Logan wakes up abruptly, soft skin and a cloud of long dark hair lingering in his memory, and remembers that they were supposed to wake Nori up every few hours. He gently shakes her. "Nori. Darlin'. Wake up."
She moans and he strokes her cheek. "How do you feel?"
"Shitty."
"Headache?"
Tears shine in her eyes as she says, "It hurts so much."
"Hank said it might—since you've had head injuries before."
"He say how long?"
"No. Want me to call him?"
"No... let him sleep. Is there more... pills?"
"Yeah. Let me get them for you." He walks around the bed and brings everything back for her. She swallows a few and sighs.
"Thanks, Logan."
"Any time."
She lies down and squirms a little, trying to find a comfortable position. When Logan gets back in bed, she snuggles against him. He tucks her under his arm and sighs. Had he been dreaming about Nori? Her soft cheek on his chest feels familiar, but the hair in his dream was different. Whose was it? He's been dreaming about this woman for the last few months. It's a welcome diversion from his nightmares about the adamantium, but still unsettling.
When he wakes up again at first light, Nori's not on his chest any more. She's curled herself into a ball, facing him, her head underneath her pillow. He remembers how big her pupils had been on the jet and realizes she's probably very sensitive to light right now. He gets up to draw the curtains tightly shut, then shakes Nori awake.
"Oh, let me sleep," she pleads.
"Sorry, darlin'. Hank said to check on you."
"I'm alive, promise," she says shakily.
He brings her more Excedrin, aware that she's probably exceeding the maximum dose but he doesn't care. Logan knows about pain, but his pain always passes quickly. She's going on twelve hours of apparent misery. He watches her press herself against Remy, who murmurs something French in his sleep. She sighs and shoves her head under her pillow again, one hand lingering on Remy's chest.
He gets up and sits at the desk, flipping through a magazine. Hank knocks on the door around 8. Logan wonders what the fuzzball will think of seeing Logan shirtless in their room, but he realizes he doesn't care. He stands up to let Hank in. Hank blinks but says only, "Good morning, Logan. How is Nori?"
Logan backs into the room, gesturing at her. "Sleepin'. I woke her up an hour ago. She was okay but she's had a real bad headache since last night. We've been giving her these," he says, handing him the bottle of Excedrin, "But I don't think it's helping any."
Hank nods. He turns on the light and pulls a bottle out of his lab coat. "These are stronger."
"You couldn't have given her those last night?"
"I had a few other things on my mind," Hank says mildly. "And I did say that you could call the medbay if you needed anything."
"She didn't want us to wake you."
Hank sighs and puts a hand on Nori's arm. "Nori, please wake up. It's Hank."
She whimpers and pulls the pillow more tightly over her head. "Nori, I need to speak to you. Please sit up."
Slowly, she sits up, hugging the pillow to her chest. She presses a hand to her eyes. Remy stirs and props himself up on an elbow to observe.
"I understand you have a severe headache."
"Mm-hmm."
"And you're feeling sensitive to light?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Any other symptoms? Are you experiencing nausea?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Nori, I know this will be painful, but I need to examine your eyes. Can you please open them?" She sighs and half-opens her eyes. "All the way, please."
She opens them and grimaces. "Good job. Look at me, please. Good, good. Your pupils look normal. Can you follow my finger?" He moves it slowly back and forth. Her eyes track it, and tears start streaming down her cheeks. "All right. Thank you, Nori. You can close your eyes again. I have some rather stronger migraine medication for you. Would you like to take it?"
"Yesss."
"This is a drug called sumatriptan. It is very effective in treating migraine pain. Its most common side effect is strange sensations—it may cause you to feel warm or cold, or a tingling. It may also cause fatigue."
"Just give it to her," Logan says.
"It is my responsibility as a physician to inform her of possible side effects."
"It's fine," Nori says, holding out a hand. "Please."
"These are dissolving tablets. Do not swallow them, but put them one at a time in your mouth and let it dissolve. The medicine will enter your bloodstream more quickly that way. It may feel... a little unusual." He places two in her outstretched hand and she puts one in her mouth.
"Oh God," she says. Weakly, she stumbles out of bed and just barely makes it to the toilet before throwing up. Remy follows her. He holds her hair back and wipes her mouth off.
"Hmm," Hank says. "Well, this medication is also available as a subcutaneous injection, but I do not have any in stock."
"I'll go get it," Logan says.
Hank nods. "Thank you, Logan. I'll call in a prescription to the Walgreens in Salem Center." He walks to the bathroom door and looks sympathetically at Remy. "Even a severe migraine is unlikely to last more than two or three days.'
"Two or three days?" Remy asks. Nori's still crying silently.
"Let me call in the prescription and then we can discuss this further," Hank says. He pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and makes the request. Logan leaves to get dressed and pick it up. Nori curls up on the bathroom floor.
"Cher, you want to get back in bed?"
"The tile...feels nice," she murmurs.
"If you say so," Remy says. He sits on the edge of the tub and holds her hand. She squeezes his hand once, then pulls it back and wraps her arms around herself.
"Y'don't have to stay here. I'll be okay."
"Non, non, cherie, I never appreciated what a nice bathroom we have. We should spend more time in here."
She gives a weak laugh.
Hank clears his throat and begins to tell Remy, "So, when Logan comes back, we'll try again with sumatriptan. When she's feeling better, I'd like to do a CT scan and make sure there's no bruising or swelling. It's imperative that she rest and avoid any potential injuries. Any future injuries will only have more severe consequences."
Remy nods. "Oui, of course." Nori's weird, blank empathic projections continue and Remy gives a little shiver. He hates seeing her like this and feeling so helpless.
Hank goes back down to the lab to get a needle and other supplies, including some food for Remy and Logan, and before too long, Logan returns with a white paper bag containing a little vial. Hank turns on the bathroom light and gently swabs Nori's arm with an alcohol wipe and then injects her with the drug. She doesn't seem to notice, and Hank turns the light back off. She remains curled up on the bathroom floor and drifts back to sleep.
"You guys just gonna leave her there?" Logan asks.
"Said she liked it in there. Cooler," Remy says.
"Darker, too," Hank adds. Logan's mouth tightens and he says nothing. Hank continues, "I'm going back down to the lab to continue my work with the... cured mutants. If she doesn't wake up in a few hours, wake her. Don't hesitate to call me if you have problems or questions."
"Thanks, Hank," Remy says.
"I am sure she will be fine," Hank says gently. "She just needs time to rest and recover."
Remy nods and gives a faint smile. Hank turns off the light as he leaves the room; both Remy and Logan are perfectly capable of seeing in the dark. Logan tightens his hands into fists. "I should've seen Mystique. Should have stopped her. I was right there."
Remy shakes his head. He climbs off the bathtub and comes to sit on the edge of the bed. He takes a bagel off the plate Hank had brought up. "Ain't your fault, Logan. She knew what she was getting into. And you know she'd say it wasn't anyone's fault but Mystique's."
"But she—" Logan starts, then cuts off. He looks at Remy, who nods.
"Yeah, I feel it too, mon frere." Nori's sending out some strange psychic tendrils.
"Is she dreaming?" Logan asks.
"Maybe?" Remy stands up and peers into the bathroom, abandoning the bagel before taking a first bite. She's still curled up, motionless, but she's definitely making her presence known in Remy's mind. "You know," he says, "I don't think they ever tested those painkillers on telepaths."
Logan sits down, hard. Remy wonders what Nori's doing to him. Her touch in his mind is strong. When she's conscious, she uses her telepathy to talk, or to share, but not since that first night, when he wanted to show her his memories of Sinister, has she entered his mind. She's being careful. She's picking out memories and showing them to him. The first time he saw her, standing barefoot and carefree in her hotel room. Her first night with the Brotherhood, when she'd gotten a little drunk and giggled into Remy's chest. The panic and relief he'd felt when he'd seen her, drugged and glassy-eyed, but alive, in Stryker's Cerebro. He sighs and sits quietly through the psychic tour. He hopes she isn't sharing these with Logan. He glances over and realizes that Logan is crying. Surely Logan wouldn't cry at Remy's memories, so she must be picking something different out for him.
Logan sits completely still, stunned at Nori's touch in his mind. It's different from Xavier's, which is calm and distant, or Jean's, which had been clumsy, afraid to hurt him. Nori's is strong and pleased with herself. She likes looking in his memory. She wants to help. She navigates his mind with purpose. He has a clear image of her kneeling on the floor of his memory and putting together a jigsaw puzzle. She waves him over to help. In his mind, her hair is pink. He'd never known her with pink hair outside of photographs, but he realizes that's how she pictures herself. She smiles at him. The puzzle is huge, and she goes into a kind of trance over it. He kneels next to her, but this puzzle is somehow different from the ones he's done with her in her office and he cannot figure out how any of the pieces fit together. He watches her for a long time. He's dimly aware that Remy is talking to him, and he manages to say, "I'm okay." Then he closes his eyes and tunes him out.
She's perhaps halfway finished with the puzzle when someone else appears in the mental room. It's Xavier.
"Hello, Nori," he says.
"Hi, Professor. Do you want to help?"
"Are you sure you want to put this together?"
"Isn't that what it's here for?" she asks, innocently.
"Why don't you ask Logan?"
She looks up at Logan, sweet and wide-eyed. "Logan? Don't you want to put this together?"
"I..." he takes a deep breath. "You told me my memories were gone. But I have these dreams... I know they were real. Can she really help me?"
"Perhaps she can," Xavier admits. "Her telepathy is not as strong as mine, but she does know you better. But there is the chance..."
"What?"
"She wants so badly to help you. She may fabricate memories."
Logan glances back at Nori, who doesn't seem to have heard. "She can do that?"
"I am not sure what she can and cannot do. She has been reluctant to practice using her telepathy in this way. But I would not be at all surprised if she were capable of that."
Logan looks between Xavier—who he does believe to be well-meaning, but who he also knows has lied to him before—and Nori, who he knows would never intentionally lie to him, but whose stability is questionable—and gives a quick nod. He kneels next to Nori and says, "Let's finish this."
"It's harder without the box. Do you know where the box is?"
"Uh... no. Sorry, darlin'."
"That's okay. We can still do it. Look, you're in it."
She's right. What she's assembled so far shows a small cabin in the mountains. Logan's standing in front of the cabin, looking content, and next to him... nothing.
"I can't figure out what's supposed to go next to you," she says, gesturing with dismay at the pile of pieces.
"Me neither, darlin'."
She gives him a handful of pieces and says, "You have to do it, Logan."
"I-I can't."
"You can. You have to. I know you can," she says earnestly.
He sighs and studies the pieces in his hand. He picks out a piece and just tries to place it at random blank spots in the puzzles.
"You can't force it," Nori says. "Think about it. You know where it goes."
"It's too hard."
She shakes her head. "No, Logan, you can do it. Don't give up." She sits patiently with him for a long time. The pieces begin to make more sense to him and he hesitantly snaps a few into place.
"Kayla," he says. "Oh God."
"You know her?"
"I knew her, I..." he screams with rage and rips apart the puzzle. Nori rises to her feet and takes a cautious step back.
"Logan, it's okay," she says soothingly.
"It's not okay! Why did you make me remember!"
"I-I just wanted to help!"
"Get out of here," he growls, extending his claws. "Just..." He screams again, and she looks up at him and nods, before scurrying down the hall, back toward the door she'd come in.
Remy's eyes widen as Nori and Logan both start screaming. He'd been quietly reading a magazine for a few hours. Nori had given his mind a brief pass before apparently settling all of her attention on Logan. He'd gotten Xavier after about half an hour of creepy unresponsiveness from Logan.
Logan's claws are out, but he's just standing there. Remy decides to retreat to the bathroom. Nori looks up at him and says, "What happened?"
"Well now, you tell me, cherie," he says.
She shakes her head. "The last thing I remember is suiting up and getting on the Blackbird."
"Oh. Well... you got hit on the head."
"Again?"
He grins. "Yeah. Again. You had a pretty bad headache and Hank gave you some kind of drug. He, ah, he said it might make you feel too hot or too cold. But instead I think it made you lose control of your telepathy. You came in my mind and looked at a bunch of my memories."
"Oh, sorry!"
"Shh... it was nice. But I don't know what you were doing to Logan. I got Xavier to come up and check it out. He said it was okay. He said you were helping him with his memories. It's been hours."
"Really?"
"Oui."
"Oh, man. Is he okay?"
"Ah... well..."
She sits up and cranes her neck to peer out the door. Logan's still standing in the middle of the room, claws popped and breathing heavily. He seems to be seeing something that isn't there. That, or he is unreasonably furious at their dresser.
"Should we do something for him?"
"I think perhaps he needs a few moments to work through this himself."
"Yeah. Okay. Hey, why are we in the bathroom, anyway?"
"You said it was more comfortable in here."
"Huh."
He shrugs. "Perhaps we should give Logan a moment alone."
"Okay." She comes to sit next to him on the edge of the tub and pulls his face down for a gentle kiss. Then she runs her tongue over her teeth self-consciously and says, "Uh, did I throw up recently?"
"Well, yes."
"Aw, Remy, why'd you let me kiss you? Gross."
He laughs. "You know I'd never say no to a kiss from you." She shakes her head and stands to brush her teeth. She wobbles a little on her feet and Remy quickly stands to put his hands on her shoulders.
"What the fuck," she says, looking at her face in the mirror. "How long have I been out of it?"
"'Bout sixteen hours or so."
"Jesus." She washes her face and brushes her hair and her teeth. She dabs on moisturizer and puts some concealer under her eyes. Remy watches her.
"You're beautiful," he says with sincerity. She turns away from the mirror and hugs him.
"Well, I'm glad you think so."
"I know so." He bends down for another kiss, this one decidedly mintier than the previous one.
Logan appears in the bathroom doorway. "Uh... I didn't... didn't hurt anybody, did I?" he asks.
"Non," Remy says. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay, I... okay."
"What happened?" Nori asks anxiously. "Did I hurt you?"
Logan hesitates. "Yeah," he says. "But it was good."
"What do you mean?"
"You helped me remember some stuff. But most of them aren't very nice memories."
"I'm sorry!"
"No, darlin', don't be sorry. Remember? I told you it was what I wanted. It is what I wanted."
She shakes her head. "I don't remember at all. But if it's what you wanted, I'm glad I could help." Shyly, she asks, "What did you remember? Can I ask?"
He hesitates. It feels unkind not to tell her, though he isn't anxious to share. He gives an abbreviated version. "There was a woman... I loved her, and Stryker killed her."
Remy's eyes widen. "Logan," he says hoarsely. "I remember that woman, I think. She was at the Island... but I only saw her after you'd been shot, so you didn't remember her. She had long, dark hair... she was pretty. And dead."
Logan nods, satisfied to have at least a tiny piece of his story corroborated. "Her name was Kayla Silverfox. Stryker shot her." For the second time that day, he cries for his long-dead love. Nori hugs him, and he squeezes her tightly. He hears Kayla's voice in his mind telling him, You're not an animal, Logan. He takes a breath and continues. "Don't remember everything—I stopped you, before you could put it all back together. Couldn't handle it. But it's something."
Nori nods. "Do you want me to try again?"
"Maybe another time. I think—I need to be alone."
"Of course."
Logan turns and leaves their room. Remy puts an arm around her and guides her over to their bed. "How you feel, cherie? Hungry?"
"Thirsty." He hands her a glass of water and she sips it.
"But—but you're doin' better?"
"Yeah, I guess. I don't remember being sick. But I feel okay now, so I must be better."
Remy sighs with relief. "Good thing."
"So, what, what happened? With the lab? Was anyone hurt?"
"Well, cher, you were."
"Right. I mean, anyone else?"
"Well..." he debates about whether not to tell her, but she'll probably find out eventually and will only be annoyed at him for keeping it from her. "Logan broke Pyro's arm."
"Hmm. Is that all?"
"All I heard about."
"Well, arms'll heal."
"Logan said you blocked Pyro's power. He was none too happy 'bout that."
"No, I can't imagine he was. What about the lab? Were there mutants there?"
"You know, cher, it's kind of strange for me to be the one telling you all this, seeing as how you were there, and I wasn't."
"Well, I don't remember being there, so for all I know... you were there," she says with a smile. She's pretty nonchalant about half a day's missing memory. Remy supposes it's nothing compared to Logan's missing years.
"Well, that's a fair point. The lab was working on a cure for mutants and it seems like maybe it worked. They had some test subjects who all volunteered. Wanted to be cured. They said it worked, but you said that they still felt like mutants to you. With your power."
"Oh, interesting."
"Oui. Anyway, after you were down for the count, and all the test subjects were evacuated, Pyro burned the lab to the ground."
"If he'd just asked, I think I would have let him."
Remy grins. "He never did have the best manners."
"How were you? How was everything at the school?"
"Just fine. I t'ink Marrow has a crush on me, though."
"Everyone has a crush on you, love."
"Well, too bad for everyone. I'm taken."
She smiles and leans into his shoulder.
"Oh! I forgot. I told Xavier I would let him know when you and Logan were, ah, finished."
"Oh, I'll do that." She sends out a quick message with her telepathy and a few minutes later, there's a knock on her door. Remy opens it, revealing Xavier and Hank. She smiles at them. Both look somewhat surprised.
"Nori, how are you feeling?" Hank asks.
"Fine," she says. "Remy says I was sick before, but I don't even remember."
He frowns. "What is the last thing you do remember?"
"Getting ready to leave on the Blackbird last night. It was last night, right?"
"Yes."
"Remy kind of filled me in on what happened. Well, I guess, on what Logan told him happened."
"How is Logan doing?" Xavier asks.
"Okay," Nori says. "I guess I helped him remember some stuff, which ironically I do not remember doing, and he got kind of upset about it and wanted to be alone."
"Yes," Xavier says. "I would like to talk to you about that. You do not remember any of what you did? In Logan's mind, or in Remy's?"
"Not one thing."
"Do you frequently lose control of your telepathy?"
"No. Well, only if I'm having a nightmare. I've never done anything like what Logan and Remy say I did. You know I'd tell you about it, if I did."
Xavier nods. "Of course. I merely wanted to confirm. Do you mind if I attempt to examine your memories?"
"You want to examine my memories of me examining Logan's memories?"
"Well, yes."
She laughs. "Go right ahead." She slides across the bed and sits facing him. He presses his hands to her face and closes his eyes.
A few moments later, he pulls back his hands. "Extraordinary," he says.
"What?" she asks.
"That was quite a clever display of power you used."
"What'd I do?"
"You intuited what Logan was looking for, but you helped him piece it together himself. Quite tricky."
"Huh. Glad I'm productive when I'm drugged up and unconscious," she says, lightly.
Xavier smiles. "Nori, I don't think you are using your telepathy to anything like its fullest capacity."
"Well, uh, I don't really know that many people with severe memory loss, so."
"Hmm," Xavier says, a shrewd look on his face. "Well, we can discuss your capabilities another time."
Hank checks her eyes and reflexes and asks her some basic memory questions. She passes with flying colors.
"Good. I'd still like to do a CT scan of you. Could you come down to the medbay now?"
"Uh, sure. Can I get dressed?"
"Of course. Why don't you just meet me down in the medbay when you are ready?"
"Sure." She changes out of her pajamas and heads downstairs, trailed by Remy. She submits to all of Hank's testing, and then gets sent upstairs with orders to eat something. She pokes around the kitchen and makes a packet of Ramen noodles.
"It feels kind of racist that they're called Oriental flavor, right?" she muses aloud.
Remy laughs. "I guess it's all right if you eat it."
"Right. It's cool if we call each other Oriental," she says, gesturing between herself and the packet of noodles, "But not if you call us Oriental."
"No, I have Oriental friends and they say it's fine." Nori cracks up laughing and sits down to eat. Remy opens the fridge and comes back with some leftover spaghetti, which he puts in the microwave, and a glass of juice, which he gives to Nori. "You should drink this too, cher."
"Thanks, love," she says.
Kurt walks into the kitchen. His face registers first surprise, then relief. "Oh, Nori, I am so happy you are feeling better," he says.
She smiles. "Thanks! How are you doing?"
"Oh, fine, thanks God." But his tail is lashing back and forth.
"What's wrong?" Nori asks.
He slumps. "Oh, it is nothing… it is only, I was down to see the mutants we saved from the lab…"
Her chin jerks up. "What did they say?"
Kurt looks at the floor, then back at her. "Oh, Nori, it was nothing I have not heard before. But…"
"But you don't expect to hear it around here," Remy finishes.
"Ja, exactly," Kurt says. "And it makes me sad… they were so unhappy that they would give up being a mutant. Being who they are." He shakes his head and looks troubled.
Nori gives him a sad smile. "Not everyone is as strong in their sense of self as you are, Kurt."
Kurt shrugs, hesitant to accept the compliment. He busies himself with getting a glass of milk. He stands and drinks it. Nori resists the urge to ask him to sit, knowing that his tail often makes it more comfortable for him to stand. She asks him how his day is going.
"Oh, very nice, thank you. Ororo and I played, ah, Monopoly, with some of the children."
"Fun! Who won?"
"Ororo."
Remy grins at that. "I bet she did."
Kurt finishes his milk and puts the glass in the dishwasher. "I will see you both later," he says.
"Bye, Kurt," Nori says. Remy nods.
After Kurt leaves, Nori says, "I keep forgetting that those allegedly cured mutants are downstairs. I'd like to talk to them."
Remy shakes his head. "Maybe that could wait until tomorrow. Hank said you need to rest."
"But I feel fine."
"Let's make sure you stay fine, ma mie. They'll be here tomorrow."
"Okay," she agrees. She puts her Ramen bowl in the dishwasher and opens the fridge again, coming back to the table with a bag of baby carrots.
Remy smiles at her. "Sometimes I think you must be part rabbit, cherie."
She grins back at him and nibbles a carrot deliberately.
"Mon petit lapin," he says fondly.
After she's done eating, he leads her back up to their room. She doesn't protest—for all she'd claimed to be fine earlier, the last twenty-four hours had certainly taken their toll on her.
"Y'want to watch a movie?" he asks.
"Okay," she says. She sets up her laptop and they curl up in bed and watch Empire Records, which Nori can practically recite from memory.
"We mustn't dwell, no, not today. We can't! Not on Rex Manning Day!" she says along with the movie. It's a line she's fond of quoting. The first time she'd said that to him, he'd asked if Rex Manning Day was a holiday he hadn't heard of. "It totally should be a holiday," she'd replied, and shortly thereafter had persuaded him to watch the movie with her.
She falls asleep before the end of the movie. Remy listens to her breathe and watches the DVD menu loop. Finally, he gets too annoyed to bear it any longer and he carefully leans forward to turn it off. Nori sighs, but doesn't really wake up. He strokes her hair and settles on the couch to read a magazine. But instead, he finds himself daydreaming about earlier that day, when Nori had unconsciously entered his mind and given him a little Greatest Hits album of their relationship. He loves the quirky, sweet woman more than he could have imagined. He thinks of Scott, of Logan, mourning their lost lovers, and feels a swell of… fear, of protectiveness, of love. His girl might have a few scars, physical and emotional, but she is alive and not ten feet away from him and wearing his ring. He's reflecting about what a lucky man he is when there's a knock at the door.