"John?" Audrey rasped into his shoulder. This had to be the tightest hug she'd ever received from anyone, and while she couldn't stop grinning, she also couldn't breathe very well at the moment either.

"Hmm?" John mumbled back, too relieved to really form words.

"Contents under pressure." She told him.

John furrowed his eyebrows and didn't respond to what she had said at first. Then slowly- apologetically he released her.

She smiled at him brightly.

John's eyes flickered to the floor as he ran a nervous hand through his hair. He was regretting having grabbed and squeezed her like that- he was regretting more having to have had let go of her.

Audrey's eyebrows wrinkled as she watched John. He was pale, thin, and tired looking. He obviously hadn't slept or ate in awhile. And she briefly wondered exactly how long she'd been unconscious when she noticed the stubble lining his face. He hadn't shaved either. She reached out her hand and grazed her fingers across the razory hairs on his jaw.

John's eyes went from the floor to hers. A moment of silence passed between them- which wasn't awkward- or even truly silent. Each expressed concern for one another in that moment without having to verbally say anything. But as suddenly as the moment began- it was already over.

"Your all stubly." Audrey said, a slightly teasing tone in her voice.

John's lips formed a weak smirk.

"Yea, well." He ran another hand through his greasy hair. "Xavier gave everyone direct orders not to let me near anything sharp while I was here."

Audrey grinned. "Wait… where is here?"

"Welcome to Xaviers school for gifted youngsters." Xavier said calmly from the doorway.

Both John and Audrey had forgotten he was there. They looked towards him and Audrey lifted her eyebrows while surveying the sterile looking labratoryesque hospital room around her. "This is a school?" She asked.

"For mutants." John said.

"Wait," Realization- or maybe it was worry passed over her face. "What happened at Alkali lake? Is Amelia alright? What about everyone else?" She turned to Xavier. "That old bastard got caught right? Magneto didn't get away?"

"Actually." John began sounding miserable.

"Wait, never mind. I don't want to know right now- I only want to know if Amelia's okay- the rest can wait."

"Amelia is just fine." Xavier told her.

"I'm fine." Amelia called to Logan from inside the bathroom.

"You sure Grim?" He asked.

"Yes."

With that Wolverine walked away from the bathroom door.

Audrey visible calmed when Xavier explained Amelia was fine and well, and in the building and looked back to John briefly before leaning her forehead on his chest.

"I'll- give you two a moment." Xavier said quietly, and left knowing neither teenager had really heard him.

Audrey wrapped her hands around John, and his body stiffened in her grasp. It had been forever since he'd received a true hug- and the action was equally unnerving, temping, and dangerous.

She could feel his ribs poking out from beneath his shirt and skin and Audrey made a face and stood up- "So I was…" She trailed off, releasing him.

"In a coma." John said simply, a twinge of something she didn't know what in his voice.

"For…"

"A couple of weeks." He said, his eyes pinching shut for a second.

"So you…"

"…Checked up on you every once in awhile." He said, his eyebrows twitching together in an almost furrow.

"I was actually going to ask-" She turned and went back to the bed and laid down on it, crossing one leg over another casually. "If you had given me any sponge baths."

"No." John said quickly- as though he'd been accused of something horrible.

Audrey started laughing and sat up on the bed, curling her legs underneath her. "So helmet head got away?"

It was then, before John had a chance to respond that the door opened and a woman with red hair rushed in, followed by a large furry blue man.

The second he entered- Audrey's eyes were glued to his blue fur- why were the coolest looking mutants all blue.

"Wicked." She said absently as the woman with red hair began to take Audrey's blood pressure. "Wait a minute- your not related to Mystique are you?" She asked the Blue Bigfoot.

"Certainly not." He replied quickly.

"You sure?" Audrey asked skeptically.

"Very."

"Positive."

"Yes." He replied. "Dr. Hank Mccoy. Or 'Beast' to some." He said pleasantly.

"Audrey Harris." Audrey said just as pleasantly, and held out her hand to him. He shook her hand gently and she was left in awe of his large furry hand. "Your awesome." She stated and watched him as though she were star struck in some way.

Beast smiled broadly and took a pair of fine wire rimmed glasses from his white lab coat. He walked to monitoring machines Audrey had unhooked from herself a half a second after waking, Beast began checking something on them. "You removed your Iv needle." He said more to himself than to her.

"Yea, I didn't like it." Audrey said in a absent, simple way while examining the redheads face. "I know you ."

The redhead glanced up nervously for a second before writing down Audrey's blood pressure and moving to stand in front of her.

"Jean." The woman said, smiling self consciously as she pulled a light pen from her pocket. "I'm going to check your pupils okay?"

"Alrighty." Audrey replied and Jean flashed the light into one of her eyes. "Have we met befo-- OH." Audrey's sudden revelational outburst had startled Jean and she dropped her pen light. "I remember!" Audrey continued, swinging her legs over the side of the hospital bed. "You're Phoenix!" What shocked Jean was that Audrey hadn't said this in an accusing way, but instead of in an excited one. "Why didn't you tell me she was alive?" Audrey asked over Jean without looking away. "No offence, but I really didn't think you were going to make it." she said to Jean, shrugging while she said it. Jean nodded and Audrey stood and looked behind Jean and to the wall that John had leaned up against- but he wasn't there. She glanced around the room- he wasn't there. "John?"

Jean and Beast exchanged glances.

"He probably went to tell your sister your awake." Jean offered half heartedly.

Audrey snorted. "Yea, hopefully he didn't do that." She said, turning and sitting back down on the bed. "I mean- Amelia would probably kill him."

"Would she?" Beast asked, lifting a thick blue eyebrow and walking around next to Jean.

"Yes, she would." Audrey stated, and upon the confused looks she received she continued. "Amelia doesn't do forgiveness.- She never has."

Jean pulled out a stethoscope and beast wheeled around a steel cart with medical instruments on it while Audrey continued. "She still hasn't forgiven me for the time I cut the head off of Mr. Pockets."

"Mr. Pockets?" Beast questioned, while pulling a syringe out. Audrey's fell silent.

"Whatcha doin with that?" She asked while staring distractedly at the syringe.

"I'm going to take a blood sample." Beast explained.

"Your not afraid of needles are you?" Jean asked, slightly concerned.

"No." Audrey said simple and held out her arm. "But public rest rooms freak me out a little."

"Oh." Jean said simply, smiling.

"Don't tell me they don't scare you." Audrey spoke as Beast slid the needle into her arm, she flinched a little but didn't complain. "Some public restrooms are okay, like the ones with those paper toilet seat covers but- particularly- gas station bathrooms are scary as hell." She looked up at beast without pausing. "So what's your mutation?" She asked.

"I- ugh." Beast pulled out the needle and twisted out the blood sample and sat it on the cart.

Audrey waited expectantly for his response.

"I have an irregularly high IQ." Beast said after a second. "And I am-" he gestured to himself. "As I am."

"Big blue and hairy?" Audrey said smiling at him sweetly.

"Precisely." Beast said.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" Audrey asked.

"Of coarse." Jean said while checking in the teenagers ears.

"Did John wait with me the entire time I was asleep?"

Jean leant back and looked at Audrey in silent consideration.

"Did he?" Audrey asked impatiently. No answer. She looked to Beast and lifted her eyebrows. "Did he?"

"He did, yes." Beast answered. "Jean, I'm taking this to the lab- can you finish checking her up?"

"No problem." Jean answered quietly.

Beast left and Audrey turned to Jean and wrinkled her eyebrows. "So- why are you all quietish and apologetic acting?" She asked.

Jean just stopped jotting something down and looked at Audrey silently. "I'm not-"

"Yea you are." Audrey interrupted. "Your worried I haven't forgiven you for launching me over a lake and nearly killing me as well as my sister."

Jean paled.

"Well you don't have to." The teen continued- now smiling. "Holding a grudge isn't my style."

"So your not.." Jean trailed- lifting her chin slightly.

"Angry at you? Nope."

"And your sister…"

"Oh yea, she's going to not like you for a long time." Audrey said matter-o-factly "and by a long time- I mean a really long time."

Jean nodded and finished writing down what she had started.

"Like a really long time."

Jean nodded again.

"Like until hell has frozen over. Frozen over- melted and turned into hot chocolate."

"Audrey?"

"I got it."