| PART THREE 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 had gotten up and walked out of his room to check on the little girl. Being as it was still early, he had thought she would still be asleep. Remy wore only a pair of black loose-fitting cotton pajama bottoms that swished in a silent wave as he moved. As he peered around the corner, he found her sitting up and playing with her toys in the middle of her bed. He noted that her hair had been out of it's barette, either from the night or from someone taking it out. She was still in her clothes, and looked quite mussed as they had been wrinkled from her sleep. Catching movement, Rhythm looked from the stuffed animals to the doorway to see Remy watching her. Barbie dolls, teddy bears, other animals of all sizes had been piled onto the small bed, and pooled around her in semi-circles. "Luc," She held up a yellow stuffed rabbit. "say dat he wan' breakfas'. Bu', I told him dat he has ta wait fer my poppa." Dropping the rabbit, she reached for and held up a small plush gator that squeaked and added. "Den, Pierre say he hungry too." Violet eyes widened and her cheeks reddened as she put the gator down and wrapped her arms around her stomach as it, too, had loudly growled in hunger. Smiling and coming into the room, Remy reached for her and picked her up, shifting her in his arms before carrying her back to the door and going downstairs to start breakfast. Pausing at the top of the stairs he turned to look back down the long corridor to Logan's room. "Ya wanna go wake him up?" Smiling back at her, nodded with her and set her do to run down the corridor and in to a room on the right. Remy shook his head and walked down the stairs. He'd thought french toast, or pancakes or waffles, but wasn't sure. She couldn't have sugar, so that cancelled out most of his ideas. However, he hadn't really been stocking up on cereal considering he hadn't have expeccted to get custody of her. Maybe they'd go out? --------------------------- Her bare feet tip-toed up to the side of the bed. She stared at him, trying to see if he was awake or not. She had found out he had been lying on his left side, in the middle of the bed, amidst white sheets and matching light-weight blanket. Crawling up, lightly, onto the bed, she stood on her knees and leaned over to look at him. "Logan...?" She whispered. A minute went by, and she leaned closer to him. He twitched and quickly rolled over to grab hold of her and pull her to the other side of him and tickle her. She was laughing and curling up or trying to roll away from him but, he only rolled her back and tickled her more. "Logan! Stop! Dat tickles! Poppa!" She screamed through her laughs. Her eyes had been shut and leaking tears from laughing too hard. Her arms had tried to block him from tickling her stomach but, he only moved around them. Finally, he stopped and let her rest. "Mornin, darlin. Sleep good?" He had sat up and looked down at her as she lay there. Rhythm nodded as her pantings began to slow. "We have brea'fas', now?" "Hungry?" "Uh huh." She began to sit up but froze as her stomach growled again. Logan smiled and pat her head in reassurance. "Come on, darlin, let's go get breakfast." Tossing the covers off, he slid off of the bed and picked her up to carry her downstairs. Unlike Remy, Logan had slept in his jeans, just in case Rhythm had woken up during the night. On the way down, he had asked her what she was hungry for, to which she only shrugged. "You don't know, but ya know yer hungry, right?" She nodded as they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to the corner. Still in Logan's arms, she turned to look for Remy and called to him. "Poppa, Logan is up now." When Logan stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, she added. "We have brea'fas' now?" Setting the child on the floor and watching her run to Remy, he added. "You should hear this lecture her tummy's been givin' her, kid. You'd think she hadn't eaten in days." Logan nodded and said it as if he could understand the growls in the child's stomach. Remy only smiled as he stood in front of the refrigerator. "Den we bes' get cleaned up. We can go out for breakfas', no?" Rhythm groaned and held her stomach as it had growled even louder, again. "Hungry." Nodding and reaching to pick her up, Remy let Logan get ready and run Rhythm's bath while Remy fixed toast for the little girl. Watching her eat the toast at warp speed, Remy had also made a trip to the front door for the morning news. "Alright, now hurry up an' get ready, petite." Tossing the paper onto the table, he nodded to the stairs and shooed her in the direction. Remy had cleaned up the plate and crumbs of toasted bread that had been lost between her mouth and the plate, and had sat down just before Logan came downstairs, again. "Dat coffee shoppe on de corner, de one dat open t'ree mont's ago, sound ok?" It had been the first place Remy and Logan had found while coming home from a mission. A tiny place with painted white iron chairs with rounded backs and swirly designs. It had an outside dining area, as well as inside, and was very highly rated for being a new place. They had gone there every other Wednesday for coffee and brunch, and found a few things that the little girl might have liked. "Sure. But, unless the 'Big Easy' is really so easy as to let people roam around in their pajamas, I'd get dressed, if I were you." Logan shrugged and sat down to flip through the paper that was still in it's plastic bag. He glanced up at the lanky Acadian as Remy had remembered what he was wearing, and smirked. Clearing his throat, Remy brushed past Logan and headed upstairs for a quick shower and change. Peeking in to see Rhythm finish getting dressed, he hurried to take his shower and get dressed. He had washed his body in record time, but went a little slower as he washed his hair, massaging his scalp and rinsing completely. He stood there, in the hot water, for a few moments before a small knock on the door, startled him. He had lost track of time as well as losing himself in the reveling of clean water cascading down his lean body. He couldn't believe the judge had actually let him have his little girl. His worry about what to do when she reached certain ages had tagged him and made him wonder. A knock again, broke his concentration on the wavering subject. "Okay, okay." He shut off the water and reached for a towel. *********************** Remy had parked the truck down the crowded walk from the cafe, as parking any closer would have been impossible. They had climbed out and began to walk down the strip, pausing at every other shoppefront to look. They had made it halfway when Rhythm spotted a puppy being walked by a woman in her mid 40s. She had been walking between them, holding onto Remy's right and Logan's left, she let go and skipped past them. "Puppy, poppa!" Her face lit up and she started running as the dog and it's owner had stopped to look at an antique shoppe. Stopping in front of the woman and putting her hands behind her, she smiled. She had looked rather adorable in her black cordaroy overalls and pink T-shirt, with her hair in pigtails. "I pet de puppy, please?" The woman looked down at Rhythm, and smiled. She had been a taller woman, just a few inches shorter than Remy. Her shoulder length blonde hair had been curled at the bottom, and bangs. It had been a cool morning, but warm enough to walk the puppy for an hour or so. "Sure." She watched as Rhythm knelt down and held out her hand to let the 5 month old, tan retriever sniff her hand. "His name's Brandon." The woman was beautiful in an average way. Her slender face and average body let her fit in just barely with the New Orleans crowd. It had been obvious from her Bostonian pronounciations that she had recently moved to the Big Easy. "Hi Brandon! Hi boy. Hi, hi Brandon." Rhythm smiled and giggled as a small, pink tongue licked at her palm. Leaning back and turning her head as Brandon's front paws stood on her bent knees and his tongue began licking her cheek while his tail wagged madly from behind. She laughed and patted his back before letting him stop licking and get down. After a few pets, Brandon laid down on the shaded pavement and rolled over in asking for the same attention on his belly. His tail wagged in a back and forth motion as she rubbed and scritched at his chest. Rhythm rubbed and divided her attention from just the dog to turning and looking up as Logan and Remy stopped behind her, and waited. "Nice puppy, Poppa." She smiled and continued. Since she hadn't been fully paying attention to her control, a tiny spark blinked between her fingertips, in between pets. Snatching her hand away as the small puppy had yelped and whined, loudly, Rhythm was knocked down on the ground by a jolt and sat there in shock. She stared, wide-eyed, as the puppy rolled away from her and whined as if it had just been stung by a swarm of wasps. The woman bent down and scooped the dog into her arms, protectively. She stood again and met Remy's fixed eyes. "Had I known you were a mutant, I wouldn't have let you pet him so long!" Leering at the hurt child, still sitting on the ground, she turned and briskly walked away. Her mouth hung open, the hot words and cold emotions lingered. Rhythm had looked as if she had been slapped in the face with a hand, and not words. Trying to speak but, finding the words refusing to co-operate, she sat there in stunned silence. She hadn't meant to hurt the puppy. The street went quiet and tears began to well up in her eyes. Wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands and running back, between the two men, for the truck. "Wanna go home, now!" A scream that was so hurt and hoarse that it left Logan and Remy in utter silence. Dumbfounded and horrified, the two men stared at each other, both searching for answers. Sighing and shaking their heads, they filed back towards the devistated little girl. They came to a stop at the passenger side, watching Rhythm stand between the cars, and frantically wiping at tears as she sobbed, loudly. Remy had come closer to her, only to be flinched away from and screamed, "Don' touch!" at. Shrugging and shrinking away, his shoulder was patted and he was being nudged toward the driver's side. He could feel the pain and confusion from the little girl, and it nearly choked him as he watched Logan open the backseat door and step back so that she could climb up and scoot to the middle. The long ride home was quiet, save for Rhythm lying on the backseat and sobbing into the material. Both men glanced at one another as they listened to her cries. Their hearts had both sunk to their stomaches. Logan had wanted to say something to her but, Remy had stopped him. Sighing, Logan turned his head and stared out the side window, to his right. "Jus' wanna pet de puppy." She mumbled amongst tears and sniffles. She lay curled on the backseat, with her arms cradling her head and her face just inches away from the seat. Logan turned around and looked at her. "You what, darlin?" She sniffled and turned to face him. "Pet de puppy. No mean ta hur' him." "We know, petite. But, ya need ta learn to be more careful, non?" Remy kept his eyes on the road. "We work on dat, 'kay?" Nodding and wiping her eyes with her right arm, she shifted and rolled onto her left side. Closing her eyes and yawning, she shivered as the cold air from the air conditioning had hit her. Rubbing at her nose with the back of her hand, her eyes snapped open as she felt a tickle brush against her. Rhythm blinked as she stared at the outstretched hand holding a corner of a tissue. Cautiously reaching out to grab the dangling end, Rhythm snatched it to her and wiped at her nose. "T'ank you, Logan." Logan smiled and turned around. "Yer welcome, darlin." **************************** That afternoon, Rhythm had spent in her room. She sat on her bed and stared at her bare hands, hating them. Her T-shirt had been replaced with long sleeves and her hands adorned small dress-up opera glaves. Slipping the gloves on, she hopped down and cautiously walked to the door after hearing a knock. Wearing the slippery gloves had caused her to use both hands in opening the door. Storm stood in front of her, and smiled down. "Well, hello child." Kneeling down and getting a better look at the young girl, her eyes paused at the gloves and long sleeves as Rhythm had backed up a step. "I won't hurt you. But, the party is downstairs. Won't you please join us?" Holding out her left hand and patiently waiting for the child to decide, she smiled. Standing up again, and taking the girl's hand, she had been dressed in a lovely lavendar cotton gown, strapless and barely brushing the floor with it's legnth. Rhythm was hesitant and quite skeptical. What if her skin touched someone at the party? Would Remy be angry, or would he be the recipiant of the touch? Taking a deep breath and pausing for a moment, at the bottom of the stairs, and turned the corner to go into the livingroom. Clinging to Storm's hand and staring wide-eyed at how many guests there were, she began to have doubts about staying. Amidst laughter and mixed conversations, she had been told "Hello" and "Welcome home" from Jean, Beast and Jubilee. Jubilee had even gone so far as to kneel beside her and offer a hug. It was accepted on a twitch and cautious smile. Being careful as to only allow fabrics to touch, Rhythm hugged her and then Jean before being scooped up into Remy's arms. Shying away from the blue and furry man that he was carrying her towards, she stared at him in curiousness. She sat on Remy's left arm and was careful not to get too close to him but, at the same time she nearly crawled over his shoulder as he stopped. "Shh, s'ok petite. S' got somet'in for ya. Somet'in ta help wit' yer powers." Remy soothed and rubbed her back as she turned to stare at him in shock. Hank retrieved a small sandwich bag from his pants pocket. He had decided on wearing a casual tan khaki pants with a white cotton dress shirt. The bag had held Rhythm's attention as he opened it and removed a piece of green jelly that had been molded into a cirlce and wrapped in clear plastic. As he removed it from the wrapper, he held it out, in his palm, and explained to her what it was. "This is a candy that will help you to control your powers, my dear. I've made kiwi, the green, and," removing another sandwich bag from his other pocket. "strawberry, the red. They won't harm you at all, only subdue your abilities for a short time, allowing you to be able to touch and not have to worry about a thing. Try one?" Blinking and staring at the jelly and then at Remy, her brow furrowed in wonder of just what would happen after she took it. Reaching for the piece extended to her, she reluctantly brought it to her lips. Staring at Remy, then Logan as he and Storm stood to Remy's right, she slipped it into her mouth and paused to stare at Beast before slowly chewing. Laying her head down on Remy's shoulder, she could feel the whole room's eyes on her. Remy patted her back and then rubbed it as he turned around and announced that drinks and snacks were in the kitchen. Handing the cautious little girl over to Jean, Remy turned back to visit with Hank about the jellies. They had talked briefly about the little girl, and then both moved into the kitchen to chat with the others. The doorbell rang, and Rhythm jumped off of Logan's lap to run to the door and answer it. Logan sat on the stairs, at the bottom, and was talking to Storm and Rhythm as they both inquired about her feelings of being home. "Bon Jour, petite fille." BellaDonna stood at the screendoor and waited patiently for the girl to open it. She looked very nice with her hair in ringlettes and a tight, blue summer dress that showed her curves well. Her hands held the small white package, in front of her as she looked from the shocked little Rhythm to Remy coming up behind the child to open the door. "Ah, Remy, I think I startled de child." She smiled and kissed him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Remy smiled at his daughter and patted her on the head before sending her back to enjoy the party. "She jus' needs time, chere. She don' warm up ta ev'body in a minute, no?" He watched the child back up and blink at the two as they held each other, before she was swept up into Logan's arms and carried out back. As the party wore on, Rhythm had started to yawn and rub at her eyes, tiredly. While everyone had been in the kitchen and out back, she quietly snuck back inside and into the dark livingroom to lie down on the sofa. She yawned again and lay her head down on the arm closest to the kitchen doorway. She lay on her right side and faced the room, falling asleep immediately, she hadn't noticed that Logan had followed disceetly behind her and watched her lie down. "Hm. She wore herself out." He half-whispered to Remy, who had peered around the corner to see what Logan was looking at. Casually walking into the livingroom and kneeling to pick the child up, he stopped as she twitched and opened her eyes. "Shh, darlin. It's just me. Gonna move ya up to bed, okay?" She nodded and closed her eyes as she lay in his arms, limply. Logan turned and stopped in front of Remy, who kissed the tiny forehead and flashed a look of concern at Logan. "She's hot." Remy looked up at him. Logan nodded and showed the same concern on his face. "Gonna have ta talk to Hank about it. She was hot last night, too." Both looked down at the sleeping child, and both hadn't liked the tint of pink that quickly turned into a bright red. "You wanna put her to bed, I'll go get Hank." Handing her over as Remy nodded and held his arms out to hold the child, he turned and made his way through the crowd to find the blue, furry man. ************************** Remy had gotten her undressed and into her pajamas that had only been blue shorts and a long T-shirt with Winnie the Pooh on it. As he lay her back down, she flinched again and open her eyes to stare at him. "Shhh, s' only poppa, Boo." He brushed her damp bangs off of her forehead as she again closed her eyes and nodded. About the time he stood up and turned around, Hank was coming into the darkened room. He nodded to the blue man and stepped aside for the doctor. Switching on the bedside Tigger lamp, Hank retrieved his glasses from his shirt pocket and put them on. "Now, let's see what we have here." A black bag lay at his feet, opened and full of doctor's equipment from the Blackbird. Taking her temperature with his bare hand and then using an ear thermometre, he "hmm-ed" and shook his head. "This is not good. It seems her kinetic charging ability is what is giving her the fever. Her temperature stands at 103.7 and is not normal in this matter. Even with your genetic code, Remy. When did you first notice this?" Hank turned back to look at Remy, who stood a few feet away from him. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding his stethascope in his right hand. "Logan was de first to point dis out. She charged a bowl las' night, den got sleepy. He carry her to bed, an' come down to say dat she was hot. Didn' turn red 'til he handed her ta me, downstairs." Remy shrugged and placed his hands in his jeans pocket and sighed. "She be okay, Beast?" Looking back to the small, sleeping child, Hank's brow furrowed. "I don't know yet. But, I will examine her and let you know before we leave. Were there any symptoms this morning?" Remy shook his head. "Non. She was up an' playin wit' her toys when I foun' her." "May I speak with you, outside, please?" Beast stood up and motioned for Remy to follow him into the hallway. Closing the door most of the way, as Remy had come out and stepped to the side, Hank took a breath and thought of a way to ask the questions. "Remy, I don't doubt that your ability- or Rogue's- to have children is complicated but, I have examined both you and Rogue after the use of your powers. My concern is with Rhythm and her use. The efffects of the jellies have by now, worn off. And, it's obvious that she has known about it, or unconsciously used her powers to charge or drain something, recently. When I examined you both after you were impaled by Vargas, I noticed that yours, and hers, reproductive levels have decreased in potency. I understand you had another child, before Rhythm, while what happened with him is none of my concern.... this child, is." Remy tilted his head and waited for the question. Hank shifted and swallowed, uneasily. "Might I inquire as to--......." He paused and shifted again. "Remy, there is a strong signature in her that could possibly be from a certain 'mad scientist' by the name of Mr. Sinister. We have moved on from your dealings with him, but what could he possibly have to do with this child?" It hadn't phased Remy that Hank had brought up that very name that landed him in so much trouble with Rogue and a few others. However, this time, she had been a willing partner in crime, so to speak. "Ben was our first, an' we were lucky to barely have him. He was so small an' weak when he was born. But, he was born from her. Guess dat was one reason he didn' survive de trauma from de gator. So, we went ta Essex, an' he was careful wit' Rogue, an' de chile. Tol' us to make love in de lab, an' lef' us alone. Den he took over from dere. Rogue was incubated, an' watched an' measured an' poked an' prodded like a pig on a spit, no? He reverse deir powers an' kept Rogue alive 'til it was time. Den, he deliver Rhyt'm and gave dem each a check up. He say dey bot' fine but, he forgot ta reset de baby's powers an' strengt' of dem." Remy averted his eyes from the doctor. He had been under such scrutiny, in the past, for his dealings with Sinister that he had kept certain intels close to him. As Beast turned to go back into the room, he was stopped and held at the arm by Remy. Remy looked at him calmly, and lowered his tone. "Logan or de ot'ers don' know 'bout dis. Jus' between Rogue, Sinister, an' me. We ask Logan ta stay so dat he can protec' her if somet'in happens, non?" Patting the man's hand, Hank smiled and reassured him. "I understand, Remy. Now, we should find out how to lower the fever before it gets too high." Releasing Beast's arm, Remy sighed and nodded before following the man back into the room. Continued...... |