CHAPTER THREE

Marrow tried ignoring the throbbing pain on her shoulder, as she waited for Xian to finish stitching the wound closed. With any luck this time, the stitches would stay in place, it all happened at such an inconvenient time. She tried to stay still, but Xian's closeness was distracting her. She squirmed in her seat, Xian's was standing so close that Marrow just wanted to hug her, maybe then she could feel warm again. Xian's hair was mostly covering her face as she worked, but Marrow did not need to see her eyes to know that she was just as aware of her proximity. Her hands clenched as she tried not to stare at Xian's breasts, as they pushed against the fabric of her tank top. Not being able to stand it anymore Marrow placed one hand on Xian's stomach, just needing to touch her. Xian's hand froze in place, but her head turned as she looked at her, and Marrow's breath seemed to stop as she caught the full impact of her gaze. She stared intently trying to decipher its contents, and her blue eyes widened as she finally figured it out. Xian's dark eyes were full of longing, confusion, and hope. Marrow could understand the first two since she herself was feeling it, but hope, what use could anyone have for it? Hope was for those who could not live with reality.

"That's good enough," Marrow said, trying to get Xian to stop her ministrations.

Without stopping what she was doing Xian muttered her reply, "Don't worry, I'm almost finished."

"I said it's enough!" she repeated sharply, as she stood up.

However seeing the sheer determination entering Xian's face she knew she was in trouble. "In that case, we have a serious problem, since I refuse to let you bleed all over Cecilia's floor," she said in frustration, knowing the real reason behind Marrow's outburst. "Look, don't make me for--" she clenched her teeth, to keep the rest of her sentence from escaping, "Sarah, I know that you're...confused, but please let me finish." For a moment, there was silence as Xian waited for her reply. Then with a long-suffering sigh, Marrow retook her seat.

"Don't worry, I'm almost done," Xian said, putting the last of the tape that would hold the bandage in place. "There, finished. Now you can run away if that's what you really want."

Marrow's eyes narrowed at the comment. "What the hell does that mean?"

Xian said quietly, "Exactly what I said." She closed her eyes for a moment, as her mind screamed for her not to continue. "You don't need an excuse to get away from me, just tell me that's what you want."

Marrow's reaction was immediate, "That's not fair! I don't know how to handle any of this," she continued, her voice getting louder as she burst out of her chair. "What did you expect?! We don't all have your experience!"

Shaking her head, Xian placed the roll of tape on the table. "Don't do this," she said in annoyance, "You don't know me well enough to make accusations regarding my experience."

"No, I don't know you at all!" Marrow snarled back.

Xian's smile did not reach her eyes, "That is true, and maybe we should leave it that way." Marrow's gaze fixed on hers, and Xian refused to flinch under the intensity of it. Anger and dismay surged through Xian, knowing that the argument had been a result of their inability to cope with their feelings. "Sarah..." Xian called, trying to get past all the tension between them, and at the sound of her name, Marrow's eyes changed from furious to rueful. Xian ran her hand through her hair, "I think we both need a moment here, don't you?"

With a snort of laughter, Marrow reached out to grasp Xian's hand. "That's an understatement, if I ever heard one," as she began walking towards the living room, pulling Xian along with her.

Marrow leaned back on the sofa, a blanket comfortably wrapped around her, as she watched Xian picking up the remnants of their dinner. She had offered to help, but Xian had flat out refused to let her move, not wanting her to reopen any more wounds. Finally, after all the pampering, they were going to discuss what had happened.

After a few minutes Xian returned from the kitchen, and sat on the floor facing the sofa. She seemed reluctant to initiate the conversation, but eventually did so in a subdued voice. "First, I want to apologize for upsetting you in the kitchen. It just upset me, when I thought you were trying to avoid me. I know that is no excuse, but I am very sorry."

"Me too," Marrow managed "I mean, about the being sorry part."

Xian nodded. Well, that's some progress, she thought as she curled her legs underneath her, and stared at the shadows dancing over Marrow's face. "I want you to know, that I never expected for this to happen. I never thought possible to feel this close to someone upon first meeting them, but I do, and the only thing left for me to do is deal with it." Marrow shot her a shy smile, but did not respond, so Xian continued, her voice low, "I am not unhappy this happened, but it is very frustrating. Sometimes I feel like I know everything about you, but then something happens that makes me realize I don't know you at all."

"And you want to change that?" asked Marrow. "You want us to be what? Friends?"

"Why not?" Xian replied, with a shrug. "I want to get to know you better, and I get the feeling that you might want the same thing. All I asking from you is the chance to do that. Who knows what will happen then?"

Marrow grew silent, obviously thinking over what Xian had said. Then a trace of amusement entered her voice as she asked, "So what do you want to know?"

"Anything. Whatever you want to tell me."

Marrow stared, her mouth suddenly dry. "Well, I am a Morlock, as if you didn't know, and we used to live underground in abandoned subway tunnels. When I was a child, I survived the Morlock Massacre, only to be transported to another dimension by Mikhail." Marrow paused. "That place was a shit-hole, and everyday was a struggle. Mikhail taught us that only the strong survived, and I believed it." Marrow sighed. "Then he convinced us that we had to avenge the death of the Morlocks, by making the flatsc--I mean, the humans pay." her voice turned rough with emotion, "The first thing we did when we arrived here was kill some humans at a nightclub in New York, and then we tried to kill Leech, a former Morlock who was staying with Emma Frost in Massachusetts." She stopped her narrative, the tightness in her throat, not allowing her to finish "I'm sorry...I don't think I can..." shifting her position as if to get more comfortable, and then she looked at Xian anxiously, waiting for her reaction.

Xian did not say anything right away; she merely got up and walked towards the window. "That was certainly interesting," then turned to look at Marrow, "but if you think I'm going to judge you too harshly then wait until you hear what I have to say."

A chill ran up Marrow's spine at her words.

"I killed my twin brother, Tran." Xian began, as she pace back and forth, looking at Marrow the whole time. "He was a mutant, and like me, he had the power for psychic possession. He used his powers to help our uncle build his criminal empire." She lowered her head as she continued, "After my younger brother and sister were kidnapped, I went to my uncle and took my brother's place by his side, in exchange for help finding them." She approached Marrow and kneeled next to the sofa, taking her hand in hers, "So you see, you're not the only one who has done unspeakable things."

Marrow sat there, completely overwhelmed by Xian's revelation. Her mind trying to wrap itself around it all, she looked down at their joined hands and felt a sense of relief fill her. She watched Xian intently, and brushed Xian's hair away from her face, just before she leaned forward and brought their lips together.

Xian stayed awake, long after Marrow had fallen asleep on the sofa. They had spent the night together, talking about everything they could think of, and it had been amazing. Before today, she never would have thought that they could have anything in common, but she had never been happier to be wrong. Xian reached over and let her fingers skim over Marrow's hair, her face, her lips. Knowing that her touch could wake her, but not being able to stop.

"Hey..." Marrow said in a sleepy voice.

Xian stiffened at the sound of her voice. Damn, she thought. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did." Marrow said as she tried to stifle a yawn, "Until someone woke me up."

"Sorry" Xian muttered with a guilty look on her face. "I didn't mean to" or maybe I did, she finished mentally.

"It's alright," Marrow replied with a sleepy grin. "I was just teasing you."

Xian did not immediately respond to the teasing. It had been a very long time since she had felt this alive, and she did not think she could give it up. "So what do you want to do now?"

"How about watching some television?" replied Marrow, as she began to make room for Xian on the sofa. "I've heard a lot about it, but I have never really watched it."

"All right, television it is" she said as she took her place on the sofa and began to look around for the remote. "You're in for a real treat, you know?"

Marrow sat at the kitchen table eating her cereal, not her favorite thing to eat, but food was food. She could hear the shower running and figured Xian should be finished sometime soon. It had been a long night for them, after watching T.V., they had eventually fallen asleep on the sofa for a few hours, their arms around each other and legs entwined. They had been startled awake when the phone rang; Cecilia had called to let them know that she was on her way back from the mansion.

Feeling apprehensive, Marrow hoped that Cecilia had news regarding her powers. I don't know how long I'll be able to stand this, she thought, as she picked up her bowl and placed it in the sink. Then, as she began to wash the dishes, she heard the front door open, and steps resonate down the hallway, and Cecilia walked into the kitchen a minute later. Marrow dried her hands and turned around to greet her. "Hey healer." She began, and could not help but ask, "Any news?"

Cecilia nodded her head "Yes, and we should discuss it as soon as you're ready."

Marrow swallowed the lump in her throat, "I'm ready now."

"Hmm, ok." Cecilia replied with a weird look on her face. "If that's what you want."

"It is, healer" she replied with a small shudder. "Can we just get this over with?"

END CHAPTER THREE