Logan sat at the back table of Harry's with several of the X-men on a
rare night out. He was glad to finally be out with the
group, lately the family seemed to be breaking down and a night out
drinking seemed to give the illusion of friendship. He
looked over next to him at the Cajun he drug out of the house with
him. He has worried about Remy ever since he wondered
back from the ice. Everyone was giving him a really hard time and it
was making the once lively Cajun a very quiet recluse. The
only time Remy left his room seemed to be when he wondered up to
Ororo's room to sleep at night or during a mission. Even
tonight he seemed quiet, he just sat in the corner drinking scotch,
only talking when someone ask him a question. Logan
couldn't blame him though, the only people that joined them were
Warren, Betsy, Hank, and Bobby. Hank had left early and
ever since Remy stuck close to Logan away from the others. Logan was
tempted to leave a while ago, but was afraid to leave
the young man with the three people that had given him the most
grief, especially seeing how toasted Bobby was getting.
Logan leaned over towards Remy so he could hear him over the
music. "Hey, I'm going up for a last beer before Harry closes
up, want anything?"

Remy looked up from his glass. "Huh? Oh, non, Merci." He looked back
down into his half empty glass of scotch, drowning
out the world again.

Logan shook his head and headed over to the bar. Ya would think I
dragged him to a god damn funeral not out drinking.
He leaned himself up against the bar and waited for Harry to saunter
down his way.

"Just need one for yourself Logan, our does the kid need another
scotch too?" Harry asked with a grin.

Logan rolled his eyes. "I think he has had enough, the more he drinks
the quieter the kid gets. He gets any quieter he's going to
be a damn mute." Logan looked over his shoulder at Remy, who was
slumped over in his seat ignoring everything around him.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with him, I thought getting him
out might help, but it looks like it's depressing him more."

"He has been down in the dumps lately. Have you just tried talking to
the boy?" Harry handed Logan his last bottle of beer.

Logan snorted and took the bottle. "You don't know Gumbo, he doesn't
talk. The only things we know about him are things
other people told us."

"If Warren and Bobby say half the things they say here, around the
kid, I can understand why he's depressed. I hate to see him
like this, when he first started hanging around the mansion he loved
the place, I could tell he was happy, he would go on and
on about it. Now he seems to never want to discuss anything about his
life." Harry shrugged. "But hey what do I know, I'm just
the bartender." Harry smiled over Logan's shoulder at Warren who was
making his way over to the bar behind Logan. "Would
you like another drink? Last call."

"No thank you Harry." Warren waved his hand then looked at
Logan. "Betsy and I are going on ahead to my apartment, do
you think you can get Bobby home?"

"Yea Wings, I'll get Ice Cube home. Where is he?" Logan looked around
at the dance floor that was slowly clearing out as
people left.

Warren pointed to the corner booth. "I sent him back over to the
table, so he will sober up a bit. Thanks for getting him home.
I'll talk to you later." Warren waved at Bobby who was now sitting at
the table across from Remy.

Logan grabbed his beer and quickly walked over to the booth. He could
see that smile on Bobby's face and knew he was
messing with Remy. As he got closer he could hear the conversation
Bobby was starting and growled, pushing through the
crowd a little faster.

"Hey Remy, better pick up a girl or a guy, you like them don't you?
You know you can't sleep alone, and your 'Stormy' is gone
all week. Why do you do that anyway? I think its because you're a
baby, Warren says its because you're a whore." Bobby
grinned and began to start his slurred bantering again when his
shoulder was grabbed tightly from behind. "Ow, what you doing
Wolvie?"

"Bobby why don't you go up to the bar and get yourself another drink,
its last call?" Logan squeezed Bobby shoulder harder,
then let go.

"Hey! That hurt." Bobby rubbed his now sore shoulder."Warren told me
not to drink no more. You're on your bike and I have
to hold on."

"I don't care if you fall off the bike, so go ahead, have another
drink." Logan snarled.

"Ok. I'll drink another." Bobby smiled and got up, walking clumsily
to the bar.

Logan took his old seat next to Remy and leaned on the table looking
at Remy who was staring at the wall. "Gumbo? Hey!
Come on look at me." Logan put his hand on Remy's shoulder trying to
get his attention, only to have it shrugged off. Logan
could smell the salt of tears. He leaned back in his seat and
sighed. "Don't listen to him kid, he's an idiot, especially when he's
drunk. You're not a baby, and you're defiantly not a whore." Logan
reached over to put his hand on Remy's shoulder again,
slightly smiling when it was excepted. He started to rub Remy's upper
back in small circles, not really noticing what he was
doing, just going on instinct. "Are you ready to head out? I have to
get Bobby home, he may not get there in one piece, but I
have to get him there none the less."

Remy chuckled. He looked down at his glass. "Non, I'll finish this up
and head on home."

"Ya going to be alright driving?" Logan asked out of habit more then
really needing an answer, he knew Remy's wasn't phased
that bad by liquor.

Remy nodded. "Oui, Logan, I'll be fine."

"Ok, I'm going to go pry Bobby off the bar." Logan stood and started
to walk away, then stopped and turned back to Remy.
"Kid, ya know ya can talk to me don't ya? I'm always around for ya."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth they
surprised him as much as they did Remy.

Remy recovered from his shock and smiled at Logan. "Merci Logan, that
means a lot to me."

Logan nodded and turned back on his original path to the bar. What
the hell kid, ya are messing with my head. I need to
get ya out of this funk you're in so I can stop worrying about ya.

Remy smirked as he watched Logan wrestle Bobby out of the bar
roughly. Over the next half an hour he sat in the corner
booth and watched the patrons clear out one by one, leaving the
nightly mess of glasses and trash behind for Harry to pick up.
Finally he downed the last of his scotch and stood to leave. He
passed the bar and stopped when Harry called his name.

"Remy! Hey, there are some guys hanging out by the dumpster that
don't look like the most nicest group in the world. I told
them to take off, but just in case they didn't leave, watch it. Logan
will kill me if I let you get in a fight after he has already left."

Remy laughed. "I'll watch it Harry, I'm not going to start anything."

"Good, see you later kid, and cheer up!" Harry yelled as he headed
back to the kitchen.

Remy walked out the doors to his bike. He heard the small group of
guys in the alley by the dumpster and rolled his eyes. He
quietly walked to his bike, not looking over at the men as he passed,
hoping to avoid an incident. From the corner of his eye he
could see the men looking at him in silence, as if waiting for
something to happen. Just then he felt a sharp pain in the back of
his head, which dropped him to the ground in a dizzy haze. He shook
his head trying to relieve his blurred vision when he felt
someone pick him up from the ground, and drag him. His back was
slammed against the wall which made him close his eyes in
pain, when he opened them again he could see a man standing in front
of him smiling. He looked from side to side noticing he
was being held against the wall by two other men, both holding his
wrists and shoulders, making it impossible to move in his
dazed and slightly tipsy state.

The larger man walked up closer and dragged his finger down Remy's
face. "Noticed the guy you were with in the bar left with
a pretty boy blonde, so we figured we would wait for you, see if you
wanted to have a good time with us instead."

Remy started to struggle, not able to move his hands, or grab
anything to charge. He tried kicking the man in front of him, but
his legs were easily blocked due the state he was in. "Just leave me
alone. I don't want to have fun with y'."

The large man laughed at the young man's attempts of escape. "Well
pretty boy, we ain't giving you much of a choice. Turn him
around."

Remy thrashed and kicked trying to get away, he knew what would
happen if he didn't. He tried to charge anything and
everything, but with the grip on his wrist the only thing he could
touch was the other men's skin, which he couldn't charge. Oh
god, this can't be happening, not again, please God no. He was shoved
against the wall on his stomach, his face scraping
against the brick wall. The two smaller men continued holding Remy's
arms. "Help me! Harry, someone...." His mouth was
quickly covered by the larger man's hand when he started screaming.
He felt a hand unbutton and unzip his jeans and heard the
sound of another zipper behind him.

"Hold him still." The larger man ordered as he pulled down the back
of Remy's jean's and forced his cock deep into Remy with
one thrust, causing Remy to scream loudly in his hand. "Oh fuck yea,
you're tight you little freak. I would have figured a pretty
boy like you would be worn out by now." The larger man continued to
thrust and spit out slurs until he finished deep in Remy.
He quickly pulled out of Remy, causing him more pain, his hand still
over Remy's mouth to cover the cries and screams.
"Who's next?"

In his shook filled daze Remy heard the two holding his arms arguing.
One of the men loosened his grip slightly allowing Remy
to grab a small trash can lid and charge it. The lid began to glow,
lighting the alley with an red eerie glow frightening those
around him. The two men holding him let go and backed away.

"I'm out of here, I'm not fucking the damn mutie." The man ran for
his motorcycle at the end of the alley, followed by the
others.

After he heard the bikes loudly roar from the bar, Remy threw the lid
into the air, causing a explosion, but hurting nothing. He
weakly pulled up his jeans and zipped them, not having the strength
or coordination to button them. The shock of everything
that just happened hit him, he slowly slid down the wall hitting the
ground, wiping the tears from his face. He looked down at
his hands and noticed the blood causing him to sob harder. He wrapped
his arms around his waist and rocked slightly, causing
pain in his lower body. He jerked up when he heard the back door of
the bar fly open. Harry came out the door with a
shotgun. Remy's first reaction was to call out to him, ask him for
help, but then a voice in the back of his head stopped him. If
he finds out what happened he will tell the others, they will call y'
a whore, they will hate y'. Remy tried to stand up
slowly, if he had his normal grace he would be able to escape the
alley without Harry seeing him, but the movement caused a
sharp pain to shoot through his back, making him drop back to the
ground with a moan.

Harry heard the noise of pain and slowly walked over to the side of
the dumpster, shotgun aimed. He saw the crumpled body
on the ground, and edged closer, seeing the auburn hair and the
familiar features under the light he dropped to his knees.
"Remy? Kid? Oh God, are you alright? Please talk to me." He reached
out to help him up and was startled when Remy
flinched violently.

"Non, don't touch me. I'm fine, leave me alone." Remy tried to stand
again, losing his balance and almost hitting the ground. He
was caught by Harry.

"Listen kid, you're not alright, I can see the blood. Lets go back
into the bar and I will call the mansion..." Harry was thrown
back when Remy pushed him away with the little strength he had left.

"Non, I can make it home myself, I'm alright." Remy grabbed the edge
of the dumpster before he toppled over again.

"Stop being difficult, just come inside so I can make sure you're not
bleeding to death. If you're alright then you can leave. I
just want to make sure you're ok kid." Harry wrapped one arm around
Remy's shoulders and the other around his chest
walking the Cajun towards the back door of the bar. When they entered
into the light he finally got a good look at Remy, his
face and head were covered in blood, along with his hands and there
were spots of blood on his jeans. "Remy, you're not
going to be able to drive like this. At least let me call Logan."
Harry thought they had compromised since Remy didn't argue
with the suggestion. He walked Remy towards his office, passing one
of the waitresses that had not left yet. "Gabbie, could
you get me the first aid kit and some wet towels?" She gasp when she
saw Remy and hurried to fill the order. He pushed open
the office door with his foot and help Remy down on the leather couch
against the wall. Soon after Gabbie came with the first
aid kit and the towels. "Thanks, you can go on home, I can handle
him." She nodded and left, giving Remy a worried look on
the way out. "Let me see that face of yours." Harry gentle wiped the
blood from Remy's face and neck uncovering the scrapes
from rubbing against the wall. "Well nothing that needs stitches, you
have quite a goose egg on your head, they must have hit
you pretty hard. I am assuming this was that group of guys in the
alley?" Harry didn't get an answer and noticed Remy's eyes
were drifting shut. "Remy stay awake for me, you may have a
concussion. Now let me see those hands." Harry washed off the
blood and noticed no cuts, just dark bruises around each wrist. He
pulled back the Cajun's trenchcoat and noticed the blood
stains on his jeans. "Remy?" Harry patted the kid on the face lightly
to wake him up again. "Remy, you have blood on your
jeans, is your leg bleeding."

Remy shook his head in a panic. "Non, really I'm fine. I just need to
go home and get some sleep."

"Alright, let me call Logan and he will come get you." Harry stood to
use the phone behind his desk.

"Non, don't call Logan. Please, don't call the mansion." Remy tried
to sit up, it caused him a great deal of pain, but knew if he
didn't show Harry he was alright he would call.

Harry sighed. "Fine, I will take you home. But I want you to go
straight to the Doc, he needs to have a look at you. That knot
on your head is pretty bad." Harry waited for the reluctant nod from
the young man and then grabbed his keys. He walked
over and helped Remy up the way he had before and helped him to his
car, laying him in the back seat. "I'll have you home in a
few minutes, try to stay awake."

--------------------

After Remy got Harry to leave he made his way slowly up the stairs,
cursing the third floor room all the way. He told Harry he
would talk to Hank, but he wasn't about to go see him now. All he
wanted to do was to get to his room and take a shower, to
try and wash it all away. In the back of his head he knew it would
not be that easy, it never was, but he knew it would make
him feel better. He stumbled into his room and removed his clothes,
piling them in the corner away from the other dirty laundry.
He would burn them tomorrow so no one would find them in the hamper
and question him. He turned on the shower, hotter
then his skin should be exposed to, and stepped in with a hiss as the
water burned him. He leaned his head against the wall of
the shower cabin, watching the blood wash from his skin and pour down
the drain in a swirl. He closed his eyes to teh sight
and began to cry, his knees gaving out bringing him to the floor.
After almost an hour he turned off the tap, he didn't feel any
cleaner, but fatigue had caught up with him. He wrapped a towel
tightly around his nude body and held onto it like a safety
blanket as he walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom. Normally
he would go to sleep naked, but tonight he felt too
exposed and vulnerable to wear nothing. He shuffled over to the
dresser pulling out clean boxers, sweats, and a t-shirt,
struggling to put them on. He finally pulled himself into the bed and
curled up in the covers, instantly aware of the silence in the
room. A silence that told him how alone he was, how easy it would be
to prey on him again with no one there to protect him.
He began to hear noises, he kept telling himself that they were in
his head, but they still haunted him. I can't sleep like this, I
can't be alone. Bobby was right I am a baby. He sat up on the edge of
the bed, biting his lip at the pain, taking a minute for it
to calm. He grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around him, ready to
make his nightly trek upstairs to the loft. Half way down
the hall he remembered that Ororo was gone and he stopped. He stood
there pondering what to do, he couldn't go back in his
room alone, not after tonight. Staying awake was not an option, he
was about to collapse where he stood. He turned to walk
back to his room and glanced over at a small plaque that in Jubilee's
handwriting said 'Logan'. I could sleep in Logan's room,
he said he would always be there. He started walking over to the door
without a second thought until his hand was in a fist
about to knock on the door. What the hell are y' thinking Remy, he is
not going to let y' sleep in his bed. He said he
would talk to y', not sleep with y'"

"Kid? Ya can come on in, doors unlocked." Logan yelled from inside
the room.

Well y' will look more like an idiot if y' run now, so y' might as
well go in and ask. Worst he can do is beat the shit out
of y' Remy slowly turned the door knob and pushed open the door,
thankful the lights were out. He silently stood in the
doorway, not sure what to say.

Logan could tell Remy was nervous about something. "What's wrong
Gumbo?"

"Logan..Um...I was wondering. Can I sleep in here?" Even in the
darkness Remy could see the look of shook on Logan's face
and quickly covered his tracks with plans to leave. "It's alright, it
was a stupid idea. It's just Stormy's gone, and I can't sleep
alone or I'll have nightmares, but I need to stop being a baby..."

"Shut up kid. Ya can sleep in here, it's not a problem. Come on."
Logan scooted over giving Remy room to lay down.

"Logan it's alright, I can sleep on the floor. I just need to know
someone is in the room." Remy started to take his spot on the
rug next to the bed when Logan protested.

"Cajun get your boney butt in the bed, I'm not going to make ya sleep
on the floor. Christ kid, this bed is big enough for three
people, and you're no where near the size of a normal person, so get
up here." Logan patted the empty spot on the bed.

Remy walked over slowly and curled up on the edge of the bed, facing
away from Logan and taking up as little room as he
could. "Merci Logan, y' really don't have to let me stay here."

"Remy, I know what it's like to have nightmares, being alone just
makes them worse. There's no reason ya can't stay here.
Now get some rest." Logan turned on his side facing opposite to Remy.

"Night Logan, and Merci." Remy closed his eyes and concentrated on
Logan's breathing, forgetting everything else, until he
drifted into sleep.

TBC