Marie didn't quite know how she got from one place to the next, but before she knew it, she and Logan were on a plane. They didn't talk except for him asking her to eat something.
Hours later, they arrived at the hospital in Seattle, jet lagged and slightly disoriented. They rushed into the Intensive Care Unite and went to the nurse's station. Marie leaned over the counter, "I'm looking for my husband, Scott Summers."
Before the nurse behind the desk could answer, Storm called Marie's name, causing her and Logan to look up and rush down the hall to her. Storm hugged Marie and whispered, "Thank god you're here..."
Marie broke the embrace, "Where is he?"
Storm slowly nodded toward the door behind Marie, then took Logan's hands as Marie slowly and hesitantly walked into her husband's room.
She covered her mouth and trembled as tears formed in her eyes when she saw Scott laying there with breathing tubes and machines hooked up to him. His head was bandaged heavily, his face had a few ugly scratches on it and his leg was in a cast.
"Oh god..." she whispered as she slowly walked over and sat down beside his hospital bed.
She gently touched his deathly still hand and looked up at his face for any sign of life or response...but she received none.
Marie heard Storm enter behind her and spoke without taking her eyes off of him, "What happened?"
"The professor and I were at the hotel. I only know what the emergency personnel told me-"
Marie snapped her head around, "What did they tell you?"
"They were t-boned by a drunk truck driver in an intersection...he hit on Jean's side. She was knocked unconscious on impact. She didn't even have a chance to see it coming...if she had..." Storm's voice trailed off as she looked down.
Marie rubbed a hand over her face and shook her head, "I need to speak with his doctor."
Meanwhile, Logan was talking to the doctor who had operated on Jean.
"She had multiple internal injuries...broken ribs, ruptured spleen and a collapsed lung."
Logan ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, "That sounds like a lot to come back from."
The doctor nodded sympathetically, "She made it through the surgery well and she's stable now...though still critical. If all goes well, she can make a full recovery from her injuries. She's going to a bit loopy because of the pain medication, but she should be fully lucid within a couple of days."
The professor exited Jean's room as Marie stepped into the hall and nodded a somber greeting to Marie and Logan, offering his condolences to both of them. He rolled across the hall to Scott's room.
Marie's eyes locked on Logan's briefly before Scott's doctor approached and shook her shaky hand, "Mrs. Summers?"
She gave a single, pronounced nod, "Yes."
"I'm Doctor Galloway, the neurosurgeon who is treating your husband."
Marie shook his hand and blinked away a couple of tears, "Is he going to live?"
"He sustained severe head trauma in the accident, but we have promising news...he's responding slightly to certain stimuli."
"Wh-what does that mean? I-I was just in there and I touched his hand and he didn't even..." her voice trailed off as she covered her mouth to stifle a sob.
The doctor sighed, "When I say 'responding', I don't mean he's answering questions or even opening his eyes at this point...but his body is reacting to pain, hot and cold. His heart rate increases and his brain waves react when extreme stimuli is introduced."
"That's good, right?"
"It's a step in the right direction, but it's important for me to remain realistic with you-"
Marie shook her head, "I don't know what that means."
He pursed his lips, "Not everyone who goes into a coma comes out of it...even if he did regain consciousness, there's a chance he may never fully recover. For now, it's important to talk to him, play his favorite music...make his environment very positive...encourage him to come back to you. I'll be back to check on him in a few hours and perform some more tests, alright?"
She nodded and spoke quietly, "Thank you, doctor."
When the doctor left, Marie and Logan were left in the hallway alone.
She trembled slightly as a lone tear fell down her face. Her shaky voice whispered urgently, "Oh Logan...we lied to them...the last words we spoke to our spouses were lies. The last conversation I had with Scott might have been our last conversation ever...and I was deceiving him! How can I live with myself if he doesn't make it?"
He put a hand on her back, gently shushed her and led her to the waiting room. He got her a bottle of water and sat down next to her.
After waiting for her to calm down and watching her take a few sips of water he looked her in the eye, "Look, kid...we'll just take it one day at a time. I know I may hate Scott, but I never wanted the boy scout to die...and I understand he's still your husband...so we'll just concentrate on helping Jean and Scott through this."
She nodded in agreement, "OK."
Logan gently brushed her hair out of her face, "My feelings are still the same. I still want you and this baby."
They broke apart as Storm approached, "I'm going to go get us all a bite to eat..."
Over the next several days, Marie held vigil at Scott's side, talking to him, playing music and touching him.
Logan stayed by Jean's side as well...even after she woke up whispering Scott's name.
He leaned over and gently stroked her forehead, "Shhhh Jeanie...I'm here."
She took a painful breath and closed her eyes, "What happened?"
"You and Scott were in an accident..."
Her eyes opened wider in realization, "Scott...where's Scott?"
Logan stopped stroking her head, "He's in a coma..."
She began panicking so severely, the nurses had to come in to administer a sedative to keep her calm. Logan watched helplessly as Jean fell unconscious yet again.
He tried to be there for Marie as much as possible, but he could tell the guilt over lying to her presently comatose husband, was eating away at her. The professor and Storm quickly made arrangements to rent a house nearby the hospital, since they knew Jean and Scott would be unfit for airline travel for months even if they did make full recoveries.
Dr. Galloway was performing tests on Scott daily, but his responsiveness was slow to improve. He began looking for more ways to stimulate him, and approached Marie for help during one of his morning visits.
"Good morning Mrs. Summers. How are you today?"
Marie was busy massaging Scott's hands as she looked up and smiled politely, "I'm good...just giving him his manicure."
"The massage is good for him...I'm going to be doing the same stimulus tests today, but I was wondering if you could help me with another."
She nodded quickly, "Absolutely. What is it?"
"I understand that you and Mr. Summers are expecting a baby."
"Yes..."
He clasped his hands together, "I know this may be a tad bit personal, but what was his attitude toward becoming a father?"
"Oh...wow...he was over the moon. He'd been wanting to have a baby since we got married..." Marie's voice trailed off as she looked down and put a hand on her belly. It was as if she was afraid the doctor would find out her dirty little secret.
"In that case, would you be opposed to allowing our resident obstetrician bring in the doppler and allow Scott to listen to the baby's heartbeat? I want to make every attempt to stimulate him and although it's not technically a medical treatment, I'm a firm believer in the subconscious and healing through positivity."
Marie wasn't sure what to say, so she simply nodded and muttered, "Alright" before Dr. Galloway walked away to make the arrangements. Marie paced in the hallway, waiting for the doctor to return with the obstetrician.
Logan exited Jean's room and quirked an eyebrow, "Everything OK?"
She put her hands on her hips and sighed, "The doctor thinks listening to the baby's heartbeat will do Scott some good."
He flinched a little, but slowly lowered his head toward his clasped hands, "I guess you should do whatever it takes..."
She took a few steps closer to him, "I don't know how much longer I can keep this secret. What if this baby really isn't his and he miraculously comes out of the coma after listening to its heartbeat? It will kill him if he finds out it isn't his!"
Logan was torn. He wanted the baby to be his, but he thought it was more important that Scott got better. He may have thought the guy was a giant tight wad, but he knew Marie would be destroyed by guilt if he died, so for her, Scott needed to live.
He rubbed her back, "Like I said...one day at a time, OK? It'll be alright."
Marie took a few deep breaths and nodded, "Right...you're right. How's Jean?"
"Her breathing's still really shallow, so she's not talking much because of her lung and the broken ribs...but she's woken up and she's asking about Scott a lot."
She nodded and rubbed her forehead, "I'm sure she's concerned."
Logan scratched his neck, "To be honest, it's all she's talked about..."
Marie furrowed her eyebrows slightly, but straightened when a female doctor approached, "Mrs. Summers? I'm Dr. Marks. Are you ready?"
Marie and Logan exchanged a look before she followed Dr. Marks into Scott's room.
A few moments later, Marie was reclined in a chair beside Scott's bed as the doctor used her portable doppler microphone to fill the room with the fast, fluid sound of her baby's heartbeat. Dr. Galloway and his team had Scott hooked up to all sorts of extra monitoring equipment in an attempt to see if he responded to the sound.
After a few moments of allowing the baby's heartbeat to filter through the air, Dr. Galloway's eyebrows raised, "Hmm...Marie...reach over and take your husband's hand."
She did so and gasped when she felt a slight squeeze against her hand, "He squeezed! He squeezed my hand...Scott? Scott? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand again."
Although Scott didn't immediately pop up and start talking to them, it was concluded that he was on the slow road to regaining consciousness. Despite feeling relieved at news of Scott's impending recovery, she was wracked with guilt.
Had the baby's heartbeat drawn him out of his coma? She kind of wished it was just coincidence.
Marie worked diligently to brush off the distracting guilt and focus on helping Scott recover.
Jean was doing better as well. Her breathing improved and she was now able to sit up and try to eat a few times during the day.
Two weeks after the accident, Scott opened his eyes. Marie didn't realize it since they kept his quartz glasses in place, but when he gave her hand an extra hard squeeze, she sat up and called the nurse. They removed the breathing tube and within a few days, he was able to verbally communicate, signaling that he was even closer to a full recovery since his memory was in tact and he hadn't lost the ability to speak.
To Marie's surprise, his first, full, coherent sentence was him asking about Jean.
He coughed weakly and whispered, "Need...to talk to Jean...Jean..."
"She's still weak and so are you...just relax."
Scott moaned and whispered again, "Jean..."
And he was asleep again.
Marie got up and walked across the hall to knock on Jean's door. Logan answered and glanced back toward Jean's bed, "It's Marie, hon...you up for visitors?"
Jean perked up as much as her battered body would allow and nodded as Marie entered the room. She smiled weakly, "Hey Marie..."
Marie smiled back, "How are you feeling? You look a lot better."
Jean laughed softly and cautiously, which surprised Marie greatly. She could barely remember the last time Jean even cracked a smile.
What happened next caught both Marie and Logan off guard.
Jean smirked, "Yeah. I should be ready for some modeling in a couple of days."
Marie tried to keep her mouth from dropping open. Jean...the maiden of the snow covered northern realm...had just cracked a joke.
"How's Scott? Is he doing better? Logan told me he's starting to talk."
Marie nodded, "Uhm...yeah. He's asking about you...I know you were asking about him too."
Jean deflated a little bit and averted her eyes, "Yeah...well, we were in the car together."
"I know and it's a miracle you two escaped alive. Drunk drivers...they're terrible. Where were you guys heading?"
Jean stuttered a little and gently rubbed her cheek, "Uh...we were going to the store..."
Marie didn't have to turn her head to know Logan had tensed up. She could feel it.
Logan stepped forward, "I'll go get a wheel chair and take you over to see him."
He left and returned with an orderly and wheelchair. They gently placed her in it and wheeled her across the hall.
Logan reentered the empty room, prompting Marie to give him a quizzical look, "Why aren't you in there with her?"
"She said she wanted a moment alone with him."
Marie narrowed her eyes, "Something's...weird."
Review please! Sorry for my lack of update yesterday. My little boy got sick, so I've been a bit tied up. I don't think I'll have an update up tomorrow night either, so there's a heads up!
I know this chapter contained a bunch of boring elements, but I didn't want to spend a whole bunch of time with a comatose Scott. This Marie character seems like she might end getting a little too reattached to Scott if he came too close to death.
Coming up next...
Scott and Jean can't get their stories straight.
Marie and Logan share a special moment with her unborn child.
As they attempt to care for their recovering spouses, their need for each other almost leads to them getting caught in a compromising position
Logan asks Marie a difficult question.