Complicated Situations
Chapter One: Day One, Part One
by PrettyGothGirl

All Standard Disclaimers Apply
Spoilers: Post X-Men, not X2, X3 or Origins Compatible
Summary: One fine Saturday morning in the middle of summer, Marie and Remy wake up together and determine they had a good time, now, if they could only remember it.
Author's Note: A big thank you to my beta reader, Lost and Never Found who is AWESOME and puts up with my flightiness. This story is dedicated to Mariamcardoso who wanted some sexy Romy lovin'. Hope this is enough for you! It was supposed to be a one shot, then the first scene took fifteen pages, and then the story hit the LJ post character limit and then I got to 100 pages and then Word stopped counting spelling erroros and I gave up. So, not a one shot. This came to me in a migraine and amused me greatly, so I hope you guys don't take it too seriously.

July 1st, Day One, Saturday

The dark oblivion held him in it's warm, comfortable thrall and Remy knew, despite the fact that his brain was beginning to work, that he didn't want to get up. He enjoyed the hazy forgetful feeling of a true sleep without dreams and extraneous emotions that others gave off interrupting his slumber or twisting his nightly absolutions. He kept his breathing even and slowly took stock of his surroundings as best he could without opening his eyes or invoking his mutation. He was warm, warmer than usual, the warmth that only came from having another body in bed with him wrapped up in the silky feeling of five hundred thread count sheets. He felt a heartbeat under his one hand, the hand attached to the arm that was wrapped around the ribcage of the woman next to him, (she had to be a woman, her breasts pressed against the top of his arm) tucked up into his side and under his chin. Her head rested on his other arm, his left arm he belatedly realized, her hair spreading over his neck and their fingers entwined. She smelled like oranges and honeysuckle.

Involuntarily he smiled. He must have had a good time last night.

It took him a good minute that he couldn't remember there being a last night.

In bed next to him, Marie, who still considered herself as Rogue most the time, woke up, her body going from being a dead weight, to someone slightly more aware and holding themselves up. She kept her eyes closed, basking in the warmth of being in a man's arms, his hard body pressed against her in all the right places and his calves keeping her feet warm. Her body ached in pleasant ways. She resisted the urge to snuggle closer not wanting it to end, her first one nightstand. How weird.

Except, she'd gone to bed alone.

It wasn't the realization for Remy that his last memories were of early morning, or for Marie that she'd been alone in a motel dropping into bed exhausted, that made them open their eyes. They were both perfectly happy to lay there in each other's arms in contented ignorance, willing to push away the total illogic of their situation to deal with later.

Someone pounded on the door.

Remy's eyes flew opened and his head come up as he glared at it.

"Remy!" Emil shouted from the other side. "Open up!"

Remy scowled and wanted to swear but it was far too early in the morning for that, or so he thought.

Emil pounded again. "Remy! Ah know yah are in dere, if yah don' open t'is door, Ah'm comin' in whet'er yah like it or not."

Remy did spit a curse that time. "Merde." He tugged his hand out from the woman's and involuntarily looked down as he did so and his heart stopped. On his hand and on hers were two simple platinum bands. Well, simple was a mild understatement, his was simple, hers sparkled with a several small rows of diamonds in a curved line from one side to the other.

Emil hit the door again. "Ten!" He started.

Remy forsake dignity and rolled out of bed. His eyes stopped at the bedside table and the piece of paper innocently sitting there that declared in stark black and white that Remy Etienne Lebeau had married Anna Marie D'Ancanto.

"Nine!"

Remy jerked his gaze away from the marriage certificate and found his pants. He jerked them on and went for the door, noting that as he did given the dishevelment of the room that he and Anna Marie must have indeed had an amazing time. He worked the zipper closed, not bothering to button them.

It was a damn pity he didn't remember it.

"Eight!"

Remy jerked the door open and glared at his red headed cousin. "Bon matin, Emil."

"Matin? Matin! It's almost noon!" Emil gaped at him.

Remy ran a hand through his hair and glanced over his shoulder at Anna Marie.

Marie sat up and held the sheet to her chest. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders. The mid-morning sun struck the red strands and lit them up like fire. She looked around the floor, most likely for her clothes, and not finding them, picked up his shirt and after shrugging it on, she stood to button it. The bottom of the shirt reached the bottom of her thighs and it strained across her chest. He stared, hand tangled still in his hair. His brain became an incoherent muddle of married, legs, shirt, married, mine. Marie didn't notice. She watched her hands work the small buttons through the holes and paused after three buttons, her eyes widening and she held her left hand out, staring as sunlight sparkled off the stones.

"What in hell did we do?" She gaped.

Remy shifted on his feet, trying to get his brain to work again, not sure how to answer her with Emil standing right there. This is not something he wanted to go into in front of his cousin.

Emil ignored her. He wasn't going to give Remy a choice. "Remy, Ah don' care about de femme yah have in dere. It's been near two days and Oncle is gettin' in one of his moods."

Marie's legs gave out and she abruptly sat back on the edge of the bed as she paled.

"Cherie!" Remy let go of the door, working his hand out of his hair and the tangles he'd found. He didn't notice or care that Emil caught the door before it closed and shoved his way into the room. Remy knelt down next to Marie and grabbed her hands. They were cold. "Cherie, look at me." He murmured, rubbing her fingers trying to get them warm again.

She jerked her eyes away from the ring. Her green irises seemed lost in the whites. Her eyes went back to their hands and to his wedding band. She swallowed hard. "What did we do?" She whispered again.

"Remy." Emil said lowly.

Remy didn't dare take his eyes away from Anna Marie or else he might have thrown something at Emil, and he might have charged it first. He reached up and cupped her cheek with his left hand. He opened his mouth to say something soothing, anything, even just to tell her how beautiful she was.

Emil beat him too it. "Yah got married!" He said voice almost cracking.

Remy inhaled in the split second quiet of the room. Emil then burst into hysterical laughter and dropped to the floor with an audible thump.

Remy winced. "Dat." He muttered. He dropped his hand and his head, sighing.

Emil almost didn't sound like he was breathing. He took a deep ragged breath and managed to get out a sentence. "Yah are in so much trouble." He went back to his sidesplitting laughter. Remy's shoulders tensed and he gritted his teeth. Emil continued to laugh. "Yah, married." He choked.

They surged to their feet together, Remy grabbing Anna Marie before she could go after Emil. He wasn't sure why he knew she was going to do something to his cousin, but he just knew it by the state of her emotions or her body language or some sort of deep instinct that he didn't remember buried in his subconscious.

"Emil," he spat. "Yah are not helpin'!"

"Desole." Emil said and then paused. "Non." He laughed harder and wiped tears from his eyes.

"Anna Marie, sha," Remy tilted her chin upwards with a finger.

"Marie." She corrected. He raised an eyebrow. "Ah go by Marie." She added.

Remy corrected himself with plenty of irony. "Marie, sha. Why don' yah go start de shower, while Ah deal wit' Emil."

Emil gaped at them for a second and then started to cackle more.

Marie nodded and glared at Emil over Remy's shoulder. She turned and stalked to the bathroom. She glanced over her shoulder just before she reached it, her eyes lingering on his chest. She flushed, bit her lip and ducked her head as she grinned. Remy's lips twitched. So, she liked what she saw. He waited until the door closed before spinning, crossing his arms and staring down his nose at Emil.

"Yah don' know her name." Emil pointed at him. He gulped air. "And yah married her!"

Remy put a hand to his eyes and rubbed the ends of his eyebrows. It didn't really do anything, but he had to try. "Emil." He gritted out between tightly clenched teeth, his jaw starting to ache almost immediately. The shower started. Emil continued to laugh. "Emil. Shut up!" Remy almost gave into the temptation to kick him. "What do yah want?"

Emil propped himself up on his shoulders and grinned at him. "Make up yer mind. Do yah want me to shut up or do yah want me to talk?"

Remy pointed at him. "Answer de question and only de question."

"Well, it was a very open ended question. Ah mean, what do Ah want from life? Or what do Ah want for lunch? Or what do Ah want for keepin' quiet about yer nuptials?"

Remy interrupted before Emil could go on all day. "For what reason did yah come here?"

"Mais, given first dat Ah had to find yah, which given yer tendency to pay for everyt'in' in cash is much hard t'an it sounds," Emil grinned at him. "It's not really me dat wants anyt'in'."

"Dere is no need to be a literal hard ass." Remy fingers twitched. He needed a cigarette or to throttle Emil.

Emil tilted his head. "Oh, yes dere is."

"Get to de damn point. So Ah can join mah wife in de shower."

Emil choked and laughed again. "Does she know dat yah are gonna join her?"

Remy twitched. "Out wit' it." He said in his best 'I'm losing patience and am about to kill you just to hear your bones pop' tone of voice.

"Oncle Jean-Luc is missin' his favorite son." Emil smirked at him. "And it is time for yah to come home as he does not like it when he loses said favorite son in de same city. Come on Remy, yah have credit cards. Reassure de old man by usin' dem once in a while instead of disappearin' all de damn time."

"Ah don' disappear all de time." Remy said distractedly, his mind focused on the fact that Jean-Luc, his beloved Papa was in a mood that Emil was using soft words like 'does not like.' Remy felt his brain go a little fizzy. How mad was Papa?

"So, Ah'm to find yah and escort yah back to de chateau." Emil scowled. He'd drawn the short straw and he was half certain that they had rigged it just so he would do so.

That jerked Remy back. Papa was mad. He'd sent someone in the famille to escort him home and not some apprentice who needed the practice in tracking down things. "Mon Dieu. Fine, let Remy shower first." Remy glared at him one last time. "Stay put and no eavesdroppin'."

Emil smiled the most innocent smile he could muster. "Ah shall not move from t'is very spot."

Remy rolled his eyes and went around the room gathering all the clothes and personal effects he could find. He folded the marriage license carefully and put it in his pocket. He didn't trust Emil one bit. He found a pair of woman's boots next to the coffee table with a plate of crumbs on it, an opened bottle of champagne, empty, and two glasses, one tipped over. Her dress was actually under the bed and their other personal effects scattered elsewhere across the end tables and on the floor. He glared one last time at Emil and Emil smiled at him, put his hands under his head and started to whistle.

Remy opened the bathroom door and shut it behind him.

"Remy?" Marie asked from the other side of a shower curtain.

"Oui, cherie." He said and folded her clothes on the counter, placing what had to be her phone and other personal effects on top of them given he didn't recognize them. He shook his head and picked up his shirt off the floor, and then folded his clothes, taking off his pants again. He stepped in the shower behind her, finding her huddled underneath the spray, water pouring over the back of her head and down her back. His eyes followed that stream of water down her spine, barely noting the pale smoothness of her skin, more entranced by the amount of curves that he could see even from the back, the breadth in her shoulders and the narrowness of her waist. His eyes dropped to her hips and he winced. Blue-black bruises stained her beautiful skin the size of his fingertips.

She pulled her hair away from her neck and around to the side and he winced again at the hickey on the side of her neck.

Apparently their fun had been more passionate and less gentle than he'd thought. Mon Dieu.

He reached past her, seeing that she'd already opened the soap and the bottles of shampoo and hair conditioner. He grabbed the soap and soaped up his hands before running them along her back.

She jumped.

"Easy, sha, just Remy."

She looked over her shoulder at him and blushed, turning her head back around quickly, her hands twisting her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. His hands gently rubbed up and down her back and she bit her lip as the glimpse of him naked and slightly glistening with sweat and the spray of water, absolutely covered in muscles and his face model handsome and- her lips tingled and she stifled a moan as he found a knot in her back, rubbing at it with his thumbs slippery with soap arousing other parts of her body.

Remy leaned forward. "Yah gonna share dat spray?"

She gasped. "Y-yes." She flushed again and without looking at him, stepped out of the shower.

Remy pouted. She hadn't had to leave. He shook his head and moved under the water himself. Though it was probably better that she had or else he might have caressed those curves more and forgotten that they were next to strangers and taken her against the wall of the shower. He clenched his eyes shut and tried to forget the way her voice gasped and the bare edges he'd seen of her breasts. Merde. Why in hell couldn't he remember the night before? It wasn't right not to remember his wedding night, or at least he was assuming it was his wedding night. He hadn't caught the date on the license, to enthralled at his own signature given his quick by necessity glance.

Marie wrapped a towel around her and bit her lip as she picked up her phone. Her eyes widened again. "It's Saturday!"

"What?" He lifted his head, torn away from his thoughts. What did she mean it was Saturday? It couldn't be Saturday. The last day he remembered was Thursday. Mon Dieu. It couldn't be Saturday.

"The old man is gonna kill me." Marie said for both of them and she spun around to face the shower and then flushed again. Oops. He'd been so nice to wash her back for her and she'd just gotten out and left him there. She curled her toes into the bathmat and berated herself. He was her husband and he wasn't going to do anything to hurt her and if he did try something, by all that was holy she'd probably help. The towel dropped to the mat and she got back in behind him. He turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry." She muttered and grabbed the soap out of his hand. He ran his gaze down her figure, pausing at her breasts, her belly button. He looked back up and met her eyes. She felt herself turning red again, but she raised her chin daring him to call her on it.

"Don' be." He smirked at her.

Her lips twitched and she tossed the soap from hand to the other. "Yah are a dirty naughty man."

His smirk turned into a grin. "Oui. Whatcha gonna do 'bout it, cherie?"

"Ah think Ah've already done it Sugar, but it wouldn't hurt to clean yah up a bit." She tossed her hair behind her back and put her weight on one hip. "We're just missin' a scrub brush."

He snickered.

Marie soaped up her hands and then stopped in mid motion. "Holy shit." She muttered. Streaks of pink and red marred the skin of his back and his shoulders seemed to have little half moon puncture marks.

Remy frowned. "Cherie?"

"Ah got yah a bit, Sugar." She winced. "This might sting."

"Mais, dat is hardly a moment for restraint." He said. "Remy already figured out dat we had fun, if only Remy could remember what dat fun was."

"Sugar, six inch scratches ain't exactly what Ah'd call fun." Marie shook her head. He had to be a little bit crazy. Okay, he had to be a great deal crazy. They'd gotten married. Of course that meant she was crazy too.

"Depends on de moment when yah receive de scratches." Remy shrugged and hissed as she ran her hands along his back, gently rubbing the soap in. "Remy takes it yah don' remember either, non?"

"No." Marie said it softly.

"Merde." He closed his eyes and tilted his head back down.

Marie finished washing his back in silence and put the soap back when she was done, getting back out and giving him a little privacy to finish. Remy took his cue from her and washed up, including his hair. Swearing inwardly to himself when he couldn't get the image of Marie from invading his brain, he turned off the hot water completely and stood under the cold for as long as he could manage it. With another mental curse he twisted off the cold water and pulled the curtain back.

Marie zipped up the back of the little black dress he'd found on the floor covering up the black lacey bra and her spine. He shook his head once to break the mesmerizing sight and reached for a towel, wrapping it around his waist. Marie turned around, the skirt of the dress swishing around her thighs even as her hair was in wet tangled clumps, the white streaks turned a bit clear and the red a dark brown. She looked adorable in the dress. It was in that second he rashly decided he liked her better in his shirt.

He reached for a second towel and scrubbed his hair and upper body as Marie leaned against the counter and smiled at him. He stopped and blinked once. "Cherie, are yah checkin' Remy out?"

Her lips twitched. "Oui."

He ducked his head once and peered up at her through his lashes. "Bon."

She laughed and it rolled over him, low and sweet. He liked the sound of it. He took a step closer to her and suddenly the bathroom became too small for the both of them. Her laughter died in her throat and her head tilted backwards not to break contact with his eyes. He slowly leaned down, her lips parting and his head tilted, their lips touching and then fusing together. His hand slid around her waist, pressing against the small of her back. He pulled away just as slow. One her hands slid up to his shoulder. They stared at each other a few seconds and then she went up on tiptoe as his head ducked back down, lips meeting again. They pulled away long seconds later and he rested his forehead against hers, smiling at her. She rubbed the tip of her nose against his.

Outside, Emil began to sing a French drinking song, a dirty French drinking song.

Remy sighed. "Ah'm goin' to kill him." He muttered. Marie laughed again. Remy kissed her laughter away until she moaned. He pulled back. "But to kill him, Ah need to get dressed. And to do dat, Ah have to let go of yah." He said. She grinned at him and didn't say anything. Remy repressed a whine and reached for his shirt. He shrugged into it and didn't bother to button it up. He paused in reaching for his pants and tilted his head to the side as the incongruity of her outfit finally hit him. "Cherie, why are yah wearin' motorcycle boots wit' dat dress?"

"Because-" She stopped, her eyes widening and she let off a string of French curses that he had to admit impressed him. "The motorcycle." She started to shove away from him and he wrapped his arm all the way around to the other side of her waist.

"Cherie, cherie, de state of de motorcycle ain't gonna change in de next few minutes. Remy is almost dressed." He picked her up to keep her from moving.

She nodded rapidly and bit her bottom lip. "The old man is going to kill me." She added in a whisper. "And then he'll hand me o'er to Scooter and he'll have his turn." Marie put her face in her hands as her heart pounded against her rib cage. Nothing had better have happened to that motorcycle.

Remy set her back down and put on his pants. Marie parted her fingers, forgetting about the motorcycle for a second in her curiosity. He guffawed. She squealed and blushed. He shoved his feet into his own motorcycle boots. He pried her hands from his face. "Come on, cherie."

She ducked her head and let him pull her from the bathroom by one hand.

Emil stopped his singing. "Are yah two lovebirds done now?"

Remy rolled his eyes and pulled out a roll of bills from his back pocket, peeling a few off one handed to put on the table as a tip. "Oui."

Emil looked over. "Mon Dieu, button yer shirt Remy."

Remy leered at him. "Worried dat yah might like it?"

Marie sniggered and glanced around the room. She thought she had everything, but since she didn't know what they'd actually brought up with them, she wasn't sure. She let go of his hand and checked what looked to be a coat closet. "Ah hah!" She grinned and pulled out her leather duster and his trench coat. She tossed him his coat and shrugged into hers.

"Merci, cherie." He said and put his coat on too, even though the sun was shining outside and until they got going, given it was the beginning of a hot sticky summer he'd be unbearably hot.

"Yah are welcome, sugar." Marie reached into her coat pocket and dug for her keys. She frowned when she didn't find them. "Come on." She muttered and knelt down, unsnapping a pocket on her boot. "There." She pulled the keys out. "Thank God." She said with fervor.

Emil opened the door. "De bill is all paid."

Marie blinked. "Maybe this is a bad thing to be askin' but, um, where are we?"

"Hotel Maison de Ville, New Orleans." Emil said and his brow furrowed.

"New Orleans?" Marie stopped in the middle of the open door. "New Orleans." She whispered.

"Oui." Emil said slowly.

"Ah was in fuckin' Mississippi!" Marie half shouted.

Emil's jaw dropped.

Remy bit his lip. "Well, Ah was at Café Du Monde." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"The motorcycle." Marie muttered. "Louisiana." She shook her head. "How did Ah get to Louisiana and not know it?" Remy walked her down the outside porch overlooking a courtyard swinging their hands back and forth.

"Ah don' know." He said.

She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, Ah didn't expect yah to, Sugar."

He looked back at her and half-smiled. He shrugged one shoulder. She'd asked. She rolled her eyes and looked away from him. A few seconds later, she risked another look over at him, a small smile playing on her mouth. He felt her emotions change and looked at her. She looked down. He moved over six inches so they could walk closer together. Marie giggled. Remy grinned.

Behind them, Emil rolled his eyes.

They got to the front of the hotel and Marie made a noise of relief in her throat. Scott's customized, custom painted Harley Davidson V-Rod sat in the parking lot without a scratch on her. She broke Remy's hold and ran over to it, straddling it and running her hands along it. With a half sob of relief she braced her elbows on the handlebars and put her head on her arms.

Remy tried not to laugh and failed miserably.

Marie turned at him and looked at him through strands of her hair, looking quite sheepish. "Yah don' understand. It ain't mine. Ah borrowed it and-" She winced and buried her head again. "It's okay." She muttered. "Ah can breathe now."

Emil gaped at her again and Remy snickered. "Not yers." He said.

Marie sat up and rolled her eyes, tossing her hair. "It's a V-Rod, a boy toy. If Ah had the money to buy a Harley, it wouldn't be a pretty ass toy like this. Ah'd get a Harley, like a Heritage Softail or something."

Remy laughed. She was adorable. He liked her already.

Emil scowled. "Dat's great. Can we go home now?"

Remy leaned against his own Harley. "What's yer big hurry?"

"Yah got married and Ah want to break de news." Emil grinned and rubbed his hands together.

Remy looked over his shoulder at Emil and scowled. "It's mah news. Ah get to tell it."

"Oh non. Ah get to report to Oncle first."

"If yah two are gonna fight o'er it, Ah'll just do it and solve yer problems." Marie shifted on the bike and stuck the keys in the ignition, pulling it upright and kicking the stand up. She looked at both of them and reached into her pocket for her sunglasses and smiled sweetly.

Emil stared at her. "Where are yah from, Madame?"

Marie smiled broadly at him. "Mississippi."

Emil looked at Remy. "Yah can tell it." He paused. "And yah can be yelled at."

Remy scowled at him. "Merci," he grumbled.

"Oh non, merci beaucoup." Emil half bowed and mounted his own motorcycle.

Remy rolled his eyes and got on his motorcycle, starting it up. Emil started up his motorcycle as well and Marie managed to start Scott's in the overlap between theirs so they couldn't hear it over the sounds of theirs. She didn't want to field questions over the modifications Scott had made to the engine. For one, she didn't know what they all were and for two, she wasn't sure if Logan hadn't added some as well without Scott's permission. Both spent far too much time in the garage working on the bike in her opinion. Marie backed out as Remy did, making sure to keep up next to him. He and Emil knew where they were going and she didn't want to lose him. They motored through the streets of New Orleans and stopped at a light next to a car. Marie looked over, noted the color and make and looked back at the light with disinterest.

The cute college boy in the driver's seat didn't take it that way. He smiled at the amount of leg she was showing and revved his engine.

Marie turned her head towards Remy, her sunglasses slid down her nose and she rolled her eyes. "V-6 pussy," she mouthed.

Remy grinned, and dropped his eyes in admiring glance of his own at the leg he could see. Marie wrinkled her nose at him.

The guy revved the engine of his cute little sporty convertible again. Marie turned her head, half smiled, shifted into neutral and gunned the throttle on the V-Rod. The engine roared drowning out the motorcycles idling next to her and overriding the pitiful V-6. The guy's eyes widened. Emil's jaw dropped and Remy raised his eyebrows taking a second look at the motorcycle. Marie lifted a hand, and pressed her fingers to her lips blowing the guy a kiss. She shifted the motorcycle back into gear as the light changed and they pulled away. She shook her head at Remy and he laughed as he signaled a turn onto the road back to the chateau. She adjusted her sunglasses back and grinned. They managed the rest of the trip without incident, the gates opening as they pulled into the drive.

It was only her familiarity with Xavier's mansion that kept Marie from becoming extensively nervous at the French Style veritable Plantation manor that they rode up to. Remy stopped at the front door. He glanced over at Marie. She shut V-Rod down and kicked the stand down.

"Leave yer t'in's, cherie. De servants will get dem." He said softly.

"And the keys?" She asked and bit her lip.

"Leave dem, no one will steal from yah here." He said. He got off his bike. Marie inhaled deeply, then let it out, and slowly pulled her hands away from the handles, getting off. Remy held out his hand. "Not a scratch, cherie."

"Yah promise." She said, trying not to sound too anxious.

"Ah promise."

She got off the bike and took his hand. "All right."

Remy intertwined their fingers and headed up the stairs. The front door opened before they could get to it. A young woman with dark brown hair in a classy outfit that still managed to scream uniform smiled at Remy and bobbed a curtsey. "Monsieur Remy." Her eyes lingered a few seconds too long on Marie before passing to Emil. "Monsieur Emil." She added.

Remy glanced at Marie and cursed at himself and his own stupidity and then promptly decided it was Emil's fault that he hadn't been able to think about how Marie's physical appearance was going to factor into this whole debacle. She looked beautiful to him. Her red and white hair a tangled mess somewhat dry from the ride, the black dress was rumpled and her shoes didn't at all match in terms of style. But her unpainted face glowed in health and her eyes sparkled in good humor. All of it wouldn't matter to his family. Merde. Ten more minutes and she, at least, would have been able to find clean clothes and brush her hair. He was a fool. He kicked himself one last time, and knowing there now was no help for it, blundered ahead. "Bon matin, Anastasie. T'is is mah wife, Madame Anna Marie."

"Marie is fine." Marie murmured.

Anastasie's dark eyes widened and she belatedly curtseyed again. "Madame." She murmured.

"Is Papa in his office?" Remy asked and led Marie into the house.

"Oui, Monsieur." Anastasie said and shut the door behind Emil. "He is expectin' yah."

Remy winced. "Merci." He muttered.

Marie glanced around the house and wondered if all rich people hired the same decorators. The inside of the house looked eerily similar to Xavier's mansion except for the color scheme with French furniture instead of English. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked at Remy. He looked back at her.

"Cherie," he started and stopped unsure of how to go on. He wasn't sure he wanted her to meet his father until Jean-Luc could manage to pretend to be civil. If Papa were as angry as Remy thought he might be, then Jean-Luc wouldn't bother to be polite to her.

"A parlor will do me just fine." Marie smiled at him and tried to keep it from trembling. She had her own calls to make.

He smiled at her. "Yah are a wonder." He murmured and escorted her to the morning room. "Remy will be back," he paused. "Eventually." He squeezed her hand. He turned to go.

Marie didn't let his hand go. "Remy." She said and it came out a little like laughter. He turned back. Her eyes danced and she went up on tiptoe, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "For luck." She murmured.

His eyes lit up behind his sunglasses. "For luck, oui?" He murmured and kissed her again, their lips pressed against each other lingering. He pulled back and slid his sunglasses down his nose, winking at her.

She pushed hers down and winked back. He squeezed her hand one last time and walked off down the hall.

Marie sighed and turned into the room, she pulled off her coat and laid it across a sofa, sitting down next to it. She looked at the window and winced again. She stiffened her shoulders and sat up, taking off her sunglasses. She was the Rogue. She could handle one cranky old badger. She pulled out her phone and hit speed dial, setting it next to her ear.

It rang three times and by the third ring, Marie was having second thoughts. She didn't get a chance for thirds.

Someone picked up on the other end and started out in a snarl of pure rage that made Marie wince. "Kid, if you ever do that again, I am going to paddle your backside so hard it will throw you into next week!" He barely breathed. "I had some specific conditions about this little trip of yours and one of them was that I'd pretend I didn't know where you were as long as you checked in every twenty-four hours."

"I-"

"Two days, Marie, two damn days and I'm this close from tracking you down and hauling your scrawny ass home."

Marie swallowed hard. "I'm all right."

"You won't be when I get my hands on you!"

"Ah got married." Marie said it hurriedly, hoping that it would silence him enough so she could explain the rest of it.

It worked for maybe ten seconds. "What?" He roared.

"Ah got married." She said meekly.

"Where are you?"

"New Orleans." She said and knew as soon as it was out of her mouth that she shouldn't have revealed that information, at least, not until she explained that she was missing a significant portion of her memory including said marriage.

"I'm coming down."

"But-"

"I'll see you in an hour." He growled and the line went dead.

Marie stared at the far wall without seeing it. "But, Ah'm all right." She murmured. She automatically shut the phone off and set it in her lap. She cradled her head in her hands not a second later and groaned. Logan was coming.

She was in so much trouble.

Someone cleared their throat from the door. Marie jumped and looked up. Anastasie looked down her nose at her.

"May Ah get yah anyt'in' madame?" She asked.

Marie licked her lips and glanced down at her lap. She winced at the time. It wasn't noon, but it was near ten o'clock. "If it wouldn't be a bother, may Ah have somethin' to eat, please?" She felt her heart pounding and an irrational urge to explain herself. "Emil woke Remy and Ah out of a sound sleep and we didn't have time to get anythin'. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Ah'm sure he's half starved." She finished in a rush.

Something about Anastasie softened. She smiled. "It won't be any trouble at all, Madame."

"Oh merci beaucoup." Marie smiled and knew it trembled. Anastasie curtseyed and left the doorway. Marie sighed and ran a hand through her hair and grimaced as her fingers met tangles. She bit her lip as she mentally compared her rumpled and tangled appearance to Anastasie's pressed dress and neatly coiffed hair. Oh God, she was a mess. Marie worked out a few more tangles and finally gave it up as a lost cause. It was only a few minutes later that Anastasie came back with a tray with small fruit tarts, coffee and a dish of cream. Marie smiled at her. "Oh, this looks wonderful, mah compliments to the chef."

Anastasie beamed and curtseyed again, watching Marie critically as Marie poured a cup of coffee as if judging to make sure she did it properly. Satisfied with Marie's graceful movements Anastasie said. "She'll appreciate it. Now, if yah are fine here, Ah'll go take care of Monsieur Remy."

Marie set the coffee pot down. "Ah'm more than fine." She paused. "In an hour or so, Ah'm expectin'," She bit her lip, unsure of how to explain Logan, "mah guardian of sorts. He's Canadian and tends to dress like a lumberjack. His name is Logan Howlett."

"Ah'll keep an eye out for him and lead him here, Madame."

"Merci again, Anastasie." Marie sighed. She had no idea on how Logan would be arriving, but she knew he'd find him one way or the other. Maybe she should call him back and remind him about the GPS function of her cell phone. She looked at the phone a moment and then decided that he could figure it out himself. He was going to cause her enough trouble without her hurrying his arrival. She picked up her coffee and considered the selection of tarts. Until he arrived, she wasn't going to worry about it.

She had enough to worry about already.

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