A/N: I wrote this story with Kangaroobeedoodle. The characters that belong to her will make an appearance soon (however one, Shara, is mentioned in this chapter), but in this chapter all the characters (Mel, RJ, Tory and Donald) belong to me. Tory and Donald are in my other X-Men story, and Mel and RJ will make an appearance in that story, soon. I wrote this chapter. All of the characters in this story are mutants, except the nurse...

Disclaimer: We don't own the X-Men comics.

Chapter One: 10 Hrs

Mel took another tissue from the tissue box on the small table next to RJ's bed. She dabbed her eyes and blew into it, then threw it into the wastebasket nearby. That's the last tissue, Mel thought. She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, and looked at it, realizing her mascara was running. But that was the least of her problems.

Tory entered the hospital room, but froze when she saw Mel's brother unconscious. He was hooked up to more wires then she could count. The soft, slow beeps coming from the heart monitor frightened her, as well. "Oh, my…" she whispered.

A loud sniffle came from Mel. Tory rushed over to her friend and gave her a hug. "Oh, Mel. I'm so sorry." Mel hugged her back, trying not to tear on Tory's new white sweatshirt.

They broke away from the hug, and Mel wiped her eyes again. The two stayed silent like that for a while, until Tory asked, "How long as he been asleep like that?" Mel held up all of her fingers. "Ten minutes?" Mel shook her head. "Hours?" Mel nodded.

Wow, Tory thought, looking toward RJ again. "Aren't you hungry? Do you want me to get you something?" Mel shook her head, not making eye contact with Tory.

What happened to him? Tory asked herself. Did he catch a sickness or something? Or maybe he got into an accident. Did someone do this to him on purpose? No, nobody would ever hurt RJ like this. He's the sweetest little twelve year-old boy I've ever met. She looked at the heart monitor again, another beep sounding. She sighed sadly. I sure hope he's going to be all right.

A nurse came in at that moment, and tapped Tory on the shoulder. "Excuse me, miss," she said, "We can only allow one visit at a time. You'll have to come back later."

Tory made eye contact with Mel. "I'll be in the waiting room," she said. "Shara's in there, too, if you need us." Mel nodded, and waved her friend goodbye as she and the nurse left the room.

Once Tory and the nurse's footsteps couldn't be heard anymore, Mel closed the door shut. After a few seconds she got down on her knees next to RJ's bed, and closed her eyes. "Hi, God. It's me, Mel," she said inside her head. She was mouthing the words out. "I'm sorry I don't talk to you very much. I think maybe it's because I'm still angry with you for giving RJ cancer. He doesn't deserve to have it." More tears trailed down Mel's cheeks and she wiped them away with her hands. "I just wanted to know if you could just please wake him up before he dies. I haven't said goodbye to him yet, and it would mean a lot to both of us if I could talk to him one more time." Mel opened her eyes again, sniffled, and grasped her little brother's hand with her own. "Please, God. Please wake him up before you take him away."

Earlier That Day

Mel was walking to her 3rd period English class. As she kept walking, she thought of RJ, and how come she hadn't seen him at all that day. Her eyes widened as she pictured an unconscious RJ, sprawled out on the floor inside his dorm. I need to find Orsen; he'll know where RJ is, she thought, and began to search for him, or one of his friends.
She soon found Donald. Not her favorite person in the world, but he and Orsen were buddies. Realizing something, Mel mentally slapped herself. How was Donald supposed to understand her when RJ wasn't there to tell him what she was saying through her hand signs? Oh, well. She'd just have to make do.

Mel put a hand on Donald's shoulder and spun him around. He was surprised for a moment but then saw who she was. "Oh, Mel. Hi." She held out one finger to indicate he had to wait a moment, and then got on one knee to rifle through her backpack. "Look, is this gonna take long 'cause I got a Spanish test in like two seconds, and if I'm not there the teacher's gonna—!"

Mel pulled out a small notebook and pen, and scribbled something down. Donald groaned. "I don't have time for this, Mel. See ya." Annoyed, Mel dropped what she had in her hands and spun Donald around again. She angrily held up one finger again to tell him he had to wait. Donald rolled his eyes. "Fine." Mel picked up her notebook and pen and finished writing her note:

"WHERE'S RJ?"

Donald shrugged. "Beats me. Why?"

Mel wrote something else down: "IT'S URGENT."

Donald thought for a moment. "He was up this morning, but everyone else left the room before he was ready. I haven't seen him since then." Mel began writing, again. "What's this all about, anyway?"

"SHOW ME WHERE THE DORM IS."

"Mel!" Donald whined. "If I'm late one more time, I have to take after-school detention for a week!"

"PLEASE, IT'S IMPORTANT."

Donald groaned and looked away from her, and then looked back. "Alright. How important is this situation?" Mel spread her arms out as far as they could go. "You're sure?" Mel violently nodded her head, wanting to shoot him in the head. "Okay, okay. Follow me." Both running, Donald led Mel to dorm 6D as the bell rang. Donald opened the door, and Mel shoved Donald out of the way and entered.

"Hey, watch it!" Donald shouted at her. "I didn't skip class and get after-school detention for you to push me!" Mel didn't even turn around; she seemed frozen. "Mel?" She didn't move. Donald entered the room, about to ask what was wrong when he saw RJ's body, motionless, on the floor.

Now

There was a soft knock on the door, which made Mel jump. She stood up, walked to the door, and opened it. She was surprised to find Donald standing there. He wasn't crying, but Mel had never seen him look this depressed. After a short pause, he said, "I'm sorry, Mel. I shouldn't have been so insensitive this morning."

Mel nodded, telling him it was okay. Donald peeked in to get a glimpse of RJ, who was still asleep. "I can't believe he just, fainted like that," he said. "I wonder what's wrong with him?"

If Mel had a voice, she would've informed Donald about RJ's sickness. But since she didn't have one, she only shrugged.

"I'm not supposed to be in here right now," Donald whispered, half-smiling. "Wow; I've been breaking rules all day today, huh?"

If it weren't for Donald, RJ would just be getting to the hospital right now, Mel thought. He probably wouldn't have much of a chance of waking up, too.

"So, I'll just go back in the waiting room," Donald continued. He did a small wave and waited for Mel to wave back, nod or something. But she didn't. Instead, without thinking, Mel threw her arms around him. Once she realized whom she was hugging, she jumped back and put her arms to her sides.

Donald's expression looked like Shara's when she first met Mindy. "Um… w-what was that for?" he asked. He was turning a bit red from embarrassment.

Mel mouthed the words, "Thank you," and Donald's expression changed to understanding. "Ohhhh," he said. "It's no problem, Mel… Well, I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

A/N: Donald and Mel aren't going to be a couple; they don't even have crushes on each other. 2littleredpandas, one of her characters is going to be with Mel.

Please review!