Title: Understand me 5

Author: Morgana (morganalebeau@yahoo.com)

Website: http://www.oocities.org/morganalebeau/

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Understand me

By Morgana

 

Chapter Twelve

Feeling a little nervous, Bobby stepped into Warren's room and raised a puzzled eyebrow. Hank had mentioned that Warren was getting ready to leave, but hadn't known why. "Hey, man, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Without looking up, Warren continued to pack his duffel bag. "I'm leaving."

"Why?" Shocked, Bobby sank down onto the bed, managed to capture his friend's gaze and searched Warren's eyes for answers. "Why didn't you mention you were leaving? We planned on going bowling tonight, don't you remember?" Now he'd have to go with Hank, which would still account for a lot of fun, but he'd counted on Warren accompanying them. After bowling all three of them could have gone on a Twinkie run!

"Slim and Joseph paid me a visit," Warren explained and gathered his toiletries, which he flung into the duffel bag. "Turns out that Gambit is an empath. I just knew that the thief was hiding things from us!"

"Yeah, Storm told me... she also said that Scott had asked her to use her shields when Remy was close." Learning that the Cajun was an empath had stunned Bobby. He'd never suspected that Gambit had empathic abilities, but was determined to act more carefully around Remy. If their feelings really affected the Cajun he would hold on to his shields to make sure none of his feelings were leaking. Plus he had a more selfish reason for keeping his shields up and that reason stood right in front of him.

"They asked me to keep up my shields as well," Warren explained and scanned the room with his eyes, making sure he'd packed everything he'd need.

"And you refused to co-operate? Warren, Gambit was left at Antarctica and we believed he died because Rogue said so. This has to be hard on Remy. Why not bear in mind that he's going through a rough time and go easy on him?" Warren lowered his eyes and Bobby got to his feet. "Warren?" he said as he halted in front of his friend. "This isn't about Gambit, is it?"

Warren nodded his head. "Every time I look at him I'm reminded of the Marauders and... the loss of my wings." Although he knew in his heart that Remy wasn't to blame for the loss of his wings, he wanted the Cajun to be the guilty party. Remy was close and it was easier to punish him than Hodge, who was out of his reach.

"You can't blame Gambit for losing your wings!" Bobby said passionately. He knew that Warren had problems dealing with what had happened after losing his wings, but it was unfair to put all the blame on Remy! "Hodge..."

Warren cut him short. "You're right; I know that, but..." Locking eyes with Bobby, Warren sighed deeply. "I need to get away from this place... these wounds have to heal... they never closed."

Bobby reassuringly squeezed Warren's shoulder. He could never tell his friend how much he cared about him, even loved him. They were best friends and could never be lovers. When Warren and he had joined Xavier to help fulfill the professor's dream, he had fallen in love with his friend. He'd known for some time that he liked men best, but having a crush on his team mate greatly complicated his life.

Warren and he had quickly built a tight friendship and Bobby had faithfully remained at his friend's side whenever Warren had introduced a new girlfriend to him. Bobby had swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat when he'd shaken the girl's hand. Never once had Warren shown an interest in men, so Bobby continued to suffer in silence.

"I'll come with you," Bobby offered. "You're one of my closest friends. Without Hank and you I would have made some dumb mistakes in my life. Maybe you'd feel better if you had someone to talk to." He gazed into Warren's eyes and sighed privately. "Or do you want to spend time with Betsy?"

Warren shook his head and placed his hand on Bobby's, which still rested on his shoulder. "Betsy and I are no longer together."

"Huh?" Bobby stuttered. "Why didn't you tell me?" When had they split up? Why didn't he know?

"We separated after we got back from Antarctica."

"Why?" Bobby realized that he was still squeezing Warren's shoulder and quickly let go. Warren's touch seemed to burn his skin. How he loved looking at those slender, agile fingers. Too bad Warren only liked girls.

"She started to change after she gained the ability to walk in those shadows. I can't stand being in her shadow spaces..." Warren explained reluctantly, unwilling to burden his best friend with his problems. Betsy's shadow walking abilities gave him the creeps and there was more going on than he wanted Bobby to know; Betsy seemed fascinated by evil. "I think I'll head for New York."

Nervously, Bobby licked his lips. "Warren? You didn't answer my question... do you want me to tag along?" Privately, he chided himself. //Stop it, Drake! It's not like he called it quits with Betsy to be with you! As far as Warren is concerned, the two of you are friends! Friends! Nothing more than friends! You really need to get over him!// But did he want to get over Warren? //You're a fool,// he thought, saddened.

"Don't you want to stay here?" Warren asked, giving Bobby a thoughtful glance. "Now that Rogue's available again..." Purposefully, he didn't finish his sentence and grinned smugly.

Bobby almost panicked. //No! He can't think that I've got a crush on her!// The attention he paid Rogue was meant to hide his true feelings. He didn't want Warren to feel uncomfortable around him and by pretending to 'like' Rogue he tried to distract his friends from his true sexual preference. Yeah, he was bi, but the thought of dating Rogue made him shiver.

"What?" Warren raised an eyebrow, seeing Bobby blush.

"It's not like that," Bobby whispered, embarrassed.

Warren studied his friend closely. For some time now he'd been suspecting that Bobby was hiding his true feelings, and the question was why? Why would his best friend feel the need to hide things from him? //Maybe he's afraid that I won't want to be his friend any longer when he tells me that he's bi... or gay.// He'd noticed that none of Bobby's female dates seemed interested in building a relationship after that first date.

At first he'd thought that Bobby was afraid to commit to a relationship, but the expression in his friend's eyes told him that he was wrong. Bobby was in love, and dying to be together with that person. The longing was right there in Bobby's eyes. The only question that remained was who Bobby was in love with and why his friend didn't act on it. He knew that expression only too well. Puzzled, he decided to only address it if Bobby made the first move. As long as Bobby didn't feel comfortable discussing this with him, Warren was determined to let it rest.

"So you don't like Rogue in that way?" Warren asked, grabbing his duffel bag. He was ready to go!

"You're damn right I don't like her in that way!" Bobby startled, hearing his vehement tone.

//Tell him! For God's sake! You've been in love with him for years! Tell him!//

Bobby shook his head, trying to rid himself of the irritating voice. He couldn't tell Warren. If he did, he'd lose his best friend.

Warren observed Bobby for some time and then said, "Why don't you grab some stuff and tag along? It's been a while since we've seen the inside of a nightclub and I know just the place to go to in the Big Apple." Bobby's smile took Warren aback. He hadn't seen that grin in a long time. "But hurry! I won't wait..."

Bobby stormed out in to the corridor, ran to his room and threw some clothes into his overnight bag. At the last moment he remembered to grab his toothbrush and then hurried downstairs where Warren was already getting into the car. "I'm ready to go!" he exclaimed and slipped onto the passenger's seat. "New York, here we come!"

///

"We should return to the mansion," Joseph whispered, feeding Remy another cookie. They'd plundered the kitchen cupboards, and after finding some Twinkies and chocolate chip cookies, they'd installed themselves in the living area. Remy lay stretched on the couch and his lover's head rested in his lap. "You're comfortable?"

"Oui, cher, more dan comfortable and I love feelin' a bit sore. Reminds me dat y' made love to me..." Remy smiled lazily at his lover. "Merci for showin' me how much y' love me." The truth was that Joseph's passionate response had taken him aback. He'd never thought that Joseph would want to make love to him after finding out the truth, but the other mutant really loved him, Remy knew that now.

"Remy, can I ask you a personal question?" Joseph dangled another cookie in front of his lover's mouth and when Remy tried to bite into it, he quickly pulled it away.

"Y're a tease!" Remy chuckled and then remembered his lover's question. "What do y' wanna know?" He couldn't remember feeling this relaxed before!

"The accent, Remy... why are you sticking to your Cajun accent?" Joseph brushed some stray, still damp locks away from Remy's face. "Don't you want to be yourself when you're with me? You don't have to pretend when we're together." Remy startled briefly and Joseph felt his lover's body tense up. Not pressuring him in to talking, Joseph waited patiently.

"I don' know, cher," Remy said hesitantly. "I've been usin' de accent for 20 years. I've grown used to it." It made him feel safe, knowing he could hide behind it.

"Remy, I understand why you feel it's necessary to keep your true identity a secret, but now that I know that it's just a mask... I'd love to get to know the real you. I've got this feeling that sometimes you don't know what role you're playing and what really comes from your heart."

Remy raised his right hand and caressed his lover's face. "I'll try," he promised, feeling shy. Joseph was asking him to take a major step; to finally start accepting who he really was. He trusted Joseph, loved him unconditionally, but playing Remy LeBeau had become second nature to him. He didn't know who Remy Nathan Essex really was.

"Try to lose the Cajun accent when we're alone?" Joseph asked softly.

"All right," Remy replied, shyly.

"Much better," Joseph praised him and placed a kiss on his lover's lips. "It'll take some time to get used to the British accent, but I really love it. It makes you sound so sexy..." Joseph smiled warmly.

"Merci..." Remy stopped and corrected himself. "Thank you." Feeling shy and vulnerable, he sat upright and Joseph immediately wrapped his arms around him. "I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't come for me in that nightclub."

Pleased, Joseph pressed a kiss on his lover's silken locks. He'd feared that it would take a lot more coaxing on his part to make Remy give in. "Much better, indeed," he purred and licked the back of Remy's neck.

Remy quavered as Joseph's tongue found his sensitive spots. "Do you want to make love again?" he asked, bearing in mind not to use the accent. He desperately wanted to please Joseph. "I'm still a bit sore."

Joseph grinned. It had only been his intention to tease Remy a little. No way would he make love to Remy while his lover was still sore. "Let's head for the mansion."

"Why are you so eager to leave?" Remy asked, careful not to slip back in to his Cajun accent. Back at the mansion they would glare at him, avoid him and their hatred would hurt him. Here, he felt at peace.

"I want to see that toy box you mentioned," Joseph teased, playing his trump. He wanted Remy safe at the mansion. Astra would have a though time trying to abduct him when the X-Men were close. Here, they were an easy target. Joseph pushed Remy onto his feet and then rose from the couch himself. "Let's get moving."

Sighing, Remy shook his head, but gave in. He already started to mentally prepare himself for a hostile reception at the mansion.

///

"Hey, we forgot to bring Twinkies!" Bobby complained and searched his bag. "I can't believe we forgot to bring them along!" Last night he'd searched the kitchen cupboards, but all Twinkies had miraculously disappeared and he'd eaten his private stock, which he kept in his room.

Warren grinned. "Want to stop and buy some?"

"Sounds great!" Bobby leaned back into the car seat and looked over his shoulder at the mansion, as it grew smaller. "I still think you should have tried to talk things through with Gambit."

Warren didn't react at once, carefully considering his answer. "Bobby, you know..."

He never got a chance to finish his sentence as an explosion rocked the car and slammed it into several trees. Everything happened in mere seconds and they never had a chance to prepare themselves for impact.

Feeling groggy, Warren felt thankful that they'd buckled up. The seatbelts had kept them from flying out of the car. "Bobby?" he whispered in a hoarse tone. His chest hurt and it was hard to breathe. Blood dripped from his brow.

"Still alive," Bobby whispered, in pain. "But I'm stuck."

As his eyes traveled down Bobby's body, Warren found that his friend's leg lay in a peculiar angle. "Might be broken, Bobby." Damn, he was panting now, trying to draw in his next breath and his chest exploded with pain.

"Can you get out?" Bobby whispered, as the pain shot up his leg. His knee was killing him!

"I don't know..." Warren ignored the stabbing pain in his chest. He had to get them out, had to take care of Bobby! He tried to raise his right hand to undo the seatbelt, but found that the limb refused to co-operate. Gritting his teeth, he tried again. His actions increased the pain in his chest and he was still struggling to draw in his next breathe when the darkness washed over him, making him pass out.

"Well, that little accident worked perfectly."

Bobby's head jerked back, hearing that strange voice. But Warren came first and one look told him that his friend had fainted. Somehow he had to get them out of the car. What if it exploded? Then he remembered hearing a voice. "Is anyone out there? Please help us! My friend is badly injured and I can't move my leg."

"Ah, be quiet!" Astra rammed the butt end of her weapon into the back of Bobby's head.

Bobby never got the chance to identify their attacker, as a stabbing pain shot through his skull, causing him to lose consciousness as well.

Astra grinned, so far her plan was working. She intended to take the two X-Men hostage and then trade them for her clone. "If you behave, you might survive," she whispered, ruffling Bobby's hair. Disgusted, she wiped away the blood that now stuck to her fingers.

///

"Cher? Trouble!" Relapsing into using his Cajun accent, Remy called out to Joseph, who stopped dead in his tracks. They had left the boathouse and were now heading for the mansion.

"What is it?" Joseph asked and took in their surroundings. The empath might be picking up on Astra's presence and alerted, he prepared himself for a possible attack.

"Dey're hurt!" Remy exclaimed and began to run towards the main road, located near the mansion's gates.

"Who are hurt?" Joseph ran after him and then wondered why the hell he was running in the first place. Using his magnetic powers, he floated in the air and reached for his lover, who he caught in his arms. "We'll get there faster this way," he explained, hugging Remy close to him.

"Over dere, I feel deir pain." Remy pointed in the direction he wanted Joseph to take them.

Joseph couldn't help but smile, hearing Remy's Cajun accent again. They needed time to work things out. "Whose pain are you feeling?"

"Not just pain," Remy whispered, lost in thought as their minds pulled him closer. "I can read deir t'oughts too! It's Warren and Bobby... deir car crashed and dey need help!"

Joseph nodded his head and increased the speed with which they were traveling.

"Cher... dere's someone else..."

Joseph felt Remy tense up in his arms. "Astra," he whispered with certainty. "You think she caused the car crash?"

"I don' know. Just be careful," Remy said slowly. "I can' read her mind... she's shieldin' her t'oughts and I lack de experience to push t'rough her defenses, mais she's up to somet'in'."

"Remy, I want you to check on the injured and call Jean or the professor telepathically. Do you think you can do that?" As Remy nodded his head, Joseph continued. "Make sure they get medical attention and let me deal with Astra!"

"Mais cher!" The look that Joseph gave him shut Remy up. Joseph dropped him off at the crash site.

Seeing the car wreck, Remy tried hard to concentrate on helping Warren and Bobby. However, he wished that Joseph had let him deal with Astra.
"Remy?" Bobby couldn't believe that he'd been able so say his team mate's name. His head was killing him and he couldn't think straight. A large bump had formed on the back of his head.

Bobby's voice caught his attention and he managed to open the car door at Bobby's side. "Hold on, I'm goin' to get us some help!" Remy checked the younger man's body for injuries. At the same time, he focused on the professor, trying to reach him telepathically. When he felt Xavier's surprise, he knew he'd made contact. //Dere's been a crash, monsieur and Warren and Bobby are injured. Dey need medical attention.// He also sent the professor their location. //Please hurry!//

"Remy?" Bobby stared at the motionless Cajun. Feeling helpless, he called out, "Remy!" He needed his team mate's help!

"Sorry, homme, needed to concentrate," Remy said apologetically. "Looks like y'r leg is broken." He unbuckled Bobby's seatbelt, lifted the younger man in his arms and carefully placed his team mate on the pavement. Thankfully, they were still close to the mansion and there wasn't any traffic.

"You've got to check on Warren! He had trouble breathing! Please, let him be awright!" Bobby was panicking. Ignoring the ache in his leg, he tried to crawl back towards the car. "Remy! You can't let him die!"

"Stay dere, Drake!" Remy ordered, trying hard not to panic himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Astra and Joseph were talking. He couldn't hear the words and as long as his lover wasn't in pain he would try to help Warren.

"He couldn't breathe!" Bobby yelped helplessly, as a terrible pain caused him to grow motionless. His leg was pounding and tears sprang from his eyes. "Don't let him die," he sobbed.

Remy crept into the car and smelled the gasoline that was leaking from the tank. One look at Warren told him that the other man was regaining consciousness. //Bad timin'!// It would have been easier to drag Warren outside if he'd stayed unconscious.

Warren's eyes flashed open and frantically he tried to draw in his next breath. His chest hurt and he *couldn't* breathe... "Help me..." he whispered and coughed violently. The pain that the coughing fit caused almost made him pass out again.

"I've got y', mon ami," Remy whispered and did away with Warren's seatbelt. Seeing how much strength it cost Warren to breathe, he feared that a broken rib might have punctured a lung. "It's goin' to be bien. I'm goin' to get y' out," Remy promised and carefully pulled Warren with him as he crawled backwards.

"Hurts!" Warren exclaimed. Another coughing fit almost choked him.

Remy cursed softly, seeing that Warren was coughing up blood. Feeling the other man's panic and pain he tried to reassure Warren empathically. He reached out and wrapped reassurance around Warren's mind. Remy sighed as Warren stopped struggling and pulled him out of the car.

Looking over at Bobby, Remy saw the true love in his team mate's eyes. //I never knew, never suspected dat Bobby was in love wit' Warren!// He'd always suspected that Bobby might be bi, but had never felt the urge to talk to him about it. "Warren's goin' to be bien," he told Bobby. Remy carefully carried Warren over to Bobby. "Here, see for y'rself, mon ami."

Warren was still having problems breathing and Remy wondered why it took the other X-Men so long to get here! "Bobby, watch him!" Remy ordered and helped Bobby to get close enough to touch Warren's body.

"Thanks, Remy," Bobby whispered, relieved.

The next moment a loud explosion echoed through the air, knocking Remy off his feet. Instinctively, he tried to shield Warren from the car debris, using his body as a protective shield. Looking over his shoulder, he found that the car was burning. "Stay wit' him!" he told Bobby and made his way over to Astra.

///

"So that's the way it's going to be?" Astra's switched on the alien device and watched triumphantly as Joseph collapsed onto his knees. "You don't want to obey my orders? You want me to get out of your life?" Frustrated, Astra dialed the pain volume higher. "You mean nothing to me! I created you and now I'm going to destroy you."

Joseph shook violently and he slumped forward, hitting the concrete. "I'll never serve you!" He was holding on to Remy's love, trying to forget her spiteful words as she'd reminded him of the fact that he was only a *clone*.

"I'm so through with you," Astra announced and dialed the pain up to the maximum. "It should take you less than one minute to die!"

"Non!" Remy screamed and launched himself at her, but Astra jumped out of the way. Now that his plan had been thwarted, he crawled over to Joseph. Reaching out, he tapped into Joseph's pain, trying to absorb it.

Astra laughed. "I can't believe that you care about a clone! He's worthless!"

Remy raised his eyes and glared at her. Joseph's pain was almost too much for him and he forced himself to hold onto the link. Suddenly, a telepathic voice snaked into his mind.

//You're an empath, Remy. Use the pain to take her down! Channel Joseph's pain in to her mind!//

Merde! Why hadn't he thought of that before? "An eye for an eye," he hissed and channeled Joseph's pain in to her mind.

Astra screamed out as the pain slammed into her head. She tried switching off the alien device, but her sight was blurry and she swayed on her feet.
While Remy attacked Astra empathically, he also tried to gauge Joseph's condition. Shocked, he found that his lover was no longer breathing and bleeding from his nose, eyes and ears. "NON!" he yelped in agony. "Y' can' die on me!" Panicking, his hold on Astra's mind weakened. He couldn't lose Joseph like this! His lover wasn't supposed to die!

Astra acted at once and tried to activate the device that would teleport her out. The clone was dead and she no longer had a reason to stay.

///

A lone figure that had been watching the scene, stepped away from his cover. Instinctively, he morphed and hurried over to his son. //Remy, stay focused! You can't allow her to leave!//

Startled, Remy tried to identify the voice inside his head. Suddenly, he realized it was Essex's. //Leave me alone!// he sent back. Desperately, he performed CPR on his lover's lifeless body. "Breathe! Breathe! Don' die on me!" He massaged Joseph's heart and then breathed oxygen into his lover's lungs.

Essex, who had morphed into Sinister, came to a stop in front of his son. "Let me check on Joseph. You've got to deal with Astra!" Sinister pushed Remy away from Joseph and glared at him. "Take her out! Protect your lover!"

Shaking violently, Remy's glance traveled from Sinister to Astra. Seeing Sinister hover over Joseph, awoke his protective feelings. Sinister wasn't supposed to be touching Joseph, but Remy knew that he couldn't help his lover. Sinister was the only one who might be able to save Joseph.

Turning around, Remy faced Astra, who was trying to activate her teleportation device. "Y're gonna pay for what y' did to Josep'!" Astra managed to raise her weapon and took aim, but Remy reacted at once. Extending his hands, he released the kinetic energy that was crawling beneath his skin.

Sinister quickly checked Joseph's vital signs and found that the other man was clinically dead. He needed to transport Joseph to his lab if he wanted to resuscitate him. Opening a tesserect, he lifted Joseph's body in his arms and stepped through it. It would take him straight to his Genetic Lab outside of St. Louis, Missouri.

Astra screamed as the kinetic charge hit her armor and ate itself a way through it. Unable to stop the kinetic energy from attacking her body beneath the armor, she collapsed onto her knees. Her body couldn't deal with the destructive energy that was destroying her organs and blood vessels and her heart stopped beating.

"Remy! Watch out! It's Sinister!" Bobby called out to the Cajun, seeing Sinister pick up Joseph's body and then disappear with it through the tesserect.
Quickly turning around, Remy saw the tesserect close behind Sinister! "Non!" he yelped helplessly and sunk to his knees, sobbing and shaking all over his body. "Sorry, cher... I failed y'." Why had his father taken Joseph's dead body with him? Now he couldn't even sit with his dead lover and mourn his death! Why was Essex so intent on hurting him?

"Bobby! Warren, Remy!" Scott had witnessed Remy releasing his kinetic energy without the help of his cards and shivered. He only knew one other person who could channel his power through the palm of his hands. Sinister! So how was it possible that Remy showed the same ability?

"Scott!" Bobby sighed, relieved, and caught sight of Hank, who was running towards them. "It's Warren... he's having trouble breathing!" His hand still rested on Warren's chest to carefully monitor the other man's breathing.

Hank didn't waste any time and began to examine Warren. "Scott, I want Bobby and Warren in the medlab. Now!"

Jean, Storm and even Rogue hurried to help and they flew their injured team mates and Hank back to the mansion.

"Remy?" Scott was the only one who stayed behind and he slowly walked over to the Cajun. Sitting down on his heels, he tried to catch Remy's gaze. The Cajun was kneeling on the concrete and Scott carefully reached out to him, resting a hand on Remy's shoulder. "What happened? Did Sinister..."

Remy interrupted Scott, never looking at his team leader. "He took Josep' wit' him," he whispered, defeated. Remy wished he could still cry, but the tears no longer came. "I'll never see Joe 'gain."

"Remy..." Scott finally established eye contact with the Cajun. Remy's eyes were swimming with unshed tears. "We'll find Joseph. I'll ask the professor to use Cerebro to locate Sinister."

"Josep' wasn' breathin' when I got to him." Defeated, Remy bowed his head. "I really loved him."

"Remy, we'll get him back," Scott promised passionately. "Please accompany me back to the mansion. You need to calm down."

Remy stared at Astra's lifeless body. "I didn' wanna kill her..."

"You didn't have a choice. She would have used her weapon and..."

"She killed Josep'," Remy finished Scott's sentence. "I don' t'ink I can make it wit'out him." His apathy had returned and shutting out the world sounded tempting, but Scott wouldn't let him retreat into his mind.

Scott took a deep breath and slowly helped Remy to his feet. He had to wrap an arm around the Cajun's waist to keep him from falling. "We'll find him," he repeated his earlier promise and averted his glance, seeing the unshed tears that never left Remy's eyes. "I know you loved him."

"I didn' wanna lose him like dis, not to Essex!" Enraged, Remy tried to stay calm. "I should have died instead of Joe... Den he would have taken my corpse! It's me Essex wants!" His father had no right to steal his lover's corpse!

Scott thought he'd misheard. "Remy, why would Sinister want you?"

Remy no longer saw a reason to hold on to his secrets, as he planned on joining Joseph in death shortly. A life without Joseph wasn't worth living. "'cause he's my father, Scott."

Scott almost jerked away from Remy. Only his training prevented him from letting the Cajun stumble over his own two feet. Tightening his hold, he dragged Remy with him as they headed for the mansion. "You don't know what you're saying... you're in shock!" Did Remy really believe that Sinister was his father?

"Y' saw me shoot dose blasts from my hands! Just look at my eyes!" Growing agitated, Remy pulled free from Scott. Unable to stay on his feet unaided, he leaned against a tree for support.

"Hank needs to check on you," Scott said determinedly, growing worried because he feared that Remy was delusional.

"Let me go, Scott," Remy whispered. "I need to find Joseph. I can't believe I almost trusted Essex to take care of Joseph!"

"Uh? Remy? Your accent?" Scott wished he knew what was going on. Remy's behavior was unsettling.

"I don't have time for this, Scott. Where did he go? Where's Essex's base?" Remy faced Scott, grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "You know where his base is! Tell me!"

"Remy..."

The soft voice took both men completely by surprise and Remy quickly spun around. While glaring at Essex, he yelled, "What did you do to him? Take me, but let him go!" Remy flung himself at his father and banged his fists into Essex's chest.

Scott was ready to launch an attack, but something kept him back. Fascinated, he watched Essex fold an arm around Remy's waist. What the hell was going on? Why had Sinister morphed back into Essex and why was there a gentle expression in the scientist's eyes? //No, Remy was delirious, hallucinating. Essex can't be his father!// But it had to be true. How else could he explain the tenderness in Essex's gestures?

"I'll take you to Joseph," Essex offered and gestured at the tesserect behind him. "You've got to trust me, Remy."

"I don't have a choice... father," Remy whispered and avoided looking at Scott, knowing that he would find only loathing on his team leader's face. Essex extended his right hand and Remy calmly accepted, curling his fingers around his father's. //I'm making the biggest mistake of my life,// he thought, frightened.

Scott could only watch helplessly as Essex led Remy to the tesserect. A moment later, both men were gone.

Shocked, Scott tried to accept the fact that Remy was Sinister's son and failed miserably. Maybe discussing this with the professor and Jean would help him accept the truth. Worn down by the day's events, he started for the mansion, eager to check on Warren and Bobby's condition.

 

Chapter Thirteen

"Robert, you should be lying down." Concerned, Hank tried to steer Bobby's wheelchair back to his patient's bed. He'd put Bobby's leg in a cast from the hip down and was trying hard to convince his friend to rest. Thankfully, except for the broken knee, Bobby had only suffered scratches and a bump at the back of his head.

He'd given Bobby something to numb the pain in his leg, hoping it would urge his patient to lie down and rest. But the exact opposite had happened. Bobby had lowered himself onto a wheelchair and was now sitting next to Warren. "He can't hear you," Hank said softly.

Bobby rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. His other hand had a tight hold on Warren's. "He's going to be awright, isn't he, Hank?" Bobby swallowed hard. Hank had hooked Warren up to a respirator and two IV's disappeared into the back of Warren's left hand. His friend's chest had been bandaged, keeping the broken rib from puncturing his lung.

"He was very lucky," Hank whispered and rested his hand on Bobby's shoulder. "If he had fought Remy when our Cajun friend pulled him from the car, that rib would have pierced his lung." Closely observing Bobby, Hank sighed. "Why don't you tell him?" As far as Hank knew Bobby had only confided in him. Finding out that his friend was in love with Warren had only slightly surprised him. Bobby had told him some time ago that he liked men best.

"I can't tell him, Hank and you know it!" Leaning back, Bobby released a strangled sigh. His knee would give him hell later, but he refused to lie down. He had to maintain physical contact with Warren now that his friend was in such a bad way.

"He's breathing on his own," Hank assured Bobby. "The respirator is just helping him breathe."

"Hank, he's going to make a full recovery, isn't he? Please tell me he will!" Bobby looked up pleadingly.

"Yes, he will." Hank considered making another effort to convince Bobby to lie down, but saw the determination in his friend's eyes. "You should tell him," he repeated his earlier advise. "What if Warren had died? You would never have had the chance to tell him how you truly feel."

Bobby lowered his eyes and rubbed Warren's fingers. He dared to touch Warren now that his friend was unconscious and unaware of the caress. Bobby knew he would instinctively pull back once Warren woke up.

Hank gave up on talking some sense in to Bobby and returned to his computer to update his team mates' medical files. From the corner of his eye he continued to watch Bobby closely.

///

Remy allowed Essex to lead him into Joseph's room and he cringed, seeing the electrodes that were attached to his lover's chest and brow. A respirator was breathing for him and Remy leaned heavily against the wall to support himself. "How bad is he?" he asked, afraid to learn the answer, but he had to know! Joseph looked like he was merely asleep.

"His nerve system collapsed and his organs stopped functioning," Essex said, trying to explain Joseph's condition in words Remy would understand. "His heart is no longer beating. He's clinically dead."

Remy closed his eyes, trying to be strong. "Why hook him up to all this equipment when he's dead?"

Essex looked Remy in the eyes and said, "I can use his DNA to grow a new body for him. That would also take care of the alien device Astra imbedded in his cerebral cortex and brain tissue."

"You want to clone him?" Remy whispered, horrified. He was fighting an anxiety attack, hearing Essex's suggestion. "I can't make that decision!"

Essex was tempted to squeeze Remy's shoulder soothingly, but stopped himself from reaching out. It was obvious that Remy didn't trust him and he realized that they needed to take things slow. He had to prove to Remy that he was sincere and in return he expected his son to give him the benefit of the doubt. Yes, he knew that Remy had absolutely no reason to trust him, but he hoped that Remy's empathic abilities would pick up on his sincerity and thus give him a chance to prove himself.

"I can't revive this body," Essex said, trying to get through to his son. "But I can clone a new body in a few hours."

"What about his personality? His memories?" Remy asked softly. "Will he remember who he is? Who I am? That I love him?" He couldn't believe that he was actually considering allowing Essex to clone his lover, but there was no alternative. Joseph deserved a second shot at life.

Essex considered Remy's question carefully. "I'll be honest with you, son." He heard Remy's sharp intake of breath at hearing that last word. "There's always a small chance that he won't remember some things, usually just details, but he will remember everything up to Astra's attack, including your love for him."

"He'll hate me," Remy stuttered, feeling ashamed that he wanted to accept his father's proposal.

"Why?" Essex moved a little closer. "Because of your decision he will live again."

"You don't know how hard it was on him to accept that Astra cloned him. I was scared I'd lose him." Remy had settled back into using his old speech pattern and he found that subconsciously, he trusted Essex. He just hoped that Essex wouldn't morph into Sinister in front of him. He could accept that Essex was standing beside him, offering his help, but had his father been in Sinister's form he would have bolted. The pain that he associated with Sinister was still very fresh. //Am I going mad? They are one and the same person and yet I think of them as separate beings!//

"Remy?" Essex was growing worried now that his son remained silent.

"Do it," Remy said determinedly. "He'd want to live again... I hope..." He liked to think that Joseph would want to come back to spend the rest of their lives with him. There was no way back now that he'd made his decision.

"You seem tired," Essex observed and wondered how much releasing his kinetic energy through the palms of his hands had drained Remy. //He also used his empathy to fight Astra and his telepathy to call out to Xavier.// "Why don't you lie down? I'll be busy and there is nothing you can do to help." Gently, Essex steered Remy away from Joseph and led him into the next room. He noticed that his son began to tremble and caught his eyes. "What is it?"

"I remember waking up in here after you resuscitated me." He'd opened his eyes in this very room after Essex had brought him back. Quickly, he sat down on the bed as his knees refused to carry him any longer. Then, he remembered something Joseph had once said and looked at his father. "Do you have a drug called Zoloft? I'm supposed to take two pills a day and I forgot..."

Essex gave Remy a thoughtful look. "Are you suffering from depression?" He'd never considered his son could be depressed, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. "You're trying to deal with your death..."

"That's one thing," Remy replied and watched Essex walk over to the medicine cabinet and take out a vial. "I'm also trying to deal with the fact that... you're back in my life."

Feeling awkward, Essex opened the vial and handed Remy one pill along with a glass of water. "I don't really know how to handle the unexpected return of my feelings." Essex supervised Remy as he swallowed the pill and then said, "I feel strongly protective of you. I only felt like this about Adam and Rebecca. It's... unsettling to feel again."

Remy lay down and rolled onto his side, still facing Essex. After gathering his courage, he asked, "Would you tell me about my mother?"

Essex flinched. He should have known that Remy would ask him that question. "Rebecca is your mother."

"But..." Startled, Remy sat upright. "But she died 150 years ago!" He vaguely recalled that Essex had told him about his wife when he'd been little. Later on, he'd successfully repressed most of the things that his father had told him.

"But her DNA is still alive," Essex admitted, guiltily. "It took me over a hundred years to accept Adam's death." He decided against telling Remy in detail how he'd been created.

"Did you clone her?" Remy asked in a tiny tone.

"No, I only used her DNA." The bitter truth was that in his darkest hour he'd been tempted to clone his wife, but in the end, he'd not given in to the dark urge to have her close again. Turning away from his son, he headed for the doorway. "I suggest you try to sleep. I'll wake you the moment Joseph regains consciousness."

Exhausted, Remy nodded his head. "Don't let me sleep too long. I want to be there when he opens his eyes for the first time."

"Of course," Essex agreed and allowed a small smile to surface on his face. This was his chance to prove to his son that he was sincere and he wouldn't let Remy down!

///

"I can't believe it, sir!" Scott paced the professor's office. Apart from Xavier, Jean was also present. "Remy took Essex's hand and they disappeared through the tesserect!"

"Scott," Jean started, sensing how upset her husband was, "are you sure Remy said that Essex was his father? Maybe he was in shock after seeing Joseph die."

Scott spun around. "That's exactly what I said, Jean! I told Remy that he was in shock and not thinking straight!"

"What convinced you that Remy was telling the truth?" Charles asked, his suspicions had been right after all.

"You should have seen the expression in Essex's eyes." Scott shivered. "He almost looked concerned and Remy didn't pull away when Essex extended his hand."

Jean locked eyes with the professor. "Isn't it odd that Sinister would choose to appear as Essex in public?"

Charles sighed deeply. "I never wanted to voice my suspicions, but now that Remy has revealed the truth I can speak freely." His glance traveled from Jean to Scott. "I always suspected that Remy and Sinister were related."

"Because of the eyes?" Scott ventured.

"You read his file," Charles reminded him. "Who's listed as his father?"

Scott nodded his head once. "He was adopted by Jean-Luc LeBeau. Remy never gave us the name of his biological parents." Scott realized that the signs had been there, he'd just ignored them. "And then there's Sinister's continued involvement when it comes down to Remy."

"Why did Sinister need Remy to gather the Marauders?" Charles tapped with a pen on his desk. "He'd gathered thugs before, we know that."

"Do you think he set up his own son?" Jean asked, horrified. "We know now that Remy witnessed the massacre and as an empath he must have felt their pain."

"But Sinister doesn't feel a thing, he made a pact with Apocalypse, remember?" Charles realized that he should have acted sooner, now it might be too late. "We need to locate Sinister. I want Remy back at the mansion, unharmed."

Scott nodded once, he agreed with the professor. "Sinister will hurt Remy again."

"You're not mad with Remy?" Charles asked, pleased. He'd expected Scott to be angry now that Remy turned out to be related to Sinister. Scott might have felt betrayed, but apparently he also understood that Remy had suffered greatly because of his father's identity.

"Having Sinister for a father must be a nightmare for Remy, sir. He'll need his friends to help him through it." Scott smiled weakly. "I don't know how I would have reacted, finding out that Sinister was my father. I think Remy did very well, considering the disadvantages he had."

Jean walked over to her husband and placed her hand in his. "And that's exactly why I love you, Scott."

///

Warren's eyes flashed open and he almost choked, realizing that something obstructed his trachea. After forcing himself to calm down he tried to take in his surroundings and he immediately recognized Hank's medlab. Relieved, he tried to sigh, but the tube prevented that. //Hank put me on the respirator, // he realized, shocked.

Then he recalled the pain that had sliced through his chest and then everything tumbled back into his mind. The car had crashed and he'd tried to get Bobby out of the car. //Why didn't he ice up?// Warren wondered. //We weren't thinking straight...//

The next thing he became aware of were the bandages that Hank had applied around his chest. After trying to move his toes and fingers, he felt relieved. Briefly, he had been scared that his injuries had been way more severe. He shifted on the bed to give his wings more space. However, his eyes grew big and his movement froze at the blinding pain that shot through his chest. Tears sprang from his eyes and he wished he hadn't woken up at all. //But losing my wings was worse...//

Warren cocked his head a little, trying to figure out why something heavy rested on his shoulder. The first thing he saw was brown hair and a moment later, he realized that it was Bobby, who lay slumped forward, his head brushing his shoulder. //What are you doing here?// Bobby had been injured as well and should be resting in bed!

Carefully, Warren managed to place his hand over Bobby's and gave it a good squeeze. Bobby didn't disappoint him and the younger man's head jerked up. Bobby had a few scratches on his brow and his friend was pinching his eyes as if the light hurt.

"Hank!" Bobby exclaimed at once. "Warren's awake!" Nervously, he met his friend's eyes. "You're going to be okay, Warren." He couldn't help but gently squeeze Warren's hand in return. Right now, he needed the physical contact, especially since he'd been afraid that Warren's injuries might have been fatal.

Hank joined his patients and checked Warren's vital signs. "I had to put you on a respirator while you were unconscious," he explained. Seeing that Warren was holding Bobby's hand, Hank said, "Squeeze once for yes and two for no."

Warren squeezed once to show that he understood and Bobby smiled, relieved. "Hey, you're going to be fine, man."

Hank smiled, wondering when Warren would realize that Bobby had a crush on him. Warren wasn't stupid and now that Bobby was worried the younger man's feelings were written all over his face. "Does your chest hurt?"

Warren squeezed Bobby's hand once and Hank nodded his head. "That's to be expected. You have two broken ribs and one almost punctured your left lung. Luckily, you didn't fight Remy when he pulled you out of that car. I'll give you some stronger pain medication."

Bobby saw Warren's confused expression and realized that his friend might have a hard time remembering everything that had happened. "Joseph and Remy arrived right after the crash. Remy pulled us from the car, just moments before it exploded."

//Remy?// Warren wished he could ask Bobby questions, but right now the respirator made that impossible. Searching his memory, he vaguely recalled seeing the Cajun inside the car, unbuckling him. Why would Remy come to the rescue? //I made it very clear that I can't stand him and yet he helped me?//

"Warren, I want you to stay on the respirator for the next 24 hours and then you can try to breathe unaided. Do you understand?" Hank watched Warren's hand, which squeezed Bobby's once. "And would you please tell Bobby to lie down and get some rest? He has a broken knee and a concussion."

Bobby shrugged his shoulders. "Astra rammed the butt end of her gun into my skull."

Warren squeezed Bobby's hand again, telling his friend that yes, he wanted Bobby to rest.

Seeing the stern expression in Warren's eyes Bobby knew he'd lost the game, but not the battle. "Hey, my bed is next to yours, so that's kinda cool." He knew he was babbling, but couldn't stop himself. His relief needed a way out.

Reluctantly, Warren released Bobby's hand and with his eyes he asked Hank to help the younger man to his bed.

When Bobby finally stretched his body, he realized just how tired he really was. Now that his leg was horizontal with his body most of the pain was gone. "Thanks, Hank!"

"Now get some rest, both of you!" Hank said firmly. Bobby's eyes were already closing and he waited until his younger friend was soundly asleep. Then he walked over to Warren.

"Bobby's been sitting with you for the last 2 hours. He refused to lie down until you regained consciousness." Hank considered his next move, uncertain how much he could reveal to Warren. "He cares a great deal about you, but you already know that..." Warren closed his eyes once in reply and Hank nodded his head. "Bobby... loves you," he added hesitantly.

Again, Warren closed his eyes once. Every doubt he'd had, had been washed away. He knew that Bobby was in love with him. Bobby had probably been in love with him for years!

"You might want to think about..." Hank's voice trailed off, leaving the most important part unspoken. Warren had to figure out the rest himself. He placed the buzzer in Warren's hand and said, "Press it, should you need me."

Warren's eyes closed due to exhaustion and Hank used that opportunity to fill a syringe with a stronger painkiller, which he injected into Warren's IV. Reassured that his friends would be asleep for the next few hours, he returned to his research.

///

Essex sneaked into Remy's room and watched his son sleep. During the last few hours he had tried hard to understand why he'd asked Apocalypse to take away his feelings and his conscience. Now that his emotions were back, he began to remember the good times Rebecca and he had shared. Why had he been so obsessed? So driven to continue his experiments?

Looking back at his past actions, he felt ashamed and marvelled about that feeling. Shame, he hadn't felt ashamed in over 150 years. "I could do without that feeling," he whispered, but then reconsidered. Wasn't the fact that he had these feelings the one thing that made him human and set him apart from the likes of Apocalypse?

"I made the biggest mistake of my life when I made that pact with Apocalypse." Now that he was re-experiencing love, affection, protectiveness and need, he wondered why he'd ever given up those emotions.

"Rebecca... Rebecca knew me. She tried to pull me back from the abyss, but it was too late." Looking at Remy, he caught one or two features that reminded him of his Rebecca. Remy had reacted far better to learning his mother's identity than he had expected. //Maybe he doesn't really understand yet what I told him?// Maybe shock would hit his son later.

"All these years... I wasted all these years," he whispered melancholy. If he had chosen a different path he might have been able to be there for Remy when his son was growing up. But no, he had been too busy conducting research and making plans to improve the gene pool which he was experimenting with. His obsession with genetic research had become his downfall and the victories he had achieved were stained with the blood of the innocent.

When he'd prepared the tank in which he would grow Joseph's body, his eyes had drifted off to the other tanks, holding grown Marauders; his secret stock. He'd stood before each tank for long moments and then he'd pulled the plug on them. The clones didn't suffer; as they had never been conscious.

//The Marauders... I assembled them to bring Remy to his knees. I knew that he would hate himself when he found out about the Massacre, but I never expected him to run.// Remy didn't know that it had been Sinister who had gathered his son in his arms after Sabertooth had shredded Remy's chest. He'd tended to his son's wounds, but he'd made one mistake. Unable to take Remy to his base, he'd resorted to treating his son's injuries in a regular hospital where he worked in the guise of a surgeon. Although he'd tried hard to isolate Remy, his son had found a way to escape the ward when his wounds had almost healed.

As he looked at Remy's brow, he saw the fine lines of suffering etched onto his son's forehead and *he* had put them there, but maybe he could still try to make up for his past mistakes.

Walking over to his son, he said softly, "Remy, it's time to wake up. Joseph will regain consciousness in a few minutes." Remy stirred and Essex repeated his words. A confused expression shone from Remy's eyes and Essex forced himself to smile. Now that he realized how deeply he'd hurt his son, he felt ashamed.

"Where... am I?" Remy looked about. At first, he thought he was still dreaming, but then he recalled that Essex had stolen Joseph's body and then his father had come back for him. Essex was going to clone Joseph so his lover would live again and be free of Astra's device.

Slowly, Remy pushed himself into a sitting position, refusing Essex's help. "I want to see him."

"Of course," Essex replied. Concerned, he watched Remy clumsily put his feet onto the floor. He feared that his son's knees would give out on him so he tried to support Remy.

"Don't," Remy whispered. "I don't need your help. I can do this." No longer bothering with his Cajun accent, he looked straight into Essex's eyes. "Take me to him!"

Essex nodded his head once. "Follow me."

///

Remy felt immensely grateful that his father had taken Joseph's body from the tank before calling him. As he looked at the motionless body on the exam table, shivers ran down his spine. What if Joseph would be mad as hell because he'd allowed Essex to clone a new body?

"I already transferred his memory, knowledge and personality into his new body," Essex explained and began to remove the electrodes that were attached to Joseph's body. "When he wakes up, he'll recall Astra's attack and *maybe* dying... You'll have to explain to him what happened, why he's alive again."

"Would you leave Joseph and me alone?" Remy asked pleadingly. He didn't think he could tell Joseph the truth with Essex standing there, looking over his shoulder.

"I'll give you some privacy after I made sure that the transfer was successful." Essex saw that Remy still stood near the doorway, seemingly afraid to approach his lover. "He'll need your support when he wakes up."

"Yes," Remy whispered. "I remember how it felt to come back from the dead." Remy shivered. "Why did you bring me back?" he asked his father. His empathy hadn't been that powerful back then so there hadn't been any 'fatherly feelings' that had urged Essex to look after him.

"I wanted you at my side," Essex admitted. "I would have found a way to keep you close to me."

Essex's honesty was unexpected and Remy blinked his eyes. "What if the empathy hadn't kicked in?"

Essex shook his head. "Let's not discuss that possibility."

Joseph moaned softly and Remy was drawn closer to his lover. Unable to speak, he watched entranced as Joseph's eyelids fluttered.

"Everything seems fine," Essex mumbled pleased. "I'll leave the two of you alone now." As he exited his lab, he looked over his shoulder and saw fear and hope in his son's eyes. Closing the door behind him, he realized that he needed to do a lot of thinking now that Remy had turned his life upside down.

///

Joseph released a keening wail as his memories returned. The last thing he remembered was clutching his head and praying that the pain would stop. He would never forget the malignant expression in Astra's eyes and then... then Remy had appeared at his side, trying to take away his worst pain.

"Remy?" he whispered his lover's name and wondered why his voice sounded different or was that just his imagination?

"Joseph," Remy replied softly and walked up to the bed. He never expected Joseph to leap to his feet and pull him close. Speechless, he surrendered to his lover's embrace.

Joseph felt wobbly on his feet and pulled Remy down with him to sit on the exam table. //Wait, an exam table? The last thing I remember is hitting concrete!// He was about to ask Remy where they were, when he felt his lover's tears drip onto his bare skin. Quickly, he checked if he was wearing clothes and found that he was only wearing some kind of medical gown. "Shst, it's going to be all right, sexy."

Hearing that pet name, Remy locked eyes with his lover. How much did Joseph remember?

"Where are we, Remy?" Joseph tightened the embrace, sensing Remy's fear and distress. The empath's defenses were down.

"You're going to be *so* mad with me," Remy sobbed, recalling Joseph's vehement reaction when he'd suggested going to Sinister to remove the alien device in his brain. "You won't love me no more."

"Remy, tell me what happened. I remember that Astra turned up the pain and that you tried to absorb my agony, but... then what?" Pleadingly, Joseph looked into Remy's eyes. "Trust me, sexy."

Remy knew that he couldn't stall much longer and sobbed, "Astra killed you. You were clinically dead and then my father appeared and carried you off and I wanted to fight him, didn't want him to grab your body like that, but the tesserect closed and..."

"Remy, breathe!" Joseph gently took hold of Remy's shoulders and shook him slightly. "There's no need to panic, sexy."

"Essex cloned your body!" Remy wished he could take back those words, seeing the expression in his lover's eyes. Quickly, he tried to explain. "The alien device destroyed your nerve endings, caused your organs to stop functioning and your heart... it was no longer beating. Essex couldn't repair the damage and cloning your body was the only way to bring you back!" Remy tried to stop crying, but failed. "The alien device is gone as well."

Joseph drew in a deep breath and then grinned. "So he cloned me?"

"Yes, I can't live without you, cher." Remy had always liked that pet name and it sounded so right! "When you died, the only thing I could think about was taking my own life."

"Oh, Remy," Joseph sighed and pulled his lover close to his chest. "I understand why you allowed your father to clone me."

"You do?" Remy peeked at Joseph's eyes and was surprised to find his lover smiling.

"I can't say that being cloned... *again*... doesn't bother me, it does, but if it means that I can spend the rest of my life with you I gladly pay the price."

In disbelief, Remy gazed into Joseph's eyes. "You aren't mad with me?"

"No, I'm thankful that you had the guts to give us a second chance, sexy." Joseph held his breath as Remy's hysterical laughter echoed through the room. "Hey, it's okay. It's over."

"No, it isn't," Remy stated. "Essex is still around."

"You think he will try to stop us from leaving?" Joseph got back to his feet and cursed the damn medical gown. Reaching behind his back, he pulled the gown closer to his body.

Remy smiled fondly. "I like your ass, cher," he whispered into Joseph's ear. Within seconds he'd gone from severely depressed to incredibly relieved.

"We'll find a way out of here, *together*," Joseph promised. "We'll convince your father to let us go."

Remy grew uncharacteristically quiet. "What if he doesn't want to let us go?" Only moments ago, Essex had admitted to staging the Morlocks' Massacre to keep him close.

Essex chose that moment to return to his lab. Watching Joseph and his son closely, he realized that they planned on leaving him and for the first time in over 150 years, he feared the loneliness that would follow after their departure.

 

Chapter Fourteen

"Breathe out," Hank instructed and removed the tube that had been helping Warren breathe.

"Ouch..." Warren mumbled in a hoarse tone. "Hurts..." His throat felt like sandpaper and every time he swallowed, a stabbing pain moved down his trachea. "Wa... ter?"

"Here!" Bobby, who sat in his wheelchair again, handed Warren a glass of water, but his friend's hand trembled too badly to drink unaided. Bobby moved closer and curled his fingers around Warren's, steadying his friend. "That's a lot betta, huh?"

Warren weakly nodded his head and then looked concerned at Bobby. "How... are... you... doing?" He recalled that Astra had hit the back of Bobby's head hard. Seeing the expression in Bobby's eyes, he realized that he had to confront his friend's feelings. He couldn't let this continue. "Hank, give... us a moment?"

Hank checked the IV's and then nodded his head. "You know where to find me," he said and left the two men alone. A wicked grin flashed across his features. He had a good idea why Warren wanted some privacy. Hopefully Warren would go easy on Bobby. //I don't even know how Warren feels about Bobby being in love with him!// he realized.

Warren waited until Hank had left and then looked into Bobby's sparkling eyes. Ever since Hank had told them that he could do without the respirator, Bobby had practically been bouncing in his bed and later on in his wheelchair. "Bobby?"

"Yeah?" Bobby smiled and leaned back. He hated being stuck in the wheelchair, but Hank had advised against icing up, which would damage the cast badly. This time he had to take things slow and let his knee heal, but the good thing was that he had company while recovering. He felt immensely relieved that Warren would make a full recovery. "Looks like we'll be stuck in medlab together for the next few days, though I got the feeling Hank will release me first," he teased.

"Bobby... water?" Warren's throat continued to burn and as Bobby moved in closer to rest the glass against his lips, he quickly wrapped his fingers around Bobby's, keeping his friend in place.

Bobby arched a surprised eyebrow. Warren had better stop touching him like that or he might end up kissing him breathless. //I'd gladly sell my soul to kiss those lips,// he thought, dreamily.

"We need to talk," Warren said, after releasing Bobby's hand so the younger man could place the glass back onto the nightstand.

"About the crash?" Bobby didn't really know what to make of Warren's expression. He couldn't remember ever seeing that particular look in his friend's eyes before.

Slowly, Warren shook his head. "About your feelings for me." He hoped he had enough strength left to properly conduct this conversation; so much depended on it!

Alarmed, Bobby averted his eyes. //He can't know that I'm in love with him! I've been so careful...// A startling thought hit him. //What if Hank told him? No, Hank wouldn't do that to me!// Bobby licked his lips and said, "What feelings?"

"Are you in love with me?" Warren preferred the direct approach, as he didn't want Bobby to go through a lot of anxiety. Bobby's sharp intake of breath told him that he'd been right after all, that and the fact that Bobby immediately lowered his eyes. "Bobby, if you are in love with me please be honest and tell me." His hand moved over the blankets and found Bobby's.

Bobby stared at Warren's hand as if it were a poisonous snake. "Please don't ask me to say the words," he pleaded eventually. "I never wanted you to find out."

"Why?" Warren squeezed Bobby's hand, trying to reassure his friend. "Were you afraid that I would be mad with you?"

"I was afraid that you'd end our friendship," Bobby whispered, barely audible. He wished that he had the courage to pull back his hand, but he didn't want to appear impolite or unthankful. After all, Warren was reaching out to him. "And I didn't want to lose that. You're the best friend I ever had... If it hadn't been for you and Hank..." his voice trailed off, uncertain what to say to salvage the situation.

Warren tightened his hold on Bobby's hand and carefully considered his next words, which would determine their path. Although his mouth felt awfully dry, he forced himself to speak up. "Bobby, I love you as a friend. We've always been buddies..."

Bobby wanted to interrupt Warren to tell him that he knew where this was heading. Warren wouldn't want to be friends any longer now that he knew the truth.

"Listen... shit, this hurts..."

Concerned, Bobby looked up; he had never wanted to hurt Warren's feelings.

"My throat, dummy," Warren said quickly and realized how fragile their relationship was right now. "As I said, we're buddies and I don't want to lose your friendship. I suspected that you had a crush on me for some time."

Bobby's eyes grew big. "You knew?"

"I suspected it, yeah," Warren said and tried to reach for the water again, but it was out of his reach. Bobby reacted at once and allowed him to sip again. "Thanks," Warren whispered and locked eyes with Bobby, daring his friend to look away. "I never dated a guy before, Drake."

"Uhm, what are you talking about?" Bobby's tone mirrored his insecurity. Why had Warren made that remark?

"We're best friends already, Bobby. I'm not prejudiced or homophobic. I just never considered getting together with a man before." Warren grinned smugly seeing the play of emotions on Bobby's face. "You never saw that one coming..."

"But... why... I don't..." Bobby stuttered, unable to voice his thoughts. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Let's date for a while and see what happens. I can't make any promises that we'll work out and you'll have to go slow on me with ... you know... the physical aspect of our relationship. The bottom line is that I'm willing to try."

In sheer disbelief, Bobby stared at Warren. "You didn't say that..."

"I did. Come on, Bobby, this is your chance," he encouraged his friend and maybe soon to be lover.

"I still can't believe you said that..." Bobby stuttered, shyly. "Why do you wanna be with me?"

Warren privately cursed his sore throat. "Bobby, I believe we might work out. You know me best, even better than Bets did, you know what you're getting yourself in to and you still want me. On the other hand, I know how annoying you can be when you missed your favorite cartoons or if someone ate your Twinkies. We've been on Twinky runs together. Face it, Drake... we might work out."

Bobby suddenly realized that talking was downright painful for Warren because of his sore throat and he felt bad for making Warren explain his decision. //But it's good to hear he wants to try. Oh my God! I can't believe he wants to give this a chance!// Bobby locked eyes with Warren and said, "I'll try hard to make this work, I promise."

"I know you will," Warren assured him and thankfully sipped from his water after Bobby had placed the glass against his lips. "I'm feeling tired, though..." He felt like he could fall asleep any moment now.

"That's okay, you need to rest," Bobby said softly and shyly, he rubbed the knuckles of Warren's hand. "Why don't you try to nap? Hank and the medlab will still be here when you wake up."

"Are you staying too, Bobby?" Warren smiled as his eyes slipped shut. Yeah, he had been thinking about this for a while, ever since he suspected that Bobby might be in love with him and he *knew* instinctively that he'd made the right decision. He liked Bobby a lot, liked his personality, even his annoying habits and maybe, just maybe, he might love Bobby back. He had a lot of soul searching to do, but thankfully Bobby would be at his side to guide him.

Bobby waited until Warren was soundly asleep and then brought the other man's hand to his lips to place a gentle kiss on the back of Warren's hand.

"You told him," Hank grinned smugly as he approached his patients.

"Actually, it was more like Warren telling me how he felt," Bobby realized and looked fondly at the winged man. "Are we going to regret taking this step, Hank? Does he even like guys in that way?" His insecurity continued to torment him.

"Shouldn't the question be, does he like *you* in that way?" Hank asked thoughtfully. "It's a known fact that people, who have been best friends for years, can feel attracted to each other," Hank offered. "Warren isn't prejudiced, he's even fairly open-minded. I guess that's what being a mutant does to you. You're inclined to look at someone's inner beauty when the outside doesn't look like what you're used to."

Hank recalled that Bobby had asked him two questions and not one. "And who can tell whether you're making a mistake? Who would have thought that Joseph and Remy would work out? Only time can tell, Robert."

"Thanks, Hank. I guess I just needed to hear it." Bobby smiled warmly as Warren squeezed his hand while still asleep.

///

Empathically, Remy reached out to Joseph for support. Facing Essex, he didn't know what to say.

Joseph sensed Remy's distress and uncertainty and decided to take the lead. "Thank you," he said, addressing Essex. "I feel as good as new."

Essex didn't know how to react, but eventually he realized that Joseph was trying to break the ice. "I want to see my son happy," he explained.

Remy bit his lip, wanting to remind his father of the Morlocks' Massacre, but Joseph's whispered words stopped him.

"You told me that Essex is sincere and truly cares about you now that his feelings are back," he said, addressing his lover. Joseph's glance shifted from Remy to Essex, hoping the former villain was on to his game plan.

Essex nodded his head. "I know you don't trust me, Remy, not after all the things I did to you, but I'm changing." And the change scared him. After 150 years he was being bombarded with feelings, his own and Remy's. As father and son they shared an empathic link that Remy wasn't even aware of, but Essex sensed his son's feelings clearly. Maybe it was because of his strong telepathic powers that he could read them so easily.

That was the opening Joseph had hoped for. "Remy, why don't you give your father a chance to get to know you? I don't know that much about..." he'd wanted to say Sinister, but decided differently. "About Essex, but he acted selflessly by resuscitating me. He did that for you, for us."

Essex felt grateful that Joseph was on his side. "I know that I can't play an active part in your life, Remy. I made too many mistakes to be allowed that privilege, but maybe we could stay in touch?"

"What are you going to do once we're gone?" Remy clung to Joseph for support. //I want to believe you so badly, father. What child doesn't want his father to love him?// "Are you going back to your...sinister ways?"

Saddened, Essex locked eyes with Remy and said, "Do you know who gave me that name? Sinister?"

"No," Remy replied, feeling nervous.

"Your mother Rebecca did. She had found out about my experiments, the risks I was taking, the... awful things I had done. She named me Sinister." Essex recalled how he'd violated his son's grave. He'd dug up Adam's body in a vain attempt to bring him back to life, to finally defeat death and he'd failed.

"I wish I'd known her..." Remy knew he would have loved her dearly. She sounded like a strong woman who had tried to fight for her love and convictions. "But you're not answering my question. Are you going back to..."

"Cloning the Marauders? Stalking Jean and Scott Summers?" Essex supplied, naming only a few of his activities. "No. I think I will concentrate on finding a remedy that will take care of the Legacy virus."

Amazed, Remy arched an eyebrow. "Beast is working on finding a cure as well." He wondered if he could actually make the suggestion he was thinking about. "Why don't the two of you exchange information? Maybe together you can defeat the Legacy virus."

Essex seemed hesitant to accept that suggestion. "You know that doctor McCoy wouldn't trust me and frankly, I don't blame him."

"What if I spoke to him?" Remy offered in a tiny tone.

"You would do that?" Essex felt proud of his son.

"I can try..." Remy met his father's gaze and smiled weakly. "Will you let us go now?"

"Of course. You aren't my prisoners." Essex regretted that they wanted to leave so soon. He'd looked forward to getting to know his son, but maybe he would get his chance later, once Remy had started to trust him. He hoped so. "I will take you back to Westchester."

"Uhm," Joseph started, pleased that father and son were opening up to each other, "do you have some decent clothes for me?" Seeing the expression in Remy's eyes, he knew he had to do something to lighten the mood. "I'm freezing my butt off!"

Remy burst out laughing and Essex joined in. "Yes, I think I got some spare clothes somewhere," Essex replied, amused.

"You're unbelievable, cher," Remy whispered fondly as Essex left to fetch those clothes. "Never change, you hear me?"

Seriously, Joseph nodded his head. "I won't."

///

"Hey, Drake, you're drooling on me!" Warren teased and amused, he watched Bobby's head jerk back. Only now did Warren realize that Bobby had never let go of his hand. Their fingers were still entwined. As Bobby's eyes opened, Warren found that he wouldn't mind waking up next to the other man first thing in the morning.

Over the years he had grown so damn comfortable around Bobby that at times they appeared to be joined at the hip. Bobby always tagged along and they had even double dated when Warren had found a new girlfriend and slowly, he had realized why Bobby stuck that close. //It was a good thing that he hasn't sprung this on me earlier, I might have freaked...//

"Sorry about that," Bobby apologized, sleepily. "I don't usually drool, at least I don't think so." Surprised, he took in Warren's smile. He still couldn't really believe that Warren had reacted that calmly to finding out that his best friend was in love with him, had been in love with him for years. Warren's reaction had completely stunned him. "Can I ask you something personal?" Bobby sat back in the wheelchair and saw that the fabric on Warren's shoulder was damp. Yeah, he had been drooling all right!

"Just say it," Warren encouraged Bobby.

"I'm not complaining about you giving me a chance to make things work, but I never expected you to be cool with it." Bobby fidgeted with a corner of the blanket that Hank had draped over his shoulders while he'd been asleep. "Aren't you, you know, like mad that your best friend has a thing for you? I'm a guy in case you hadn't noticed."

Warren chuckled. "I know you're a guy, Bobby. I kinda noticed that when we showered after training!"

Bobby blushed. "That's exactly what I mean, doesn't it repulse you that I wanna be intimate with you?" Bobby quickly looked away, was he really addressing this?

"Bobby," Warren started, cautiously, "I love you... you're my best friend. I can learn to touch you as a lover... in time. And yes, it will be new for me because I've never been with a guy before, but does the package matter that much? Man, woman, *alien*..." Bobby laughed and Warren joined him, careful not to jolt his broken ribs.

"Okay," Bobby chuckled. "I believe you, and we'll certainly take this slow. I still can't believe..."

Warren raised his right hand and rested a finger against Bobby's lips to shut him up. "Hey, that works!" he mumbled content, as Bobby stopped talking. "We'll figure things out..."

Bobby nodded his head once. "I love you," he whispered against Warren's finger. "I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you." Hesitantly, his other hand snuck closer to Warren's feathers to caress them. "Things got worse when you took me flying sometimes. I could feel your body heat through your clothes and..."

"Hey, Drake..." Warren started, "you can tell me about your erotic fantasies later. Why don't we try the kissing thing to start with?"

"The kissing thing?" Bobby repeated, stunned.

"Yeah, like you place your lips on mine and we kiss?" Warren teased. The blush on Bobby's face grew stronger. "I think I can handle the kissing thing."

Slowly, Bobby leaned forward and experimentally brushed Warren's lips. He expected to be pushed away, still convinced that Warren didn't know what he was getting himself in to, but when Warren kissed him back he allowed himself to grow hopeful. It was a chaste kiss, neither one yet daring to seek entry to the other one's mouth, but Bobby came up breathless nonetheless. Until now, kissing Warren had been a fantasy, something he'd never expected to happen in real life, which usually sucked big time.

"Yeah, I can definitely handle the kissing thing," Warren said smugly and smiled. Seeing the rapture in Bobby's eyes, he vowed to do his best to make this relationship work.

///

"Thank you... father," Remy said shyly. Essex had used a tesserect to take them back to the mansion. They'd arrived just outside the mansion's premises. Joseph, now dressed in grey sweats, was tightly holding his hand and Remy felt thankful that Joseph loved him that much.

"Your telepathy will continue to grow stronger," Essex told Remy. "Your shields are strong enough to contain your new powers. You can lower them and call out to me, should you ever want to talk to me again."

Remy read the expression in Essex's eyes and knew that his father hoped that there would be other talks. "I... would like that... to talk to you again..." he said, feeling a bit nervous. It was hard to accept that his father was back in his life. The Sinister he'd known seemed gone and in his place he found a gentle man, who regretted most of his life's decisions. "I'll tell doctor McCoy that you would like to work together on finding a cure for the Legacy virus."

Joseph watched them both and sensed the tension between them, but he didn't doubt that they would try to stay in contact, maybe even strengthen their new relationship.

Essex decided to make things a little easier on all of them and walked back towards his tesserect. "Remember that you've got a father now... " he whispered, looking over his shoulder at Remy.

"I will," Remy promised. Silently, he watched as the tesserect swallowed his father's form. A moment later, they were alone again.

"Come on, let's head for the mansion," Joseph said firmly and pulled his lover along after wrapping an arm around Remy's waist. Remy followed obediently, but seemed pre-occupied. Suddenly, Remy's sharp intake of breath alerted Joseph that something was wrong. "What?"

"Scott..." Remy stuttered, overwhelmed by one certain memory. "I told him that Essex is my father..." Shocked, he stopped dead in his tracks. "I can't go back to the mansion. Do you really think they'll want me there now that they know...?"

"Remy?" Joseph caught his lover in a hug. "You've got to face Scott and talk to him. Should you still want to leave after you had that conversation, we will."

"I'm not sure I can do this... what if he told the others as well?" Remy trembled.

"There's only one way to find out," Joseph said decisively and pulled Remy along. "You've got me to lean on, remember, sexy?"

Remy nodded his head once, but didn't feel that confident.

///

Scott picked up their presence first, as one security camera registered Joseph and Remy's return. Briefly, he wondered how Remy would react when facing him. Scott was determined to be understanding and forgiving, knowing that Remy had suffered greatly in the past. He was still trying to understand why a father would manipulate a son like Sinister had manipulated Remy and the Morlocks had paid the price.

Scott left the room and walked towards Remy and Joseph, as he wanted to talk to them before they encountered the others. Remy needed to know a few things.

Remy halted when he found Scott in front of him. The visor hid Scott's expression and Remy tried hard not to reach out empathically to probe Scott's feelings. "Allo, Cyke," he said, falling back into his old role. He might be comfortable enough to let his mask down around Joseph, but he wasn't ready to do the same thing with Scott around.

Joseph tightened his hold on Remy and gazed at Scott, wishing he knew how to help Remy. He knew that his lover would like to stay at the mansion, but if the X-Men reacted with loathing now that Remy was back, Joseph would pack their things and they would leave at once. "Scott," he said, waiting for Scott to start talking.

"Remy, we need to talk about... Essex." Scott had debated what to call his old nemesis, and remembering the look in Essex's eyes when he'd taken Remy's hand, he'd decided against using Sinister.

"I told y' de trut', Cyke. He's my father," Remy said, nervously. "Mais dere's somet'in' else y' need to know."

With newly found respect Joseph peeked at Remy. He'd never be able to pull off the accent like Remy did and he wondered what other things he would discover about his lover once they could spend some time alone.

Scott nodded his head, more than willing to listen. "Go ahead."

"Y' know I'm an empat'," Remy started, "mais y' don' know dat my empat'y brought back my father's feelings. As Sinister, he didn' have any emotions, mais now dat dey are back... he's a changed man."

Scott tried hard to understand. "Remy? I don't get it..."

"Essex cloned Josep'... Astra killed him and I couldn' imagine livin' wit'out him. I was t'inkin' 'bout takin' my own life and I was so scared... Josep' is de first person who I ever loved... and he loves me back."

Scott looked at them and saw that they were holding hands. "I'm not angry, Remy, if that's what you're worried about. Life can't have been easy for you, knowing your own father was planning your downfall."

Remy swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry..." he said, recalling the pain he'd felt in the tunnels when the Marauders had slaughtered the Morlocks.

"You're forgiven," Scott said and smiled. "But when I got back home I had to tell someone and Jean and the professor now also know that you're Essex's son."

"And what 'bout de ot'ers?" Remy asked, worried. He could live with Jean and Xavier knowing the truth, but what if Warren, Storm and Rogue ever found out?

"Your secret is safe with us." Scott walked towards them and extended his right hand. "Welcome home, Remy."

Dazed, Remy shook Scott's hand. "Merci, mon ami, mais what 'bout Warren and..."

"Don't worry about Warren. Bobby will keep Warren occupied," Scott quipped and signalled them to follow him inside.

///

"Go on, talk to him!" Scott gently nudged Remy inside and caught Joseph's amused glance as Remy and Warren made eye contact. "Warren won't bite," Scott teased.

Warren was alone, as Bobby had decided to take a shower and Hank was helping his patient so the cast wouldn't get wet. Seeing Remy, Joseph and Scott near the doorway, Warren waited for the Cajun to approach his bed. He knew that they needed to talk. "Hello, Remy," he said in a friendly tone.

Remy registered that gentle tone and surprised, he took a few steps closer to Warren's bed. "Allo, Warren." He didn't know what to say. Scott had dragged him to the medlab so Warren and he could talk things through and bury the hatchet.

"I owe you a big thank you," Warren said in a firm tone. "You saved Bobby's life and mine. Scott told me about Astra and who knows what might have happened if Joseph and you hadn't intervened."

"Y're welcome," Remy said, shyly. Now that he no longer felt the constant need to try to lock out Warren's feelings, he felt something that hadn't been there before and the feeling puzzled him.

"I'd like you to move back into the mansion," Warren continued. "I'll behave, I promise."

Remy looked at Warren thoughtfully. "Y're no longer mad wit' me for de... massacre and losin' y'r wings?"

"I've been blaming the wrong person," Warren admitted. "I'm sorry that I came down on you so hard."

Remy shrugged his shoulders. "Y' had every right to be mad wit' me."

"Hey, what's going on here?" Wrapped up in large towels and seated in his wheelchair, Bobby entered the room again. Hank was pushing his wheelchair and Bobby took in the scene in front of him. "Did the two of you talk?" His gaze traveled from Remy to Warren.

And suddenly Remy knew what the feeling was that was puzzling him. Love, Warren was radiating love and affection and Bobby was emanating the same feelings. "Mon Dieu..."

"Yeah, I got myself a new boyfriend," Bobby quipped and rested his hand on Warren's, now that he had reached the bed. "Thanks, Hank..."

"You're welcome, Robert," Hank said pleased and took in his friends' faces. "Now you and Warren can double date with Remy and Joseph," he teased. Laughter rolled through the room and they relaxed.

Scott nodded his head. //Yes, sir,// he told Charles telepathically. //We're finally a team.//

Behind his desk, Charles smiled warmly and content, he leaned back. "Maybe one day our dream will come true."

 

END

 

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