Notes: This part is dedicated to the lovely and
talented Nicole Wagner AKA Deadly Gambit, who very
generously allowed me to use her character, Alisa
LeBeau. St.Mary's Hospital for the Mentally
Challenged, Sister Mary Rose and Rebecca LeFay also
belong to her. I couldn't have done this part without
you, thanks bunches Nicole!
 
 

*****

" Remy I am going to check on our flight." Storm said
from in front of the suitcase she was packing on the
bed. " DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING. I will finish when I
return." She walked around the bed and gently kissed
his cheek. She knew that her hovering was driving him
crazy but she came so close to losing him! Even now
she would get up in the middle of the night to make
sure he was really still there.

" I be good." He said, " 'S not like I can DO much
anyway."

She smiled and kissed him once more. " Patience
brother, you are getting a little stronger every day."

He just looked down at the floor, past the crutches
that he couldn't do without. " 'S not fast 'nough."

" I'll be back in a while. Sit down and rest."

He watched her leave and let out a tired sigh. He
moved very slowly to the closet on the far side of the
bed.It was funny how big this room seemed now. One
week out of the heavy cast that covered his left leg
hip to toe he was barely able to stay upright. His
left leg had taken the hardest hit in the fall. He'd
also fractured his skull and broken bones in his back.
He was paralyzed for the first two weeks; spinal shock
Henri had called it. He was overcome by bone deep pain
the next two weeks. By the end of each day he was
usually in tears.

This trip was one he could not postpone. Alisa was
waiting for him. He had a package on the top shelf of
the closet he couldn't forget but looking up at it he
knew there was no way he was going to reach it.

" Goin' somewhere kid?"

Remy turned too fast and started to lose his balance.
Logan was at his side in a heartbeat, wrapping his
strong arms carefully around his waist and settling
him on his feet. " Careful kiddo, you're gonna end up
back in the lab. What are y' doin'? "

Remy swallowed past the lump that alway wanted to form
in his throat when Logan spoke to him. The man had
disappeared after visiting him in the med lab four
weeks ago only to return again last week. His voice
held a gentleness few ever heard and Remy's heart
ached. " 'M okay now, merci. I'm goin' t' see Alisa.
Can y' get me that package? I can' forget it."

Logan reached up and pulled down the brightly wrapped
package and placed it on the bed. "Hank's gonna let
you go? Are ya sure yer up fer this?"

Remy looked into the older man's face and tried to
think past all the memories that flooded his mind.
Logan and he used to be lovers. He remembered that but
now they were no longer together. He'd done SOMETHING
to ruin that relationship but he had no memory of what
it was. He'd lost a big chunk of memories in the
accident. What he DID remember was the fun and the
laughs. He REMEMBERED the love. The touches and
kisses; the nights filled with soft music and soft
moans. He had no idea what went wrong though and
seeing Logan like this all close and warm hurt as much
as the still mending injuries. " He don' like it much
but it don' matter. I tol' 'lisa I'd be there. She
needs stability, she needs to know that if I say I'm
gonna be there I am. She's gotta be able to count on
me for SOMETHING. It's all m' fault-"

" No. It's not. You're the best big brother the kid
could ever want. You spoil her rotten, she'll never
want for anything in her life."

" WHAT LIFE! Cause o' me-"

" No kid. Vargas wanted Rogue, you got caught in the
middle."

" Non," he said sadly, " 'lisa got caught in the
middle. Now I gotta make sure nothin bad ever happens
to her again." He looked into the older man's eyes,
" She wasn' ever suppose t' get hurt. She was suppose
to be SAFE."

Logan's eyes softened and Remy saw things in the gaze
he wasn't sure he was supposed to see.

" Remy, I-"

"Brother... hello Logan. Our flight is on time. We
should finish packing." She looked coldly at Logan,
"If you would excuse us?"

He wanted to scream, NO! He wanted to finish the
conversation he'd been rehearsing in his head for the
last ten weeks. Ro had turned into the kids bodyguard,
staying between him and the rest of the team. Logan
didn't blame her, Hell he wanted the job himself. Ro
was just making sure she was a buffer for him until he
was well enough to take care of himself.She saw Logan
as the greatest threat. He couldn't really blame her
for that either. He'd hurt the young Cajun deeply and
that was something he had promised never to do. He
could tell the kid wanted to trust him, to believe in
the friendship Logan had so carelessly thrown back in
his face but he was shaky on his best days since the
accident. He was too afraid to take a chance yet. So
Logan smiled at the boy and carefully rubbed his
shoulder, " I'll get out of yer way then. Take it easy
kid. Ro, take good care of him."

Her gaze softened a bit, " I will." She felt a little
guilty for treating Logan so harshly but she couldn't
take the chance that he would hurt Remy again. Remy
still loved the older man with an intensity she'd
never seen before and if he were to leave Remy again
it would hurt him a thousand times more than the fall.

*****

Storm showed no outward sign of the pain she felt for
her brother as he slowly and painfully exited the
car.It was at times like these that it was painfully
clear that he still had a very long way to go in his
recovery. She wanted to help him but knew that would
be over stepping the boundaries of what he would allow
outside the protective walls of the mansion. Out here
he was still Remy LeBeau, a man who never needed help
with anything.

She walked slowly by his side watching carefully in
case he lost his precarious balance or stepped wrong
on his still healing leg. They made their way slowly
to the entrance of ST. Mary's School for the Mentally
Challenged and to the reception desk.

They were greeted by Rebecca LeFay, Alisa's private
nurse. " Hello Remy, how are you?" She looked at him
with a critical nurses eye. It was her job to help
Alisa through the painful process of healing from her
attack by Sabretooth. Remy liked her, she was soft
spoken and extremely gentle with his precious baby
sister.

Alisa's physical injuries had healed as well as they
ever would. Her scars were extensive but she had
pulled through to Remy's unimaginable joy. Her mental
state was another thing all together. His sister had
been so badly injured that she stopped breathing
before anyone could help her. The lack of oxygen to
her brain had left her with permanent damage. The once
gifted fourteen year old had been reduced mentally to
that of a four year old. Remy found he didn't care
about any of that. In the end his little Angel was
still alive. He mourned the loss of the witty
conversations and the quirky humor that never failed
to make him laugh but if losing those things meant he
could still hold her in his arms, still feel her soft
breath on his skin as he read her a story, well,
those were things he could live without.

" I'm doin' fine now Rebecca. This is m' very good
friend Ororo Munroe."

Ro rolled her eyes at her brothers assessment of his
recovery and reached out to shake the young nurse's
hand.
" I am very pleased to meet you."

Remy cleared his throat, " Does she know about..." he
glanced down his body and back at the nurse.

" We reminded her this morning after you called to say
you were on your way. I have to be honest with you
Remy; she's scared."

" I don' want t' scare her. Would it be better if I
waited?" He was SO CLOSE! He didn't want to leave
without seeing her but if it was better for her...

" No, I think seeing you would do her a world of good.
She can see with her own eyes that you were hurt but
that you are getting better. Just be prepared, don't
take a bad reaction as a rejection."

" All right. Can I see her? I've been thinkin' 'bout
her so much since I been laid up."

Storm smiled; that was an understatement. During the
weeks when the pain was at it's worst and while he was
heavily medicated, Remy had often mentioned that Alisa
had endured far worse and that he owed it to her to
get through this. Storm silently thanked the young
girl numerous times for being the inspiration that
Remy needed to find the strength to get through that
horrible time.

" Of course. She's in her room with Sister Mary Rose.
I believe they are painting." She gave him a warm
smile and he relaxed a bit. "Go on, I'm sure you
remember the way."

" Could y' walk with me Stormy?" He suddenly found
himself very nervous. It happened every time he
visited. St.Mary's was the best private hospital in
the country but he still felt guilty that he wasn't
more involved with Alisa's care.

" Of course I will. Once you are settled I will wait
for you out here."

" Merci, I don' wanna throw too much at her all at
once." This was one of a thousand reasons why he loved
Ro. At times it seemed she could read his mind.

*****

Remy walked slowly down the hallway to his sister's
room. He peeked in and saw her sitting at a circular
table in one corner of the room. She was beside her
teacher painting but the colors she chose were dark
and disturbing. He looked sadly at Ro and she placed a
comforting hand on his shoulder. He moved to the chair
beside the bed and slowly sat down. " Take these." he
whispered holding the crutches out to her. " They'll
scare her."

Ro took them and bent to give him a kiss, " Have a
nice visit."

" Good mornin' peanut," He said softly as soon as Ro
was gone.

She never looked up at him as she scooted her chair
closer to her teacher. " Alisa look, it's Remy.
Remember I told you he was getting on a big airplane
and flying all the way down here just to see you?"

Alisa buried her face in Sister Mary Rose shoulder.
She remembered that they said he was hurt. SHE had
been hurt before. She didn't like to remember.

" 'lisa, baby, please look at me? I missed y' so much.
I been thinkin' 'bout y' all the time." She still
didn't move so he decided to cheat a little bit. " I
brought you a present."

The young girl finally peeked at him. He still LOOKED
like Remy, only his hair was short and he looked
tired.
She moved away from Sister Mary Rose and Remy smiled.
The scars were bad but they were a part of her now.
Just like her silky auburn hair and her eyes that
mirrored his own red on black eyes. She was STILL a
real beauty. " I'll give it t' y' but y' got t' come
t' me. I hurt m' leg a lil'. You still remember what a
present cost don' you?"

A tiny hint of a smile touched her lips as she slowly
pushed her chair back and looked at her teacher.

" Go ahead," the elderly nun encouraged, "I want to
see too." Her smile was kind as she ran her hand
gently over the young girl's silky hair.

Alisa was slowly getting used to touch again and she
only flinched a bit before she turned her beautiful
eyes back to her big brother. She studied him a minute
longer looking for obvious signs of injury but when
she couldn't find any she stood.

Remy's smile grew as she slowly walked toward him. He
carefully wrapped his arms around her and slowly
closed them in a gentle hug. He felt tears building in
his eyes when he felt her thin arms softly close
around him too. " Oh, pumpkin; you have no idea how
bad I needed that."

"I missed y'" she said quietly.

She slid into his lap suddenly and he bit back a moan
of pain. The pressure on his healing leg was torture
but this was a HUGE step forward since his last visit.
" You are getting so big! You're all grown up an' so
beautiful!" He brushed her hair carefully behind her
ear and smiled at her; there was a hint of the old
Alisa dancing in her eyes. " Could y' show me 'y'
picture?"

She gave him a shy smile, "'kay." She walked back to
the table and picked up the picture. She studied it a
moment before walking back and handing it to him,
sitting in his lap again. " I see him in m' dreams
sometimes. Becca 'n Sister say dat if I draw him I c'n
tear him up 'n t'row him 'way. Den maybe he won' come
back no more."

Remy's heart skipped a beat, the monster was still
haunting her! " Oh baby, I'm so sorry you have bad
dreams."

"'S'okay cause you 'n Uncle Logan promised I'd be
safe." Her trust in him astounded him. She believed in
him heart and soul. No one else EVER trusted him like
that except maybe- "Where's Uncle Logan? Didn' he wan'
t' see me?"

Remy shook his head, " Non, pumpkin, he wanted t' come
but he was so busy at home he jus' couldn' make it
this time. He DID tell me t' give y' a hug though.
Merci f' remindin' me!" He hugged her again and tried
to ignore the pain in his heart.

She slid from his lap to stand in front of him. Her
eyes were glued to the brightly wrapped box on the
floor beside him. Remy took her hand and slowly lifted
it to his lips for a kiss. " Okay, y' DID pay m'
price." He tried to hide the pain as he lifted the box
to her. She looked from him to it and back to him
again. " Go on sweetie," he said softly.

" Where'd YOU get hurt?" She asked out of the blue.

" I fell, so I got hurt in a coupla places. I hurt my
leg mostly." He grimaced as he bent forward and pulled
up his pant leg. " See this scar? My friend Henri he
be a doctor, he had t' put a pin right there in m'
ankle. It still hurts so I need help to walk right
now."

"like I did?"

"That's right. But your legs got better an mine will
too. Promise." He saw a bit of doubt and decided to
change the subject back to her. " Don' y' wan' t' see
what I brought y'?"

She took the brightly wrapped box and sat on her bed.
She carefully opened the paper and lifted the lid. Her
eyes grew wide as she looked at her new doll. It
looked like her! It had the same auburn hair and the
same porcelain skin. The eyes even matched her own.

He looked over at the teacher, " took some convincin'
with the eyes a lot of extra money too. I guess they
don' get too many requests f' mutant dolls."

His smile was sad and a little apologetic so Sister
Mary Rose stood and walked to the bed to sit beside
the young girl. " Why, she's ALMOST as pretty as you
dear!"

After giving her new doll a gentle hug she laid her
down and stood in front of her brother.

Remy reached out and held her hands, " Do y' like her
pumpkin?"

She just looked at him a minute before she leaned in
and gave him the softest of kisses.Remy slowly pulled
her close and returned the soft kiss, " I love y' so
much 'lisa."

" Love y' too Remy."

Alisa had, in her own special way started to heal
Remy's broken heart.

The young girl started to pull away and he immediately
let her go . She lifted her doll and moved away to the
corner of her room.

" I'll go get your friend," the teacher said quietly
signaling the end of the visit. Remy just nodded and
watched his sister play. This was the worst part of
her injury, one minute she was talking and almost
happy and the next she would retreat to her own little
world. How he wished he could reach her, bring her
back to HIS world permanently.

Slowly a dark depression started to slip into his
mind...

*****

Ro was worried about Remy. He'd hardly said two words
since his visit with his sister. She wasn't sure how
to approach him. The young girl's teacher had been
ecstatic about her responses. She'd given her brother
a spontaneous hug AND a kiss. These were HUGE steps
forward for the usually totally withdrawn girl. They'd
made it clear that it was his being there that had
inspired the unexpected improvement.

" Remy?"

" Oui Chere?"

"What is bothering you?"

" 'lisa."

" But her teacher and nurse were so excited."

" I know."

" I am sorry Remy, I don't understand..."

He looked up at his friend with a sadness in his eyes
that broke her heart. " I did it 'gain Ro. I waltzed
back into her life and gave her a stupid doll! She
REACTED t' me! Now I'm gonna go 'way 'gain, LEAVE her
'gain. When she realizes I'm gone... I hurt her 'gain.
I always hurt the people I love the most." He was
unconsiously rubbing his leg.

" Lay down and roll over." He did as she asked and she
began to gently massage his back and leg. Her brother
hadn't been this depressed in many weeks. It scared
her to think that he'd come so far only to have
depression finally bring him to his knees. She knew in
her heart what he was missing but she was so afraid
that it would lead to more heartache. She looked at
his handsome face and noticed the lost look in his
eye. She made up her mind, " Would you excuse me? I am
going to check in with the mansion."

" Sure." He didn't move, still lost in dark thoughts.

*****

" Xavier's Institute, can I help you?"

There was a moment of silence followed by a quiet,
"Logan?"

It took him a moment to process who it was. " Ro?"

There was another moment of silence as she made up her
mind, " Remy needs you."

" I'm on my way."

*****

Logan rushed into the mandatory team meeting out of
uniform and out of breath. " I'm taking the Raven."

Scott stood and glared at the man, " Wolverine! Where
have you been? What do you mean you're taking the
Raven? Where do you think you're going?"

Logan stared into the man's ruby covered eyes. " Remy
needs me."

His honest answer surprised the whole team. Jean and
Henry shared a secret smile. FINALLY. Scott looked at
his wife, the pleading look in her eyes told him all
he needed to know. " Go." he said without further
hesitation.

Jean's smile lit the room. The link they shared came
suddenly alive with unspoken gratitude and boundless
love. * Thank you honey*

*****

The mini jet flew at top speed toward the pilot's
destination. " Hold on kiddo, I'm on my way."

TBC