CHAPTER 12 - Ultimatum
The world exploded into colors and sounds and she felt her equilibrium turn upside down. When everything finally stilled, she heard herself let out a pathetic sob of distress.
The car was lying on its passenger side. She was laying on what used to be the passenger window. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe in. Something was trickling down her head. Pieces of glass were still dropping with small tink sounds. The engine was dying down and smoke billowed out from under the crushed hood.
She tried to focus her eyes and saw him. He was half in and half out of the driver’s side, unconscious, his body distorted in sickening ways.
“Logan,” she coughed out desperately, but she couldn't even hear her own voice.
The metal creaked and suddenly Logan's metal-ridden body slipped and flopped down onto her. She expected the impact to hurt but felt nothing. Nothing except her mutation spark to life.
No. she thought hysterically No, no, NO!
His skin rippled and she saw the first veins break out.
She fought hysterically against the invisible force that kept her in place. Please, God. No!
In all her time practicing and improving her skills, this had been the one she couldn't master. This was the one that eluded her. And apparently, the one that was going to kill Logan.
She clenched her eyes and shoved down with her mind as hard as she could. It was like trying to shove a beach ball under the water. The harder she pushed, the harder it fought back to come up above the surface. She held it down anyway, using every ounce of herself to hold it under. She was getting weaker and she knew she'd never be able to hold it. It was another lost cause.
She found herself resorting to her childhood prayers. Holy St Jude, she thought in panic.Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles...
She'd fought to keep any small part of her faith during those months on the road. She'd struggled and prayed and learned a lifetime of lessons about lost causes.
Faithful intercessor for all who invoke you, I humbly beg you...
She felt the pressure build. The ball would slip now, the slow rush of his healing would become a downpour and she'd take his life. Her childhood prayer would go unanswered.
I beg you!
She felt her mutation slip her grasp and rise up to the surface, ready to take from Logan. And she was right back on her parent's porch, helpless, broken, and bleeding. She'd be alone having done nothing.
NO! she thought fiercely. Not again!
She punched through her mutation and finally felt it collapse on itself. The pull died away quickly...as did her vision.
XXX
She noticed faces above her. And lights. Bright lights flashing on and off. No, moving. They were moving lights. She was moving. The people had masks on, blood-covered gloves working around her. The lights were too bright. She closed her eyes.
XXX
Voices, strong voices. Whispered. She couldn’t open her eyes. Couldn't make out the words. They were soothing and she let them pull her back into the dark.
XXX
Strong pain, shocking pain. She opened her eyes to see a blue face. Blue? He spoke, but not to her. A bright light in her eyes. He spoke to her but everything was muffled. Another face -- softer, rounder, female. Then another face, his face. His face. He called to her, but she still couldn't hear him. She was so tired. So tired.
XXX
She felt fuzzy. The lights were too bright. She couldn't open her eyes, they were too heavy.
“What's happenin'?” a voice demanded.
Shuffling and moving. Her head hurt.
“...could be coming back into consciousness.”
The muffled voices started to clear.
“Marie?” His voice. Soft, gentle. She let it pull her up.
“Marie, baby? Can you hear me?”
She felt her eyes finally open. At first, it was blurry, she couldn't see anything solid. But slowly, slowly, the fog pulled back some and she could see his face. His beautiful face.
“That's it,” he encouraged. “I'm here. Right here.”
She tried to smile but found it impossible. When she tried to open her mouth to talk, she found herself choking, unable to breathe.
“Hank! Moira!” he called. Why couldn't she breathe? “Marie, hold still, OK. Just...just relax. They have a tube down your throat helping you breathe, baby.”
She heard shuffling and far-off voices. She felt tired again.
“Marie. Don't. Don't go to sleep.” He was pressing his forehead against hers, his breath tickling her cheek. “Turn it on, baby.”
Turn it on?
“Turn your skin back on. Please.” He was pleading.
It made sense now, the heat on her forehead. He was touching her. Touching her! She felt a tear run down her cheek and she shook her head as best she could.
She heard the whine build in his chest. “Turn it on.” And this time he was begging. How bad was she?
She felt his lips trace her tears. “It doesn't matter to me, Marie.” he whispered by her ear. “It never mattered. Whatever you did, undo it. Please.”
He kissed her eyes. “Please,” he choked out. And she did, because he was asking her to.
All she did was think the word ‘pull’ and her mutation jerked violently, desperate for his. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stop it now that it was on again. The jump shocked her and she clenched her eyes momentarily.
Healing, she said to herself. Just the healing. It burned. Her legs, her back. Her stomach. It burned painfully as her body started to knit itself back together.
He was gripping her hand and wouldn't let go. She was holding on too long. She would hurt him. She clamped back and tried to shut it down, but it was too strong.
“No!” he snarled through heaving breaths. “Keep going.”
No. She shook her head, feeling almost worse as the throbbing in her legs started to build. She didn't want to hurt him. She gagged around the tube, trying to get him to stop. When she was crying too hard, he pulled away.
“Dammit, Marie. Keep going.” He looked angry. She could deal with that, but the throbbing in her legs -- it was becoming agonizing. She heard the heart monitor speed up as she squeezed her eyes shut again.
God, it hurts.
“What the hell's goin' on?” he barked.
“Rogue, can you feel this?”
Hank. She felt a sharp stab in her foot and nodded.
“Good. I need you to listen, Rogue. You were in an accident. Do you remember anything about it?”
She nodded.
“Good. You had paralysis in your legs and your lungs collapsed. Logan's healing probably restored some sensation to your legs just now. Are you in any pain?”
She nodded.
“Then take more, dammit.” Logan demanded.
She shook her head again. She wouldn't hurt him.
“Stop worryin' about hurting me and take the Goddamn hit, Marie.” If he wanted too, he could just force her. But he wouldn’t do that to her, even now, he’d never force her like that.
She felt herself start to cry as she shook her head again.
“Damnit, Marie. Don't,” he growled pathetically. “Just...I can't handle you like this, OK? I can't keep watchin’ this. Let me fix it, baby. Just a little more, OK? We'll take it slow if you just let me make sure you're breathin’ on your own.”
She looked at him and wanted to ask for his promise.
He smiled softly. And it turns out he knew exactly what she'd been thinking.
“I promise.”
XXX
It took Logan two days to finish healing her. He stayed in a chair next to her bed those two nights watching over her. She wondered when he slept. Every time she woke up in the middle of the night -- bones searing in pain or gashes burning madly -- he was there, offering his hand.
She kept him on a strict schedule. No more than three twenty-second pulls each day. Six total. He tried to wheedle and cajole her into taking more. Even tried to bribe her with anything she wanted, which gave her wicked ideas, but she held her ground.
She spent her time in the medlab piecing together the last week. He'd woken up in the truck, sprawled out on top of her unconscious form. He'd frantically lifted himself from her and dragged her broken body out of the car. They'd ended up in a ditch, the car clamped half way around a tree, the SUV that had successfully run them off the road laid top down not too far away. The three men crawling out quickly got three claws into each of their necks.
He'd tried to heal her, with no success. Storm had spoken to her about it while Logan had gone off to shower and get changed. He'd called the mansion on the cell phone Rogue had jammed in her back pocket. The conversation had been short but he was desperate, and the X-men were at least three hours away.
With no other option, he'd called for an ambulance and carried her back up to the main road. They came and he'd been just as shocked that they could touch her too. The ambulance took them to an open field where a helicopter arrived within minutes and carried them to Jackson.
By the time Hank and 'Ro got to the hospital, they had her in surgery. He'd frantically explained to them what had happened, wanting answers, wanting to know how to fix it. Why was her skin not on? How was he going to heal her?
They'd sat in the waiting room for almost twenty hours while surgeons pieced her legs back together, opened up her abdomen and stopped the internal bleeding, and tried to relieve the fluid build up in her spine.
It had been a struggle to get any information out of the doctors. Logan, Hank, and Storm weren't her family and thus had no right to any medical information or visitation. The staff asked where her parents were. 'Ro had mentioned something about Logan excessive profanity during that conversation.
Hank had resorted to invoking his ambassadorial pull to get access to her, and then they'd arranged to pay the entire medical bill to date up front and have her transferred as soon as possible.
Apparently, ASAP meant two more days in Jackson. She had spent that time in the I.C.U., which had driven Logan a bit mad. Their visiting hours had been extremely short and they didn’t want to allow him to sit next to her at night. He'd made several threats to the nurses and had managed to stay next to her, never letting go of her pale naked hand.
They brought her back to the mansion as quickly and gently as possible, but the strain of travel had jarred her sensitive body too much and she'd gone into cardiac arrest. Hank had used the paddles on her three times in her first night back at the mansion.
Thankfully, after that, she began to improve in small increments. She woke up on the fourth day home.
When Bobby and Jubilee went to the scene of the crash, nothing had been left. Her father's truck, the SUV – all gone. The only sign of the disturbance had been the smashed-up bark on a tree.
They'd gone to check on her father, but he'd screamed and cursed them into next week, throwing the two packs at their feet.
The files were gone along with the pick-up, but it hadn't mattered. They'd already had them before Logan and Rogue had even left New York to pick them up. They knew everything about her now. They would come looking for her. It was only a matter of time.
Logan stayed with her when she finally broke down about her mother. He'd crawled onto the medical bed behind her, wrapped her in his arms, and held on tight as she cried silent, hiccuping tears.
It had been a rough moment realizing there would be no reconciliation, no apologies, no regret from her parents. Her mother was gone and her father...indifferent. That part of her life was gone. She let it go. Finally.
Throughout all of the explanations, the discussions concerning the whole nightmare, only one thought had kept a permanent residence at the forefront of her thoughts.
She had stopped the pull.
And she fully intended to do it again.
XXX
She knocked at his door before pushing through. He was freshly out of the shower, rubbing his hair one last time before tossing the towel into the sink.
“Hey.”
He grinned at her and pulled a button down shirt over his sleeveless undershirt. He didn't bother to button it, which was just fine by her.
“How you feelin'?”
It was the third time he'd asked her that today, but she let it slide again.
“Good.” She shrugged. “You know, a bit tired. And hungry. I never realized how much energy you use up with that healing factor. It's left me ravenous.”
He chuckled. “No more commentaries on the my portion sizes, then?”
She shook her head. “Not a one.” He sat down at his desk chair, leaning back and interlocking his fingers together behind his head.
She took a steadying breath. “I wanna try something.”
He looked curiously at her.
“And what would that be, darlin'?”
She walked over to him. As she neared, she could see him grow more serious, more intent.
“What's going on in that head of yours, Marie?
She smirked. “Just one thing.”
She stepped into the space between his feet.
He grinned and wagged his eyebrows. “Your mind in the gutter again?”
She laughed quietly. “Maybe...”
“I'm the right man for the job, then.” He was completely irredeemable. “I can think of few things...”
He stopped short as she pulled off a glove. She pulled the other off and let it fall to the floor.
He looked at her hands and then her face, his interlocking fingers slowly releasing themselves to let his arms come down.
Suddenly, he was quite serious. He placed his hands on her hips. She raised her hands and traced the air around his face.
“I don't want to hurt you.” She could see her fingers shaking.
He let out a shaky breath. “You won't.”
Only touch, she said to herself, pushing down on her mutation. Nothing else.
She let her fingers fall softly on to his skin. His stubble prickled, and his skin was warm. She bit her lip in concentration. She ran a finger over his lips and let out a small huff of air.
His eyes never left her face. She felt her mutation push up and she bit her lip harder as she shoved it back down again. She let out a another huff of air and swallowed. She gently plunged a hand into his sideburns and then into his hair.
He closed his eyes momentarily and she could have sworn he purred as she ran her fingers through his scalp. When they opened back up, they held that fire that always made her stomach burn white hot. She leaned down and softly touched her lips to his.
She wasn't sure at first if she was doing it right. Then she felt his mouth move against hers and she was lost in sensation. She stood, kissing his upturned face, fingers touching every inch of his jawline, and it was the most exciting moment of her life – until her mutation slipped and jerked back on. She felt him rush into her and she pulled back, gasping.
He was breathing hard, never breaking eye contact with her.
“Logan. I'm sorry...” she stammered.
He reached forward and pulled her toward him. He hooked his hands behind her knees and pulled her down so that she was straddling his hips and her face was just above his.
“Do it again,” he growled.
Then he had his hands in her hair and he was bringing her down to his mouth. She violently pushed down on her mutation just as his lips closed over hers.
Her arousal climbed up into her chest, making it hard to breathe as his mouth moved greedily over hers, alternating between little nipping bites and long breathless kisses. She could hear their breathing, hot and heavy, and feel his hands angling her face to his.
His hands slipped out from her hair and down her back, wrapping around her waist. She arched herself into him and heard his answering growl of satisfaction. She made good use of her position on his lap, reaching up to pull gently on his hair.
She was getting light headed. Her demanding lungs forced her to break the kiss and gasp for breath. He didn't miss an opportunity. One hand came up again to tilt her jaw so he could attack it with his mouth.
She felt his teeth skirt down the tendon in her neck and then sink into the flesh at her collarbone. She hissed through her teeth and let her head fall back in ecstasy.
“Jesus Christ!” Logan groaned. “You're making me lose my mind.”
She smiled into the air above her. Suddenly he rocked forward and she was lifted. She wrapped herself around him as she felt him stumble to the edge of the bed. Once there, she placed her feet down as he swooped down to kiss her again. He pressed her back so that she was forced to sit and scoot back up the bed, him following her, never stopping the movement of his mouth on hers.
She pushed her hands under his shirt, shoving it off his shoulders. He took ahold of her hips again and dragged her down so that he could position himself half on top of her. Her breath was coming harder now, her grip on her mutation growing shaky.
But he was kissing her and she couldn't stop. When one hand found its way under her shirt, fingers gripping and stroking her hip skin-to-skin, she let out a small cry of arousal. He groaned into her neck and licked at her ear.
And her control vanished. She clenched her eyes. “Wait...” she said breathlessly, desperately. “Logan, I can't...” She felt it snap on.
He pulled away and took his hand off her stomach just in time. He was breathing heavily too. “You OK?”
She nodded and pressed a shaking hand to her eyes. “Just...it’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
He grinned at her. “Looked to me like you were doin' pretty great there.”
He shrugged and that wicked look came over his face again.
“We'll have to hold daily training sessions until you get it right.”
She laughed. “You gonna be my instructor?”
He chuckled.
“Oh, hell yeah.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I know you've all been itchin' for like...a whole day....to find out what happens. So, here you go!
Chapter End Notes:
When going through this with my BETA, we discussed the sequential similarities with MTAR by September. R+L in a car chase, crash, she stops mutation to save him, he heals her. I wanted to make sure to note that any similarities in sequencing is entirely unintentional and hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Oh, and do go read MTAR...it's quite good, way good, fantastic good!
As always, please review review review!
Oh, and do go read MTAR...it's quite good, way good, fantastic good!
As always, please review review review!