Ok, sorry this took so much longer than expected. This chapter was harder than I thought it'd be. Any who, Lance is getting some therapy in this chapter. XD Hope you enjoy it!

Now I'm back in the present, though I don't really want to be. Me and the others are waiting outside the X-men's med lab. Todd and Freddy are sitting down, mumbling to each other and Tabby is leaning against the wall, her lip bleeding a bit from where she's bitten it to hard. I tried to sit earlier, but I can't stop pacing. Contrasting images of Pietro keep flashing through my head. One is from when I first met him, that cocky, egotistical speed demon who always made me laugh, even if it wasn't always intentional. The other is of his pale face against my windshield, cracked glass filled with blood like a halo around his head.

"Sit down, Rocky. You're making me dizzy."

Oh, did I forget to mention that Wolverine was in the room as well? My bad…

I glare at him and pace more, now chewing my nails as well. I know I should be nicer for all they're doing for Pietro, but I can't help it. I'm more than a bit stressed right now. This whole time I've been thinking about how Pietro was hurt, but the more I think about it, the more I realize, I was the one who hit him. It hadn't occurred to me earlier, but I was driving. It was my car that hit him.

Sure, what happened was most likely Pietro's own doing (another stressful thought) but I couldn't shake the nagging guilt. I hit him.

I practically jump out of my skin when I feel the hand on my should. I whip my head around to face Wolverine.

"Wearing the floor down while you chew your fingers off isn't going to help anyone."

His voice is surprisingly soft. I'm not sure if it is the shock of that or I am just too weak from the events of the day but either way I don't fight him as he guides me to a chair on the other side of the room, a little away from the others. They don't notice anyway.

"You know, you never actually told us what happened."

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?"

"…I think in this situation, I would."

His answer surprises me. I have only ever know the gruff, battle side of Wolverine. But here he is now, being nice and in some inexplicable way, comforting. I start to ramble before I can even think to stop myself.

"We were looking for him. He hadn't been home all day and I was worried. Didn't really have a reason to be. At least, at the time I didn't think I did. But I was So I called the others and we went to look for him. Guess we found him…"

I laugh, slightly hysterical, and it scares me how much it sounds like Pietro did on the side of the road. So I ramble more.

"It happened too fast. He was too fast. I didn't see him. I don't think I was suppose to... But I should have known something was wrong. He's been off lately. Just off. I can't explain it. But Pietro's Never off! He's always, fine! At least, he always told us he was fine.. Oh God, I should have known! I should have seen something, anything! I just, he just…"

I'm shaking now. When did that start? For the second time in the last five minutes, I jump out of my skin at Wolverine's touch.

"Kid, you can't blame yourself. For any of this. Whatever happened, there was nothing you could do."

I take a few deep breaths and hang my head down low.

"How do you know?"

"Because, I've seen you. All of you. You can be annoying as Hell sometimes, but anyone can see you guys care about each other. If there had been an opportunity for you to do something, you would have done it. Which means there must not have been an opportunity."

"But… I can't bring myself to blame him for any of this either…"

"I didn't say you had to. Look, don't take this the wrong way, but as far as I can tell, you kids are all pretty screwed up to some degree. And that's not any of your faults either. It just means it's harder to ask for help. That's one of the reasons I was surprised when you asked us for help today. But the fact is, what happened happened, nothing's gonna change that. I can think of a few people who could be to blame, but none of them are in here."

It takes me a minute to digest his words. Surprisingly, I'm not offended at all at him calling us screwed up because, really, we are. I think over his words and no matter how I look at it, I can't disagree with him. I turn and smile.

"Thanks."

He nods and smiles back. "No problem."

We sit in silence for an indefinite amount of time. Finally, Hank walks out. He's wearing scrubs with blood on them, making him look a bit like a murderer, but I choose to ignore that. He look tired and for the first time I look at the clock and realize it's been almost four hours since we got here.

"Well, he had some internal bleeding, three broken ribs, a concussion, and a dislocated shoulder. I performed surgery to stop the bleeding and a few tests for the head wound, but I believe he'll be alright."

There is a collective sigh of relief between all in the room. I walk over to the other brotherhood members and we have a sort of half group hug. Tabby is crying a bit, but other than that we are silent.

"If you want, one of you can sit with him. He should wake up in a little bit."

We look at each other. Scratch that. I look at them and they look at me. Their eyes tell me everything, but just to be safe, Freddy gives an encouraging nod. I guess that decisions been made.

I nod back and walk back to the door leading to Pietro's room.

"Call if you need anything."

Hank gives me a pat on the shoulder and for once I manage to not jump out of my skin. I nod again and take a deep breath before walking into the room. I see him and my heart almost stops beating.

Pietro's always been pale, but right now, he looks about as white as the sheets he's laying on. I walk over slowly, like I might break him if my footsteps are too loud. I sit on the chair next to his bed. I don't really know what I'm suppose to be doing, so I just sit and watch him. He's attached to a bunch of machines that monitor his heart and breathing and some other things that show he's alive.

He looks so peaceful. Fragile, sure, but peaceful none the less. I almost wish he could look like that when he's awake. Peaceful, I mean. Normally, he's so guarded and had this subtle look like he's carrying the world on his shoulders. Always in a hurry, always somewhere to be, something to do, never a moment to stop and just be.

Then again, I guess I'm being a bit of a hypocrite. I mean, I do the same thing. It's like Newton's law. Once you get going, you just can't stop. Until something forces you to stop. Something like this. But just the same, once you stop, you wont start again unless something gives you a push. I guess that's what I'm suppose to be doing. Pietro needed to stop, now it's my job to get him back going again. Until he needs to stop again. Then I'll be there to slow him down gently.

"Lance?"

The voice is soft. Not as weak as I would have expected, just soft. Like he didn't was to disturb me. How thoughtful. Oh well, it's now or never. Time to get him going again. Time to get us all going again.

"Hey."

Push.

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