Thank you to everyone who reviews, hope you all like this chapter. Once again I would like to say thank you to my Beta Wanda W.
Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did I do not own X-Men.
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Rogue was in the med bay for about 20 minutes, when she left her body was sore and her uniform was in worse condition than when she had entered; Dr McCoy had needed to cut the material away from several cuts so he could attend to them more efficiently. He said her uniform had taken most of the damage and so most of the smaller cuts were merely scratches, though much to Rogue's dismay, Dr McCoy had insisted on cleaning each of them with the disinfectant.
When he had finished torturing Rogue, he had moved onto the cut on her leg, which was more serious than she had first thought. It had taken four stitches to take care of it and then two more stitches to care of a cut on her back that she didn't even know existed until Dr McCoy had pointed it out with the painful disinfectant. After that he put bandages on the two worst cuts, giving her some spare so she could replace them after showering and then told her to come back for a check up in a week's time. Also until he gave her the all clear, she was not to participate in future danger room sessions or any other physically demanding activities.
What made it worse for Rogue was the fact that no-one else had needed to go to the med bay at all, that hurt her 'Logan inspired' pride. It wasn't that she was competitive; she just didn't want people to think she was weak, that she needed protecting because she couldn't handle herself. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her body as she made her way upstairs to her room for a much needed shower.
"Rogue!" Rogue looked up to find Jean walking down the stairs towards her - Oh please no, Ah just want a shower -. She had already changed into casual clothes and, looking at the girl now, you wouldn't have believed that less than half an hour ago she had taken part in a gruelling training session.
"Kitty said you had been hurt pretty badly during the session, are you ok?" she asked while running her concerned eyes over Rogue, taking in her tatty uniform and the small cuts and bandages visible through the tears.
"Ah'm fine, it's nothing Ah can't handle." Rogue continued on up the stairs, ignoring the look Jean was giving her, which was a cross between worried and hurt. It wasn't that she didn't like Jean she just didn't want her sympathy or an optimistic speech on 'How they'll do better next time'.
"Do you want me to put some of dinner to the side for you?" Jean called after her.
"No thanks." Rogue didn't even pause as she shouted her response over her shoulder, knowing Jean she would probably put some food in the refrigerator for her anyway. Rogue shook her head as she made her way down the hall towards her bedroom but just as she made it to her door, Tabitha came out of the bathroom across the hall. She turned to look at the blonde girl who raised her eyebrows as she eyed Rogue's ruined uniform.
"WOW Rogue, nice job with the uniform. I know Amara said you went through a window but I didn't think you tried to go through a closed one." She laughed as she gave Rogue's uniform another once over. If the girl wasn't already heading down the hall Rogue would have laid into her about getting her facts straight but as is it was Tabitha was almost out of sight and Rogue didn't have the energy to go after her. She pushed her door open and stepped into her room. - Mebbe now Ah can get enough peace and quiet for a damn shower – She slipped her gloves off her hands and dropped them onto her bed as she crossed the floor to the bathroom.
Kitty's bedroom was adjacent to Rogue's which meant the pair had to share the small bathroom that separated the two rooms. This had proven to be problematic for Rogue at times, not only because of her friend's ability to walk through walls but also because Kitty had a ridiculously large collection of moisturizers, lotions, cleansers, toners and other fruit smelling concoctions that were cluttered around the sink. Rogue was sure she rarely used any of them but Kitty still insisted that she needed them and so had them scattered all over the small bathroom.
Rogue reached into the cubical and started the shower; she then proceeded to peel herself out her uniform before moving to the mirror above the sink to inspect the damage done to her skin. She grimaced at the sight of the angry red cuts that stood out glaringly obvious against her pale white skin. She turned her attention to the large bandage plastered on her leg. Pulling the tape off at the corners, she slowly lifted the bandage, revealing a long bloody red line held together by little black stitches. The mirror began to cloud over from the steam bellowing out from the shower, reminding Rogue of her need to thoroughly soak her aching body. Quickly removing the second bandage that was stuck to her back, Rogue pulled the shower door to the side.
She stepped under the water ready to embrace its relaxing warmth but as it hit her the tiny cuts suddenly blazed to life, each one screaming in protest as the warm water scorched them causing her to jump backwards, a loud gasp escaping from her lips. The cuts felt like raw nerve endings sizzling on her skin. Rogue reached up and turned the water temperature down before cautiously stepping back under, slowly testing each cut before fully immersing herself once again.
The cool water made her shiver but it soothed the burning cuts, dulling the pain to a quiet whisper. She didn't spend long in the shower; she was annoyed at the fact that she still hadn't been able to have the warm shower she had so desired. Wrapping a soft cotton towel around her body she padded back into her room. After drying herself she carefully got dressed; pulling on a pair of dark jeans, a black vest top and a loose fitting deep purple jumper. She just finished putting on some large socks when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." she called as she pulled a draw open next to her bed, to find her favourite pair of black gloves.
"Hey kid," Logan stood in the doorway, his hand firmly gripping the door handle. "How's the leg?"
"Not too bad, only four stitches." Rogue said shrugging her shoulders.
"Hank told me there were six." He folded his arms across his chest, his usual frown set deep into his eyebrows. He continued to stand awkwardly in the doorway; as if he wasn't sure he wanted to be there and was seriously considering walking back out again. Looking at him she had a sneaking suspicion that the reason behind this visit wasn't to check up on her health, but she hoped to God that she was wrong because there was only one other reason for him to be there.
"There's two more in mah back." The tension in the man was making Rogue edgy. Still sitting on her bed, she looked down at her gloved hands and began twisting them nervously. He watched her for a moment, a muscle in his jaw twitching.
"Yeah well, be more careful next time. I can't promise I'll always be able to keep an eye out for you." Rogue's head snapped up, meeting his gaze full on. This is exactly what she didn't want; people thinking they needed to take care of her.
"Ah can take o' mahself!" she snapped, a small smile tugged the corners of the man's mouth.
- That's my girl. -
"I know you can, that doesn't stop me worrying though darlin'." His shoulders relaxed slightly, the previous tension that held him was seemingly forgotten for the moment. Rogue shook her head at him, a smile now playing on her own lips.
"Ya a big softy at heart Logan, ya know that?"
"Don't go telling everyone, you'll ruin my reputation." His chin jutted out and he squared his shoulders; trying to look manlier Rogue decided while smirking at him. He was quiet after that. She sighed looking at the floor again; she couldn't put it off any longer. Earlier, she had honestly thought she had gotten away with the incident in the danger room without anyone questioning her, but that was obviously too much to ask for. Sucking in a breath to calm her nerves she turned back to the man standing by her door.
"Logan did ya want t' say something t' meh?"
The tension returned to his shoulders instantly. He let out his out his breath in a huff and turned to close the door behind him, giving them some privacy from prying eyes and ears. He paused for a second with his hand still on the door handle. If she wasn't already embarrassed by the situation she would have found his behaviour funny; he was dreading this as much as she was. After a long moment he turned around and slowly walked over to her bed to sit next to her.
His gaze was trained straight ahead, his eyes focused on the wall opposite them. "What happened?" Rogue's fingers started twitching again; she busied them by playing with the seam of her glove.
"Ah...Ah...Ah dunno." She tried to reply but words failed her. She continued to play with her glove; appearing as if she had suddenly become fascinated with the stitching quality of the garment. Keeping his face forward, Logan peered at her from the corner of his eye. His lips were pressed together in a thin line.
"What do you mean you don't know? You just stood there Rogue." He was staring at the wall so hard she thought he was trying to bore a hole in it with his eyes alone.
"Ah know ... Ah'm sorry, Ah... he...he caught meh off guard is all." This was ridiculous; the Rogue she knew didn't stumble over her words but then again the Rogue she knew didn't allow herself to be touched like that either. She gripped her hands together tightly, preventing them from giving away her nerves more than they already had.
"He pinned you to the wall; you say it was because he caught you off guard, fine. But then you just stood there, you didn't even try to fight back. That is what I want explained."
"Ah just wasn't expecting him, alright?!" Rogue sighed and placed her hands flat on her thighs, "Do we even know if he's back with the Acolytes?"
"We have to prepare for every eventuality, you know that." He turned, for the first time, to look at her face to face. "What would have happened if that had been real life? It's a good thing I did the session program isn't it?" Something about what he said didn't seem right and now that Rogue could see his face properly she took a moment to study his features. The slight down turn of his lips and a telling look in his eye suggested she was missing something, there was something he was he wasn't telling her.
"Wait, did you set me up?" She said carefully, glaring at him. He just turned back to face the wall again, his jaw clenched tightly. "Ya did didn't ya?! Ya programmed him ta find meh. Did ya program the others to separate me from the rest of the team too?" He lowered his eyes to the floor but still he said nothing. "Ah can't believe it Logan, why?" She leaned forward trying to see his face better.
"We needed to know how you would react to him." He stood suddenly, turning away from her, "I guess now we know."
"What do ya mean 'we'?" Rogue stood behind him, she was sure he could feel her burning holes into the back of his head.
"Xavier seemed concerned that you might not see Gambit as an enemy after what happened in New Orleans, he seemed to think you two might have formed some sort of friendship. He wanted to see how you would react to him in a hostile situation." He turned back to her once again but this time his features did not depict anger or frustration. He looked ... disappointed. Rogue couldn't hold his gaze; she dropped her eyes to the floor.
"Rogue did something happen ... between you two?"
"What? No, nothing happened."
"Are you sure kid? Cause you sure as hell didn't react to him like a friend neither." Rogue turned away from him, her cheeks burning once again at the memory of what happened and at the thought of Logan watching her reaction to it.
"Ah dunno why Ah reacted like that. Ah just, Ah couldn't move... Ah wasn't thinking." Rogue was flustered; her face was red and her eyes were threatening to flood at any second. She felt she had let him down. He had hoped that the professor was wrong and she would kick Gambit's ass, but what she had in fact done was worse than what he had originally feared. Logan could see she was upset; it was clear that she was just as confused about the situation as he was. Normally Logan did everything in his power to avoid these emotional situations he hated so much. This was Rogue, though, and she was like a daughter to him. Sighing, he put an arm around her and rested his chin on her head.
"Hey kid, don't get worked up 'bout it ok. Just remember, last time we checked he was still the enemy. Be careful around him. I don't think you can trust him."
"Ah know Ah can't. Logan," she pulled away and looked him in the eye, "Ah won't let it happen again. Ah promise." He smiled at this.
"Okay kid," he gave her a quick final squeeze before releasing her and heading over to the door. "You coming Stripes? There won't be any food left before long."
"Ah'll be down in a minute." Logan nodded his head and left the room.
Rogue hugged her arms around herself; she sat on the edge of her bed trying, for the first time, to make sense of her reaction in the danger room. She remembered the way his unique eyes stole her control, the way she tasted him on her lips and felt his warmth flowing from his body to hers. Just thinking about the way his hand had caressed her body made her cheeks blush and caused an ache deep within her. – What the hell is the mattah with meh? Ah don't even like the guy! –
Rogue buried her face in her hands. – Sure he is good lookin' but he is so full o' himself. And that charm act, gawd, Ah bet he could charm the pants off a nun! – She pulled her head back up and looked at her hands, the hands that can never be touched by another being. Maybe that was it, she was the girl that can't be touch but that didn't mean she didn't want to be touch. Her body was screaming for it; a kiss, a hug, she would settle for a damn hand shake! She was tired of the way people edged around her, most seemed to be too scared to touch her even when she was completely covered up. She was lonely and Gambit was the only one who didn't act afraid around her, hell he even tried to get her to touch him. That's what it came down to, she decided, touch. Her body had betrayed her for the simple and basic need to be touched.
Her gaze travelled up from her hands, stopping at the window. It was already dark outside; she could see the moon hiding behind a few gray clouds. She stood up, moving closer to the window for a better view of the grounds. Most of the lawns were lit only by the moonlight and the garden statues were haunted by shadows, giving an eerie feel to the grounds. From the corner of her eye, Rogue saw a shadow close to her window shift suddenly; her eyes darted to the left meeting two glowing red orbs that were hovering by the trellis.
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I have had people ask me what a trellis is so I put the definition below in case anyone else isn't sure. If you want you could always pretend I said drain pipe instead, it really doesn't matter =P
TRELLIS: A trellis is a structure, usually made from interwoven pieces of wood, bamboo or metal that is often made to support a climbing plant or plants. (most of the time it is fitted to a wall or a fence)
Also someone said that there were a few spelling and grammatical mistakes in this chapter, I have re-read it and I honestly can't see them but if you do find them I do apoligise. I know I deliberatly put these mistakes into the speech and thoughts because I personally find it helps to develop the characters personalities as very few people speak properly all the time.
I'm at college 9am-5pm so I'm super busy but I will hopefully be posting chapter four next week.
Aza x
