The list's kind of slow so I thought I'd better send this. It's been sitting in my comp for weeks.... I'm not as happy with it as I would like, but the idea for my next chapter.... ooh boy! :D
Shade

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah belonga Marvel. Me own nothing. No sue please.
Rating: G
Question: Does anyone know when Gambit or Bobby's birthday is?

Frozen Pop
by Shade

Day Fourteen: Happy Birthday Babies

It was raining. BJ stared out of the hotel window and sighed. Grampa William and Grandma Maddie were out again enjoying their honeymoon. BJ didn't know what a honeymoon was, but it didn't involve kids. Even Bobby and Gambit had left. There was some emergency with the X-Men. BJ and Remy had wanted to go help, but Bobby said no. They were still in trouble for leaving Gambit at the toy store. Grandpere Jean-Luc had volunteered to take care of them for the day. They were supposed to go to the zoo, but then it had started raining.

"Can't you make it stop?" BJ asked again.

Jean-Luc looked up from the TV that he and Remy were watching. He waved BJ back over to them.

"Non, I tol' you before dat we can't control de weather like dey can in Mojoworld. It would be nice if we could though, wouldn't it?"

"What's de zoo like?" Remy asked from the floor in front of the couch.

"Well, dere is a long sidewalk dat leads from place to place. In each one of de places dere are little fenced in areas where different animals live. Dey got animals from all over de world. Big scary lions wid big teeth all de way down to de littlest mouse."

"Why can't we go when it's raining?" Remy asked again.

Jean-Luc smiled. The boy was so inquisitive for his age. He reminded him so much of Gambit as a boy. Jean-Luc hadn't had much contact with the older Remy when he was very young. He'd turned Gambit over to a questionable group of men after Jean-Luc had been hired to steal the mutant baby from the hospital. It was always a transaction that LeBeau had regretted, so with his many connections in the Thieves Guild, he had always kept an eye on the strange child with the red and black eyes. When Gambit had run away from the men to live on the streets, he arranged to bump into the child. Remy was a handful even then and had tried to pick the King of Thieves' own pocket. Of course, Jean-Luc had caught the boy in the act and offered to teach him how to do it right. From that point on, Remy was a LeBeau, and Jean-Luc couldn't have been happier if he had sired the boy himself.

The young copy of his adopted son was still staring at him with questioning eyes. Jean-Luc jarred himself out of the past to answer the question.

"Most of de zoo is open outside. We'd get wet and I don' want you boys to catch cold."

"Do de animals catch cold if dere outside?" Remy asked.

Jean-Luc laughed, "Non, dey have dens to go into like we got dis hotel room. Dey're just as safe and warm as we are, non?"

BJ had been listening quietly while still looking outside the window. He remembered something that had bothered him yesterday at the toy store. What with all the excitement he had forgotten it until just then.

"Grandpere, what's a birthday?" he asked innocently.

"What? You never had a birthday? No birthday party, or anything?"

BJ and Remy both shook their heads.

Remy turned away from the TV interested and asked, "What is it?"

"A birthday is sort of an anniversary of de day you were born. Every year on dat day is your birthday. Usually, people celebrate it. You have a party wid cake and friends and presents."

"Presents!" BJ said excitedly.

Remy still looked confused.

"What's born?"

Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows in surprise. Remy had explained to him that the X-Babies had been created as entertainment on another world. He hadn't really realized that ‘creation' really meant from scratch. He had just assumed that each of the children had been born. Now he was starting to realize that they had started their lives very differently. He started to explain.

"Well once upon a time dere wasn't a Remy or a BJ, was there?"

The boys thought about this a minute before Remy shook his head. BJ copied his friend, but it was obvious he wasn't following.

"Well some time back dere wasn't a BJ or a Remy and den one day there was. You both came into de world, dis one or Mojo's it doesn't matter. Dat would be your birthday, I suppose."

"But what if we don't know what day that was? How are we supposed to have a birthday?" BJ asked somewhat upset.

"It doesn't really matter. You can make up a day and den everyone can celebrate it as your birthday. What do you say we pick you out a birthday each?"

The boys cheered and started hopping up and down. Jean-Luc got up and headed into the small kitchenette that came with the suite. On the wall was a decorative calendar. Jean-Luc pulled it down and laid it on the bar that separated the kitchenette from the rest of the living space. He helped both of the boys on to a barstool and then stood between them. They flipped through the calendar and he explained the months and days in case they weren't familiar with a calendar.

"Now," he said, "dis is my Remy's, Gambit's, birthday. I don't know what Bobby's birthday is, but I'm sure he'll tell us when he gets home."

"Do we have our birthdays on dose days?"

"Non, you don' have to. You can pick out any day you want."

"Can we pick tomorrow?" BJ asked.

Jean-Luc smirked.

"You just want dat day just to get presents don' you?"

BJ nodded fiercely.

"Well, I tell you what. You pick out whatever day you want, an' we'll have a party tomorrow for all de birthdays you missed."

"I want mine on Gambit's birthday," Remy said softly.

"I t'ink dat's a fine idea. Dat means I'll have to buy more presents than I usually do, but I don' mind."

"Can I have mine on Bobby's birthday?" BJ asked.

"If you want. I t'ink dat Bobby'd like dat. When he or his parents gets back we'll ask dem what day it is, okay?"

Jean-Luc helped the boys down and they went back to watch TV. Normally, he didn't watch much television, but the boys seemed addicted to cartoons. He was sure it was Bobby's influence. Jean-Luc would almost be upset, but he found himself starting to enjoy the animation. They didn't have such things when he was young. In fact, they didn't have much technology at all when he was young. The Thieves Guild elixir of life had a lot to do with that.

"Mom, we don't need balloons!"

"Now, Robert," Maddie began.

"Uh oh, you in for it now, mon ami," Gambit whispered with a smirk. Bobby just rolled his eyes. Maddie continued, ignoring the interruption.

"How can the boys have a birthday party without balloons? I'm sure the hotel has to handle things like this all the time."

"Remind me to strangle your father later," Bobby sighed after his mother had headed to the bedroom to call the concierge.

"You could do dat, but den you'd probably have a death sentence on yo' head. Dat's no fun trust me, neh?"

Bobby rolled his eyes and flopped down on the couch next to Gambit. He was very tired after the mission that Scott had dragged them into that morning. He was sure that Gambit was also tired, but the Cajun tended to hide things like that. Bobby supposed that the man just didn't like showing weakness. Sometimes he could give Wolvie a run for his money in the tough guy department.

"Did we ever spend this much time together before I ended up with the boys?"

"Mmm?" the thief answered trying not to fall asleep.

"I mean we were never great friends or anything, and now I see you more than I see Hank. It's been a very strange couple of weeks. I think I've learned more about you in the few days I've met your dad then I did in the couple of years that we were teammates."

"So, I'm a private person. Dere somet'ing wrong wid dat?"

"No, it's just odd that we're supposed to save each others lives on a regular basis and it takes a couple of kids for us to actually get to know each other. I guess I'm just sorry that I didn't take the time to really get to know you before."

"It's not like I'm real forthcoming wid de X-Men. I just would rather be judged on what I *can* do not what I did in de past. Does dat make sense?" Gambit asked looking over at Bobby. The young man in question was starting to look upset.

"Yeah, I'm just starting to realize how crummy we all tend to treat you. You've been a real help with the boys. From now on, no matter what, I just want you to know that you've got someone in your corner."

Gambit was quiet. Bobby wasn't sure if the man was deciding on the right response, or if what he heard was true or not.

"Dat means a lot Bobby. T'anks."

"Well don't get all mushy on me or anything. It's really just an excuse to argue with Scott," Bobby said with a smile.

"Now since when did you need an excuse for dat?" Gambit said smiling back.

continued >>

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