been the same green but, bore holes in Remy as she still hadn't figured out how he managed to win the case. Chalking it up to luck, she sighed and looked down at the suitcase. A hard, plastic purple suitcase that was just a bit bigger than a backpack, sat on her toes. "Ya know, Ah- Ah was wonderin, if maybe we could work somethin out-- for visits and stuff." "Dat's up to her." Rogue nodded. Turning back to glance at Erik through the jet window, she returned to look back at Remy who had followed her gaze. She nodded as he asked if she had to go. "Tell her bye, okay? And, say hi to Logan for me...." Bending to pick up the case and hand it to Remy, she turned and took a step, not expecting Remy to grab her hand that held the case and pull her to him in a hug. "Ya always welcome home, chere." He whispered into her ear and kissed her cheek before he let her go and took the case from her. Rogue smiled and kept her voice low as she replied. "Ah know. Bye, Remy." Waiting until she sat down on the seat and closed the door before replying. "Bye, Rogue." ************************ She stared out the passenger window as Erik lifted off of the ground in a straight up fashion. Right elbow on the armrest, and chin in hand, her eyes caught sight of the little girl in white clothes, sitting on one of three massive aligators and looking up at her. A small wave back as the tiny child had shielded her eyes with her right hand and waved with her left. She could faintly hear the tiny voice call up to her, "Bye, momma!" Dropping her hands and sighing, she turned to face forward as Erik had hurried out of the area. The whole way home, she had been very quiet and aloof. She couldn't bring herself to beg for forgiveness crawl back to Remy, eventhough it had been a mutual conflict. She was free, of him, of pressures of Louisiana, and of the hauntings that lay in the swampy marsh behind the house. All it had cost her, was her husband, marriage and child. "Rogue..." Erik had been standing just outside of her door, staring at her as if she had been hurt. "You've been sitting there for an hour. Come inside, it's getting dark." His eyes had met hers as his right hand held the door open and the left reached to help her down from the jet. His dress was always anything but casual, but this time, he chose to wear loose brown pants and a blue pullover sweater. His brown leather loafers made shuffling sounds as he walked with an arm around her, back to the house. She hadn't been hungry, but spent the rest of the night in her daughter's room, wondering why she hadn't answered back that she loved the little girl, too. Also, she hadn't figured out why Remy had hugged her and kissed her cheek the way he did. Was she wrong to leave him? Or, was he begging, in his own way, to admit he was wrong? She sighed and grabbed the little girl's pillow and lay down on the floor, curled beside the bed. *********************** A knock on the door had startled Rhythm from sitting at the table, eating her dinner. "Dat Logan, Poppa?" Leaning to the right, and stretching to look across the space and see who was at the door. She looked back at Remy as he stood up and wiped his mouth with the yellow cloth napkin that had been on his lap, and turned to go open the door. "Non, petite. Dat's someone else. Ya finish your dinner, okay?" He set the napkin down beside his plate, and left the kitchen. Rhythm nodded, sharply, child-like and picked up a spoonful of Jambalaya, ready to bite. "Oui, poppa." She called and smiled. Remy smirked and made his way to the door. He stopped and opened the front door, leaving the sreendoor shut between him and the guest. "Hey, Belle. We eatin' dinner. Got plenty for you....?" He nudged the screen open and embraced the woman in a gentle hug and kiss. "Mmm, no, I wan' ta meet dis chile you kept from me, all dese years, Remy. She here, yet?" BellaDonna smiled and stepped into the house as the embrace ended. A long, elegant gray dress had hugged her slim curves, but pooled out from her knees, to the floor. A strapless gown that looked very nice on her, and brought out the golden curls her hair had been in. He nodded and led her back into the kitchen to meet the tiny girl, who had stopped eating and was leaning to see who it was. "Petite, dis is BellaDonna. She a friend of your poppa's from long time ago." Turning from the child to the woman beside him, he continued. "Belle, dis is ma petite cherie, Rhyt'm." Remy watched as the tall woman knelt down beside the girl's chair and held out her hand for the girl to shake in meeting. "Bon Jour, petite." She smiled as they shook hands, briefly. Staring at the child but talking to Remy, she commented on how much the child looked like her father. "Remy, she's adorable! An' looks jus' like you, cher." Rhythm's eyes got wide and she sunk back into her chair. "Poppa, de lady have eyes like mine!" She whispered but, it had been loud enough for both to clearly hear her. A small right index finger pointed to Belle's left eye, and then to her own right eye. Only smiling and nodding, Remy turned back to glance at the door, as if he had heard something outside. Turning back around, he smirked at the child and told her to hurry and open the front door. Rhythm's eyes lit up and her mouth held a smile that matched as she slid off of the chair and excused herself from the two adults to run to the door. She whispered, excitedly, as she ran. "Logan... Logan... Logan.. Logan is home." She had been out of breath, but it only last a moment as she reached the door and pulled it open. Reaching up and calling his name as the older man had opened the screendoor the same moment, she was lifted into his arms and hugged, tightly. "There's my darlin!" Logan smiled and held her in one arm while carrying a big, purple shopping bag in his free hand. "Didja miss me?" He laughed as she continued to hug him and kiss his left cheek. He walked back into the kitchen and set the bag down, just inside the door, before lowering the girl to the floor. "Belle." He greeted the woman as their eyes met. Rhythm went back to her chair and crawled up onto her seat before patting the spot on the table beside her for Logan to sit beside her. She smiled at all the attention on her, and squirmed anxiously as she waited for Logan to sit down. Logan and Remy both had mentioned that her food was now cold, but she only smiled and touched the side of her bowl with her right hand. Her mouth pursed into a concentrated pout as her hand began to make the bowl glow for a few seconds. Ending the charge and looking around at the shocked faces, she smiled and said. "Momma teached me dat." Logan and Remy exchanged shocked glances but returned their smiles to the little girl who resumed eating her dinner. "Very good, Little Bit. She's taught ya alot, huh?" "Yea." Rhythm answered in between bites. After another bite, she looked up to Remy, who still stood there beside BellaDonna in awe, and asked. "We have de party now, poppa?" She blinked and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, and yawned. She had made it through an eventfully long day, and it had only been going on 7 PM. Remy smiled and watched her yawn before looking back up at him. "T'morrow, petite. We have it t'morrow, 'kay?" She nodded and yawned again. She had been tired, but not so tired as to notice that BellaDonna had snuggled against Remy's left side and rest her head on his shoulder as she stared at the little girl. She wondered to herself if this lady was going to be her new "momma", or just a friend? Rhythm had been too tired to ask, or even turn her head, but caught Logan's arms reaching out to her as he offered her a ride upstairs, to bed. Accepting and laying her head down immediately on his left shoulder, she waved by to the others and closed her eyes. "Just a tuckered little pup, huh, darlin?" Logan asked softly as he held her and climbed the stairs. He patted her back as she nodded and yawned again. "Yea. I think we'll let ya sleep fer tonight, then getcha a bath and get all ready for everybody, tomorrow, huh?" He had already walked down the darkening hallway and turned the corner into her room. Not bothering to turn on her light, he lay her down on the bed and took off her white sandals she had been wearing. "Want yer jammas on, or no?" Shaking her head, she looked at his dark outline and rubbed her eyes again. "Non. But, wan' my teddy, please?" She pointed to the end of her bed, at the purple suitcase that stood beside the big brown bear. Waiting for him to retrieve it, and then hugging it tightly as she watched him stand up and bend to kiss her forehead. "Night, darlin. *kiss* Welcome home." He stood up again and watched as she smiled and rolled away from him before drifting off to sleep. He watched her for a while, and then quietly left her room to go back downstairs and rejoin the other two. He smiled to himself that she was finally home, and tuckered beyond belief. "Perhaps, she'll sleep through the night." He said, under his breath. Remy and BellaDonna had been sitting at the kitchen table, and turned to see Logan come back into the room. "She asleep?" Remy asked, holding the woman's hand and watching Logan sit back down in the chair he had sat in prior. He faced her and she him, and they had been kissing and talking lightly about the upcoming events and her attendance. "She's out. And, burnin up, too. So, I didn't cover her." Logan hadn't met their eyes, but stared at the table in thought before shrugging it off. BellaDonna stood up from sitting in Rhythm's chair, the bowl still in front of her, and looked down at Remy. "I need to get back, cher. Ya wanna walk a lady home?" She smiled sweetly at him. Remy nodded and smiled as he stood up too and followed her to the door. "Be back later, Logan." "Aight, kid." Logan continued to sit at the table and stare at the bowl of unfinished dinner and wondered. Something about her charging the bowl, and Rogue being the one to show her how, he didn't like. Sighing, he stood up and carried the bowl over to the sink to pour the meal down the disposal and wash the bowl out. Ending the chore by sitting on the front porch and having a cigar as he listened to the crickets sing and bathed in the cool Louisiana moonlight. Continued...... |