The light was bright when she opened her eyes. The Med Lab, of course. She would have to make a note to Dr. McCoy of giving her her own bed. Just three days ago she was discharged from the fight with Magneto, when he came to collect John.
Her vision never cleared and she was puzzled as to why. She blinked once, twice, three times and her vision still didn't clear. She tried to rub her eyes- maybe that would help. No, her arms wouldn't move. Her legs were frozen too.
"A drug induced coma?" she heard John's voice question. He wasn't far from her, though she couldn't see. They were talking about her.
"The horn clipped an artery and if she moves any more than just breathing, she'll bleed internally and the chances of saving her are slim. She needs to stay immobile until she heals, at least internally."
"Can't anything else be done?"
"She isn't a healer like Logan, nor can she borrow the power like Marie. Give her a few weeks and she'll be well enough to move."
Haley could hear John sigh and sit in the chair next to her hospital bed. She felt his warm hand grasp hers and then gasp, turning her hand palm up as he pushed back her sleeve.
"Dr. McCoy, what is this?" he asked, though sound of his voice indicated he already knew the answer.
"I've been meaning to mention that," said the doctor as he leaned forward and brushed his fingers against the scabbed cuts. "Have you seen these on her before?"
John didn't answer vocally so he must have been shaking his head.
"I'll make a note in her file to ask her when she wakes up…"
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
To John the next three weeks passed so slowly. And he was able to get up and move around. Haley was stuck, and John involuntarily shuddered when he thought of how she felt. He was forced to continue his classes, but Danger Room sessions were put off until Haley recovered.
John sat in the library in her favorite chair, while he waited for study hall to be over. Dr. McCoy had told him that spending every free moment by her side wasn't healthy, and wouldn't help her heal faster.
As he sat he couldn't help but think about the cuts on her wrist. They looked self inflicted. Why would Haley do that to herself? How could he not have noticed?
A blast of cold air in his face made him jump out of his thoughts, looking up to see the source of the chill. He scowled and let out a low growl.
"Drake," he grumbled, not getting to his feet.
"I'm guessing the doctor showed you her little emo habit," Bobby said, with a very uncharacteristic smirk on his lips. "Such a pity a pretty girl like that is damaged goods."
This got a response out of John, leaping to his feet and pushing Bobby away.
"How do you know about that? Not like she told you."
"I saw in the Danger Room session a couple of weeks ago. What kind of emo weakling do you have for a girlfriend?
John's eyes flashed with fire as he raised a hand in warning. "I swear to god Drake if you don't shut up…"
"What? You'll fire me up? Allerdyce we already discovered that I'm stronger than you at Alcatraz. I beat your ass."
John clicked on his wrist lighter only to have his wrist grabbed. Looking up he saw Logan looking at him with a disappointed eye.
"Bobby, go into Storm's office. She'll be curious to hear about this little incident. John, go see the doctor, he has something to tell you."
Both boys nodded, but not without sparing a parting glare to the other. Bobby departed towards Storm's office and John headed down to the Med Lab, curious what news the doctor had to share with him.
Walking through the sliding doors John ran his fingers through his hair. "What do you have for me doc?" he asked, stepping over to Haley's bedside.
"I thought you would want to be here when we woke her up. Scans have shown that she healed quite nicely. She can't be discharged, but she can be awakened."
John nodded, taking Haley's pale hand in his own while the doctor slipped some medication into her IV. John stood on edge for a few moments while he watched the medication slide down the IV tube and into her arm. A few moments later he watched her face as she stirred, her blue eyes fluttering open and blinking a few times.
"John?" she whispered, her voice hoarse from under use. He squeezed her hand letting her know he was there. She smiled, lifting her other hand to cover his, and squeezing his hand back in return. "How long was I out?"
"Three weeks," the doctor said, stepping into her line of sight. "Welcome back dear."
She smiled at him too, but her smile faded when she saw the worried expression on both their faces. "What? Is something wrong?"
John helped her sit up, propping pillows behind her back and said nothing. Let the doctor handle this, he was the professional.
Dr. McCoy pulled up a chair next to Haley's hospital bed, sitting on it and folding his hands in his lap. "How are you feeling?" he asked. Maybe it was best that the fur ball didn't just jump right into it. She just woke up from a three week coma; maybe taking it slow was best.
"I feel alright. A little stiff and sort of hungry but other than that I feel alright. Why do you ask?"
"Haley do you remember what happened to you?"
Her eyes glazed over as she had this faraway look in her eyes, almost like she was trying to remember. "I remember Magneto coming for John, and me using up a lot of energy to fight him. I remember going to Alkali Lake, rescuing John, and getting this horn thinger in my back. Is that what I'm supposed to remember?"
"Yes Haley that's exactly what happened," Dr. McCoy said in a soothing tone, reaching over and patting her shoulder as her voice began to get stressed. "I was just making sure."
She sighed, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, gripping John's hand just a little tighter. There was something he wanted to know; she could read it in his mind. Something about her cutting. Oh dear.
"Just ask me about it," she said with a strained whisper. Dr. McCoy took a sharp intake of breath. It seemed he had forgotten Haley's telepathic abilities.
"There are cuts on your wrist Haley. They look self inflicted-"
"Because they are."
John gripped Haley's hand, his thumb tracing small circles on the back of her hand. "Why?"
He saw her jaw clench together and her eyes became hardened. "Because. You need no other reason than that."
"Is it because I said that I was too dangerous?"
"Haley, please don't tell me you did that because of a boy!" Dr. McCoy cried out, reaching over and grasping Haley's other hand. "He's just a person. He's not worth hurting yourself over."
Haley shook her head, taking her hands from both of them. "Yes he is, and no it's not just because of him… I'm sleepy now, I'm going to bed."
Both John and Dr. McCoy sighed. She could hear from their thoughts that they wanted to ask more but didn't want to fight her. She felt Dr. McCoy get to his feet and John tried to but she held him down.
"Stay," she whispered, pulling his hand up so that she could kiss his palm. He looked quizzically at the doctor. He had classes to attend. This made Haley sigh and release his hand, giving him the go ahead to continue with his classes.
"I'll be back as soon as I'm finished for the day, alright?" he asked, leaning in to place a kiss on her forehead. "I promise."
She sighed and nodded, closing her eyes and carefully turning on her side. Dr. McCoy dimmed the lights for her.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"You looked like you wanted to tell me something," John said to Haley as he sat in the chair, his classes now over and done with for the weekend. "Before I left for my classes earlier, you wanted me to stay. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"
Haley closed her eyes, dragging up all resolve that she could. Logan knew her story, Storm knew her story. But her boyfriend knew little to nothing about her, and for that she felt guilty. But telling him vocally would retrieve tears that she had long since promised to leave behind. She didn't want him to see her cry.
But that was too late, a tear already falling down her cheek which alarmed him. He reached forward, brushing the tear from her face gently. "What is it Haley? You know you can tell me."
She shook her head. No, she couldn't tell him. "I can show you," she whispered, opening her eyes and reaching out to him, both with her arms and her mind. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him close, she buried her face in the crook of his neck, allowing the barrier keeping these memories at bay to break and slowly she let the images fly before his eyes.
Memory sharing wasn't something she was rather good at. She tried it with one of the inmates at the camp, during one of the extremely rare moments they were allowed to roam with other inmates who weren't being tested. During her first few tries she could only portray broken bits of random memories. Hopefully now she had gotten a better hold of it, gained more control over it.
She must have because she heard John gasp in her ear, his body stiffen in her hold. The memories that flashed before her eyes were buzzing by his as well. She had to focus, work on making them run slower so he could understand. She also had to try to keep the emotions that went with those memories. Only a few escaped her hold but they were only sadness, and confusion, emotions that were harder to understand.
After a few moments she felt John relax in her hold, shaking only slightly. He pulled away from her, his eyes glistening with what she thought were tears but none threatened to fall. Her own eyes shone with the same glisten, only this time, a tear fell from each eye.
"Haley…" he whispered, bringing a hand up to brush away her tears. "That's why you were sent to the camp. Oh Haley I'm so sorry."
She nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She opened her mouth to say more but her vocal chords froze. She couldn't say any more.
"You really do think your damaged don't you?" he whispered, the words from Bobby Drake just finally making sense. "Haley that's nonsense. You're not damaged at all. They did nothing to you, nothing unless you let them."
Haley shook her head and buried her face in his neck. "My own parents," she whispered, and he tightened his hold on her, holding her as close as possible.
"They let go of a good thing Haley. It's their loss."
Her breathing slowed, a good sign that she was believing him, or at least accepting what he was saying. Finally she pulled away, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
It was another week before Dr. McCoy released Haley from the Med Lab. He did several scans of her chest and back to make sure everything healed one hundred percent. Once he was positive he made her schedule therapy sessions and then promise to attend them. Haley wasn't too thrilled about seeing a shrink but she thought, if she at least showed up, then she would be keeping her promise.
Returning to classes was a bit odd. It was difficult to get adjusted back into her old schedule, but she managed just fine. She was malleable, and would eventually fall back into the swing of things. But what she had the most trouble doing was catching up on missing work. She did some of it in the Med Lab during that week before the doctor let her out, but there was only so much focus a teenage girl could have, even a mutant.
She sat in her dorm room, legs curled up to her chest as she began writing her third English essay. Her temples began to throb and her eyes itched, a sure sign that she needed more sleep. But she needed to catch up on missing work, and finish the new work she was assigned. She had to work hard, because if she fell behind she would lose danger room privileges and be grounded to her room, meaning she couldn't see John.
She got halfway through the paper before she put the pen down and stretched. She needed to take a break. Gracefully swinging her legs off the chair she got to her feet, leaning backwards and stretching, letting out a small groan as she heard her vertebrae crack in appreciation. Standing upright she walked out of her dorm, down to the kitchen where a midnight snack was calling her name.
Most girls, when hungry at midnight, ate chocolate, ice cream, or something sugary. Haley wasn't like most girls. Reaching into the fridge she pulled out the celery and ranch dressing. Taking out a knife she cut the browned ends off the celery and poured a small amount of ranch into a small container.
She sat on a stool, happily nibbling on her celery when the thoughts burst into her mind.
I can't believe I didn't see it, after it was laid in front of me this whole time.
Haley straightened in her seat. The mental voice sounded like Rogue. Had she finally figured out that her goody-two-shoes boyfriend was anything but?
Just a second later Rogue walked into the kitchen, pausing when she saw Haley but she smiled nonetheless.
"Glad to see you're feeling better," she said with her southern accent much more prominent than before. "Mind if I have some? That looks pretty tasty."
Haley nodded slowly, somewhat taken aback by Rogue's newfound tenderness. She pushed the plate containing the celery and the container of dressing towards the middle of the kitchen island so that Rogue could reach better.
They sat munching in silence for a moment before Rogue placed her hands on the counter. "I know you know what's going on. You're a telepath you know everything."
"If you're asking if I knew about Bobby and Kitty, yes I did. But it wasn't my business nor my place to bring it up," Haley responded, not looking up from the food.
"So how would you feel if John cheated on you?"
"Wouldn't happen."
"Really?"
"Yes really, wouldn't happen. And don't you dare try that 'how do you know' shit. And don't even try to take him from me. I swear Rogue you think you're powers are bad just wait."
Haley got to her feet, pushing the food completely to Rogue now and making to leave the room. Rogue reached out with a gloved hand and stopped her, pushing her against the cabinets. Rogue was a small girl, but she was bigger than Haley, and also much stronger.
"Listen kiddo, it won't take much to get your little fire bender boyfriend to stray, especially with an old flame. Do you really think he'll resist me that much?"
Haley said nothing. Instead she glared at Rogue will all the power she had. After a moment Haley finally found words to say.
"I was never mean to you. Why are you doing this?"
Rogue smiled a sinister smile. "Because I had him first. And I'm reclaiming what is mine."
Before Haley could retaliate Rogue swiftly walked out of the kitchen, leaving the other female to ponder in the kitchen.
Rogue wouldn't really try to take John from her, would she? And John wouldn't fall for her seduction tactics. Really, he was better than that. What did Haley have to worry about? She trusted John, and she knew that he would never hurt her on purpose.
Biting her lip she cleaned up her celery and dressing before returning to her essay which no longer had any promise of being completed.