| PART FOUR 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! Rhythm woke up sometime during the night. With her favourite bear huddled close to her, she slid out of bed and crept to her open door. Holding onto the wall, she peered out, into the dark corridor lit only by a Mickey Mouse face nightlight that was plugged into a low to the ground socket to the right of her door. Panting out of fear and trembling from the cool breeze that blew from the air conditioner, she stepped out and tip-toed her way to the second door on the left, Remy's door. His door had been cracked open about six inches, so he could hear her if she woke up for anything. Remy lay on his left side and faced the door. The king sized bed had been low to the ground and against the same wall the door was on, on the right side. His left arm lay straight and hung off of the white linened mattress from the elbow out. The right arm was bent in front of him and rest it's elbow on his left forearm and the hand concealed under the white pillow. Hair a mess and his head leaning slightly forward and down, he hadn't heard her whispering for his attention. Stepping slowly closer, Rhythm pulled her bear up to her mouth as she whispered again. "Poppa...?" Not getting a response, she said it a bit louder and with more of her tiny voice. "Poppa...?" She stood at the side of the bed, only inches away from his left arm. She blinked as she watched his brow crease slightly, and his left arm twisted and then wrapped around her waist from behind. "Cold, poppa." Remy sat up and opened his eyes to blink several times before looking at the child. Moving his right hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes, he studied her for a moment. "Boo, de fever's goin away. Yo'r body's jus' coolin off. It's okay, petite." Seeing her stare up at him from under her black mess of bangs, he sighed and moved to pick her up and set her down to the right of him. "Lay down, Boo. Time t' go ta sleep." Rhythm lay on her back and held her bear on her chest, blinking up at him. The moonlight from outside had given the room a brightness but dark enough to fall back asleep to. Her legs were together and straight and her head was mainly on Remy's pillow, but she lay still. She yawned and nodded, not taking her eyes off of him as he lay back down. "Cold, poppa." The loudness of her voice startled her as she said it. Reaching down to pull the covers up, over her and himself, as they had been tossed to the other side of the bed, Remy rolled onto his right side and tucked her in. He paused a moment as she also rolled onto her right side and scooted back to meet his bare, muscular chest. As he snuggled down and lay his left arm over her, he comfied himself and quickly fell back asleep. Her dreams had been filled with colours and fuzzy blobs that moved but didn't take shape. She heard voices that came from above her, and behind her. Squeezing her teddy and unknowingly digging the fingernails of her left hand into Remy's arm, she whimpered and began to babble in an incoherent language that had made Remy wake up and push himself up to stare at her. Still she dreamed, unaware of what she had been saying or seeing. ************************* The next morning, Remy and Logan stood in the doorway to his room. Their focus was on the child sprawled out on her back, at the end of his bed. Both listened as she was once again babbling in the unidentifiable language but, neither was able to make sense of it. Arms stretched out to either side and her face towards the ceiling. Her left leg dangled off of the far side while her left arm hung off of the end. Her right leg was bent to the right and lifted every so often, only to fall back to the mattress with a soft thump. "Err ga ne. Ber ber-- um. Err bm uh." She had said it clearly but, hadn't put them into english. As she finished her babbles with a rhythmless hum, her eyes slowly fluttered open and she began to move. Remy's back leaned against the door, his arms folded against his bare chest as he watched her. He remained silent in talking but, cleared his throat to let her know she wasn't alone. She yawned and coughed, deeply, before groggily rolling onto her left side to sit up. Not knowing where she was exactly on the bed, she yelped when she hit the floor and sat there in a daze until Remy came around to pick her up and wipe her tears away. Rhythm stared at him a moment before rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands and yawning again. A minute passed as they stood in the doorway in silence. The small square nightstand, between the bed and the door, was only big enough for a small glass lamp and a phone. The lamp itself was rather interesting. A flat white marble bottom held up two, separate and thin glass tubes that braided themselves around a shiny brass pole that led to a bulb covered by a small white shade. The lamp had only stood a foot tall but, was tall enough to loom over the flat, clear, push-button phone. The normal ringer to the phone was a buzzing type ring, as the phone had been designed for the mid to late 80s. Remy had turned the ringer off before going to bed, and hadn't turned it back on when he had gotten up. It was ringing, now. The clear plastic of the handset and the edge of the cradle had been wired with blue, green, and purple lights as a silent ringer. The lights moved about to random spots through the duration of the ring. On the next ring, Remy answered and the lights ceased. Holding Rhythm in his left arm, he answered with his right. "Hello...?" He paused for the other end to speak. "Hang on." He looked calmly at Logan as he handed the receiver to him and told him who it was. Slipping past him, Remy carried the child to her room and sat her down on the bed. She yawned and lay back down. It had still been early to their standards, and she quickly fell back asleep. Rolling over to face the wall, she curled into a ball and waited for Remy to cover her up with her blanket that had been gathered around her. She huddled down further, into a ball, as the blanket was pulled up about her shoulders. Something fuzzy slipped down, under the covers and nudged her arm. Her teddy was being snuggled next to her. Logan stood beside Remy as they both watched her sleep. "Somethin's come up. They need us but, they're gonna let you stay an' take care o' her." Neither had taken their eyes off of her. Logan was busy trying to hide his fear of what he thought about the problem. Remy only nodded in understanding. "She'll be okay." Nodding again, Remy sighed and bent to kiss her left temple. When he straightened, he followed Logan out of the room and closed her door, leaving only a crack. "She's hot again. Dis fever's....." His explanation trailed off. His own powers had never given him a fever. And, he thought he watched Essex so closely. Pausing to listen to her cough terribly again, he considered taking her to a doctor for mutants. "I'll start packin, and try to scoot out 'fore she starts wakin up." He turned to leave but, couldn't shake the feeling that he was doing the exact same thing Rogue had done a year prior. His footsteps took him down the hall, while his mind stayed with the little girl in her room. First her hair had gone black from her touching him, and stayed that way. Then her eyes were neither red, nor green to match her parents'. Now the fever that seems to be caused by her kinetics. Something wasn't right. ************************* His large green duffel had been thrown over his right shoulder and held by the strap, as it had been also heavy as well as full. He stood in the middle of the front yard and waited for the Blackbird to land in front of him. He had hoped that he'd be gone by the time she woke up, and he knew Remy would explain to her why he wasn't there. Eventhough, Logan wasn't her father, he hadn't exactly thought it best to leave Rhythm while she was ill. Remy stood on the porch, and waited for the jet, also. He leaned against a column and casually shuffled a pack of cards, occasionally looking from the cards to the sky and back again. His faded jeans and white T-shirt had replaced his pajamas. He hadn't bothered putting shoes on but, combed his hair and brushed his teeth as if he was going with. As the jet hovered overhead and lowered itself slowly to the ground, The screendoor flew open and out ran the small girl, still in her pajamas, running for the steps. "Non! Logan! Don' go..... ya stay....! Please." Taking the porch steps one at a time, she hurried to catch him as he had turned around to watch her running to him. On the last step, she stumbled and landed on one knee as she hadn't broken her pleas. "Rhyt'm!" Remy called, sternly. He hadn't broken his stance but, watched her get up and start to run again. She stopped immediately, just a few paces from him. Standing still and staring at the man in front of her, she bit her bottom lip and waited for the inevitable to happen. "Don' go, Logan, 'kay?" Big pools of violet stared at him and then the jet as the door opened for him. Logan came closer and knelt down. "I have to, darlin. But, it's only for a few days and then, I'll be back. Okay?" She shook her head. He sighed and glanced up at Remy, who still stood on the porch shuffling cards. "You need to stay here and get better." His thumb lifted and wiped her tears as they began to streak down her pale cheeks. "I'll come back, Little Bit. Yer daddy's here, and he ain't gonna let nothin happen to ya, okay?" Again, Rhythm shook her head in protest. He nodded and pulled her into a hug before standing, again, and turning back to the jet. Adjusting the strap on his shoulder, he had taken four steps before hearing Remy's stern voice call to her. "Rhyt'm MacKensie!" His position changed from leaning to standing ready to go and grab her. Again, she stopped from following Logan but, hadn't turned around. "Come here." He hadn't said it out of anger, he said it out of warning for her to stay away from the jet. Nodding to Logan as he had turned around on the ramp to wave, he called to her again and was nearly ready to walk down the steps and carry her back. She turned and walked back, briefly glancing over her left shoulder as the jet ramp closed and the engine hissed, preparing take off. Tears streamed down over her cheeks as she continued to walk to where Remy stood. Standing beside him, she turned and raised her left hand to block the sun as she watched it take off. Crying silently, she waited until she couldn't see it anymore and then followed Remy back inside. Remy started upstairs and said calmly, "C'mon Boo. Le's get ya ready for de day." "He come back, poppa?" She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands as she followed. Without stopping or turning back, he answered. "Yea, petite, he's comin back." As he reached the top, he stopped and turned to wait for her as she was only a steps behind him. "Go get dressed, den I make you breakfast, no? Got a call to make." He waited for her to go into her room before continuing to his to make the call. He knew the only doctor that would be able to help her, aside from Sinister, would be Mattie. But, that would mean he'd have to explain the whole story to her, as well. A risk. A big one. He sighed and swallowed as he picked up the receiver and dialed the number he knew by heart. ************************** Her hair had been brushed and she had dressed herself in a white and blue checkered dress with daisies on it. She sat on the steps and watched Remy pick a cd from his collection, a tall curving metal rack that was nearly as tall as him, and place it into the cd player. Leaning forward to watch, as the player and rack had been at the far end of the sofa on the left wall, she had been curious. Remy turned the machine on and pushed play, adjusting the volume to a moderate level. He had chosen a cd of soft french music. Closing his eyes and swaying to the soft beat, he began to dance the waltz with an invisible partner. One, two, three.... one, two, three, his steps carried him gracefully about the room. His left arm outstretched, and his right hand on his chest, he continued to dance with his transparent partner while feeling the little girl's eyes on him. Standing up and stepping down the remaining four steps, Rhythm inched her way closer to watch. "What ya doin, poppa?" She asked as she stopped at the edge of the room. "Dancin, petite." He hadn't broken his rhythm as he turned and scooped her up into his arms and held her like he had been doing. His eyes had been open and smiled at her as she blinked in wonder. "Yo'r momma used ta dance wit' me, to dis song. Dat's how we came up wit' yer name, petite." "My name?" Blinking wide, she thought about her name and hadn't realised that it was also a word, sensual and caring. He nodded. "We dance, an' sing, jus' de two of us. Den, you came an' ya fall asleep on my shoulder ta this song. Jus' a baby, den." Her expression hadn't changed as she stared at him in awe, listening to him as he remembered things she did not. Wrapping her right arm around his neck and leaning forward to place her chin on her arm, she closed her eyes and let his gentle moves lull her into peacefulness. Feeling Remy let go of her left hand, she wrapped that arm around him, too and hugged him slightly. Remy rubbed her back with his left and listened to her breathe. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest and wondered what she had thought about the dance they shared. As the song ended, so did the dance of graceful movements. He breathed deeply, and exhaled slowly before sitting down on the sofa while still holding her in his arms. He heard the car pull into the drive and stop. A door opened and someone got out and shut it, again. Then, footsteps came closer and up the steps before stopping at the screen to open it and come in. Holding up a hand for a brief wave, he smiled and went back to rubbing Rhythm's back. Turning to whisper into a small ear, he patted lightly on her back as he told her that Mattie was here. Rhythm sat back and rubbed her eyes before looking over to where Mattie stood, just inside the house. A small smile and a wave as she climbed down and walked over to give the woman a hug. She yawned as she was picked up and hugged. "Ah, my li'l belle. I missed you, chile. You have a good time wit' your momma, cherie?" Mattie smiled and greeted her. She looked at the child, as Rhythm sat back and nodded with her right hand rubbing at her eye. Suddenly a strange feeling came over the old woman, she shivered and looked to Remy as he stood and came over to them. "Ma petite diable is ill? Remy, you know you're no' s'posed ta give de chile too much of your spicy gumbo." "Was no me, dis time, Mattie. Beast try to help, no use. Doctors, dey won' understan' her to help. You de only one she trusts to help." He ran his fingers through the black silk as Rhythm lay her head down on Mattie's shoulder. The woman nodded and turned to go upstairs to Rhythm's room. "We check de chile out, hehn?" She asked rhetorically to the dozing girl. She smiled as Rhythm nodded. "Yes. We fix de girl up, good as new." Turning down the corridor, as she reached the top, she nudged the door shut behind her and started the examination. The music continued as Remy paced the livingroom, deep in thought of what was wrong with his daughter. Arms folded and feet still bare, he stared at the spaces of the path before each step. He could feel someone in the room with him but, didn't bother to look up and find out who it was until they spoke. "Gonna wear a hole in the floor, Remy." Southern belle voice rich with Mississippi moisture said in a cool tone. Rogue's brown boot tapped at the wooden floor as she stood at the bottom of the staircase, leaning against the bannister. Her boot cut jeans fit tightly about her, and her darker blue, denim shirt had been tied about her waist and open to show her yellow bikini top. The long sleeve had been rolled up to just below her elbows and looked very comfortable for such hot weather. Remy sighed and tried to control his frustration. "What ya want, Rogue? T'ought you an' him were goin' somewhere ta have anot'er family." "Erik, Remy. His name's Erik." Managing to answer calmly. She watched him continue to pace before asking where Rhythm was. She straightened and backed up as Remy stopped and came closer to her. Forcing her to back up into the wall, he forced himself to calm down before answering. "She's upstairs wit' Mattie. Every time she use her powers, she gets a fever dat scare de livin Hell outta me. Den, she start talkin in her sleep bout nothin but babble. Turns red, tired all de time an' won' eat right." His temper flared as he turned away from her and walked back towards the livingroom. "Beast gave her dese candies for her powers but, dey only temporary. He gave her a check up but, dat was all he could do." "Ah know. Ah talked to him this mornin, and he mentioned the fever. She was fine when she was with us, Remy." Rogue stepped forward, cautiously. He stopped and turned. "Course, you had dat damn bracelet on her all de damn time!" He growled. It was her turn to get a temper. "That ain't fair, Remy. It was only to help her control her powers, not keep her from usin them. We were teachin her to handle them. You wanna blame someone, blame Sini--" They both stopped and stared up at the woman at the top of the stairs. Mattie's expression was resembling a calm under fire smile as she had cleared her throat to get their attention. "De chile's fine. She's jus' restin, a bit. Her powers been cut off for too long, dat dey comin back an' wipin de poor fille out. You two stop wit' dis nonsense o' blamin each ot'er, an' start behavin like parents to dat tiny angel. Don' forget, Remy, she got more dan your charges in her veins." She scolded them as she continued down the stairs and right past them. "Since de momma's here, she better go up an' see de chile, while you," Glaring at Remy. "calm down, first. No?" Rogue nodded and cautiously went up the stairs to see her daughter. Remy only sighed and went to sit down on the sofa and talk to Mattie about the examination and what she found. Figuring he had to come clean about how he and Rogue had the child, he averted his eyes to the floor and started to calmly explain. He had begun to feel a bit uneasy about sharing the private details but, Remy had reminded himself Mattie was on his side as she had known him the longest. "Well, Remy. Don' you worry 'bout de chile. She's gonna be jus' fine. I take good care o' her." She had been sitting beside him, on his left, and patted his leg in reassurance. Mattie knew full well Remy would never hurt his daughter for any reason. She had raised him to be a gentleman, and he was. Under her teachings, he had turned out great, and Rhythm was sure taking after him. "You take Belle out tonight. I watch de girl. Hehn?" TBC... |