Know Your Neighbours

Author: SisterWine (with help from Esprit)

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.


Taking a deep breath, Remy woke and closed his eyes tighter at the sun that was peeking through his drapes. He hugged the body he was holding closer and hid behind it so the sun wouldn't get in his eyes.

Alex moaned softly at the arm around him and moved slightly on the pillow. He scooted backward into the warmth of Remy's body and yawned as he closed his eyes tighter; it was dawn. Something was supposed to happen today but he pushed it out of his mind as he lie there in comfort.

Remy breathed into Alex's hair and nuzzled into his neck. When he started to remember the evening before he frowned at the idea of having to let Alex go... but he knew it was what he needed. He couldn't have Alex monopolizing him. He wasn't that kind of person.

Alex sighed and shifted as he rolled over to face Remy. Opening his eyes, he gazed at the serene face as Remy was still sleeping. He carefully placed a hand on Remy's soft hip and lightly traced the curve from hipbone up to the ridges of ribs that poked out under skin.

Eyes still closed Remy wondered how he was going to ask him to go after that night of passion.... He questioned getting up and making something for him, but decided that it would be better to not leave just yet. Maybe Remy should pretend to be asleep so Alex could just slip away. He doubted that was going to happen as he felt Alex move in his arms and start caressing his skin. He wondered if Alex would ask him for more that morning. Remy didn't think he'd be able to give it to Alex if he asked.

Faint waves of warm breath caressed his face and Alex guided himself closer to his sleeping lover. His eyes stared at him and watched for any signs of Remy waking up to look at him. Thinking it was better not to have to hear the words from Remy telling him to leave, Alex snuggled lightly and kissed the soft, sweet lips before slipping backward off the far side of the bed. Gathering his clothes from the floor, he closed the bedroom door quietly behind him as he left the room and headed downstairs to dress before leaving.

Remy sighed in relief after the door had closed and Alex was gone. He was glad it was over and... was relatively painless. It could have been much worse... in fact he expected it to be. He expected there to be fighting and throwing of things... It gave him a pang of regret that Alex didn't do that... because it meant he was showing improvement.... Swallowing, Remy tried to reassure himself that this was best but he still felt the knot in his throat.

*********

Remy knocked on Logan's door again and was hoping to get Logan alone for a minute before he started work with Stephanie, but he didn't know how likely that was.

Matthew had just started heading upstairs when he turned around at the knock and walked over to the window to see who it was before answering. He brightened when he saw a familiar figure standing there and hurried to open the door, one hand full of a bowl of grapes. "Hey Remy, ya wanna come play my new game?" He smiled as he looked up at the man who looked slightly distressed.

Remy tried to force on a smile for the boy. "I might be able to later, oui, homme? I should help Stephanie wid her homework first." He looked around for Logan from the entryway.

"Okay, cool." He smiled and raised an eyebrow at the man. "Dad's in the office, if ya wanna talk to him... around the corner" Pointing behind and to the right, he stepped aside for Remy to step in and then yelled for Logan. "Dad! Door."

Logan took a minute to come to the hallway and see who wanted him. He nodded curiously at Remy.

Stepping inside, Remy watched for Logan and stepped toward Logan once he saw him. He didn't... know what to say really. "Uh... how y' doin', Logan?" He asked, feeling a little nervous because of the previous night.

"Doin alright. What's up?" Logan was a bit confused as to why Remy wanted to talk to him. "Matt, don't eat too many of those, supper'll be ready soon. C'mon in," he said nodding to the office door so they could talk in private.

Remy swallowed and when the door was closed behind them, he looked at Logan with uncertainty. "I... I broke it off... wid Alex..."

"Okay." Logan stood there and folded his arms, uncertain as to why Remy was sharing this information with him. "What's the matter?"

"Part o' me is..." Remy was getting nervous. Logan was acting like the night before hadn't even *happened.* "I just... thought y' should know." He said, feeling his connection with Logan slipping away and his stomach objected hard to the thought. Had their kiss last night-- brief though it was, meant nothing?

Logan sighed and leaned against the door. "Look kid, last night wasn't somethin to jump to anythin drastic. If he did somethin wrong, then there's room for reasonable doubt." He watched Remy's reaction, careful not to upset him even more than he appeared to be. "Here, have a seat. What happened to suddenly make you do this?"

"It wasn't sudden, Logan... we've broken up several times before... but we always... got back togeder a few days later. I jus'... didn' wanna do it any more." Remy sighed and sat down, thinking he was a fool for wanting Logan at all. He made a point to remind himself that he didn't want to push Logan for anything. The man was certainly not looking to be a rebound. Hell, the man was probably not looking to be anything of Remy's and Remy had to brace himself against the pang in his heart at that thought. He had said that it wasn't something to jump to anything drastic... and he figured that meant he was shot down before Logan even knew he was flying.

Logan came to kneel in front of Remy and place a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Rem,..." He sighed before continuing. "What happened last night on the porch was somethin I think you needed to have out in the open. I ain't gonna judge you for the choices you've made but I ain't gonna stand by and see you make yerself suffer. Don't think yer health can withstand that. Don't ya think?" He met Remy's eyes and only caught flickers of the true feelings that danced behind the poker face.

"I'm *fine*, Logan," Remy said sternly. "An' what happened on de porch... was between de two of us. I made my choice an' I think it's de right thing f' me to have done. Sides, if y' so worried 'bout my health, seein' Alex ain' gon' be good for me." He said. "Was him dat sent me to de hospital..." He admitted quietly.

"Whadaya mean?"

"Alex... punched me in de chest... when we were fightin'.... Dis wouldn' be such a problem f' most people... but it set off... a condition o' mine... an' y' know de rest."

The shock seemed to send off a small sigh of annoyance that was directed at the blond young man but there wasn't anything he could do about it now. "So now what?" Logan sat back and eyed Remy thoughtfully.

"Wha' d' y' mean, now what? I ain' gon' see him any more an' dat's dat. S'pose I should go find Stephanie an' help her wid her project," he said and rose from his chair. Remy was avoiding Logan's gaze. He wasn't going to stick his neck out again. Not with the possibility of Logan feeling like Remy was just playing with him or he was an 'after-breakup' relationship.

"Wait, stop." Logan stood up and turned to stare at Remy's back. "I meant, where do you go from here? Why tell me when I hardly knew the kid?"

"I wasn' tellin' y' 'cause it impacted Alex... I was tellin' y' 'cause it impacts me... an'... y' my friend, Logan..." At least... he thought they were friends. He thought the man would care. He trembled with the idea that he didn't.

Logan stiffened. "I am yer friend, kid. But, I can't tell you what to do or how to help without knowin what's what. I ain't yer dad so, I don't know yer little quirks."

"I... Logan," he smiled at the man. "I wasn' askin' f' advice or anythin'... I jus'... wanted t' tell y'. I thought dat..." he snorted at himself and looked at the ceiling. "I dunno what I thought," he said and shook his head. "I didn' mean nothin'..."

"Apparently it means somethin to have this long of a cord on yer tongue that you can't....." He took a breath and thought for a moment. "Give it time before you jump into anythin. Clear yer head a bit."

"You mean wid you?" Remy asked, turning to Logan and looking into his eyes pointedly.

Logan felt a bit shocked at the question but didn't advertise the expression. "I mean with whatever your new admiration is."

The corner of Remy's mouth pulled up just a bit and he nodded. "Promise-- I won' get carried away." How could he when his new 'admiration' wasn't even acknowledging that they had kissed the evening before?

"Good deal." Patting Remy's shoulder, he looked at the door. "Think Steph is lookin for ya, why don't ya go on and talk shop....?"

"Will do." Remy said and tried to smile for Logan.

**********

Stepping through the door to his place, Remy sighed deeply. Things hadn't gone as he had hoped with Logan, but that was hardly a surprise with his luck. He stalked through the living room on his way upstairs.

From the counter came a chime of a cell phone. The same cell phone Alex always had with him. It chimed a thrid time as it waited for Remy to answer it. A sleek black flip phone with an instrumental television theme that seemed, on most days, to annoy Remy.

Remy stopped when he heard the phone and looked at it with a perplexed frown as he turned around and came down the stairs to find it on the counter. He let it ring once more before picking it up. It might actually be Alex realizing that his phone was lost. "Hello?" he answered, afraid that it would be Alex having left it there so he could have an excuse to come and see Remy again. He wasn't sure he would be strong enough to not let him in and make love to him again with how rejected he felt by Logan.

"Remy?" Alex's voice shook uncontrollably. He tried to hide it but felt the silence and deafness in his ears was more sickening than the nervousness. "Um, I have a problem..."

"Y' lef' y' cell phone on my counter; ain' dat much of a problem." He said casually, trying not to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for Alex because he was so broken up about having to leave.

"Yea- no. That's not my problem, Remy. I mean- um- I need help." Alex eyed the tall man who held the phone and sneered at him. "You see, I uh- never made it to my apartment." His hands shook in the restraints behind him and he hoped Remy would take pity on him and listen before he hung up.

Sighing, Remy tried to be patient. "What happened? Y' spill y' bike? Y' okay?" he asked.

Alex had started to say something but the phone was snatched from him and he was gagged by a second man who stood behind him. "You have two days to hand over LeBeau Industries and walk away, unless you'd rather see such a pretty young man be ripped apart by sharks." A scrungy, whispery voice spoke into the phone before laughing and adding. "We'll be in touch."

"Wait--!" Remy cried into the phone hoping they wouldn't hang up. He wasn't in charge of LeBeau Industries!!

"Two days, Mister LeBeau. I won't ask twice."

Remy was dumbfounded and he held the phone away from him numbly, willing this to be a joke... but there was no way. Alex wouldn't do this, no matter how angry he was. He hurried to his land line and called his father-- he was the only person who could possibly help him with this... ridiculous request. Remy was pacing nervously to keep from shaking as he listened to the ringing of his father's phone.

"Hello?" Jean-Luc had been rummaging through papers of a project he had been working on for another company and nonchalantly picked up the phone without bothering to look at the name on the I.D.

"Poppa..." Remy said nervously. "I got a call from someone jus' now..." He swallowed. "Dey're holdin' Alex... f' ransom."

Jean-Luc stopped looking and sat down from his bent over position and sat back to focus on his son's voice. "Remy-? Remy, I don' have time to play games. I have to get dis presentation together, not get involved wit' you and dat boy." He was becoming a little agitated from what he was doing and was trying to write Remy off for an afterwards situation. "Didn' I tell you dat boy was no good-?"

"Poppa, it ain' him-- dis ain' no petty criminal tryin' t' clean up, dey wan' LeBeau Industries, poppa. Dat ain' nothin' to nobody but a few people." Remy growled. "I'm not joking!"

Jean-Luc's brow furrowed as he tried to put together the thought of Alex for LeBeau Industries. Jean-Luc sighed and closed his eyes. "Remy, I'm not handing my company over for dat boy. Dey didn't say anythin else?"

"Dey said dey'd be in contact-- I don' know anythin' right now..."

"Stay there. Don' open the door for anyone til I get there." Jean-Luc stood up and reached a hand into his pants pocket for his car keys. He hung up and hurried down to the garage, telling his secretary that he'd be back tomorrow and to cancel his appointments for the rest of the evening.

Hanging up, Remy didn't know what to do. He called Logan though, knowing that he needed to know. He couldn't do anything, but having him keep his kids from getting involved in anything would be improtant.

Jean-Luc rushed over to Remy's house, a million thoughts churning through his head about what happened. Thank goodness it wasn't Remy dat was kidnapped. Why did dey want my company? And, why go t'rough Remy....? Pulling into the drive, he shut the engine off and rushed to the door, knocking and announcing to Remy who he was. "Remy, s' poppa."

Rushing to the door, Remy opened it and ushered his father inside. "Poppa." He breathed relieved and gripped his arm as the man came in. He needed comfort, but he was not going to find it with this man, so he backed away and went to get the phone they had used.

"Calm down, Remy." Jean-Luc watched his son move in a very unstable state. "Did they call back?"

"Non." He said quietly, bit his voice was tight.

"Do you t'ink Alex is involved in this somehow?" He asked as he followed Remy to the counter and sat down on a stool. "Remy, how well do you know this boy?"

"Poppa, I've known him f' a year! He couldn' be involved-- he was terrified ov' de phone." He growled.

"Okay. Don' use dat tone with me. Why do you t'ink they wan' my company for him?" Jean-Luc stared at the phone in Remy's hand. "Did you see them take him? Was he here? How much time do we have?"

"I don't know anythin' yet! An' ain' it obvious? Dey wanted t' get t' you through me, but dey couldn' get me, so dey took Alex instead, hopin' I'd ask f' y' help-- sorry t' disappoint y', poppa, but I'm askin' f' y' help. I ain' gon' leave him f' dose vultures!" He added as an afterthought, “We got two days."

Jean-Luc sighed and calmly took out his small, silver cell phone from his jacket pocket and started dialing the police. "Have you called de police yet?" His finger lingered over the 'send' button as he waited for Remy to answer. Cocking an eyebrow, he studied Remy state of mild distress.

"Non... non, I didn'...." He swallowed. He didn't know if that was such a good idea though.

"I'm callin the police before this gets too far out of hand." Turning back to focus on the phone and listen to it ring, he reached over to pat Remy's arm and tell him it would be all right. "Get y' poppa a drink, please."

"Wha'd' y' wan'?" he asked numbly before heading to the kitchen to fix him whatever he had. He usually kept what his father liked in the house.

Pinching the bridge of his nose to ease the pain in his head, he said quietly. "Scotch."

Remy nodded and went to fix it neat like his father liked it. He brought it back to him in a tumbler.

As the operator picked up and spoke to him, the cell phone rang, on the counter. Snapping his phone shut, he watched with wide eyes and listened to the music.

Remy picked up the phone and opened it as he handed the drink to his father. "Oui." He said professionally cold.

Jean-Luc accepted the drink and stared at Remy, a little surprised that he could switch moods on a dime. He wished he could hear what they were saying to his son.

Remy listened carefully.

"Remy, they want you and yer dad to sign over the company to them, along with 30,000$ and no police, or I'm fish bait. They say you have until 5 o' clock Tuesday to bring it to the Sundance Auditorium. Just you and your dad. If they see anyone else, I'm dead. Please Remy, don't screw up."

"Are you okay, Alex?" he asked urgently.

Alex was a little calmer now that he heard Remy's firm voice on the other end. "Yes but--" The phone was taken away and hung up as he tried to yell to Remy where he was.

"Damnit!" Remy hissed and flipped the phone closed. "Dey wan' you an' me t' sign ov' de compny wid $30,000 an' dey don' wan' de police involved. We gotta bring it t' de science fair jus' de two of us.... Oderwise...." He couldn't say it.

"Is de boy alright?"

"Oui... so far." He confirmed.

Jean-Luc sipped his drink and thought. He could see the tension in Remy's face no matter how he tried to hide it. Setting his drink down, he waved Remy over to sit on the stool next to him and placed the glass in front of him. "It's gonna be all right, Remy."

Remy raised his eyebrows and looked at his father. He didn't think he had ever been offered comfort like that from his father. He nodded, swallowing.

Rubbing Remy's back, he tried to console his son as best he could, or at least as much as Remy would let him. "Why not, go up an' take a shower an' den rest. All this stress ain't good for your heart, mon fils. I don' think dey'll be callin again."

Remy's teeth ground together, but he nodded. "Guest room's upstairs on de right. S' all fixed up." He said as he ascended the stairs. He wanted some time alone to digest all this.

He listened for the water in the shower to start before he made some calls to his business partners and round-a-boutly asked them for guidance. As Jean-Luc talked, he wandered around the living room and studied the few pictures of Remy and Alex together, on the mantle of the fireplace. He was just about to hang up with the last partner when he peeked out the window to the house across the street, with the man standing on the porch staring at him.

***********

Remy had hardly been able to sleep with all of the self recrimination he had been doing ever since he got into the shower. He had paced quietly in his room, running his hands through his hair for the whole night with his bedside lamp on. Guilt was practically suffocating him and he felt awful for even being attracted to his neighbor, to say nothing of the cheating sentiments he had and the way he had just... tossed Alex aside like that. When Remy couldn't walk any more, dizzy from his pacing and fatigue at four am, he collapsed onto his bed and slept in fits and starts until he couldn't any longer because of the sun creeping into the room. Groggily, he headed downstairs to see if Jean-Luc was still there and if he could do something mundane for him like get breakfast ready to keep his mind off of Alex.

Jean-Luc sat at the counter with the morning paper he had snagged from the driveway, and a cup of steaming coffee. "Mornin, Remy. Come, have a seat an' I get you some coffee, non?" Putting the paper down and standing up, Jean-Luc hadn't seen the way his son looked as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. "Come. Dere's de paper. Do you-- Remy, you look like Hell. Didn't you sleep at all, mon fils?" He asked as he had turned around from the coffeepot with a fresh cup for his son.

"No' much.... little." He said, a frown deeply set in his face. He was annoyed that his father was being so... caring. It confused him. Why didn't he act this way normally? Was he just pretending to care now? The thought struck him pretty hard.

Jean-Luc placed the cup in front of where he had been sitting and took up standing on the other side of the counter. "Drink up." He smiled as best he could. "Remy, dere isn't much you can do about Alex, right now."

Remy glared at his father through his russet bangs and growled, "I *know* dat." That was why he couldn't sleep last night. Feelings of guilt were periodically interspersed with thoughts of how Alex was being treated which made him worry and then he would round the cycle back to a stronger guilt that seemed to spiral out of control.

"Chile, don' beat yourself up over dis. What would happen if dey grabbed you?" Jean-Luc was trying and seemingly failing to keep Remy's anger at bay. "I'm sure de boy is fine, an' dis will all be over with soon." Cupping Remy's pale left cheek and trying to calm his son, his cell phone rang in his pants pocket. "Yes?" He answered and listened to the other end speak before telling them to cancel all meetings for the next few days.

Remy was going to chide his father for his attitude regarding this whole mess, but instead, he listened with wary eyes to his father's half of the conversation over the phone. When it was just his secretary, he relaxed. At least he was taking the time to pay attention to what was going on. "So, what *are* y' doin' today, poppa?" He asked, his jaw clenching. He wanted to know what his plan was.

Jean-Luc straightened from leaning on the counter and inhaled. "I have to meet with the board on this subject and somehow find a way to raise the money day asked for. Den, I'm going to make sure you don' overexert yourself an' cause another of your episodes." Taking a last sip of his mostly cool coffee, he added. "I think you'd better stay in doors and get some sleep, mon cher, ain't good for your heart dealin wit' dis stress." Taking the cup over to the sink and rinsing it out, Jean-Luc waited for the retort that Remy always had when Jean-Luc brought up his condition and stress.

"Will you quit worryin' on m' heart!!?? It's *fine!* De only ting dat's doin' me harm is you actin' like I'm a chile! You can have de money from my savin's-- I don' *care* if it gets Alex back safe!" Calming a little, Remy put his head in his hands. "I jus'... poppa, what are y' gon' do 'bout de company? It's what dey wanted most...."

Listening but not returning what he was thinking to Remy's outburst, Jean-Luc thought and closed his eyes as he stated what was going to be inevitable. "Dey aren't getting the company, Remy. I didn't work so hard for so long to trade it in for some boy my son thinks he's in love with. I will do whatever I can to make sure dat boy gets returned safely, but dey won't get anyt'ing for him." Turning, he stared at Remy and hoped he said the right thing to help Remy understand.

Remy's fists clenched before he stood, knocking his stool over and he kicked it across the room. "You'd let an innocent person *die* t' save y' *money!?*" Fuming, he couldn't stand the sight of his father and he fled the house in the jeans he had pulled on to come downstairs and rushed through the chilled air to Logan's. Pounding on the door, he hoped that Logan was there; he was his only refuge from that insane man in his house.

Just waking up and sitting down in his grey sweatpants for a cup of coffee, Logan was jostled from silence to stand up and walk to the door. Sniffing as he reached the door, he sensed something wrong. He opened the door and took in the sight of a distraught Remy. "Hey kid, you alright?"

Remy shook his head and he wanted to hug Logan, but his father could be watching for all he knew, so he wasn't going to jeopardize his job. "Can I hide out here?" he asked softly.

"Sure." Logan looked confused and stood back for Remy to enter before he closed the door. "You mind tellin me just what yer hidin from?"

"M' poppa," he said and stepped into the living room, unsure about what to do. He looked around and hoped that he wasn't going to disturb things through their morning.

Logan nodded but didn't say anything. "Some coffee?" He yawned and took a few steps towards the kitchen. "Kids have school, if you don't mind a few moments of chaos before they leave." He studied Remy's expression and thought whatever happened between Remy and his father was up to them.

"I don' mind..." He said quietly. He didn't think coffee would be good for him and he was hoping to take advantage of Logan's couch if he got tired enough. He stepped over to it and sat down, trying to stay out of the way if the kids were going to be running around hectically getting ready for school.

Logan took a breath before sitting his cup down on a glass coffee table and turning towards the stairs. "Be right back, time for them to get up." He turned around to look at the top of the stairs and then back at Remy. "You sure yer okay, kid?"

"Oui..." He said, although with thoughts of Alex not surviving this, his voice got shaky and he wasn't sure if he would be okay for too much longer. What was he going to do? Remy ran his hands through his hair and couldn't keep the image of Alex's lifeless body from his mind. His hands started to shake and he felt his eyes sting.

Waiting for the answer, Logan hurried upstairs and roused the children from sleep. He spent a good ten minutes telling them to hurry and getting their breakfasts and lunches ready for them as they filed downstairs and grabbed their given meals. On hurried mornings that they walked with their friends, Logan handed them each a fruit flavoured pop tart and pre-packed lunches from the night before. Kissing Stephanie's forehead and ruffling Matthew's hair a bit, he told them goodbye and let them pause to greet Remy before rushing off to each of their groups to walk with.

Logan sat down on the floor in front of the sofa and blinked up at Remy. "You wanna tell me just what has you so spooked, or are ya gonna make me guess? I'm guessin it has somethin to do with Alex, huh?" Sipping his warmed up coffee, he watched Remy with patience for whatever Remy had wanted to release.

"Somebody... kidnapped Alex...." Remy's fingers tightened in his hair and he looked pleadingly at Logan. "Dey're gon' kill 'im, Logan." He got out shakily. "Poppa won' give 'em what dey wan'...."

"Well, I can see why he wouldn't play their game but, I think I wouldn't give them anythin either." Hardening his expression, he sat forward. "When did this happen? Anyone else know?"

"Yesterday... t'ink poppa probably talked to his cronies... but... you wouldn' do anythin', Logan?" He asked looking at Logan, re-evaluating this man. Maybe he saw something Remy didn't-- a way Alex would be okay. Or maybe he was just as cold and hard as his father.

Logan stiffened. "That's not fair. I'm sure yer dad is just as worried about him as you are, he just might not show it as you do." Placing a hand on Remy's knee he smiled thinly. "There is always another way of doin things, without givin up to the bad guys. Police, FBI, negotiate.....? Rem, this ain't the end of the world. I'm sure we can get Alex back without a scratch. You think?"

Remy shook his head. "Dey knew we were callin' de police de moment we did. Dey got... connections or are watchin' or somethin'... I jus'... I don' tink I could live wid m'self if anythin' happened t' Alex... because o' me." Remy wasn't sure that his father was worried about Alex at all. He thought that he was pretending to be for Remy's sake, but was in fact more worried about Remy's heart condition than Alex.

Logan moved from his position and knelt closer to Remy. Waving the boy into his arms, he sighed deeply and hugged Remy for a long moment while he took in the situation. "It's gonna be okay."

Remy grasped onto Logan's shirt as if it were a life preserver. "What if dey kill him?" he choked out.

"Shh shh shhh. They won't. We'll get him back." Logan held him close and stroked the back of his head, feeling the closeness and tightness as Remy wasn't about to let go, and he wasn't about to let him.

Sniffling, Remy leaned away from Logan and tried to compose himself. "Sorry, cher... I could... probably use dat coffee now..." He said quietly.

Logan nodded and stood up, making his way to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee. "The sofa is plenty comfy if you wanna take a nap, or at least lie down." He called back as he poured the coffee and replaced the pot on the burner before heading back to the living room.

"Think I'm okay." He said and just rested his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. He took deep breaths trying to steady himself.

Standing before the young man, Logan took in Remy's bare upper body. Handing the cup to him, he sat down to Remy's right and took a sip of his, rubbing Remy's back.

"Thanks." He said quietly and took a few sips of the bitter drink. He felt his nervousness increase as he sat, but he forced himself to sit and finish his coffee. Setting his cup aside, Remy turned to Logan and grimaced. He was grateful that the man was such a good friend.

"Don't you think you oughtta at least let yer dad know where you are?" Logan said after a long, quiet moment.

Swallowing, he looked at the carpet before he stood and said, "Oui. Sorry, I didn' mean t' boder y'." He stepped over to the door. He actually didn't want to let his father know where he was, but he didn't want to bother Logan any more. "Tanks f' de coffee, cher," he said and leaned down to kiss Logan before he leaned back up and showed himself out.

Grabbing Remy's slender wrist, he halted the boy and stood up. "I didn't mean it to shoo you away. I just think that it ain't fair to scare him like this. That's all."

"I understand," He said and nodded. "I'll go an' let 'im know I'm okay." He said and grasped Logan's wrist reassuringly.

There was something in his tone that made Logan wonder but having complete faith in his young friend, he only nodded and let go of the wrist. "My door is always open, kid."

"Thanks." He said with a soft smile and headed out. Once on the porch though, he looked back at Logan before heading over to his own place. Once inside, he headed straight for his room and got dressed. He didn't want to have to be around his father for any longer than necessary. The man was seriously pissing him off. At least Logan acted concerned in his inability to bend. After he was fully dressed in a suit, like he were going in for work, he went down stairs and picked up Alex's cell phone on his way back out.

"Where de Hell do you think you're goin?" Jean-Luc stood up from sitting on the sofa, reading over some business paperwork. "Remy?!"

"Investigatin'." Remy growled and slammed the door as he left, not pausing at all. He went to his car and drove off, headed for work, kind of on auto-pilot.


Continued......