Disclaimer: "Ah, he should have kissed her!" "No, no, that's cool."

(An: And here it is, the last chapter. Fi-hi-hinally it won't be really short.)

Kurt woke up in the med lab. It was dark, and Kitty was asleep in the chair beside his bed. He was still as sore as hell, and he was hungry and thirsty on top of it. There was an IV in his arm. The clock on his bedside table and the dim moonlight spilling through his window told him it was after eleven. "Kitty?" he whispered, not wanting to disturb whoever else was in the room.

Kitty opened her eyes slowly, blinked several times, and nearly fell out of her chair. "Kurt!" Kitty threw her arms around his neck. Kurt put the arm without the needle around her.

He waited until she calmed to ask, "How long was I under?"

"Almost three days," she murmured, smoothing the fur on his cheek. They wiggled around until they were lying beside each other on the bed.

"Any reason why?"

Kitty grinned. "You're gonna like this. Mr. McCoy said your metabolism sped up to compensate for all the changes in your body. He says to avoid this happening again, you have to eat. Constantly and a lot."

Kurt blinked. "Really?" When Kitty nodded, he sighed blissfully. "Kitty, dear, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid my heart belongs to Hank now."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "He also says you have to rest for at least another two days, and that you have to watch how much you bamf."

Kurt sighed. "Such is the price of love." Kitty rolled her eyes. "So how'd the mission go without me?"

Kitty sighed, laying back. She didn't answer until Kurt poked her. "Not well," she admitted. "It's… it's kind of hard to explain."

"No, it's not," said Kurt, prodding her again. "You just don't want to tell me."

Kitty made a face at him. "All right, we totally tanked. Rogue and the mutant ended up fighting Sabertooth, and… well…" She reached over and turned on the light. In a bed across the room, Rogue lay attached to several machines monitoring her heart rate and brain activity. A blond girl slept in the bed beside hers, and in a chair between them sat Remy, who stirred at the light.

"What happened to her?" Kurt asked, sitting up for a better look.

Kitty switched off the light. Remy, deciding it was just a temporary annoyance, went back to sleep. "Sabertooth forced her to absorb Carol. When Logan found her, they were both out. The professor said Rogue took way more than she usually does- enough to put Carol into a coma like the first guy she absorbed. He says she hasn't woken up because it's taking everything she's got to deal with all the new information."

"She'll be fine, though, right?"

"Well, yeah, as soon as she wakes up. Just… nobody's sure what she'll be like when she does."

Kurt sighed. "You guys are pathetic without me." He couldn't quite hit the joking tone he wanted, but Kitty pretended he did.

She punched him lightly. "I think I liked it better when you were asleep."

O-o-O-o-O

Kurt woke up with Kitty in his arms, which was very pleasant indeed. He yawned and glanced around the room. It was already mid-morning. Remy was sitting on the floor playing solitaire with the intense concentration of the very bored. The professor was sitting by Rogue's bed, holding her hands. His concentration was equally intense, his frown as deep as the furrows in his brow.

Hank came in, balancing trays of breakfast in both hands. "Ah, Mr. Wagner! So you're finally back in the living world!" He set one of the trays on Kurt's lap. He gave another to Remy. "Mr. LeBeau, wouldn't you like to sleep in a bed one of these days?"

Remy stretched and shook his head. "Nah. Hard surfaces are good for the back and whatnot." Prodding the eggs, he smiled at Kurt. "Next time, I'm asking Logan for a different partner, mon ami. You're always bailing on me."

Kurt made a face, but he couldn't retort because he was too busy inhaling his food.

O-o-O-o-O

The only time Remy left Rogue's side was for a forced Danger Room session (he would have skipped if Logan hadn't dragged him to it). Despite his vigilance, he almost missed it when she woke up a day later. He was drifting off when she stirred and groaned softly. He jerked awake and took her hand. "Chere?"

Rogue made an annoyed noise as she opened her eyes. She squinted, unable to focus for a moment. "Hey, Rem. How long's it been?"

Remy glanced at the clock. "A minute shy of four days. How're you feeling?"

Rogue sat up. "Like somebody dropped an anvil on my head… I'm really thirsty, too."

Remy poured her a glass of water, asking, "And things inside?" He tapped his skull.

"Muddy. I'm having trouble remember what's her and what's me, but the professor really helped. I've got most of it sorted out now." She reached up to brush some hair from her face and glared at a catheter in her arm. She settled for blowing at the errant strand. "Wanna know something scary?"

"Hmm?"

Rogue looked around to make sure no one else was listening, then said, "I feel like doing a cheer right now." She faked a perky grin and mouthed, "Go, fight, win!"

Remy's lips twitched. "And here I thought you were normal again."

Rogue shrugged. "I've been out for four days. You should be glad you got anything lucid out of me."

Remy shrugged, conceding the point. "Well, I guess cheerleading does make people happy…"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "You really need sleep, swamp rat. Cheerleading's lame. Orgasms make people happy." (1)

Remy snorted. "Oh, oui, my mistake."

Rogue shifted, and her hair fell in her face. She reached up again, but Remy got there first; without looking her in the eye, he swept it behind her ear. "Uh… thanks."

O-o-O-o-O

The next day, Rogue pushed a pea back and forth across her plate, watching Kurt and Kitty cuddle from under her lashes. Her face was impassive, but the barest hint of a frown tugged at her lips. When Hank came over to collect her plate, she asked, "Mr. McCoy, can I have a different bed? Watching my brother and best friend make out is really not helping my recovery." Hank ignored her, checking the IV.

"I think it's sweet," said Remy, placing the King of Hearts atop his queen.

"Brother. Best friend."

"…When you put it that way…"

"Exactly." Rogue looked at Hank again. "Well, at the very least, is he gonna be out of here soon?"

Hank smiled at her. "Actually, yes, I was just about to mention that." He turned to Kurt. "I believe that, as long as nothing changes, you can celebrate Christmas Eve in your own room."

Kurt glanced at the calendar on the wall, surprised; it was the twenty-third. "When did that happen?" Kitty ignored him, stretching.

"What about me?" Rogue asked.

Hank fidgeted a little, walking away. "I'm not sure, actually. There's nothing wrong with your body, but I don't think you should go anywhere until Xavier has a look at you."

"Great. My first day awake, and I get to watch this," Rogue muttered, folding her arms.

"You could stare at me instead," Remy suggested.

"Swamp rat, I just said I wanted to recover. Looking at you would cause a relapse."

Remy sighed. "No love?"

"Good God, no!"

O-o-O-o-O

By Christmas, the medical ward was empty. Kurt was fine; he was a little weak, but it wasn't anything too bad. And with Kitty around, it was certain he wouldn't overexert himself.

Rogue was a different story. Carol Danvers was still in a coma, and it became apparent that a love for all things peppy hadn't been the only mark she'd left. When Xavier finally allowed Rogue out of bed, she had taken three steps before noticing her feet weren't touching the floor. After a bit of experimentation, they discovered that Rogue had kept Carol's powers- probably permanently. And she had no clue how to use them, since they had only just manifested.

Thankfully, she had managed to rein them in, at least enough to stop punching holes in all the walls.

So all of the students who had stayed at the mansion were present for Christmas dinner, even if they wished they'd avoided it.

"Come on!"

"Dammit, Morph, no!" Rogue glared at him and bent her fork in half. Her expression made it clear she wished the shapeshifter were the utensil.

Morph sighed and retracted the mistletoe; he knew when not to push it. "Ok, fine. If you won't bite, who will?"

"I can't believe you even have to ask," Rogue drawled, propping her chin on her fist. Morph followed her gaze to Kurt and Kitty.

"Self thought they were 'just friends'," said Warlock, tugging on one of his hairs as he always did when confused.

"Does that look like friend behavior to you?" Rogue paused, remembering who she was talking to. "Nah, trust me, 'Lock, they're going out. Maybe if you get them to kiss they'll stop being so disgusting."

"I think it's cute," said Morph.

"Brother, best friend! Why doesn't anyone ever remember that?"

Morph paid her no mind and walked over to Kurt and Kitty. "Warlock?" The alien extended an arm and held a sprig over the pair's heads. When neither of them seemed to notice, Morph cleared his throat.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Kitty demanded, staring up at the mistletoe.

Warlock and Morph exchanged glances, shrugging. "No, not really," said Morph. "Now, come on. You gotta do it."

"But-" Kitty began. She trailed off when she saw how Kurt was grinning.

"Kitty, do me a favor and hush. This is one holiday custom I can actually get into." Once again, he kissed her before she could talk.

After a moment, Morph looked at his watch. "Look, I'm ecstatic for you both, but you're kind of abusing the privilege here." When he got no response, he made a disgusted noise. "Might as well be talking to a lightbulb."

"…You're not supposed to do that?" Warlock asked.

(God, I love writing those two. Well, that's that. The next story in this series is entitled, "Loneliest Month", and involved a timeskip… it'll be out in December at the earliest. It's kind of an interlude story- there's not much of a connection to this one, it just sets up more stuff. But hey, it's Rahm. Oh, by the way… review!)

(1) Quote from But I'm a Cheerleader! Don't knock the cheerleading. It's fun.