*********WARNING**********
This is NOT a part of my series.  This was written by special request for Lili Varzideh after "How to be a leader by Scott Summers" as a tunnel to Scott/Rogue paring.  I am a huge L/R fan so this was difficult but I figured I would give it a shot.  It is a -what if ?- and takes place after "How to be a leader" but is NOT apart
of the series.  My  next one in the series is done and I have to type it in still.  It's called "Something to be thankful for"…OK, now that this has been cleared up, feel free to read and archive the story.
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One Saturday afternoon Rogue spent her day watching everyone else  have fun in a highly contact, if not down right violent, game of tackle football.  Scott was outside watching and setting up for a  picnic lunch for the group.  He looked around and found Rogue and as  usual, she was off to the side.  He hated to see her by  herself.  The  more she was alone, the more depressed she seemed to get.  He decided  to spend some quality time with her.  They hadn't practiced any  fighting skills in two weeks so it was time to show her the obstacle  course in the woods.

He went over to her with an icy cold lemonade and offered her the  glass.  She took it with a smile and a thank you and went back to  reading.

"So what book are you reading now?"  He asked.

"The Ordinary Princess.  Despite it being a kids book, it kind of  suits me."

"Well, can you tear yourself away from the gripping plot for awhile.

I got something I want to show you."

"Sure." Her feet were falling asleep and a walk would stretch her  legs.  She left her books and walked with him into the woods.  Rogue  was becoming more uncomfortable with each step.  She remembered her  last walk in the woods with another person didn't end so well.  She  swore she never would go in there again, yet she felt herself  compelled to just follow.  Finally they arrived to a small clearing  with a campsite and moved around to the other side to find what  looked like a ropes course with lots of obstacles in it.

"This will be a challenge for you today, since you've been slacking  off in the gym."  Scott said jokingly.

"What is this?"

"A teams course, designed for two or three people to work together to  get through it.  No one person can do it alone.  I figured instead of high intense contact football, you'd like a low contact challenge for the mind and body.  What you say, want to give it a try?"

She looked real doubtful.  She wasn't overly up to a work out today.  It did look like some fun though.

"Come on," Scott urged her, "Jean and Storm are always too busy to join me.  I've been looking for a new partner."

"I'd think you'd know it all by heart and it wouldn't be much of a challenge?"

"Felix came out here yesterday and changed part of it around.  We do  that so it keeps us on our toes as well.  Besides, I'll just follow.   You can lead the way."

Rogue though to herself <Why not, it could be fun, the ordinary princess wouldn't be doing anything of this sort.>

"I suppose I could give it a try."

"That's the spirit," Scott smiled and gripped her shoulder.  Rogue  thought it was a nice touch, comforting and supportive.

She stared at the obstacles that laid before her.  It looked tough  and muddy.  Good thing she wasn't wearing anything nice.

"So where do we start in this maze?" She asked.

"First you have to loose the cloak.  It will get caught for sure."

He removed it from her shoulders for her.  He hung it on a tree  branch.

"Has anyone been seriously hurt doing this?" Rogue asked to check on  her future safety.

"Alone, yes, with someone…worse case was a broken leg."   Breaking another limb terrified her.  It hurt the last time and it  killed.  He noticed her face change and understood right away why she was so worried.  He placed both hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes.

"I won't let you break anything, I promise," he smiled.

She wasn't reassured.  They started the course maneuvering through rope swings, twine mazes, bridges over creeks, water/mud wholes to crawl through and avoid, ladders, swings and walls.  It was tiring work.  There were also a few surprise traps.  Rogue stepped in one and was flung up into the air as the rope tied around her leg.  She flew to correct from being upside down.  Scott then zapped her free.  They both got tangled in the barbed wire and that took a while to get out of.  Rogue helped to fly Scott over a few obstacles as well.  Flying did help a lot to get around several of the barriers.  Scott made her go through some events without using her powers at all.

There was one surprise Scott knew couldn't be changed but didn't tell Rogue.  She's have to do it without any advice from him.  As they neared the cave portion of the obstacle course, a surprise hit them literally.  A paw grabbed Scott's visor and ripped it off andstomped it apart.  Rogue turned around, after his eyes blasted a tree.  She didn't see what hit hurt but she was picked up and thrown 20 feet into a tall tree and dropped to the floor unconscious.  Scott stood his ground, blind.  He could hear the footsteps of their attacker.  It was Sabertooth, what he was doing there Scott couldn't guess.  Snooping around the school most likely.  He didn't know whereRogue was and didn't want to risk opening his eyes to hit her.  The attacker growled and came at him.  He opened his eyes to the man.  Sabertooth jumped out of the way and a tree came tumbling down.  " Rogue!" he shouted hoping she would hear him.  Then a club camefrom behind and sent Scott into darkness.

Rogue awoke to a cold dark room.  She couldn't see a thing.  Her body was in shock from being thrown and aching.  She didn't know what hit her or if it was part of the training course?  She felt around until  her hand reached another body.  Scott?  She felt for the visor on his face.  It was gone.  Feeling the walls around her she guessed they were in the cave.  She felt some thing crawling on her hand.  She  screeched and sprang up, hitting her head on the rock and blacking out again.

Scott awoke to his head on fire.   He'd learned not to open his eyes.  It was cold and damp in here, the cave.  He didn't know how  far inside or where he was but it was the cave.  Where was Rogue? "Rogue?"  No response came.  He imagined the worst possible things  that could happened to her with Sabertooth, being ripped from limb to  limb or lying dead somewhere.  He felt around with his hands.   He  had to get out.  His head felt like it was going to explode and he  had to use all his will power to stop from opening his eyes.  He was  so use to visor and glasses for so long he forgot how bad it was  without them.  .His hands roamed and hit something soft…round…hard,  woah!  That was no arm, shoulder or leg he touched.  He found Rogue.   Good thing she was out or that would have been really embarrassing by  the situation.  He never felt another woman like that before.  It was  eerie yet he had to admit nice as well.   He shook those thoughts from his head and tried to wake her up.  "Rogue…Rogue…Marie, come on wake up!" getting louder and louder.   Finally he shook her and she began to stir. "Don't sit up!" he warned her.

She didn't want to have her hit her head again and pass out on him.

Little did he know she already did that.

"Are you ok?"

"What hit me" Rogue was stunned again.

"My guess Sabertooth.  I don't know what he was doing here snooping around the mansion but I intend to find out later."

"My head," She reached back behind it and felt the warm moist goo  that could only be blood.

"Do you see any light?" Scott asked.

"No," she thought for a minute. " Wait," she dug out a  lighter St.  John had given her and lit it up.  "I have  a lighter though."

"Great he must have sealed us in. "

"Which way's out?"

"My glasses are gone, you'll have to be the eye and I can direct you through it ok."

"Fine."  Now she had to finish this stupid training exercise."Stay low and crawl."

Rogue though they had been crawling forever.  Her hands and knees  were killing her.  Finally the floor ended and she almost fell.

"AAAAHHHHH"

"Stop!" Scott shouts.  "This would be the drop."

"Thanks for the advance warning!"

"It looks like it doesn't end.  You can't see the bottom but it's  there.  You can climb down or fall.  In reality it's a big slide."

"So we jump!"

"Yep. Leap of faith sort of thing. Easiest way."

"Are you insane."

"Trust me, I know this course.  Felix couldn't of change this."

She grabbed his hand.   She was not doing this alone.  Together they  slip their feet first and jumped.  Rogue couldn't help but scream a  little, trying also to use her powers to slow their fall.  Finally  straight down turned into an angel as smooth rock hit their backs.

Then they hit the floor with a thud.  This room was large enough they  could stand in.  Rogue realized this after she flicked back on the  lighter.

"Which way now?"  There were several tunnels around the room.

"Stand me with my back against the slide."  She moved him as he  requested.  HE was just a bit disoriented from the slide.

"It's that one," and he pointed.  "I can usually never remember if  it is the 2 or 3 cave but it is that one."

"That would be the second, are you sure?"

"Truth, not 100 percent but I think so."

"Then lets find out." Rogue lead the way holding solidly on to  Scott's hand.

He noticed as they walked how soft and small her hand was in his  own.  He squeezed it and she as well returned the gesture.  He  trusted her to get them out of this.  Through the cobwebs, climbing  obstacles and traps, they finally reached a pool. The water glowed  with light so Rogue put the lighter away.

Scott could hear the water flowing into the pool.  "Beautiful isn't  it," he'd seen it before.

"Yes," she was hypnotized by the gleams of light as they rippled in  the pool, coloring blues, greens and yellows.  She wished Scott could  see those colors.

"OK, this is tough part Rogue.  See the light; that leads out.  You  have to swim under the water through a tunnel and it comes back up to  a lake outside. "

"How far?"

"Just take a deep breath before you go under and you have to follow  the light. "

"I don't think I could do this, we'll drowned."

"I'm trust you with my life here, you can do this." He drags her into the pool.  They swim out and Scott dives down.  She didn't know what  he was doing.  A minute later he pops up.

"The tunnel is down on the left to start from, ok."  He grabs her hand.  "Let me know when your going."

She didn't want to hesitate. "Lets go."

They took deep breaths and swam.  Rogue held on tightly to Scott.   She thought she couldn't hold her breath any more and as she reached  the bottom of the lake and was floating up.  Scott popped up first  and she inhaled water on her way up, reaching the surface coughing.   Scott grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her small framed waist  and carried her top shore.

"Sop how did we do?" Rogue asked finally resting.

"I kept my promise didn't I. Nothing broken."  They both smiled and  breathed for a moment.

Finally they gathered themselves back to the mansion.  Scott informed  Xavier and the group about Sabertooth.  They would keep a sharper eye  out and warn the students.  Jean and Xavier enhanced their telepathy powers to increase their scanning area for those minds they didn't recognize.  Sabertooth was gone by now.  The two survivors headed to bed. Rogue was tired and enjoyed sleep.  With Sabertooth's attack today, her mind went back to the time Magneto took her.  The machine she  strapped her to and the pain that shot through her body and wouldn't go away.  She screamed in her sleep, "Make it stop, make it stop!"

Katherine flew from the bed to her side and shook her up.  Rogue,  taking Wolverine's reflexes, shoved her back away using her free hand.  It was a short amount of contact, just stunning Katherine.   Scott walked in with Jean as this happened.  The energy Rogue took  from Katherine was enough to gain her powers for a bit.  Without  control over them Rogue fell through her bed to the floors below with  a scream.  Katherine was knocked to the floor, trying to breath but  conscious.  She felt like someone just punched in the gut real hard.   Jean looked after her and told Scott to go check on Rogue.   Katherine mumbled, "I hope she lands on her butt, trust me from  experience the head hurts."

Scott went down one flight, then another and then one more into the  basement.  She was there crumpled on the floor crying.  He had  grabbed a towel from the locker area and went over to her.

"I hurt her, I hurt her."  Rogue cried.

He went over and wrapped her into his arms.

"It's ok Rogue."

"I didn't mean to hurt her."

"She knows that.  You ok?"  She nods a no.

"Tell me what hurts, please."  He hated seeing her like this. It  tore his heart in two.

She said, "How can I stop the accidents, how can I stop people using  me, how can I stop the pain I cause?"  All her emotions exploded.

Scott rocked her tears away.
 
"You can't stop the accidents but we don't blame you, Katherine  doesn't blame you.  She even hoped you landed on you bottom because  the head hurts.  She knows form experience."  Rogue laughed with her  tears.

"As for the pain, I'll try what ever I can to make it go away but it won't all vanish.  You have to deal with it. Past you can't change  but I'm here. Always here for you.  I'm not going anywhere."

Unlike Wolverine he thought.  He hated him for leaving her; she  needed him.  Now he had to take his place to help her after he just  ran. Logan saved her life but then left her.  She wrapped her arms  around him and they shared a close moment.  Jean finally came and  made sure she was ok physically after all that had happened  yesterday.  Finally with Jeans help, Rogue went to sleep, dreamless.

The next day she awoke calm and collected. She praised Jean for the  sleeping drugs.

Scott came knocking on her door Sunday to check on her.

"Come in."

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better."

Scott decided to give talking a try. Maybe she was finally ready.  "You want to talk about anything."

Yes, is what she wanted to say.  She had put up barriers after these years it was hard to remove them.

"Not really"

"How about a ride.  It always helped me think things out without saying a word."

She though she could handle that.

"Lunch on me…" he added.

They walked out to the garage and Scott had an old Harley Davidson  stored away since his bike was totaled.  She didn't tell him that though.  It would just ruin the moment.

"Gloves off."  He took her hands and pulled each on off.

She felt his bike gloves softly glide down her arm.  It sent tingles up her spin.

"Where we're going, you don't need them.  You'll just mess them up."

Rogue wrapped her arms around him as he touched her bare hands with  his gloves to make sure she was holding on tight.  Jean never was a  fan of his motorcycles and refused to ride one without proper  headgear.  They're too dangerous, she'd say.  Rogue was like him, she  just wanted to be free.  He felt her chest against his back and it  sent thoughts to his brain he never would have considered before.   She felt so warm around him.  Scott stated the bike and they speed  off down the road.

On the back roads she felt him let go and send her arms up in the
air, leaned her head back.  It was just like flying Rogue thought,
without the care or effort.  She felt wonderful.  She knew why Scott
loved his bike so much now.

Eventually they went to this small diner.  Scott ordered her up a  whole bunch of finger foods: chicken strips french fries and 2  malts.  She needed this break.  In fact, Rogue made a realization,  Scott always seemed to know without asking when she needed someone to  listen, vent anger or just be with without prodding into her head  uninvited like Xavier and Jean tried to do sometimes.  They talked about school, the future and their dreams.  Scott eventually wanted to open up his own auto shop and do customizing on bikes.  Rogue didn't know what she wanted out of life.

"You'll find your nitch.  Don't worry… it all just takes time."

His voice was so real, comforting and easy to listen to.  So  reassuring.  She twiddled the dog tags around her neck.  Loagn.  He  was gone, not here to talk to, not here when she needed him to be.   She understood why he left but it hurt having him separated from her so.  He broke his promise to take care of her.  He has yet to return  and there were now very few letters.  He was going farther and  farther away.  Scott was here and not going anywhere.  It was late  when they returned from the restaurant and bike ride.  Walking into  the mansion they past the garden.  Scott picked out a rose.  He  looked at the girl, no woman now.  She was still new to the world and  scared of it.  He wanted to take it all way from her and to give her  touch.  He felt something connect with Rogue, something different  then with Jean.

"Close your eyes." He said to her.

"What?" She wasn't paying attention.

"Close your eyes for a minute."

She did and he took the rose and opened her hand.  He grazed the soft petals over ever line of her hand and palm then did the same with the  other hand.  Finally he took the rose and caressed her check and face  with it.

"How does that feel?"

"Relaxing," she smiled at him.

"Close your eyes."  He had no choice but to follow suit.  She put on  her gloves and took off his glasses.

"Woah!" He stopped her.

"Trust me."  She tracked his eyes gently with her silk glove

"There  beautiful.  Hazel green right?"

"How did you know."  She shrugged her shoulders.  This touch was  getting a bit ackward so he backed off and put his glasses back on

"Sorry," Rogue felt stupid for what she did and embarrassed.

"Don't be."  Jean had never touched his eyes like she had.  He gaze  Rogue some advice, "with touch there is something you should always  remember.  It doesn't matter if it's not skin to skin.  What's  important is what's behind the touch." He took her hand and looked into her eyes as he rubbed his thumb over  her knuckles.

"Come on, let's go watch Drake's movie, I think it's Blood Rage Six."

"I hate horror movies."

"That's why you got me." He smiled and they walked in hand and hand.

FIN