Keri Wilson

Dreams and Desires

Hell in Paradise, chapter 3b

Jubilee had noticed during the meeting that her son Lotan and Renee LeBeau kept giving each other significant looks; especially when Luna said she had gotten married. She noticed they left the meeting together holding hands, and she was sure she saw them later, upstairs looking at something, then kissing. She had a suspicion that another wedding wasn't far off.

Senator Kelly called the next day; "Tara I tried to call you at your home number, but no one answered. I called this number because you told me you might stop there before going home. Did something happen to delay you?"

"Yeah, we found Remy, he needed medical treatment right away."

"They hurt him that bad?"

"Yeah, cracked ribs, a broken jaw and left arm."

"How long till he's on his feet?"

"Maybe by the end of next week."

"Earlier than I thought, you must have some good medical facilities."

"That and our mutant genes."

"I called you for another reason, also. I know how you felt about Magneto, so I made sure they didn't do any experiments or cut up his body. I assume you'll want to hold a funeral like you will for that boy Piotr Rasputin, and bury him in a cemetery, you want me to send his body to your school or your Professor Xavier's?"

"Professor Xavier's, we'll be here for at least two more weeks, ah want to wait that long before we travel again, and I want to have the funeral as soon as we can manage."

"I'll make sure they fly his body to you tomorrow then, on my private plane. Do you want me to come?"

"Not right now dad, it's a huge mess literally, here. We couldn't find you a spare room. Plus we're all runnin' around tryin' ta find our people that are still missin'."

"Are there many missing?

"A lot!"

"Perhaps another time, then. Well I'd better let you get back to what you were doing..."

It wasn't until Tara got off the phone that she realized she had called her father not by his job title, but "dad", it was the first time she had called him that, wonder if he noticed, she thought, we almost sounded like a "normal" family!

Tara told Kitty what was going to happen when Kitty checked on Tara, Remy and the babies. At the meeting that night Kitty told the rest of them what Tara had told her.

"Magneto's funeral is the end of this week. I'm just telling this to those of you who want to go. Anyone who doesn't can keep looking for our missing people." Kitty sat down. Then Scott took over and told them what the assignments were for tomorrow.

Tara was surprised at how many of them showed up at the funeral. Remy and herself and the kids, of course. Kitty, and the kids. Betsy and her son. Moira, Sean and Ian flew in on a plane. Ororo, who had just shown up two days ago, with her daughters. Luna and her husband. Pietro, Crystal, and Wanda. Gabrielle Haller showed up, and so did Lee Forester. Jean came with their younger daughter Mary, and Lorna's and Alex's son and daughter Deborah and Christopher. Rahne showed up for the funeral. Lotan stood beside Renee. They had surprised almost everyone with the announcement of their engagement the day after their return.

Tara had given a memorial speech she had barely been able to make it through. She wasn't the only one crying though. Luna and Renee had as much trouble with their speeches. Gabrielle Haller completely broke down; she had fallen to her knees sobbing and screaming, "No, no, no!" Lee Forester had to help her back to the car.

They hadn't come back to the house with everyone else. Rahne hadn't stayed long, but promised to be back in a month or so, after she settled some things. She didn't say what she needed to settle.

To Tara's great relief the lawyers both for and against Rusty and Skid decided not call her to testify at their preliminary trial. She knew she couldn't deal with another stress just yet. Having to deal with her own babies. Then getting the house back in order: the farmhouse had no exterior damage, but some of the rooms were in a incredible mess, they had to replace the big dinning room table, for example; getting the school started again: her father had paid for all the repairing and replacements.

Then there were the other more personal stresses, like helping Remy with his physical therapy. Wondering how she was going to deal with a relationship with her father that was finally beginning to turn into somewhat warm and normal one. Her grief over Magnus' and Piotr's deaths. Worrying where their still missing friends were, her oldest child's upcoming wedding, and probably other things she couldn't even think of right now.

The disasters still weren't quite over. The next night they were all watching the news, when a commercial for one of the sleazy tabloid shows came on. "Tonight on Inside Source! Senator Kelly's lover, the mother of outlaw mutant daughter Rogue!" Then they showed an old picture of Tara, the senator, and a still from the videotape interview of her mother. As soon as the commercial went off the telephone rang, the public line. Tara knew who it was, her father. "Tara, one of the tabloid, so called news, shows is going to have a interview with your mother tonight."

"Ah know, ah just saw the commercial, we must of been watchin' the same station."

"Knowing Anabel, she'll say anything. I just hope she only humiliates herself, not either one of us."

"Ah know, she tried tah make me inta a lady, but she sure didn't try tah be one herself."

"Tara, I don't regret that you are my daughter, but I do regret the circumstances that lead to you being born."

"Mah mother, an' that ah'm illegitimate?"

"Yes. I was a young man, and your mother was young, very beautiful, and very interested in me at the time."

"Well, ah'm going tah hope for the best."

"The tape gets chewed up in the machine, before it's shown?"

Tara laughs, "That'd be good! Too good to hope for, ah'm afraid."

"Uh, huh. I think so too. Say hello to the children."

"Bye."

In spite of herself she was curious. Tara hadn't seen her mother in 32 years. She had no idea what had happened to her. So it was with a mixture of dread and curiosity that she watched the interview.

"Ah knew there was somethin' weird from the moment her hair came in. She had that white stripe in there already. There ain't no freaks in mah family. Mah boys ain't no mutants. Ah think the senator had some hidden in his. Ah looked in his picture album once. One o' his ancestors had the same ol' white stripe in her hair."

Tara rolled her eyes, her mother was showing her true colors- redneck! The woman lived in a trailer park now. She hadn't even bothered to dress up for the interview; she was wearing an old sweatsuit in her favorite color, red. Her mother at least had quit wearing her hair in a Scarlett O'Hara style. She had been so crazy about that movie that she wore her hair that way all the time, and wore deep reds most of the time.

The town talked about her all the time, one of the things she remembered hearing them say was, "Scarlett for a scarlet woman." She even had her "boyfriend" Harry Price call her "Scarlett" and she called him "Rhett". Made Tara gag. Especially since Harry was such a sleaze, a dishonest real estate agent, and he cheated on his wife. She didn't know what a letch her husband was.

The guy was a pervert to boot. He started hanging around the house when Tara was 12. Harry was eyeing her too. She hated him. Especially after he showed up one time before her mom got home from her waitress job. Harry leered at her and told her she was "getting real nice and ripe." She ran to her room and locked the door. Harry just laughed. Two days later Tara's power emerged, and she never saw Harry or her mother again.

Apparently her mother ended up having a son by Harry, since Tara's oldest half brother was named Wayne Price. Wayne had his father's black hair and some of his personality too. The man, even though he was just 31, had three illegitimate children, by three different women. He was interviewed too, sitting on his

mother's sofa with his latest girlfriend, who was pregnant. Wayne claimed they were going to get married "real soon". They asked him if he'd like to see his half sister, he said, "Sure. Tell her she can bring all them kids too, mama'd like tah see 'em."

Anabel had the audacity to say after what she had said before, "Ah've not seen them kids of hers, she ain't even sent me a picture of them. They're mah grandkids too."

They also briefly interviewed the younger half brother. His real name was Buford Hickle Jr., but he went by "Sonny". Tara knew who his father was. Buford Sr., called "Mike", his middle name. Buford would beat the hell out of anyone who called him that. He hated his first name. The man was a construction worker and an alcoholic. Her only clear memory of the man was of him screaming at her to "Get yoah damn butt out o' my damn yard!" when she was about eight. Tara had been cutting across the man's yard as a shortcut home. He had terrified her; she had never gone that way home again!

Her mother actually married the man, several years after Tara had left. In spite of the fact that old Buford hated kids they had one. Several years ago Buford had killed himself drunk driving, running into a tree. Luckily the fool hadn't killed anyone else. Tara was sure that Buford had his son named after himself to "toughen him up". The son had his mother's brilliant red curly hair, but was an alcoholic like his father. He had hurt someone else with his drunk driving. In a wreck his former girlfriend had ended up with a broken arm. He hadn't had a new

girlfriend since, and was too much a stupid redneck to realize why! They had interviewed "Sonny" swilling a beer beside his truck. The only thing he had said was, "Ain't never seen her, 'cept on TV. Like tah meet her, even though she's a mutie, and got all them kids."

Tara was horrendously embarrassed by her this. After the interview was over she sat beside Remy with her hands covering her face and repeating, "Oh god, oh mah god."

Remy put his arms around her and said, "Sometimes our family really embarrass us, neh?"

Tara was touched by his acceptance of her terrible family, and hugged him back. Then the funniness of the situation struck her, and she started laughing. When she looked up at Remy he grinned. Then she said, "Oh boy, talk about rednecks on parade!"

That made Remy laugh. Then he said, "Well my cousin Lapin, he be just as bad!"

Tara laughed again and said, still laughing, "That's true!"

Remy gave her a mock offended look, then he laughed wickedly, and started tickling her. She shrieked with laughter, and begged him to stop, breathlessly.

He grinned and said, "Only if you 'gree t' do something..." and leered.

"You letch." She gasped between shrieks of laughter.

"But your letch, neh?" He grinned.

"Yes, most definitely mah letch!" With that she grabbed his hands, and pulled him down on top of her on the bed, kissing him the whole while.

He pulled his head back and grinned, "Look like I be getting what I want wit'out even asking for it!"

Tara said, "Oh you're askin' for it alright!"

"Should I be scared, chere?" He smirked.

Yes!" She laughed wickedly.