The new year had been quiet for the New Orleans Thieves Guild. It was now early April and there had only been one run-in with the Assassins, and very few close calls with the police. Just the way the thieves wanted it. They were in a peaceful mood, and kept a very low profile. However, their world was about to be turned upside down in a very unexpected but predictable way.

Jean-Luc was sitting in the living room of the LeBeau mansion with Tante Mattie. They were drinking tea and enjoying each other's company, reminiscing about old times, when the doorbell rang. This surprised them as it was early evening, and neither Remy nor Mercy was at home, so whoever was calling was not there to see either of the young people.

"I wonder who dat could be?" Jean-Luc commented, putting his cup of tea down on the table and standing. "We're not expecting company…I jus' hope it isn' Marius lookin' to start a fight over somet'ing…" He walked out into the front foyer of the mansion and looked out the window. 'Oh my…' he thought as he realized who was standing on the front porch. 'Remy wasn' expecting dis…'

On the porch, waiting for the door to be answered, were two people. One, a tall woman in an elegant yet simple green dress, had white hair and a manner that matched her dress in elegance. Beside her was a short, stocky man with wild black hair, wearing jeans, a checkered shirt and a worn brown leather jacket. Jean-Luc had never met either of the two X-Men, but from the stories he'd heard Remy tell in the months he'd been back in New Orleans, he recognized them as Storm and Wolverine. And somehow, Jean-Luc knew they weren't there for tea.

Jean-Luc heard a sigh behind him. "Dey're here to talk to Remy 'bout goin' back wit' dem to New York." Mattie commented quietly. "We both know that, Jean-Luc. We knew dis would happen sometime. Let 'em in. In de end it will be Remy's decision an' no one else's."

Jean-Luc returned the sigh and nodded. He knew his old friend was right, even though he hated it. "I jus' hope Remy does what his heart wants him to do…" he replied as he put his hand on the doorknob and opened the door, greeting the two X-Men with a forced but cheerful smile.

"May I help you?" he asked, pretending he didn't know who they were. Wolverine raised an eyebrow. He wasn't fooled for a second but Jean-Luc's smile. He also couldn't blame the elder LeBeau for feeling apprehensive. He'd feel the same way if he were in Jean-Luc's shoes.

"Hello." Storm replied in her charming voice. "My name is Ororo, and this is Logan. We are friends of Remy's from the X-Men. May we come in? We would like to talk to him if it is not too much trouble."

"Please come in. Remy isn' at home right now, but he should be here soon." Jean-Luc told them as they entered the living room. "Can I get you somet'ing?"

"No thanks." Wolverine replied. Storm nodded.

"We are not in need of refreshments, thank you." She continued.

Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and closed. "Papa? You here? We have to talk to you 'bout somet'ing." Remy's voice asked from the hallway. When he got to the living room, he froze in his tracks, staring at Storm and Wolverine in complete amazement. They were the last people he expected to see. Emil and Genard, who weren't paying attention to what Remy was doing, bumped into him from behind. When the three young men righted themselves, Genard and Emil joined Remy in staring at the X-Men. The silence was deafening.

Remy spoke first, addressing his friends. "Um…what're you guys doin' here?"

"Remy, we need to talk to you." Storm explained. "We've left this too long as it is."

"We'll leave you alone so you can talk," Jean-Luc said as he and Mattie left the room and headed to the kitchen. They expected Emil and Genard to follow them, but neither thief moved from their positions on either side, but slightly behind, Remy. Wolverine growled slightly, but Remy shot him a warning look before turning to his two friends.

"You need us to stick around, Rem?" Emil asked. The concern in his blue eyes was mirrored in Genard's brown ones. Remy gave them a confident smile.

"It's fine guys. I t'ink I can handle dis." He told them.

"Okay…" Genard said uncertainly. "We'll jus' go wait in your room…yell if you need us." With that, he and Emil went up the huge staircase and waited in Remy's room, listening to his CDs. They knew he wouldn't mind.

In the living room, Remy, Storm and Wolverine sat there, looking at each other. Wolverine broke the ice.

"How ya been, Cajun?" he asked in his usual gruff manner.

"Fine, Logan. It was tough at first…Antarctica isn' exactly de nicest place in de world to be left to die…" Remy commented wryly.

Storm sighed. "I'm sorry, Remy. Neither the Professor nor I knew what was going on. If we had, we certainly would have stopped the proceedings. You did not deserve to be treated in such a horrible manner."

"Would you?" Remy demanded. "No one else did. Not a single one of dem stopped Rogue from leavin' me dere."

"I went back for ya, kid, as soon as I found out what she did." Wolverine told him. "I couldn't find ya. Had to give up after awhile. The point is, someone did try to make it right."

"What's de point of dis conversation, if dere is one?" Remy asked.

"Gambit, we're here on behalf of Professor Xavier and the rest of the team to ask you to come back." Storm explained. "The truth is, we need you and…"

"…The team ain't the same without ya, gumbo." Wolverine finished for her.

Remy looked at them squarely. He knew they were telling the truth…neither one of them had ever lied to him before. It would take him a long time to forgive Rogue, but there was no reason for him to hold a grudge against the rest of the team if they wanted him back…he suddenly felt very weird and very confused.

"Um…you can stay here with us…I have some t'inkin' to do…you understand, right?" he said quietly.

"Of course we do, Remy." Storm replied with a kind smile. Wolverine nodded his agreement. Both of them knew it would take Remy some time to figure out what he wanted to do next.

'Dey want him to go back…' Mattie thought, casting a glance at Genard and Emil, who were oddly solemn. It wasn't like them. She realized they must know it too and sighed. Remy had quite the decision in front of him.

Jean-Luc came back down after making sure Storm and Wolverine were settled in their rooms. He was worried beyond all measure, but was determined not to show it. He had been so happy these past few months, since Remy had finally came home, and the thought of losing his son again scared him.

"Are you okay, Rem?" Emil asked, breaking the silence.

"I'd be okay if I knew what to do now…" Remy replied with a sigh. He stood up. "I gotta go t'ink…dis isn' somet'ing I can discuss with you, I'm sorry."

"When you can, we'll be right here." Jean-Luc said in as comforting a voice as he could muster.

Remy went outside and climbed the tree in the backyard. He used to climb the tree all the time, when he was younger. It was his thinking tree. And he definitely needed to think now.

"What do I do now…?" he asked himself aloud. "On de one hand, I'm back home for de first time in years, an' it's been good. On de other hand, I miss bein' with de X-Men." He sighed and put his head in his hands, careful not to lose his balance on the branch he was sitting on.

"I'm so confused!" he exclaimed to the leaves. "I guess de only t'ing I can do is figure out where I'm de happiest…"

The next morning, Remy, who had sat in the tree all night alternately thinking and sleeping, walked back into the mansion. He found his father, Tante Mattie, Emil, Genard, Storm and Wolverine sitting in the living room. Breakfast for them was obviously over, but Remy didn't think much about that. He wasn't all that hungry. He had come to a decision after much debating and was nervous about sharing it with the group.

"Good morning, Remy." Mattie said with a warm smile. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Non, Tante, thanks anyway. I'm not hungry." He replied, standing before them all. "Um, I have a few t'ings to tell you. It's not goin' be easy, but it has to be said."

"Go ahead, Remy. We're listening." Storm encouraged him.

Remy sighed. "Okay. I did a lot of t'inkin' last night. I realized I had to weigh de pros an' cons of stayin' here against de pros an' cons of goin' back to de X-Men. For awhile, I didn' t'ink I'd ever come to a conclusion, but I did, 'bout de same time de sun came up."

His six listeners sat in silence, waiting for him to continue. They knew this was hard for him, and they wanted to make it as painless as possible. Judging from the look on his face, they also knew it wasn't working. He closed his eyes and desperately fought back the tears that were threatening to escape from his red and black eyes. He sighed again, opened his eyes and continued.

"Dis is my home. De first real home I ever had in my life. I guess dat's why I came here after I left Antarctica. I had nowhere else to go, but I knew Papa an' Tante Mattie an' de rest of de Guild would take care of me. I wasn' wrong, an' I've been happy here de past few months. Mais, I'm not a t'ief anymore. I'm not sure I really fit in here anymore, even t'ough de Guild is my fam'ly." Remy faltered, swallowing a few times, and blinking hard. The more he said, the harder it got to control his emotions.

"It's goin' take me awhile to fully forgive de X-Men an' trust dem again. An' I don' know right now if I'll ever fully forgive or trust Rogue again. Professor Xavier's dream may not be my dream, but it's a dream worth fightin' for all de same, an' I t'ink I'd be of more use with de X-Men, fightin' for dat dream, instead of here fightin' de Assassins." He paused, and looked at his father, the first person who had ever loved him unconditionally.

"I'm sorry, Papa." He said softly, the tears that had been threatening finally spilling from his eyes and running down his cheeks.

Jean-Luc made no effort to hide his own tears. He opened his blue eyes and looked at his son, nodding slightly. "Je sais, mon fils." He replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He got up and hugged Remy; any words said by either of them were inaudible, even to Wolverine's sensitive ears.

Tante Mattie wished Remy well next. "Take care, child. May de dream you and de X-Men fight for not be in vain. An' remember what you said, dis is your home. We'll always be here for you if you need us." She said, taking her turn to hug him.

"Merci, Tante." Remy replied as he turned to Emil and Genard, who still had not said a word, even to each other. Hugging each other in front of the others was not what the three young men wanted to do, so they just stood there instead.

"Would it be any use for us to tell you to b'have yourself, kiddo?" Genard asked gruffly, trying to keep from crying. Emil was incapable of speaking for the moment, and he was also having a hard time looking at Remy.

Remy looked thoughtful and forced a laugh. "Probably not."

"T'ought so." Genard smiled. "Keep in touch, will ya?"

Remy nodded. "Sure t'ing," he said, going over and standing directly in front of Emil, who still couldn't look at his friend. He put a hand on Emil's shoulder and was almost surprised to find that Emil was trembling. "Come outside wit' me for a second, okay?" Remy asked quietly. Emil nodded and followed him out into the back yard.

"Until a few months ago, I didn' realize how lucky Henri was to have you as a friend," Remy began. "Now I know."

"Remy, don'." Emil pleaded, looking at his friend for the first time, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Henri was my best friend in de whole world, even more den Genard. Losin' him almost killed me. I don' want you to leave, none of us do, it's been great havin' you home 'gain. But at least…at least you're not dead."

"Emil, I'm sorry. I know dis is horrible. But I have a job to do…an' I'll be back. Even de X-Men get vacations from time to time."

"I know. You have to go. I'll risk bein' an echo an' say, keep in touch. You better go say good-bye to Mercy…she'd never forgive you if you left without talkin' to her."

Remy turned and headed back into the house. At the door he stopped and looked at Emil, who wasn't joining him. "Take care, mon ami."

Emil managed a small smile through his tears. "You too, Rem."

Remy went up to Mercy's room and said his good-byes. Talking to Mercy wasn't any easier than talking to the others, but he did it somehow. She understood as well that he was needed on the X-Men team, and that he wouldn't be gone for quite so long this time. He had become better friends with most of the Guild during the past few months and coming back frequently was high on his agenda.

Mercy came downstairs with Remy, helping him carry the few things he was taking with him back to New York. Emil had come inside and was sitting between Genard and Tante Mattie on the couch. Storm and Wolverine were waiting for him.

"We gotta go, kid." Wolverine commented. "Cyke just called…the FOH is raising a stink 'bout somethin'. They need our help."

Jean-Luc followed them to the door. Wolverine and Storm went outside, leaving Remy and Jean-Luc together in the foyer.

"Well…I guess dis is it." Jean-Luc stammered, fighting tears again.

"Merci, Papa, for everyt'ing. I don' know what I would have done without you an' de others dese past few months. I'll call you when we get dere…Papa?" Remy said in reply.

"Oui, Remy?"

"I love you."

"Oh Remy…" Jean-Luc sighed. "I love you too. Now go, b'fore I try to make you stay."

As Gambit, Storm and Wolverine drove away in the car Storm had rented at the airport, Jean-Luc returned to the living room. No one said a word, they all just sat around in silence, lost in their own private thoughts. They were startled out of their reveries by the sound of the phone ringing.

Jean-Luc answered the phone, listened for a few seconds and then hung up. The others looked at him expectantly.

"Dat was Theoren. De Assassins have kidnapped Zoe. He an' Claude need our help getting her back. Dey're waitin' for us in Jackson Square."

"Well, what're we waitin' for? Let's go." Mercy said. The others followed her out of the mansion.

Things were getting back to normal with a vengeance for the thieves, whether they were ready for it or not.