Know Your Neighbours

Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply. sisterwine75@hotmail.com The X-Men and their likenesses belong solely to Marvel and 20th Century Fox. No harm meant. No money exchange. Just an idea on my part.


"Dad, that guy from across the street is here!" Matthew yelled as he held the door open and turned around to face the kitchen. When he turned back, he didn't even bother to look at Remy as he slammed the door shut on him.Without pausing to correct himself, he ran back upstairs and darted into the guest bathroom to wash up for dinner.

Remy stood there for a moment and raised an eyebrow at the closed door before turning around to stare out at the street. He turned again as Logan had opened the door and apologised for his son's rudeness. Remy only smiled and took a step forward. "Dat's okay. Woulda done de same t'ing." Taking a breath and pushing himself forward a bit apprehensively, he stood in the livingroom and looked about the room.

As he closed the door behind Remy, Logan turned to face the stairs and call up to his children. "Matt, Steph, wash up for dinner. Come meet the new neighbour." Turning back to Remy, he waved him into the kitchen as he lead the way. "Wanna beer, soda, coffee?"

"Beer's fine, t'anks." Remy smiled and followed him, sniffing the lasagna scented air. "Smells good. You cook often?"

Logan didn't turn around as he answered while walking to the fridge and opening the door to pull out 2 MGDs from the top shelf. Closing the door and turning to hand Remy a beer and answer the questions, he smirked. "Like lasagna? Not as good as my wife's but, I'm a damn good cook I think."

Taking the can, Remy looked confused. "Your wife away on business, or she no comin for dinner?" With his free hand, he opened the can and then took a sip, turning as he heard someone enter the room.

"My mother died a few years ago and she didn't take kindly to strangers, so you wouldn't get to meet her even if she was alive." Stephanie came to a halt in the doorway to the kitchen and gave Remy a definate glare of disapproval. She had cleaned up and stood as if she was ready for an argument. Near snug, green jeans and a blue sweater was what she had changed into for dinner as she had felt a chill on her way home. Her long red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, leaving her bangs to be swept off to the right side.

Remy blinked twice as he didn't know exactly what to say. The hurt and anger Stephanie was giving off seemed to feel as sharp as a slap. "I am sorry. Didn' mean to upset you, petite." His voice was plagued by a low tone as he regained himself and shivered at the hurt. "I'm sure she was a very wonderful lady." He was debating on if he should stay for dinner, or just call it a night.

"She was a very wonderful and beautiful woman." Logan spoke up to break the tension, his eyes lay on Stephanie as she continued to glare at Remy. "Very polite, too." He cleared his throat as cue for her to move on and behave in front of the guest. "Baby, please go get your brother, and tell him dinner's ready." Doing it only to clear the thickened air in the kitchen, Logan turned toward Remy and smiled. "Go ahead and pick a spot. We don't really have any set places so, wherever is fine." He caught the very same hurt in Remy's eyes that he had caught in the elevator, earlier.

Moving to place his can of beer at the spot with his back to the kitchen part, Remy turned around and pasted a smile on before offering to help. As Logan showed him where the plates and silverware were, he thanked him and quietly went about setting the table in a proper manner. "I didn't mean to upset de petite." He whispered, placing the last plate and silverware at his spot.

Logan removed the clean blue oven mits after taking the lasagna out of the oven and closing the door before turning around to face Remy. "Jean passed away about 2 years ago after a car wreck on her way home from work. The kids never really got over it. I guess I haven't either."

Remy thought back to when his mother died, and stared at the last fork on the table. "Momma passed when I was 15. Cancer took her. It had her right from de beginnin, so poppa said. Poppa don't like to talk o' dat stuff. I asked him where she went, he told me she wit' us forever and dat to leave it alone." The words spilled through his mouth like rain as he bottled up tears that threatened to fall at the mere thought of her. "Can understand dey must not like me here, but s'okay."

"Hey, you're Remy, right?" Matthew came into the kitchen and gave him a cheerful smile. He had washed up and held out his hand for Remy to shake.

Accepting, Remy nodded and smiled back. "Oui. Matthew?"

"Yea. You like video games?"

Logan interrupted the conversation. "Don't have time for that stuff, right now, Matt. Have a sit, dinner time." Bringing the bowl of lasagna over to the table, he told Matt to get the cottage cheese and salad from the fridge. "Be right back."

Matt sat to Remy's right but got up again to get the salad and cottage cheese. When he came back and placed them on the table, he looked up at Remy and asked. "Are you really Remy LeBeau? Aren't you like rich and stuff?"

Smiling and laughing a bit, Remy nodded. "Oui. I'm really Remy LeBeau. Poppa's money but I don' do so bad, myself."

"Cool. So, what're ya doin livin across the street?"

Remy raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure how to respond to that form of question. Nodding, he quickly summed. "Incognito."

"Oh."

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Knocking on her door, Logan peered in as it had been open a little more than a crack. "You okay, darlin?"

Stephanie lay on her bed, face down in her pillow. A bookshelf full of college level books sat to the left, as her bed was in the middle of the room, and her dresser to the right. "Not hungry, go away." Head up so that she spoke plainly, she stared at the wall in front of her. The light shone from the ceiling and gave the room a yellowish tint.

Opening the door all the way and stepping in, Logan came to sit on the edge of her bed with his back to her. "Ya know, punkin, I think of your mother everyday. I miss her the most in the mornin, and direly when I look at the two of you. It kills me to know she isn't comin back but, she never really left us at all. I know you miss her, Steph, but do you think your momma would have approved of you snappin at Remy like that? Especially when he didn't deserve it?"

Stephanie turned and sat up. 'If you missed her so bad, you would have remembered what day this is. You would have remembered we always spend it just the three of us. We didn't even go visit her, today! Why did he have to have dinner here, tonight?" The tears of hurt and anger streamed down her face as she didn't care that she let anyone see.

"I asked him here because I thought you two could get together on your science fair project." Logan said calmly.

Shaking her head and drying her eyes on her right sleeve, she took a deep breath. "You just want to suck up to his dad for a raise."

Logan was shocked that she had the anger and guts to say what she did. "Stephanie Brynne, that's not true. I am just fine where I am at work. If he wants to help out, that's fine. I ain't gonna push for nothin. Young lady, I've been trying to give you and your brother everything I can but, I can't bring back your momma." Logan turned to look at her. "It isn't my fault, or his fault that she's not here. It was a drunk driver that's now servin life. Now, you can stay up here and think about what you said to him, or come downstairs, apologise, and have dinner with the rest of us before it gets cold." He stood up and held out his hand for her to decide if she was going down with him.

Her stomach growled it's answer and demanded she take his hand and have dinner. Standing up and being drawn in for a hug, she dried the fresh tears and cleared her throat, stopping in the hall to wash her face in the bathroom sink.

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Throughout dinner, Remy and Matthew talked about the newest video games inbetween questions of Science and solar systems from Stephanie. Logan thought it all funny as he sat and watched the scene. Remy seemed to be able to keep up with both of them as he ate but, still goofed on a few questions.

"So, do you have the newest StarBlaster game?" Matt was eager to talk shop on games he had.

Remy finished his bite before looking at him and thinking. "Don't t'ink I do. Good game?"

"Way good. Dad got it for me for my birthday."

"Okay, okay. Let the kid eat. You can ask him after dinner."

Remy gave him a sympathetic look as if saying "thank you" but smiled and finished the rest of his food.

After dinner, Stephanie helped Logan clear the dishes while Remy was dragged upstairs to check out the game collection. "Bedtime's at 9 but, we can play a game or two, if you want?"

"Okay." Remy followed casually behind the eager boy up the stairs and into the last room on the right.

"See, he isn't so bad. Is he?" Logan stood at the sink and washed the dishes while Stephanie dried them and set them on the counter to be put away.

Stephanie didn't answer. She hated admitting she was wrong in anything but conceeded to appease her father. "Yea, he's okay. I guess. Matt seems to love him so, maybe we'll get lucky he'll adopt him so we won't have to deal with-" Catching Logan's eye, she smiled and added. "Kidding, dad."

Logan smiled and handed her the last plate and fork.

At eight o'clock, Remy was rescued from Matt's room to take a look at Stephanie's science project in Logan's office. She had a good start on it, and impressed Remy with how much she knew about what she called "sonic light". They had started a good conversation on what kind of project she had wanted to design with what she had when Remy offered to help out with some ideas.

Again, Logan quietly observed from the hallway before telling her it was time to get ready for bed. "You two can talk shop durin the day hours. School tomorrow."

"Night Mister LeBeau." Stephanie said as she turned to go upstairs.

Remy flinched. "Just Remy. Mister makes me sound like an old man." He smiled and told her goodnight. "Guess I better get home, too. Big meeting tomorrow."

Following Logan out of the room, Matthew called from the top of the stairs. "Thanks Remy! Night!"

"Bon nuit, petit." Remy called back and smiled.

They stood on the porch and smoked while they talked about dinner and the kids. "Glad ya stayed. Matt can get a bit too excited when company comes over, and Steph.... well,"

"De fille was fine. I had dat same anger my momma died and poppa brought someone new in." He stared at the driveway to his house, across from them, and wondered where his friend was. Two minutes later, a blue Yamaha motorcycle pulled into the driveway and a young man got off and removed his helmet. Remy waved to him and he waved back but didn't approach.

Finishing their smokes, Logan and Remy said goodnight as Remy stepped off of the porch and started across the street to his friend. They met at the front door and seemed to have a less than pleasant meeting as Remy opened the door and led the way in. The porchlight went out but the conversation continued up the stairs and into the bedroom.

Logan stood there a moment to wonder what was going on but only shook his head and went back inside as a chill ran through him.

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Remy had been missing for about a day and Jean-Luc was getting worried. The phone rang and rang, and no one came to the door. It wasn't like Remy to just disappear when he had meetings to attend, or without telling anyone. When no one answered the phone, Jean-Luc rang down to the Control Room to talk to Logan about his missing son.

"Security." Logan's gruff voice answered as he stared at the mix of 10 plus cameras. He hadn't slept much since Stephanie came down with the flu days before. As Jean-Luc spoke, he couldn't help stifling a few yawns. "Yea, I can go take a look. No problem, just let me get Carl in here and I'll head over."

Carl was an older man of about 50, and a bit heavier than Logan. His voice was like sandpaper when he talked but his personna dubbed him as a push over. His short, military-cut hairstyle with a mix of salt and pepper colouring was enough to age his ten years more. He reluctantly agreed to stay while Logan ran over to Remy's to check on him. His only condition was that he could have his lunch an hour earlier while he waited. As he met Logan in the doorway, he asked how long Logan was going to be gone. "Charlie's takin over my rounds so, gotta let him know too." His graveled voice rich with Tennessee drawl.

Logan thought for a minute. "If he's home, just not answerin anythin,... I'd say about an hour."

It had been 2 days since Logan had seen Remy, himself, but even he had to admit that Jean-Luc's wave of worry had carried to him. The whole way there, his mind began to think back to the past week, and the fight Remy had with his friend on the doorstep. He also thought back to 4 days prior when Remy was on the phone, yelling something Logan couldn't understand to the person on the other end. Everything stopped as he pulled into Remy's driveway, next to the dark blue Yamaha. He noticed the young owner, standing at the front door and screaming Remy's name as he pounded his fist against the oak door. Quickly, he got out and hurried to the doorstep to talk to the man. "Kid doesn't keep a spare anywhere?" He asked as the young man stopped and turned to look at him.

"Nope. I have a key but, it's inside. Came back here to get a few things." Eyeing the Security suit, the young man added snidely. "Old man send you to keep tabs on Remy? What kind of a dad doesn't come down, himself, instead he has to send his lackey."

Logan swallowed as this wasn't the time nor place to get into a fight. "Just watch, kid." Releasing a claw and concealing it, he slipped the end into the keyhole and turned, unlocking and opening the door. "I ain't no lackey. The man was concerned about his son."

"Yea, so concerned he couldn't tear himself away from his busy schedule to see if he's alive or not."

Resheathing the claw, Logan opened the door wide and looked in. Everything was dark, for noon. Drapes were closed and black sheets hung over them to keep out any unwanted light. Sniffing, Logan waved the young man inside as he called Remy's name. No answer came back on the first floor so, Logan stared up to the second floor from the bottom of the stairs. "Remy??"

"Yo, Rem! Ya home?" The young man followed Logan up the stairs, cautiously. "The bedroom." Pointing to the room with the only light on, at the top and to the left of the staircase, he nudged Logan in the arm.

Logan took the remaining few steps to the top in great speed before darting into Remy's brightly lit room. "Hey kid?!"

"D'ya find him?" The young man hurried into the room and saw Remy lying fully clothed in jeans and a grey T-shirt, on the floor. "Is he--?"

Logan knelt and looked back. "Call an ambulance." His voice was grave and his expression was even worse.


TBC........