Gambit had not ridden his prize Harley Davidson in a long time.  He spotted it still where he'd left it.  It sat at an angle between his Black Ninja and Bishop's Harley.  Remy silently asked the inanimate object to forgive him for the neglect as he pulled the dusty cover off.  He took a moment to admire the style, the chrome piping, the shine of the black and white paint job it bore, the solid gold lettering that spelled out 'Remy's Harley' and the shear beauty of the whole thing.  She still de prettiest bike I know of.

He took his time in checking everything over before he popped the kick stand to pushed her outside the garage door.  Quickly, he straddled the seat then he bend down to retrieve the spare set of keys from where he hid them underneath the engine.  He looked back behind him as the sound of the automatic doors closing behind him caught his attention.

He checked everything again before he raised up on one leg then down to start her engine.  She came to life under him, camming loudly in his ears.  Gambit horsed the throttle, letting her rev up before he slowly drove her to the front gate.

Remy checked himself and his bike out until  twelve o'clock that day.  The security gate opened before him.  I ought ta know by den wha' ta do.  Clearing the gate, he waited.  Making sure it was completely closed, he turn her to the right.

Gambit said a silent prayer then opened the throttle full.  The bike did a wheel stand as it roared to life.    He let it come to rest back down on two wheels half way down the road that lead to the mansion.  Hot Damn!!  He laughed when he came to the stop sign at the opening of the main street.  There was hardly any traffic at this time of morning, so he only slowed down as he checked for oncoming vehicles.  There were none. 

A knock at her door pulled her out of a restless sleep.  Rogue turned over to look at the clock beside the bed.  It read 9:00 a.m.  "9:00 a.m.?"  She let herself fall back down into the bed.

The knock sounded again.

"Go away!"  She yelled.

"Rogue, it's me Hank.  Time for me to get your daily readings."

She raised the bed clothes up to look at herself.  At lease I still have on mah clothes.  She then sputtered in laughter when she realized that she was being silly.  "Well Hell.  If'in he gonna deliver mah babies, he gonna see me with a whole lot less on."  Pulling the covers up under her arms, "Come in,"  she called out.

The door opened to let Doctor McCoy in.  "Hello Rogue.  How are you this bright and beautiful morning?"  He asked as he came to stand beside her bed.

"Ah'm fine Doc.  Ah'm a little hungry though.  Ah hadn't realized that it was so late.  Ah thought Remy would've brought me mah breakfast by now."

Henry placed his medical bag and what looked like a bag full of books on the side of the bed near her.  He opened it up to pull out the stetiscope, thermometer and other things he'd need.  "He probably would have if he was here.  Cerebro says that he left this morning around 4:30 a.m."  Henry absently  stirred around in his bag.

"He's not here?"  She asked frantically.

Hank stopped searching long enough to study Rogue anxious expression.  "Calm your self Rogue.  He'll be back.  I have an appointment with him at twelve.  That's the time he placed in the computer that he would be back."  Hank found the tongue depressor in the bottom of his bag.  "Now relax and open wide." 

"You look fine Rogue."

"Fine enough tah get out of this bed?"

"No."  He chuckled.  "My original diagnosis stands.  I see no harm in you taking short walks to the bathroom and such every few hours.  Maybe after your system has stabilized, I can let you be carried downstairs for short periods of time.  Would you like that?"

"That's wonderful.  Ah'll go plum crazy if'in Ah had tah stay up here for five and a half months."

Hank laughed.  "I know you would."  He smiled.  "Ororo and Jean will be up shortly to help you wash up and dress."  He stood up straight preparing to leave.

Two of them.  "Ah thought yah said that Ah'd only need one babysitter.  Why are both of them coming?"

"Now Rogue.  You are just off of the bracelet.  We can't run the risk of you falling, hurting yourself, so I asked both ladies to see about you today."

"Oh."  She pouted.

"Don't worry.  I've spoken with Cyclops and he assures me that he will try to keep Remy as close to home as possible."

She raised an eyebrow.  "Oh really?  Then where in tar nation is he now?" 

Gambit leaned into one curve after the other as he opened the bike up to it's limits.  The wind sliced around him, his coat tail flapping behind him, as he jetted down the near abandoned country road.

It had been a great ride.  He loved seeing the countryside this way.  He stared through his shades at the open road before him as the scenery blurred by him.  He truly felt free from every care he had in the world.

He leaned his body down toward the handlebars momentarily as he rounded yet another curve.  He sat back up as he cleared the sharp corner.  I wonder wha' time it is?  He lifted his left hand up to read the time on his communicator.  It read 9:16 a.m.  Best be heading back.

Remy was totally caught off guard when he turned his attention back to the road.  A raccoon darted out into the road in front of him.  He'd saw it too late to slow down.  The only thing left for him to do was to try to avoid it and hope for the best.

The bike protested against the sharp maneuver as he turned to the far side of the road.  "Ahhh Sh_t!!"  He yelled when he realized that the bike was going to come out from under him.  His speed was still up too high to execute the move safely.  As expected the bike flew from under him.  It landed with a loud crash several yards down the road.

Gambit was airborne before he landed hard on the pavement.  His body acted without any type of control as he flipped and rolled over and over into a side ditch on the opposite side of the street.

He finally came to a halt when he landed hard, on his right side between the ditch and the wire from a nearby cow pasture.

Gambit opened his blurring eyes.  His noticed that his sun shades were missing.  Oh Sh_t! My vision gett'in darker.  "Where my bike?"  He tried to look around him only to have the pain in his head make him hold his head still.  "Better call someone."  He raised his arm up.  It wasn't broken but he could feel a steady trickle of warm blood running back down into what was left of his sleeve. It was tore to threads.  He tried vainly to tap the communicator with his other hand, but it was not responding at all.  "Better hurry ... E'very t'ing gett'in dimmer."  He tapped the com to the bottom of his chin.

"Dis be Remy."

Remy?  Hearing Gambit's voice, he sat up quickly to press the transmitter's button.  "Remy?  Where are you?"

"No time f' small talk Pup.  Have ... have ... Cerebro hone in on me ......... come pick me up.  Don' ... tell ... Rogue."

"Remy?  What's wrong?"  Bishop asked anxiously.

"... I t'ink I totaled ..... my ... bike."  He breathed.

Bishop answered him back, but his voice sounded fuzzy to Gambit.  Oh _uck!!  I've done it now!  I ... wan' see ... my ...... fam'ly............. my babies.  Was the last thing he thought before he lost conciousness completely.