Part 8 
	Bobby Drake… the Iceman. Remy shivered at his unexpected 
presence. Why was he here in the medlab? 
	There was snow all over Bobby’s coat and its sight radiated 
a cold that reminded him of his stay in Antarctica. Right now 
the Iceman was the last person he wanted to see. But after 
overhearing their conversation he was finally getting closer to 
the answers he had pondered while lying on the ice. Obviously 
Rogue had told them he had died. 
	Yes, turning around to search for a corpse made no sense. 
Remy briefly closed his eyes as he felt himself subconsciously 
reach out to Hank. Non! It was too dangerous. He had to control 
his powers and although he craved feeling sympathy and 
understanding, he knew he couldn’t have it. Certainly not by 
manipulating their feelings! 
	“Remy, do you have any idea why Rogue thinks you’re dead?” 
Hank asked eventually as the question remained unanswered, 
hanging in the air like the sword of Damocles over their heads. 
	Remy slowly shook his head, uncertain what to say. When she 
had dropped him on the ice he had been very much alive. “Non, 
don’ know.” 
	Bobby found it odd that the Cajun avoided their eyes as he 
spoke those words. The cocky Gambit he had known would have 
faced them head on, but this man hardly resembled the man he had 
fought with during training. There was a new vulnerability to 
Gambit, which confused him. “Anything I can do to 
help?” Bobby offered, feeling uncomfortable as he stood next to 
the bed. 
	Hank considered the question and nodded his head. “Remy 
didn’t have any breakfast yet.” 
	Bobby smiled. “I’m sure I can find something edible in the 
kitchen,” and quickly left the medlab. As he stepped in to the 
corridor he turned one last time to look at Gambit. Bobby never 
expected Remy to catch that glance. But the Cajun did and Bobby 
quickly broke the eye contact. The red on black eyes were 
unsettling for more than one reason. He couldn’t read their 
expression and there was something else he refused to think 
about. 
	Breakfast. Hank had told him to get something to eat and as 
he rummaged in the kitchen cupboards he picked up toast, 
marmalade, cereals, milk and orange juice. Looking at the tray 
he wondered whether he missed something. At the last moment he 
added some hot tea and while carefully balancing the tray he 
made his way back. 
	He halted however as Remy’s voice reached him at the 
doorway. The Cajun was talking to Hank and his voice sounded 
cracked. 
	“I wan’ t’ rest in my own room,” Gambit whispered in a 
shaky tone. 
	“I can’t let you leave just yet,” Hank objected. “I still 
need to run more tests.” 
	“Please?” Remy whispered. 
	Bobby had never heard him plead before and continued to 
listen to the conversation. 
	“Then give me a reason why you don’t want to be in the 
medlab,” Hank said in a determined tone. 
	From where he was standing, Bobby could see part of 
Gambit’s face and he realized the man looked scared. After 
putting the tray on the floor he shifted his position until he 
could see his entire face. A nervous twitch had appeared close 
to Remy’s right eye and showed how apprehensive Remy had to 
feel. 
	Suddenly Bobby remembered Warren’s words, screamed at him 
in anger, telling him that the Cajun was scum and deserved to 
die in Antarctica. The sting to those words had taken him aback 
right then as he suddenly fully understood Warren’s hate. 
	A hate he didn’t share. No, Bobby thought, no one deserves 
to die alone, no matter what they did and certainly not a fellow 
X-Men! 
	Yes, he understood Warren’s rage to a certain degree. After 
all, Angel had lost his wings in those tunnels but Bobby just 
couldn't see why Gambit was solely responsible for that loss. 
Warren hadn’t liked that statement and infuriated he had left 
the room, leaving Bobby behind in bafflement. Only then he’d 
realized he no longer knew the man Warren had become. Remy’s 
voice however, lured him in to listening again. 
	“Don’ wanna be here,” Remy whispered and pulled up the 
blankets. 
	Bobby once more concentrated on the conversation and 
briefly wondered why he was eavesdropping like this. Remy and he 
hardly knew each other so why…? 
	“Why?” Hank repeated again, but this time in a softer tone. 
	Remy sighed. He really didn’t want to tell this to anyone. 
Even Jean-Luc didn’t know this but he wanted out of here and if 
telling Hank was the way to achieve that… 
	“When I was lil’ a man took m’ t’ a place like dis and…” 
Suddenly the words disappeared and he couldn’t look Hank in the 
eyes. 
	McCoy was doing his utmost to understand Remy’s hint, but 
the conclusion he reached was… almost impossible to believe. Was 
Gambit telling him that he had been hurt in a medlab when he had 
been a kid? 
	“I hate de smell in ‘ere, sterile and… dere was blood when 
he cut open my skin. Didn’ know what he wan’ed to do to’ m’ for 
de money… I needed food.” Remy blinked away the tears that swam 
in his eyes. He wasn’t going to show his vulnerability this 
openly. 
	Hank drew in a deep breath, uncertain what the say. Of all 
possible explanations this was the most unlikely one. On impulse 
he placed his right hand on Remy’s as if to offer him mental 
support. 
	
But Remy tried to avoid the skin contact, knowing it would 
trigger the charm power. “Non!” he exclaimed, but it was too 
late. Warm fingers squeezed his and all the pain, which he had 
been keeping back, all the shame he had carried with him for so 
long found a way out. 
	Bobby staggered in to the medlab, recognizing the 
expression in Hank’s eyes. Both of them were in mental pain and 
guilt flowed towards them in waves. As he approached the Cajun 
he sensed Gambit’s apology, flickering underneath the pain and 
shame. Suddenly he realized the source of these emotions. “We’ 
re feeling your pain?” he whispered and shifted his glance from 
Hank to Remy. He’d heard about empathy but had never felt 
anything like this. 
	Hank didn’t surrender to the emotions, instead he gathered 
Remy in his arms and tried hard to calm his patient down. “You 
are safe now. You know that, Remy,” praying that the young man 
would withdraw these unsettling emotions. How was it possible 
that he’d never before realized that Gambit possessed empathic 
qualities? 
	Remy sucked in his breath, seeing Bobby and Hank stare at 
him with alien emotions in their eyes. “Merde!” he exclaimed and 
started to pull back the pain he’d unwillingly released. Ever 
since Magneto had fed him this idea of empathy he had been 
tempted to send out his emotions and see if others really 
received them. 
	Shaking in Hank’s embrace he bit his lip as the pain 
settled back in to his mind. Bobby’s eyes were big and… 
watering? Non, that was impossible! In Hank ’s eyes he saw a 
similar expression. 
	“What was that?” Bobby whispered as he curled his fingers 
around the back of a chair for support. 
	“Charm power,” Remy replied, falling back in to old habits 
and forgetting about the things Magneto had told him. 
	“Didn’t feel like you were trying to charm us,” Hank 
pointed out to him and eased Remy’s trembling body back down on 
to the bed. “It felt like you were sharing your pain with us. 
Are you an empath?” 
	“Je ne sais pas ,” Remy muttered. It had never been his 
intention to show them his pain or the shame he felt for 
believing that the man had only wanted to take care of him. He 
should have known that the pervert wanted something from him. 
And why did Hank have to bring up this empathy he didn’t really 
believe in? First Magneto mentioned it to him and now Hank as 
well. 
	“I never knew you had this ability,” Hank said fatigued. 
This was too much information at once and Remy’s pain was still 
tangible in the room. An empath, Hank thought baffled. 
	Bobby forced himself to walk back to the entrance and to 
pick up the tray with food. He doubted Gambit could eat right 
now, but he had to do something to distract himself. 
	“Never tol’ anyone,” Remy admitted and struggled to sit up. 
“Can I rest in my room now?” 
	Hank wavered, finally understanding why Gambit hated being 
here. “I will run one more test on you and then Bobby here will 
walk you to your room.” 
	Bobby looked up and shot McCoy a questioning look. Had he 
just been degraded to a baby-sitter? 
	Remy sensed Drake’s unease and said, “I can walk back 
alone.” 
	Bobby looked up and met those alien eyes. “Can you also 
pick up feelings or only send them out?” 
	Remy pulled up the blanket and shivered underneath it. 
“Both.” 
	Great! Bobby thought irritated, angry with himself. In that 
case he had almost screamed at the Cajun that he didn’t want to 
keep an eye on him! “Hope you like tea,” Bobby said, trying to 
make it up to Gambit and placed the tray on the side of the bed. 
	“Not hungry,” Remy whispered and almost felt queasy seeing 
the food. 
	“You will eat something or stay here,” Hank commanded and 
returned to studying the test results. Remy probably wanted some 
time alone. 
	“Hope you don’t mind me already filling the bowl with 
cereal. The box said there was a Spiderman toy inside and I … 
kinda found it as I held the package upside down,” Bobby said 
jokingly and added some milk. 
	Carefully watching Remy’s face he noticed the weak smile on 
his face. But as Gambit’s fingers tried to get a grip on the 
spoon Bobby paled. Remy’s hand trembled violently and the 
fingers were stiff. Frostbite, he realized with a start. 
	Remy dropped the spoon on to the tray. “What are y’ lookin’ 
at?” he said and raised his eyes to meet Bobby’s. 
	Bobby desperately tried to think of a joke, something funny 
that would take the edge of the remark, but couldn’t come up 
with something. “Want some tea? It’s still hot...” he offered 
awkwardly. After handing Remy the cup he stared at the tray. 
Those red eyes seemed to pierce his soul and then he realized 
with a start that the other man could read his emotions if he 
wanted to. 
	Weary and drained Remy sipped from the tea, the only thing 
he’d truly relished this far and only because it was so hot! “I 
ain’t readin’ y’r feelings, Bobby,” he stammered. He had been 
afraid they’d react like this once they knew the truth. 
	“Why did you keep it a secret?” Hank suddenly asked after 
he’d finished his tests. Slowly and almost tenderly he started 
to remove the electrodes. 
	Remy shrugged his shoulders. “Don’ know. Mon père tol’ m’ 
people might react funny. Was safer dis way.” 
	Suddenly Bobby remembered the jokes Warren used to crack 
about Remy. Had Gambit picked up on the animosity behind his 
friend’s remarks? And yet, Remy had never returned the vehement 
remarks. Bobby felt sorry for listening to those comments now. 
Only Storm and Jean had occasionally defended the Cajun. 
	Remy didn’t know what to make of Bobby’s confused feelings, 
which were tumbling his way, oddly enough directed straight at 
him. What was the man feeling sorry for? “Bobby?” he said 
hesitantly. 
	Hearing his name pulled Bobby from his musings and he 
swallowed hard. “Are you ready to go to your room then?” 
	Dat wasn’ what you wanted t’ say, Remy thought, but decided 
not to point that out to Bobby. “Oui,” he said as Hank handed 
him his sweatshirt. 
	“I will check on you every hour,” Hank informed him. “And 
you will stay in bed, rest and eat everything I bring you. Is 
that understood?” 
	“Oui,” Remy sighed as he swung his feet on to the floor. 
Finally he was getting out of the medlab, but he regretted 
telling them about his past. He staggered on his feet as he 
tried to walk over to the doorway. Being exposed to the ice for 
so long had taken its toll on his body. 
	“Got you,” Bobby remarked as he gingerly wrapped an arm 
around the Cajun’s waist, telling himself that Remy needed the 
support and that there was no other reason why he wanted to 
touch that too thin body. 
	Remy sighed heavily as Bobby’s confused emotions continued 
to batter against his shield. Had he been up to his usual tricks 
he would have tried coaxing Drake in to talking to him, but all 
he wanted right now was to lie down and get back to sleep. 
	As he took his first step up the stairs he tensed 
involuntarily, sensing Logan’s presence. Peeking at the man he 
steeled himself for the look of rejection and disgust that would 
surely show in Logan’s eyes. He still wondered why Hank and 
Bobby cared about him. 
	Logan stood on the landing and moved aside as the two men 
approached. It was impossible to ignore the sudden scent of fear 
on the kid and Logan raised his eyes to meet Gambit’s. “Ya look 
like hell,” he started and studied Remy’ s red eyes. 
	Insecure, Remy nodded his head and subconsciously reached 
out to Bobby to find the strength he lacked. 
	Bobby startled, sensing the sudden fright and weakness take 
form in his mind and looked at Gambit, whose trembling had 
worsened. How had Remy managed to keep this ability a secret? 
And why couldn’t he control it now? About to ask Logan to let 
them pass Bobby tightened his grip on the Cajun. 
	“Get some sleep, Gumbo,” Logan grunted and walked down the 
staircase to return to Jubilee and their snowman. He still 
couldn’t believe she had convinced him to build one. 
	Bobby opened the door and helped Remy lie down. “Want me to 
raise the room temperature?” 
	“Oui,” Remy whispered, falling asleep as his body melted in 
to the comfort of the bed. 
	As Bobby returned to the bed he realized Remy was already 
asleep and he pulled the blankets over the shivering body. 
Speechless he stood there for long moments and then he pulled up 
a chair and sat down. 
	Remy’s return upset him for several reasons. Rogue had told 
him and Warren that Remy had wanted to die and that she hadn’t 
tried to talk him out of it. She had found him dead on the ice 
and had simply left the body there. 
	Now, he doubted her words. Rogue was the last one who had 
seen Remy alive and he wondered what had happened between them. 
It wasn’t a secret that Gambit was in love with her and that 
she’d tried to return those feelings. 
	But then she had brought in Joseph and had become more 
distant. A relationship had seemed out of the question after 
Joseph’s arrival and Bobby shook his head as it reeled with too 
many questions. 
	“Rhume. Il est trop froid ici,” Remy whispered unexpectedly 
and started to pull the blankets closer. 
	Bobby only recognized one word, froid, cold. “Are you 
cold?” he asked softly, not expecting an answer. Of course he 
is, Bobby berated himself. Maybe he could get more blankets from 
Hank. As he got to his feet, Remy stirred in the bed as if 
sensing he was about to leave the room. 
	“S'il vous plaît, le séjour,” Remy whispered and a 
trembling hand found its way from underneath the blanket. 
	“I really need to learn French!” Bobby muttered. Although 
he didn’t understand the language, the gesture said more than 
words. Gambit wanted him to stay. “I’ll be back shortly, but I 
need to get more blankets,” he whispered reassuringly as he 
patted that cold hand. 
	And then he released it, like he’d been struck with 
lightning. What the hell was he doing! Touching Remy like this, 
offering him comfort and then… why did he want to touch and 
comfort the man so badly? He’d never felt attracted to Gambit 
before… He’d only just admitted to himself that he was probably 
gay! “Are you using that charm power of yours on me?” That might 
explain the sudden attraction. 
	Remy didn’t answer, lost in sleep. His hand however 
squirmed on top of the blankets in search of Bobby’s warmth. 
	Confused, Bobby didn’t know what to do, until a moan 
reached his ears. 
	“Rogue?” 
	The name was spoken in pain and Bobby leaned in closer, 
forgetting about getting more blankets. 
	“Why leave m’? Why didn’ y’ help m’?” 
	Baffled, Bobby grasped Remy’s hand in his and squeezed it 
tightly. The Cajun released a strangled sigh and seemed to slip 
deeper in to a more comfortable sleep as the mumbling seized. 
	“Oh my God, did he really say what I think he said?” Bobby 
asked himself. “Did she leave you there to die?” 
	Feeling strongly protective of Remy he sat back down and 
stared at the pale face, half hidden underneath blankets. Remy 
was tightly holding on to his hand and Bobby decided to stay 
until Remy felt safe enough to let go of his hand. He would get 
those blankets later. 
	
		
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