The team sat in the waiting room in silence, doing what the room was designed for… waiting. Most of their eyes were on the two figures standing side by side in the window. Spencer Reid, a tall and slender 6'1", stood staring out the window, his arms wrapped around his stomach. Beside him, the mutant that the team knew as Logan, and recently learned was the X-Man, Wolverine, also stared out the window, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Obviously powerful, he was packed into a compact, 5'3" body of hard muscle and metal. How these two men ended up lovers, the team didn't know. Even though they had heard the story, it still made no sense to them.

"How are they doing?" Reid asked, suddenly.

"Still waiting. They'll wait as long as they need to. She keeps checking in. Even though I'd let her know the moment we hear anything." Logan responded.

Remy LeBeau had been in surgery for nearly twelve hours, with numerous specialists being called in. Outside, it was dark and raining. Logan had let Reid know nine and a half hours ago that the X-Men had arrived to transport Remy to their own medical facility, but obviously, when he was open under the knife, they couldn't. They would have to wait until he was out of surgery. And so the X-Men waited, hidden a few blocks away. Logan was keeping in contact with Jean via her telepathy, but there wasn't much to pass on for now. The team knew something was going on, but only Hotch and Rossi knew what…

Another seventeen minutes passed, and then a middle aged woman walked in.

"Dr. Alster…" Hotch greeted, rising. Reid and Logan immediately turned. She gave them all a tired smile.

"We lost him a couple of times, but… your friend is a fighter. He made it through surgery." She told them.

"He's too stubborn ta up and die." Logan snorted as Reid let out a sigh of relief.

Dr. Alster smiled and nodded, warning "He's not out of the woods yet, though… He's in bad shape. For starters, he has pneumonia… we actually had to drain fluid from his lungs… He nearly drowned at some point, there was just too much to drain. He had to have inhaled it. We've set his nose and had to immobilize his broken jaw. There was a lot of internal bleeding, but we've found the sources and repaired them. He's getting a transfusion. It doesn't look like there was any permanent damage to his eyes, but his skull is fractured and there's some bruising to his brain… nasty concussion. But… it doesn't look like there's any lasting damage. Both of his hands are broken, all of his fingers… and so is his left wrist and his left arm has a spiral fracture. Both shoulders were dislocated. We've set them in place, but can't do anything more until the swelling goes down. His left leg is a mess… the femur has a hairline fracture, his knee was popped out of joint, the fibula and tibia were both broken and so were both ankles. There are… numerous fractures to his ribs and… one punctured lung. He also has a broken collar bone. Overall, with several lacerations, he's had just under two hundred stitches. His bruising is extensive, and covers almost all of his body… There are a few dozen small, electrical burns over his torso and to the genitals and… And he was forcibly sodomized with a foreign object."

Everyone jumped at the sudden roar, and then Logan's fist went right through the wall. The doctor flinched, violently. "Uh… There was bruising, abrasions, mild lacerations, but compared to the rest of him, relatively minor. Right now, our concerns are for infection, the pneumonia and… possible brain damage. Barring that, with the right physical therapy… he stands a very good chance at recovery. I know it doesn't sound like it, but… it could have been so much worse. They wanted to hurt him, but weren't aiming for permanent physical damage because…"

"Because they planned to kill him." Morgan finished. "They went for pain. Not lasting damage."

"Yes." Dr. Alster confirmed, nodding.

"Nothing's more permanent than a cut throat..." Rossi said softly. "And that's what was coming to him..."

"Until we got there." Hotch replied in a dark tone. "Then, it was a bullet to the brain..."

"… Can we see him?" Reid asked, softly.

"In a few minutes." Dr. Alster said. "It… really would help to know some personal medical information… I need to know who he is, though."

"He's not stayin'." Logan growled. "He's bein' transferred to a secure facility fer mutants."

"Sir… I know you're only concerned for your friend's well being…" Dr. Alster said, frowning. "But his condition is too fragile for him to be moved."

"Not fer us." Logan snorted.

"We'll discuss it later." Reid declared, in no mood for an argument. "I want to see him." And after a moment, Dr. Alster nodded and beckoned them after her. Reid and Logan were right on her heels as she lead them into the ICU. They stopped at a door that already had "Doe, John" on it and two armed security guards on either side of the door, and they stepped in. The team hung back, letting Reid and Logan go in alone for the time being.

Reid had to blink back tears the moment he laid eyes on Remy. The only feature he could even recognize was his hair. They had cleaned him thoroughly, thank God. His hair wasn't matted and tangled any longer. The rust colored strands fanned out over the pillow around his head. Reid shivered and hugged himself as he took in all the machines around his lover's bed, and all the tubes and wires connecting them to him.

Logan moved in first, scowling as he thought of how Remy would be reacting were he awake. But Remy wasn't awake. Hell, if it weren't for the machines, Remy wouldn't even be alive. The injuries to his body had been far too taxing on him. While Logan wasn't pleased at the sight of the tube down the Cajun's throat to help him breathe, he took comfort in the steady heartbeat that the little monitor was constantly announcing… the only reason it's obnoxious noise was tolerated… Various tubes and needles connected to bags and equipment that were systematically pumping Remy's body full of blood, fluids, and a plethora of medications.

Then Spencer was there, reaching out and gently brushing Remy's hair out of his face as he leaned in and gently kissed his forehead, just under a line of stitches at the hairline, and over the padded bandages that covered his eyes. Logan's hand was hovering. He had moved to clasp Remy's hand, but one hand was splinted and bandaged, and the other was in a full cast from elbow to fingertips. His left leg was casted from upper-thigh to his toes, and his shoulders and torso were heavily bandaged. Dark sutures stood out on his golden tan skin all over his body, and the small, shiny burns just punctuated the extensive bruising.

Logan finally rested his hand on Remy's bicep, watching silently as Reid ran his fingers through their lover's hair, and gently traced every contour of his face with his fingertips.

"Remy…" Reid called, softly. "It's me… Spencer." Logan sighed and closed his eyes as he listened to Reid. "We're here, Remy. Me and Logan. We're right here with you. You're safe now. And we're not gonna leave you. They're not gonna hurt you anymore. We're going to protect you, okay? It's our job. We take care of each other, right?"

Logan opened his eyes again and watched his lovers' faces, one horribly injured, and the other in emotional agony. "We're gonna take you home, Remy. Where you're completely safe and protected. No one will get to you there. And we're going to be right beside you until you wake up. I promise… but you HAVE to wake up, Remy. You have to come back to us… Please…"

Then, in desperation, he whispered "You know that place between sleep and awake, where you still remember dreaming?"

Nothing.

Reid bowed his head and took a deep breath, and as he continued to speak, Logan began to hear his words in his head, too. And he knew that Reid was telepathically projecting those words into Remy's mind, hoping to reach the man.

"You're a fighter, Remy. You always have been. And I know you've been hurt before. And maybe it's because I'm here, seeing it, but I feel like this is so much worse. I hate seeing you like this. And knowing that it was all my fault." Logan scowled and straightened up, but Reid kept talking. "And I know Logan thinks it's not, and I know you would tell me that it's not, if you were able to, but it IS. You came here to help me. That's why this happened. I never should have called you! I should have kept my damn mouth shut! If I had, you wouldn't be here!"

"If ya had, someone else would still be trapped there, bein' tortured." Logan growled.

"Maybe! But it wouldn't have been REMY!" Reid shouted, turning and fixing an agonized look on Logan. "You and he would have been back at the mansion, safe and… and in bed together right now! Happy! And I at least would have KNOWN that! But instead, we're all here! In the hospital! And Remy is…"

"Don't worry, darlin'," He said softly as the team slowly crept in, drawn by the raised voices.

"Don't worry?! LOOK AT HIM!"

"I see him. But I also know that when his BioKinetic Energies start ta regenerate, he'll start healin' up real quick."

"What if he… doesn't heal… fully?"

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it. Fer now, let's keep positive until the furball tells us otherwise."

"Furball?" Hotch asked.

"… Nothing for you to know." Reid murmured. To the team's surprise, Hotch just nodded.

Things were silent for a long time, and then Garcia spoke up.

"So… this is him, huh, Butter Cream?"

Through the agony on his face, Reid allowed a smile to touch his lips.

"Yeah…" He said quietly, letting Garcia put a hand on his shoulder. "Guys… meet Remy… Remy… this is... my…" The team was silent, staring at Reid as he began to tremble, and his brave façade cracked around him. Then he broke. He bowed his head and doubled over as a sob tore its way out of his chest, and the tears fell like a flood. Garcia wrapped her arms around him and he turned and cried into her shoulder, letting her gently rock him and stroke his hair. Logan watched her silently as she crooned softly to his mate, trying to soothe him as best she could.

Fifteen minutes later, Reid had quieted. He sat with Garcia's arms around him, staring silently at Remy, the occasional tear still running down his face. Then the door opened and there was a soft clearing of the throat. Everyone looked, and Reid and Logan stood.

"Good morning." The red haired woman said, walking into the room, right past the officers guarding the door; they never even blinked. She looked over the team with her green eyes, and then settled them on Remy. A flash or horror crossed her face for a moment.

"… Can't prepare fer it. Even when ya heard it all." Logan murmured, and the woman nodded, moving to his side.

"Who are you?" Hotch asked, frowning. "Why didn't the security stop you?!"

"Because they didn't see me." She said, leaning over and picking up Remy's chart and glancing over it. "And I'm one of the doctors taking over his case."

"Is the furball with you?" Logan asked.

"I'm relaying everything to him and he's getting everything set up to transfer Remy. Whatever we unplug him from, we can plug right back in as soon as he arrives." She said, checking all of the equipment. "We'll take the small things with us. The blood, the fluids…" She turned back to the chart and looked it over once more. Then she froze. "Forcibly sodo—" She broke off, a hand flying to her mouth and fire blazing in her eyes. The room rumbled and the team froze.

"Whoa there, girl." Logan said, reaching out and gripping her arms. The room quieted and her eyes faded to green again, now sparkling with tears as she looked at Remy once more. Slowly, she lowered her hand.

"… How could they…?" She gasped, turning to Logan.

"Not now." He told her.

"Logan… they—" But she stopped, her eyes growing distant for a moment. "Oh no…"

"What?"

"… We need to move him. Now. I'm sending in Nightcrawler."

"What?!"

"We don't have time." She said, and quickly left the room, taking Remy's chart with her, calling "get him ready!"

Reid and Logan glanced at each other, and then immediately converged on Remy, starting to shut equipment off and unhook him.

Alarms started screaming, and Dr. Alster appeared in the doorway a moment later.

"What are you doing?!"

"Prepping him for transfer." Reid said.

"What?! He just got out of surgery!" Dr. Alster cried. "You can't move him!"

"Lady, we ain't gotta choice!" Logan snapped. "Now help us or get out!"

As Dr. Alster opened her mouth to argue, she heard a loud demand down the hall, "Where's the mutant?!" She turned, and her jaw dropped. Then she ducked into the room and closed the door behind her, beginning to join Reid and Logan in their work. When she unhooked him from the respirator, everyone waited. And there was a massive collective sigh of relief when Remy drew a shallow breath. The bags of blood and fluids were laid out on his chest, and then Logan was wrapping him up in the sheets and lifted Remy into his arms, just as the door opened.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Detective Sanders snapped, glaring around the room. "All of you out!"

"Detective," Hotch said, holding up his hands, "You—"

"The case is solved, Agent. We appreciate your help, but we'll take it from here. Both of those mutants are under arrest!" And then his eyes snapped to Reid. "And you… I don't know what you're playing at, but—"

He never got a chance to finish. Dr. Alster screamed and everyone dove for cover when the window exploded inward, and a dark figure leapt in.

"TAKE HIM!" Eyes raised in time to see Logan transferring Remy's body into the hands of a strange, dark blue creature with a lashing tail, and then with a strange sound and a puff of dark blue smoke—

The creature and Remy were gone, leaving the strange smoke and the smell of brimstone dissipating on the air.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Sanders bellowed, and Hotch's eyes snapped to Reid. Reid met his look and nodded, then turned. "ARREST HIM!"

Reid reached out and grabbed Logan, pulling his wrists behind him and cuffing them and moving him towards the detectives and away from the team, saying "You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a—"

BAMF!

The room was filled with the smoke again, and the creature leapt from the bed towards Logan, who Reid now had strategically in the middle of the room and away from everyone else.

"REID!" Morgan shouted, and lunged to tackle Reid out of the way. He grabbed Reid's shoulder just as the creature landed on Logan and then—

BAMF!

Silence. The smoke dissipated, and everyone stared around.

"… MORGAN?!" Garcia cried, horror in her voice. But she got no answer. Hotch and Sanders were now staring at each other in complete and utter shock.

The creature had disappeared again… along with Logan, Reid, and Morgan…