Rogue stared at Hank as he opened a cabinet at the back of the med lab. “We don't use these very often, but Dr. Grey believed that it was a good idea in case...anything happened, this being a school full of teenagers and all, not to mention consenting adults. So we don't have to send out for anything,” Hank was rambling nervously. In other circumstances Rogue would probably have been amused. Not this one, though.
She took the plastic bag that Hank handed her, looking at the small cup with the twist top inside of it. She examined it, using that as an excuse for stalling. Hank seemed to think that meant she needed directions.
“Just go into the bathroom, my dear, and wash your hands. Open the bag, remove the cup and lid. Place the lid--”
“--inside up, pee for a second over the toilet, wipe, pee in the cup, place lid on the cup and twist, then wash my hands again. Ah got it, Hank.” At his shocked expression, Rogue elaborated, “Carol pulled a few stints as urinalysis monitor when she was a cadet and a junior officer. Ah know the drill.”
She turned on her heel and marched to the bathroom. The door to the hall opened as she passed it, and Jean stepped in side. Rogue ignored her startled and speculative look. Her focus was on the damn cup in her hands. She entered the bathroom and closed the door softly behind her. It was a one toilet deal, maybe a little too cozy for her liking at the moment, but as sterile and cold as the lab it was attached to. Rogue placed the bag with the cup in it on the sink rim and looked in the mirror. For the third time since leaving the gym earlier, she reached up and squeezed her breasts gently, watching her strength to make sure her body wasn't cheating.
They were tender, all right. Perhaps every woman might not have noticed, but Rogue made it a point to be very aware of her own body for many reasons, lethal skin not the least of them. Glaring at her reflection, Rogue began washing her hands, praying that the hot water would help ease the shaking in them.
It took remarkably little time to pee in the little cup according to the correct procedures and leave the bathroom. Unfortunately, Jean was still in the med lab. Rogue decided to keep ignoring her as she strode back over to Hank, who was sitting. She shoved the cup at him.
“Here,” she snarled.
Hank sighed as he took the cup. “Really, Rogue, it's not...”
“Shove it. Please.” See? Rogue could attempt to be nice. There was no reason for Hank to bring up her little issue in front of Jean. She hoped he understood that.
“Ah. Yes. Well, I should have the results in about ten minutes. If you ladies would excuse me?” Hank turned back to his equipment.
Rogue moved off to the side, scowling at the back of his furry blue head. Jean moved as well. It took a minute for Rogue to realize that the red-head was standing closer to her than she had for five months. It made her want to rip out all of that hair she knew—as of five months ago—was natural. It made her want to scratch and bite and kick and scream, to be so near this woman right now. Rogue was a territorial person at heart, and the matter at hand, whether Jean knew it or not, was all about territory. The bitch had already invaded her territory once. Rogue wasn't about to let it happen again. Before she could snap at the woman to get the fuck away, however, Jean spoke.
“Is something wrong, Rogue?” The honeyed tone, the false concern, threatened to overwhelm Rogue. Apparently the idiot telepath had no idea who she was dealing with.
“What is wrong is that you are in my space, Jeannie. You are not my friend, you are not my mother or my sister, and you are not even my doctor. Ah am here for a private consultation with the man currently filling that last role, so Ah would appreciate it if you would mind your own fucking business for once in your life and leave,” Rogue answered, not even bothering to move her eyes from Hank.
“Really, Rogue!” Jean began indignantly.
“Rogue is correct, Dr. Grey, no matter how indelicately she might have put it. I would also appreciate it if you would leave me alone with my patient for, shall we say, an hour more. I'm sure you understand the professional courtesy this would be to me,” Hank interrupted her.
He never called her anything except Dr. Grey anymore. He was never other than professional. He was so professional it could make your teeth ache, and Rogue just wanted to kiss that blue cheek and cheer. Instead Rogue simply turned her head and finally let her brown eyes meet Jean's, let the older woman see the searing contempt she held for her. It gave her some small measure—okay, a very large measure—of delight to see Jean's perfectly tanned skin go chalky white.
Lips tight, Jean left without another word. The staccato clicking of her heals was music to Rogue's ears. After Jean was gone, Rogue turned her gaze back to Hank.
“You know, staring isn't going to make this go any faster. I want as complete a work up from this as possible considering that I cannot draw your blood,” Hank told her without turning around. Rogue just snorted slightly and settled for the wait.
Eight minutes later, Hank turned around slowly. He stood and walked over to Rogue, who was unable to decipher his expression.
“Rogue,” he began, then he stopped. He looked at the floor. “Really, my dear, it is difficult to know how to tell you this...”
“Ah'm pregnant.” The words felt like a cold leaden lump in her mouth.
Hank sighed deeply. “Yes, Rogue. You are, indeed, pregnant,” was all he said at first. He met her eyes again, and now she could read his concern for her. “What...what would you like to do?”
Rogue took a deep breath. “Well, I guess the first thing we'll need to do is get Scott down here,” she told him. “After all, this is half his fault, too.”
Hank's eyes widened a little at that public acknowledgement of the relationship the whole School had spent the past two months tip-toeing around. He nodded slowly. “Of course, Rogue. Do you wish to call him, or would you like me to?” he asked her gently.
Rogue felt tears welling up in her eyes unexpectedly at his kindness. “Ah...can Ah be a coward just this once and ask you to do it, Hank? It's just...not something we planned on, and it's hard to figure out what Ah'm going to say,” she said timidly.
Hank drew her into a surprisingly comforting hug. “Of course I will call him, Rogue. Why don't you sit down at my desk for a few minutes,” he suggested, steering her in the right direction.
Rogue sat while Hank pulled out his cell phone and dialed. She barely listened to his short conversation with Scott, and then they sat there waiting in silence. Rogue played out various scenarios in her head, all of them seeming a little unrealistic. This was Scott, her friend, that she was waiting on. She had never expected him to be Scott, the father of her child.
Scott came rushing into the med lab and stopped in surprise when he saw Rogue sitting at the desk, hands clenched tightly in her lap and staring at him with big brown eyes. Hank stood next to her, one hand on her shoulder. Scott walked all the way into the room, letting the lab doors shut behind him.
“What's going on?” he asked carefully as he neared them.
Rogue bit her lip, silently cursing her invulnerable skin because she couldn't get quite the level of pain she needed to distract herself from what she had to tell him. Taking a deep breath, she finally said, “Scott, Ah'm not sick.”
Scott's eyebrows rose. “Okay, if you're not sick, why are you down here in the med lab?”
Rogue's fingers twisted together even tighter, as if by their own will. “Ah'm...Ah'm pregnant!” It was practically a shout, and her hand flew to her mouth in mortification at how loud she had sounded.
Scott stood there, shock in every line of his body. “But...you said you were on the Pill...” he said weakly.
Rogue nodded even as Hank said, “Scott, there exists some mostly-unpublished evidence that the Pill lacks a certain amount of effectiveness for mutants versus humans. It's not exactly something that is widely known, however...”
“It will be now, at least at this School,” Scott said grimly. Then every line of his body softened, and he knelt in front of Rogue, taking her hands in his. “Are you okay?” he asked her.
Rogue looked at him warily. “Ah don't know. Ah think Ah'm in shock right now...Ah feel sort of numb,” she mumbled.
Scott nodded. “Yeah, I think I know the feeling. What...what do you want to do, Rogue?”
As the conversation seemed to be turning to a more personal nature, Hank slipped quietly away. There was no reason for him to listen until the young couple made their decision.
Rogue looked at Scott uncertainly. “Ah'm...Ah want to keep it, Scott. This might be my one chance, you know?” she asked, her voice thick with tears.
Scott nodded slowly. “I agree, Marie, if that's what you want. What about...us?” he asked, his fingers rubbing hers nervously.
Rogue looked at their joined hands. “Ah...Scott, you're still my best friend, but if you try to say something stupid like we should marry because of the baby, Ah will probably have to hit you upside the head to knock the sense back into you,” she told him seriously.
Scott stared at her for a moment then laughed. “Thanks, I think. I guess it's not like I'd never see him...or her. I just didn't know...I mean, if you had wanted to, I would have...God, this really isn't coming out right,” he said, releasing one of her hands to run his fingers through his hair.
Rogue laughed with him. “That's okay. Ah understand what you mean, and it really is very sweet of you, honey. You know Ah love you, but not...like that,” she told him, reminding him of several conversations they had held late at night. She also knew he agreed with her on the sentiment.
Scott nodded ruefully. “Yeah, I know. I love you too, sweetheart. You're the best friend I've had in a long time, and I wouldn't want to lose that to a mistake that we can avoid,” he said, standing up. He pulled her to her feet and into his arms, and they hugged for a few minutes, just absorbing this new development in their lives.
Finally, Rogue pulled back and looked up at Scott. “What do you want to do about, you know, letting everyone else know?”
Scott squeezed her arms and then let his drop. “I'll let you decide on when to make any sort of announcement, but you are officially on leave from missions, Marie,” he said sternly. “You will be helping the Professor here at the school until after the baby is born. I don't want you taking any chances.” His voice was much softer at the end, and Rogue really couldn't blame him although she chafed just at the idea of not going out. “And you will supervise only for your classes,” Scott finished.
Rogue bristled at that. “What?! Ah'm invulnerable, Scott! A little martial arts isn't going to hurt anything!”
Unfortunately she was loud enough for Hank, in the next room with the door partially closed, to hear. He stepped out and gave her a frown.
“I am afraid that Scott is correct, Rogue. It would not be good for either you or the baby to participate in combat training for the duration of your pregnancy. Your skin may be invulnerable, but your internal organs are still able to be hurt or you would not get bruises—which I know you have gotten since the incident,” the doctor said, sounding just as stern as Scott.
Rogue glared at both of them before throwing up her hands in defeat. “Fine. Nate can be teacher's assistant. Just when Ah find a class Ah actually like to teach, too,” she muttered in disappointment.
Scott gave her a little smile now that the hard part was over. “And if we're going to do that, we'd better tell the Professor, at least, right away,” he said cautiously.
Rogue nodded. “You're right. He needs to know. But no one else, not yet! Ah'd rather announce it in my own time,” she said firmly. “Now, can we go to dinner? Ah'm starving!”
They all laughed and left the med lab. They were already on the elevator and on their way upstairs when Jean slipped into the lab, an intent look on her face.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
And all questions are answered...well, some of the, anyway.
Chapter End Notes:
Hmm...wonder what Jeannie's doing. Stupid Jeannie.