...a lurker pokes his head out...

hello everyone!

I am sending along a rather unique fan-fic and I need to make more than the usual disclaimers.

This was written by a very unique four-year-old (WAIT!! before you hit the delete key!! please listen for a moment!)

She has been raised on a diet of fan-fic and in an environment full of words and literature. She is a die-hard Gambit fan with a great love for Siku (wonder why :) ).

She told me a few days ago that she had a story to tell. As I quite often do, I recorded it and transcribed it. I also felt it was worthy of a wider exposure, so I cleaned up the grammar, added a little here, condensed a little there... but the story is all hers! And with a minimum of bias I have to say that it is actually pretty good!

Continuity?? well, it is set in 'the world as it should be' (as are the imaginings of most four-year-olds). Gambit was never abandoned... the mansion was never destroyed... just take it from there.

Archiving and feedback?? If anyone wants to archive it PLEASE do!! It will be the highlight of her young life (I'll even do the HTML for it). Just tell us so she can see it and show it off. Feedback??!! Please!! It gets mentioned a lot about 'watering' writers... well, here is a chance to water a seedling. Who knows what she can become if she's encouraged while she's young! She knows I am sending this and promises to write to everyone who writes to her!

Thanks for reading! Thanks in advance for any feedback! Enjoy!

**Standard Disclaimer** All characters belong to Marvel and, no, we didn't ask permission to use them. No money is being made and it would look really bad to sue a four-year-old.

by Cara

It was a special night. An anniversary. Remy had been making special plans for months. He was very excited about what he was going to do, but he was also sad. He wondered if anyone else knew what today was. He wondered if anyone cared.

"It don' matter," he told himself as he crept out of his window and passed the security to the boathouse, "I'm doin' dis for me."

He was remembering as he sneaked from room to room. Carefully visiting everyone in the Mansion. He remembered his special Stormy and how scared he was to let her go with these strangers. He remembered the others being scared of him and not trusting him. He had been surprised when they asked him to stay. It was the second happiest day of his life.

Gambit knew he did some bad things in the past. He remembered them all as he slipped out of Jubilee's bedroom and headed for Rogue's. It hurt him a lot to remember, but if he stopped then he might make the same mistakes again. He didn't want that to happen!

He smiled as he finished his work in Storm's loft and headed for Wolverine's room. He had left Wolverine for last because he was the one who would probably wake up and catch him. All the others had slept through his visits.

Now he was thinking about his time as an X-man. How much good he had done, how much mroe he liked himself and how much he loved his family, even when they were mean to him. It hurt his feelings when they didn't trust him. It really hurt when Scott yelled at him for all his late night trips. Maybe in the morning Scott would understand where he had been going.

Remmy stopped on the back lawn and finally breathed. He couldn't believe he had done his work without waking Logan. He said a prayer of thanks to the Dragon(1) and slipped very quietly back into his bedroom. He looked at the clock... 5:10. It had taken him all night to get everything ready. He was both scared and excited to think of what everyone would feel when they started to get up in a few hours. He decided he may as well try and sleep. He had spent a lot of money setting up for today, but that meant nothing compared to the time and the love he had put into each detail. He fell asleep for the first time in a long time with a smile on his face.

Logan was the first to wake up. He sniffed the air in confusion and looked around his room warily. Someone had been there and he was prepared to attack if they were stupid enough to still be close by. It took him a few moments to notice the objects laying just below his window. He looked closely at the ancient sword carefully arranged over a beautiful, hand-woven prayer mat. He sniffed the air again and smiled as he picked up the sword and held it to the light.

Scott was the next to wake. Moaning as he turned off his alarm and rolled out of bed. He had a reputation as a morning person, and as leader he felt it was his duty to set a good example, but secretly he hated getting up so early! He was walking around the bed heading for the bathroom when he tripped over a large, wooden object at the foot of the bed. His cry and swearing woke Jean up and she crawled across the bed to see her husband sitting on the floor beside a beautifully carved, wooden cradle. They exchanged a glance. Who could know??!! I only told you yesterday! Scott ran a hand over the lovingly sanded wood as the two of them tried to figure it out.

Jubilee woke up to the music of her clock radio, muttering about early morning Danger Room practices and grumpy grown-ups. As soon as she focused her eyes she saw the poster hung carefully on her wall. She scrambled out of bed to get a better look and her squeal was loud enough to wake the rest of the house when she saw the personal messages to her from each of the 'Back Street Boys'.

Warren woke, stretching his wings, thinking about the joy he would feel as soon as they lifted him off the ground. A fluttering in his window drew his attention and he walked over to examine the dreamcatcher hanging there. A piece of paper taped to the window frame explained its meaning and that of the eagle feather (found, not taken from a hunted bird). Warren had to sit down on his bed for a few minutes and collect himself before he was ready to face anyone.

The Professor woke with a start! A soft bit of fluff was tapping against his nose. He opened his eyes and followed the black fluff over until it met with a bigger ball of black and white fluff. He blinked and decided he was still dreaming, but the tiny paw and quiet purr convinced him that the little kitten was very real. Then he noticed the red ribbon around her neck and the food dishes, litter box, food and toys set up on the corner. He picked her up and sighed happily, starting to try out names for his newfound friend.

Beast headed back to his room for a shower and some fresh clothes after a night spent in the lab. He stopped in shock as he saw a set of very old medical instruments laid out neatly on his bed along with a complete set of medical books from the early 1800's. In a second he was hanging from his ceiling fan and deep in one of the books. He forgot all about showering and changing clothes. He even forgot about breakfast!

Bobby woke up trying to figure out what was different. He stood up and stretched and looked around. Nothing looked different, but something was! He just couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly it hit him! The room was COLD! he looked around for a reason and found a few snips of wire on the floor. He followed the trail to the air conditioning controls and read the small sign that had mysteriously appeared as he slept. It told him the system had been rewired and he could have it as cold as 0 degrees C (thats 32 degrees F for our american friends) without it affecting the rest of the house in any significant way. Bobby grinned and danced into the bathroom to treat himself to an ice-cold shower.

Rogue woke up slowly, the way she liked it. She stretched and wiggled like a cat. As she rolled over she found a beautiful bracelet and a typed letter beside her on the pillow. She touched the bracelet and the large, blue stome in it as she read the letter.

"This bracelet was created for you. On the underside of the crystal is an activation switch. When you turn it on and wear it, it will let you touch someone without harm for about five minutes at a time. It isn't perfect, but it is a start."

Rogue gasped and put the bracelet on her wrist. It was a perfect fit. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry or shout for joy. Part of her was afraid to try it and the other part could hardly wait to find someone and test it out!

Storm opened her eyes to an amazing site! Her room seemed filled with rainbows and light! The walls, furniture, ceiling, even her body were covered in shimmering, changing prisms. She sat back in bed, just letting the beautiful scene wash over her. Finally she got up to find out what was causing it. From all the plants filling her room, someone had carefully hung 2000 tiny crystals of all shapes and colours. In the morning sun they made her room come alive with colour and they made her room seem like a very safe and magical place. She sang to herself and to her plants as she got dressed, wishing she could take the beauty of the sight with her.

Everyone met in the kitchen, exchanging stories and asking questions. Remy stood just outside the room listening, the same as he had on this very day what seemed like a lifetime ago. This time with a huge smile on his face.

It took them a while to notice him watching... except for Logan, but all he did was sniff the air and wink and smile.

The End

Notes
(1) This reflects Cara's spirituality. She believes in Dragons the way others believe in god/goddess and angels. She is firmly convinces this is Gambit's religion too!

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