A/N: MUST READ! This chapter contains strong themes of abuse, domestic abuse is "seen" directly and child abuse is hinted at.

With that out of the way, I present the final chapter of Hot Bayou Nights.

Hot Bayou Nights
Chapter 6
Full Circle

Rogue was falling. It was black all around her and she opened her eyes as wide as she could against the pressing darkness to no avail. She tried flailing her arms and legs, tried to scream as she continued to fall forever, but nothing happened. She was trapped within herself and not even her hair was whipping by her face, but the sick feeling of free-fall in her stomach told her otherwise.

And when she finally landed and sensation returned and she could see and feel and breathe….

She prayed to go back into that darkness rather than be here.

She was huddled in the dark corner of a closet. Various types of shoes littered the dark floor around her and her head would be buried in the hems of clothing had she not kept her head bent towards her knees which were hugged up to her chest. She was here again and she promised herself that she would never come back here, never be afraid again.

"Goddamnit Priscilla! How many times do Ah gotta tell ya?" A man's voice, her father's voice, roared. "Are you that fuckin' stupid?"

"Ah'm sorry Owen!" She heard her mother sob. "But Anna…she came home with a project for school taday—"

"Ah don't give a rat's ass!" The smack of hand against cheek resonated through the air. It was quiet for a few seconds before there was a thud and the clattering of various things falling off of the kitchen counter as her mother was slammed into it. Rogue didn't need to be out there to see it; she had seen it enough times already. All she could do now was hope that her father would tire himself out before he turned his temper on her.

"When Ah come home, Ah expect dinner ta be on this god forsaken table!" Another smack was heard. "Do you understand that? Or do Ah have ta beat it inta ya some more?"

"Owen, please, the neighbors—!"

"Ah don't give a fuck about the neighbors!" Owen threw Priscilla down on the ground, the thud traveling through the floor and the skittering of flesh against linoleum was heard as her mother slid slightly across the floor. "But you do, don't ya? You little slut! You're doin' the whole damn county! You fuckin' whore!"

"Owen, please! Owen!" Her mother's voice sounded strange and Rogue began to rock back and forth in her spot in the closet. Her breath quickened and tears began to stream down her face as the struggle continued, her mother's voice growing fainter and fainter. She hated the silence when they fought. Silence was bad, silence meant that momma was hurt and she would have to help her. Silence meant that her father was done with her mother and could be looking for her.

There was a sudden commotion, like the sound of bodies wrestling around on the ground. "Ow! Fuckin' bitch!" Owen cursed as Priscilla's rapid footfalls were heard heading toward the back door. "Come back here!"

"No! Stay away from me! Ah'll scream Owen, Ah swear ta God Ah'll—"

A loud, heavy thud and then, "Don't! Ya! Ever! Do! That! Again!" She could tell they were in the living room as their voices sounded farther away. Along with the carpeting on the floor in the living room, it made it harder to tell what was going on.

There was a loud and very heavy silence that seemed to constrict around Rogue's chest and make her skin prickle painfully. A heavy sigh and then, "…Shit."

Something was wrong. It was too quiet. Momma was hurt. "Momma!" Rogue cried as she ran out of the closet and into the living room. Owen was standing over her mother's currently lifeless form, his knuckles split and bleeding, his blood mixing with her mother's.

"What did you do?" She screamed a sob at him, rushing towards her father and attacking him with small fists and scrawny kicks. "What did ya do ta my momma?"

"Get off me ya little whelp!" He back-handed Rogue across the face, which sent her sprawling. Instead of leaving her alone like his words implied, he came after Rogue.

"No! No! Stop it! Don't touch me! Ah hate ya! Stop it!" She cried as she did her best to remain out of her father's grasp. She thought she had failed when his hand clasped down on petite ankle. Instead something strange happened and Rogue felt a shock go up her body and directly into her brain. It was painful and it hurt and she couldn't stop thinking about bad things. Things like hitting momma and drinking beer and breaking things and yelling. And she was angry, so very, very angry…and scared. What was going on? Where was that pest that that woman of his had decided to keep?

Everything became a blur of angry, evil thoughts after that. Someone was yelling and there were things breaking, but Rogue couldn't tell from where. The next thing she knew, she was standing in the kitchen, heavy iron frying pan in her hand and panting hard. She swallowed and found that her throat hurt. Had it been her that had been doing all that yelling? Momma was still passed out on the floor and so was Owen. She looked around and saw that the kitchen was a mess, much more damage done than what had come from the fight.

There was a groan and Rogue turned and saw Owen's arm move. She looked quickly between him and the kitchen, horror turning her skin pale. When he woke up, he was going to beat her senseless for this. It would be even worse than that week she had to stay home from school. With a gasp and fresh tears springing to her eyes, Rogue ran. Ran out of the house and down the street and as far away from the house and Owen as possible until her legs couldn't carry her anymore….

"…Rogue? Answer me! C'mon femme, now's not de time fo' a nap!" Remy was hovering over her, shaking her gently.

"Don't touch me!" She yelped, shoving Remy away from her and skittering away from him until her back was against the rotting, decrepit couch.

"Rogue, what happened?" Remy made to start towards her, but Rogue pointed a warning finger at him.

"You just stay over there." She edgily demanded. "Just-Just stay over there. Stay away." She sniffed and drew her knees up to her chest. Ah don't like boys anymore. 'Specially the ones like Owen. Keep 'em away from me, don't let 'em touch me.

Remy backed off and sat down on the floor across from Rogue. "Rogue," he asked in as calm a voice as he could manage, "what's wrong?"

She shook her head and sniffed, swallowing hard as tears threatened to well up in her eyes. She put her head on her knees and covered her head with her arms. In her mind, images of when she was a little older than she was when Owen was around flashed through. Some of the neighborhood boys had been exploring in the woods and found Rogue's fort. They thought her gun was pretty cool and she told them it was hers even though she had just found it lying on the ground. They wanted her to come exploring with them, maybe they could shoot some stuff along the way. Rogue said she didn't want to go, but they kept pleading. They seemed to like her. Maybe…maybe they won't be like Owen. They don't yell as much as him…

"I can't help ya if ya don't tell me what's wrong."

Now she was seeing Cody. Cody and it was about two seconds before they were going to kiss. His face loomed large in front of her and she could see every single freckle on his face. She had never kissed anyone before and the only other people she ever saw kiss was Owen and Momma. Something between a thought, a feeling and a terrible memory seized her brain once her lips touched his. There was that same jolt to her brain like that night when Owen had tried to get her and all she could think about was football and action figures and that Rogue was pretty and she wanted to kiss her. But wait, wasn't she Rogue? Or was her name Cody? If she was Rogue…and Cody…then who was that on the ground?

This whole ordeal had happened before. Rogue had stood in this room almost three weeks ago and the same thing had happened. Terrible, soul-scarring memories had flooded her and when she came back, a wonderful feeling had filled her. She knew, by some innate instinct that her powers were gone. Suddenly her clothes had become stifling hot and she demanded new ones. She made her way to town, tearing the sleeves off of her shirt and reveling in the feeling of air on her bare arms as she went. The nearest clothing store saw her purchase a whole new wardrobe and walk out in one of her new outfits and throw out her old clothes in a trashcan outside. Rogue then went to a bar to let loose and have some fun like she used to. She met a couple of guys and they decided to go to another bar for some more fun. But on the car ride over was when things began coming back to her. Owen's screaming voice echoed in her ears and fear, powerful in its' simple intensity flooded her. She asked to be let out of the car and the gentlemen, for lack of a better word, she was with refused. It was too much too fast, way too much for a girl who hadn't played the field like this in quite some time. Only when her requests rapidly neared hysterics did they pull over and with a shove and many mutters of "crazy bitch" they let her out of the car. Memories, feelings and thoughts had reached a boiling point in her mind again and on top of the panic she was already feeling, some self- defense mechanism in Rogue decided to shut everything down. She collapsed on the side of the highway, her unconscious body rolling down into the gully next to it.

"Rogue. Look at me."

Slowly, Rogue dropped her arms slightly and peeked one eye at Remy. He stretched a hand out for her to take and she flinched away, retreating into her shell of arms and legs.

Remy frowned and looked around at their surroundings. This place must have triggered bad memories or scared her out of her wits somehow, though he had no idea what this place meant to her. His eyes fell again to the huddled mass that was Rogue and a small, almost inaudible sigh escaped him. "C'mon Rogue." He decided to stick to her "real" name since calling her anything else might make her think that was her actual name. One didn't have an off and on girlfriend who could actually take a real mental vacation from time to time without picking up a few tricks. He held out his hand to her again. "Ya know I'm not gonna hurt ya. Yo' safe here with me, whatever it is, I won't let it hurt ya."

Rogue looked up at him and actually made eye contact this time. She looked from him, then to his hand and then back up at him. She broke (or maybe finally came back to herself) with a sob and took Remy's hand. He pulled her towards him and held her while she sobbed into his chest.

They stayed like that for a long time until Rogue was all cried out and was reduced to hiccups. The ride back home was quiet verging on awkwardness, save for an occasional sniffle or hiccup from Rogue. Remy only allowed the silence because he thought it best to let Rogue process whatever had happened before he went and questioned her about it. It was also why he let her sit in the backseat rather than up front with him. The ride took longer going home than it did coming there since Rogue didn't offer any directions, which left Remy to guess his way back to New Orleans. He didn't mind though.

It was dark when they got back to the house, Rogue fleeing upstairs to her room and closing the door as soon as Remy had unlocked the front one. She stayed up there all night and Remy stayed up looking at the television rather than watching it as it appeared until he fell asleep on the couch at around three a.m.

He was awoken a few hours later by a creak from the steps. The orange tinge of the light streaming in from the windows told him it was near sunrise, if the sun wasn't in the middle of doing so this instant. Remy sat up with a groan and rubbed at his eyes and then the stubble on is chin. He knew Rogue was up, out front on the porch probably, the soft click of the door shortly after the creak on the stairs telling him so. Silently, with the stealth of a practiced thief, Remy followed Rogue's path and silently opened the door. He stood there for a few moments, watching her, taking her all in and letting her know he was there. She was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved, flow-y shirt. She was leaning her arms against the railing, watching the world slowly come awake. A small breeze lifted some hair away from her face, revealing sun-kissed skin with a faint color to her cheeks in stunning contrast to her piercing green eyes. She turned her head and those green eyes pierced him directly.

"Ya gonna stand there and stare all mornin' or are ya gonna join me?"

Remy pushed off the doorframe and joined her, mimicking her pose. He didn't say anything because he had no idea how she would react. At anything he said she could start crying or fly off the handle at him or do a million different other things that would ruin the apparent calm she had found overnight. And a calm Rogue seemed like the best thing right now.

After a few moments of silence, Rogue spoke. "Ah sorry, if Ah scared ya or anythin'."

Remy shrugged and waved it off. "Was not'in'. Not like dat time ya absorbed Sabertooth and had a uni-brow and chest hair fo' a week."

A corner of her lips picked up in a slight smile. "Then let me say thank ya for bein' there, for keepin' me safe."

"Ya don't have t' say anyt'in', chere, you know I'd do anyt'in' fo' you."

She nodded and they lapsed into silence again. It lasted long enough for a car to pass by on the street and several minutes after that for a man walking his dog to go by as well, in the opposite direction.

"Ya know, my real name isn't Rogue," she said and Remy slid his eyes over to her, a brow arched ever so slightly in interest, "its Anna Marie."

"Thought ya said ya didn't remember it?"

"Ah remember now," she replied. "That house we went ta yesterday…Ah lived there when Ah was little. With my real mother and father," she paused and took a breath. "It wasn't a happy place…Ah was there before Ah found you…" she recounted to him all that she had remembered yesterday, talking right over Remy when he insisted upon interrupting.

"Ah think…Ah think the first time Ah saw those memories, Ah think they broke somethin' in me. It was just too much, with the team breakin' up and you and me…Ah guess somet'in' had ta give and it ended up bein' mah powers." She finished and the air seemed heavy with everything that she just said.

"So," Remy drew out the word with uncertainty after a long and heavy silence sat between them. "Are yo' powers back?"

Rogue nodded with some certainty.

Curiosity welled up in Remy, as he hadn't heard Rogue leave at all and he was the only other living thing in the house besides her…. "How do ya know?"

Her shoulders raised ever-so-slightly in a shrug. "Ah just…know." She edged closer to him until she was able to nudge her shoulder with his. She did it in part to show the panicking voice in the back of her head that was still that child back in Caldecott that not everyone was out to harm or hurt her. It quelled, but only ever so slightly. Her meetings with the Professor, whenever she saw him again, would probably take on a second purpose, to help her deal with all that she had realized. The other reason she nudged Remy was to show that despite whatever her irrational fears may be, that she, the Rogue of the present, trusted him—even with her powers back.

"So, ya still love me even if Ah am some crazy, broken girl with men-issues?" she asked.

An involuntary smile formed on Remy's face. "Of course I do. Gonna take a lot mo' den no touchin' and a complete mental meltdown t' drive dis Cajun away." He put his arm around her in a side-hug, making sure that he wasn't near any exposed skin and kissed her hair. She tensed, but a shade less than she did a year and a half ago, when they were last together. Small steps.

The phone rang from somewhere in the house and it seemed to break the mood that settled over them. Remy went to go get it, leaving Rogue to watch the city go by in relative solitude. She took the time alone to breathe deep and put everything about her past aside for now. She put it in a box in her mind and contented herself with the knowledge that the Prof would help her deal with it when the teams got back together. Just as she began wondering what on earth he could be talking about with someone this early in the morning, Remy returned holding two steaming mugs of coffee. The look on his face told her that it was something he didn't want to hear or that she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Dat was Stormy," he said, handing her a mug. "Says she's gettin' t'gether a team."

"For what?" Rogue asked and then took a sip of her coffee.

"Beats me. She was bein' real tight lipped about it. Says we'd probably like it though."

"That's not a good sign."

Remy chuckled and swallowed his coffee. "She was real surprised t' hear dat you were here."

Her eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Oui. But I didn't tell her not'in'." He guessed by the look of relief of Rogue's face that it had been the right thing to do.

"So, are ya goin' ta go?"

Remy shrugged. "Depends. Do ya want t' go?"

"Sure, why not? Ah haven't been on a globe-hoppin' wild goose chase in a while."

"Bon. 'Cause she said she's on her way here and'll be here 'round five."

Rogue's eyes widened for a second before she shook her head. "Nice of her to let us know." She muttered into her mug of coffee before taking a sip.

"So what are we goin' ta tell everyone?"

"Nothin'," Rogue replied. "S'our business and no one else's."

"Fair 'nough." Remy replied.

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Finally, it's all done! I can't believe it took me so long to finish this. But as John Lennon said "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans". It's done and I hoped you all liked it.

I know I've been a total ass about reviews and stuff and I'm sorry. I do read every single one I get and I am grateful for all of them and for you guys taking the time to write them. So if you leave a review and I don't get back to you on it for whatever reason, just know that I have read it and am thankful for it.

--Mercedes Watson