Author's Note - My apologies to anyone who finds this story's formatting to be a bit distracting. This is my first time using this website, and I'm not very familiar with the HTML formatting codes. If anyone has any tips, that'd be great!
Disclaimer: I don't Own the X-Men. Marvel does. So please don't sue.
Song Suggestion: Placebo – Running Up That Hill
Jubilee curled herself into a loose ball on the furthest corner of the bed. She was restless and wanted nothing more than to crawl back up to the safety of her room and stay out of sight for the next few days. Wolverine had left ages ago. She tried to take comfort in the fact that he had spent over an hour with her. But she couldn't ignore how he'd spent half that time grilling her for information, and the rest of the time chewing her out when she supplied it. She'd spent so much energy trying to be the sassy teenager Logan expected. And she had found that in pretending she could almost forget the hurt and the pain as she remembered what it was like to be at her father figure's side, treated as his equal. But their conversation had brought reality crashing down around her. Her heart sank as she replayed his words over and over again in her mind.
Logan scowled down at her, arms crossed as he towered over the bed. "Atleast tell me there were more than three."
"As if! Do I look crippled to you?"
He simply quirked an eyebrow, silently asking if she had looked in a mirror lately.
"Don't answer that." She covered quickly. "Look, I coulda handled them if there were only three."
"So how many lackeys do I have to waste?"
"Fifteen." She declared, hardly humble about it.
"Huh." He grunted as if from pride. "Who attacked first?"
After a few minutes of stalling with an instant recap of her side of the story, she reluctantly said two words she knew she would regret as soon as they came out of her mouth. "They did."
His reaction didn't dissapoint. "You let 'em get the upper hand? How many times I gotta tell ya? Attack first and then make an escape route before they all start moving in."
"I wanted to get a visual…" She started to explain.
"By the time that happens, it's too late. You get the visual while you're movin'. Always stay in motion or they'll be all over ya before ya can do anythin' about it." She opened her mouth to retort, but he kept on. "And why'd ya wait so long to let loose on em? If ya caused serious injury to begin with, they wouldn't have had the chance ta return the favor."
"I didn't want to end up all over the evening news thank you very much."
"Chuck would have understood. You save your own hide first. Worry about sparin' ours later."
"Now ya tell me…" She mumbled.
"It's called common sense." He scowled down at her, clearly annoyed. "Somethin' you seem ta be lackin' lately."
"You always know just what to say to make things better Wolvie." She stated sarcastically.
Deciding against going head to head with her, he reluctantly backed off. "I hate seein ya like this kid. S'pose it's my fault though. Shoulda spent more time with ya in the danger room."
"It's not too late to fix that." She stated quietly.
"You know it's not that simple darlin'."
"Why not?"
"We've been over this. Ya can't train until the Professor clears ya. And I don't got the time right now. What have Sean and Emma been teachin' ya up at that school anyway? Thought I'd trained ya better than to get roughed up by the Friends of flaming Humanity."
"I thought I could handle myself." She stated defensively.
His voice raised just barely. "Darlin', ya know your powers are actin' up. What in the hell made you think it was a good idea to go out lookin' for a fight?"
"You do it all the time…" She mumbled.
"Well ya don't see me sneakin' out of the house in the middle of the night going to one of the worst parts of the city without a healing factor."
"My powers were actin just peachy. I just needed to get out and blow off some steam. It's not like I was out looking for something to happen!" Okay, so that wasn't entirely true…
"Sure ya weren't. Ya just expected someone to take ya by the hand and walk ya safely back ta your doorstep."
"I looked after your ass in Madripoor didn't I? A couple o' sleazeballs don't scare me."
"That's different. I was with ya. And it doesn't excuse what ya did. You could have at least waited for someone to go with ya."
"I felt like being alone. Besides, it not like you're ever around and everyone else has their head stuck so far up their ass they don't know what's going on outside of their own drama! You know I'm going crazy being caged up like some freaking lab rat!"
"I can't tell ya to follow the rules when I ain't exactly been the poster boy myself. But you're back in this house for a reason and the least you could do is try and let us help you. This stubborn streak of yours isn't doin' anybody any favors."
"You never had a problem with it before." She yelled, a little more loudly than she'd intended.
He didn't take her bait. "Jubilee." He said, with as much patience as he could muster, "It's the same flamin' thing every time we talk! You're pushin' away the people who can help. The Professor and Jeannie are trying to work with ya but ya won't let 'em anywhere near your head. Emma and Sean have tried to do right by ya, but every time they give ya a chance, ya find a way to blow it. Honestly kid, sometimes I don't know why I bother. It's not like you'll listen to anyone anyways."
"But Wolvie…"
"No buts kid. You wanted a fight, and you got it. Now yer gonna have ta live with the consequences."
He had sounded disappointed – as if she had let him down. Or maybe he was just afraid he had let her down. Somewhere along the way, though, she had stopped responding. And Wolverine, not understanding the reaction, had ordered Beast to get his furry blue hide back in there and take care of it. Before she knew what was happening, he had stalked out the doors to have a little "heart to heart" with the Professor while Beast took advantage of his absence to perform the exam.
She was now alone, trying to hold still for Beast so he could run his damn tests. But after two days of being stuck in bed, she was beyond restless. And the pain made it difficult to cooperate. She absolutely abhorred medical exams. There was nothing worse than the cold metal of a lab table pressing against your skin. Leaving the kind of impression that left you cold, empty, and praying for the pain to stop.
For a moment she was taken back to that isolated cell where Bastian had kept her trapped, running his own sick experiments. She'd lain for days on that operating table with no one to hear her screaming. Stuck with so many needles that it was impossible to keep track of what chemicals were flooding her system. He had made her a prisoner of her own mind – floating in and out of consciousness. Apparently hoping that keeping her drugged up and disoriented would break her silence. Like everything else, it hadn't worked.
Forcing herself to back to the present, she slammed her shields back into place. Momentary lapses like this were dangerous. There was simply no way to get herself back if she indulged those memories. At least not without alerting every psychic within a 30 mile radius.
Getting herself back on track, she focused on the furry blue doctor, sizing him up with a cautious eye. She tried to engage him in coversation, hoping to make the situation seem light. But he was having none of it. With a practiced hand, he purposefully ignored her. Furious that she had left without permission, he contained his reproach for her sake. But she knew once she got better, she'd never hear the end of it.
When Beast had finally finished feeding her pills, taking blood samples, stitching her up, and administering painkillers, he'd moved on to matters of a more delicate nature. Matters which the short tempered Asian made considerably more difficult. She flat out refused to let Beast anywhere near her legs with his instruments. Forcing him instead to do internal scans with Shiar Technology. Honestly, he didn't mind the extra work. The female exams were more Moira's division, so honestly, it made them both feel more comfortable with what had to be done.
After it was all over, he left the girl shaking on the bed, covered in a paper thin blanket. She watched him walk away without so much as acknowledging that she was slowly slipping away again.
The exam results were taking presidence over everything else for the good doctor. Not because his bedside manner was lacking. It was merely that he needed to make some quick decisions where Jubilee was concerned. He had noticed that she was clearly not herself at the moment. But he felt it would be better to call someone else to calm her down while he tried to determine what procedures would be necessary.
Remy wasn't his first choice. Certainly Jubilee was in over her head enough without adding the ramifications that would come from cavorting with him. But it was he who had found her and had asked to be informed of her condition. And Jubilee had expressly instructed him to tell only Gambit about her injuries. He had inquired as to why, but was only met with a clipped answer.
Truthfully, he was impressed at the care she had received at his hands. His first aid skills were nothing to laugh at. It made Beast wonder how much practice he had gained patching his own wounds. Perhaps it would behoove him to keep in closer contact with his troubled teammate.
With his mind set firmly in place, he reached to his communicator and set it to Gambit's frequency. Within minutes, the doors of his lab slid open and a pair of concerned red on black eyes followed his every movement. Perhaps it was his imagination, but the edges of Remy's already unusual eyes were a brilliant shade of red. Probably from lack of sleep. He'd have facilitate a conversation about that at a more opportune time.
"Henry?" Remy's voice echoed in the empty lab.
"Ah Remy. I was hoping we could continue our discussion."
"Gambit was afraid of dat."
"I am still rather curious to know how Jubilation got home last night."
The Cajun sighed, repeating his story for the umpteenth time. "She didn' tell me. Remy found 'er in her room. Sounded like she in pain so I stopped."
"You must pardon my behavior, but I am beside myself as to what to think. How did she get back in this condition without alerting any of us? Particularly when Warren was on security patrol."
Remy snorted. Warren never stayed on post. Mojo could set up one of his universes in the back woods of the mansion, and the only way Angel would ever notice was if he was brooding in mid-flight over Betsy. "Beast, how many times we been attacked and Warren been off on a smoke break? Jubilee get past him easy – even looking like dat. She not need Remy's help."
Beast sighed, running a hand over Jubilee's medical charts. True Warren was not the most reliable. But it bothered him to think that she could have slipped through the cracks so easily. He sighed heavily. "I understand."
"Not dat Remy's word means much 'round here, mais I be tellin' de truth."
"Innocent until proven guilty my friend. I operate under the assumption that you are indeed being sincere." The heavy hearted resignation of Beast's tone told Gambit that he, of all people, was not the enemy. He knew as much as anyone the problems that the X-family faced. Perhaps he was not as isolated in his lab as everyone assumed.
"Merci Henry."
"De rien."
"Alors, quel est le verdict?"
"Do you really wish to know?"
Gambit hesitated only for a moment before uttering "Oui."
"I must insist that the Professor must be informed as well. But Jubilee has given me permission to tell only you. And since she has reached the age of consent, there is only so much I can do. I took it upon myself to inquire as to why she chose such a thing, but she has replied rather cryptically, saying that it was only fair."
"It gotta be her call ta tell Xavier. De Professor probably has an idea already anyway."
"Regardless, he must be made aware. If you would just talk with her. You, of all people, can be very persuasive when you wish to be. If you get my drift…"
Gambit flinched inwardly. He wasn't about to use his powers over women for that. "Gambit talk to her. But he not makin' any promises."
"The least we can do is make the attempt."
Gambit didn't know how to interpret that. Maybe Beast would pull rank on them both and break her already frayed sense of trust. Charles would find out soon enough. But from who? He had to act quickly if he wanted to stay in the loop. "How bad she be?"
"There has been extensive damage to her female organs. She lost quite a bit of blood due to internal hemmoraging which showed up in the scans. She may require surgery if the bleeding does not correct itself. There is also severe external swelling and bruising. She'll need to be on antibiotics and pain medication for quite some time. Her lacerations have received stiches and should heal given a month or two." He paused for a moment before adding "And not that it should matter, but any type of intercourse is out of the question for the next 6 months."
Remy didn't care much for his tone. "I don' t'ink dat be any o' my business." He mumbled.
"Very well then, you might also wish to know that thanks to your commendable first aid skills, her injuries should heal without the risk of severe infection. However, she has also suffered major sprains in her legs and minor sprains in her arms from moving around so much prior to treatment. She'll have to use crutches and physical therapy to regain proper usage."
"An' her powers?"
"That is a topic that you will have to discuss with Xavier."
Gambit looked him straight in the eye. "Does she know?"
Beast regarded him appraisingly, stunned at his perceptiveness. "I shall inform her momentarily. But first I was hoping you might be able to do something to help calm her down. I fear Logan's visit may have done more harm than good."
The Acadian found her trying to flatten herself against the wall that the bed was adjacent to. She was still clad in her robe and shaking like a cornered animal. Not wanting to get a fist full of fireworks, he maintained his distance and kept his movements slow and measured. As soon as she caught sight of him, she grabbed a fistful of blanket to try and cover up.
He held out his trench coat as something of a peace offering. "Here cherie. Take dis."
After everything that had happened, he wasn't very hopeful about her response. Still, she let him get close enough to place it over her shoulders before she let out a small hiss. He promptly backed away to give her back her space.
"Beast'll be in soon, so Gambit leave if ya want. But dere's something ya need ta know. Ya pro'bly be wantin Logan right about now, and ya be thinkin' ya don' want ta drag moi into dis. Mais Gambit want ya ta know, he be dere if ya need him. Mebbe Wolverine won' pull another o' his stunts and leave again, and Remy hope, fer your sake he don't. But if ya need me, ya know where to find me." He turned around to leave. "Keep de coat, chére." He was halfway across the room when a choked sob made him stop.
Cursing herself, Jubilee tried to stop the words already tumbling out of her mouth. "I know this is all my fault for doing something so stupid in the first place. But I don't want your pity. I never meant for you to get involved." Her voice was raspy and barely audible.
Making sure he had heard correctly, he turned on his heel and took a determined step forward. "Let's set one t'ing straight. Absolutely none o' dis is yer fault. Ya hear Gambit? Not one t'ing."
She gave a sharp laugh. "Tell that to Wolverine."
"Wolverine have his own problems." He said, cutting her off immediately. His tone was much harsher than he would have liked. Putting up a smoother front, he continued. "Remy can't promise dat t'ings are gonna get better. But he meant what he said."
"It's good that you don't make promises you can't keep." Teardrops fell on her pillow as she was forced to relive old memories. She couldn't afford to get her hopes up again. "Just leave. You'll only end up like everyone else."
"Guess dat be a chance you gone have to take."
"It's a chance I'm not going to take."
Gambit ignored the iciness in her tone. How many times had he done the same thing? Pushed people away so he couldn't get hurt. He couldn't say he blamed her. But he wasn't going to go easy either.
"Why's dat chére?"
"You shouldn't have to ask."
"Appears Gambit be missin' somet'ing."
"Don't you know anything that's happened with me?"
"What dere be ta know about?"
"Save the questions Gumbo."
"Dat be a shame cause Gambit got plenty of dem. Not like anyone tell him anyt'ing anyway."
"You get used to it."
"Being ignored does have its advantages." He muttered to himself. "But everyone so tightlipped 'round here, it beginning to get aggravating."
"We might as well just hang out a sign that says 'don't ask, don't tell'." She grumbled as he moved to perch on the edge of her bed.
"Gambit may have ways of gettin' information. But he rather hear it from de source."
"I've been going through shit for the past two years and you're just now showing an interest? Where were you when this mess all started?"
"Maybe Gambit interested in what goes on when he ain't around."
"Oh." She recoiled slightly from the veiled correction.
"Listen petite, I been t' hell an' back aussi. Dere ain' nothing worse than dat. Not even you." He nudged her with his shoulder. "So what been goin' on dat Gambit need ta know?"
She looked up through hooded eyes. "You really are starved for punishment."
A dark look crossed his features, masked only by his expert skills. "You not de first person ta say dat."
"I'm only filling you in because you're so clueless. Don't expect a repeat performance."
"D'accord."
Jubilee took a deep breath and tried to get through the glossed over version of what had happened as quickly as she could. "When you were still going through….everything…I escaped Bastian. Found my way back to Emma and Sean just in time for my senior year. After I got back, my powers started acting up. Even moreso than usual. Nobody could handle me, so they sent me off to different teams. After I nearly blew up a small island, and got hit with the backlash on a mission with X-Force, Emma sent me back here."
Gambit was well aware he might as well have been listening to a rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow from a trained vocalist who had rehearsed it a thousand times before. But he feigned a small amount of surprise anyway. "A small island, non? Impressionnant. Why you not training now?"
Nobody will let me anywhere near the danger room without supervision." She reluctantly confessed. "My body temp keeps going up and I have to get checked out three times a day to make sure I don't spontaneously combust."
Now they were getting somewhere. "What's be happenin' with yer powers?"
"Don't know. The Prof and Beast won't say a word. Wolverine knows, but he won't talk about it. Just says they're actin' up is all. When I got in his face about it, we got in the mother of all arguments. Said he needed a breather from everything. Acting more like he needed a sidekick, not dead weight. So now I just give him what he wants. He does his parenting duties. And I get to see him every once and awhile so long as I stay out of his way the rest of the time. I'm sick of asking him to stay and he treats me like I have cancer." She trailed off, unsure of how much she had just incriminated herself.
Gambit started to say something, but she had already clammed up. Her head sank back down as if it were a bowling ball, too heavy for her body to hold up. He caught her just in time to lay her head back on the pillow. Her entire body tensed and then slowly began to relax as he ran a gloved hand through her damp hair. It seemed to resonate with her as she responded rather weakly. "I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to do it alone."
In a rare display lacking of third person, Gambit answered her back as best he could. "I know chérie…I know."
They stayed like that for awhile, neither knowing exactly what to do. Finally Jubilee broke the silence. "I don't know why everyone around here hates you so much." The words surprised her as much as him. "We've all got our own skeletons to deal with."
"Chérie…" He began, trying to provide her with an appropriate sentiment that would distance her from his own mess.
"Save it Gumbo. You're the only one around here who even bothers anymore."
"Ahem." They both looked up into the amused eyes of the speaker.
"Cept you Beast." She amended as he walked into the curtain enclosure.
"I am moved by your predilection Jubilee. However I must inform you that Logan is on his way back with some food and clothing. Needless to say, he may not find your position as heartfelt as I. I am sorry Gambit, but I must insist that you leave now. I'll try my best to explain away your scent. Though it might make it easier should you take your coat with you."
Grudgingly, Jubilee allowed herself to be pulled into a sitting position. Gambit pressed his lips softly against her hair before sliding effortlessly off the bed. With help, she unwrapped herself from the coat and enveloped herself as best she could in the thin blankets.
"What about the exam?" She asked.
"I will give you the full results after Logan has departed. I fear there is not enough time to divulge anything before he arrives."
Beast's tone told him Gambit everything he needed to know. He knew that Beast was going to take an awful lot on himself to keep her secret. Then again, he wanted to help Jubilee just as much as anyone. Both men were fully aware now that even if they did ask Xavier for help, it would have to be willingly accepted from the woman who wanted nothing to do with it.
French Translations
Mais - But
Merci - Thank you
De Rien - you're welcome
Alors, quel est le verdict? - So what's the verdict?
Aussi - too
D'accord - Agreed
