Chapter 35
OK guys, chapter 35 is up! Sorry, I actually lied in my last post... well I didn't lie but made a mistake, there are now three more chapters to follow this chapter, before the story is finally finished... but they are as yet unwritten, so please bare with me! Enjoy, and as usual please REVIEW! Thanks!
"Heart surgery?" Charles Xavier exclaimed gravely, sitting at his desk, hands clasped thoughtfully together out in front of him, a short while later.
Hank sat in an old armchair, it's upholstery worn threadbare through the years and covered in patches of mix matched material, as he explained solemnly to his old friend, and Scott, who sat perched precariously on the edge of the Professor's desk, the outcome of Logan's latest batch of tests, and his conclusion based on their findings, regarding his condition.
"Are things really that serious?" The Professor asked.
Scott held hid head in his hands. "We had no idea… if only we'd realised he was so sick!" He faltered, one harsh with self loathing. He'd initially attended the small meeting not only as a friend of Logan's but as a representative for the rest of the staff, and the other X-Men, including Jean and Storm, who found themselves unable to draw themselves away from the Institute's students for too long, who were all understandably still quite shaken by the events of the last couple of weeks.
"I know that me and Logan haven't exactly seen eye to eye over the past couple of years," Scott continued solemnly, "we haven't exactly been the best of friend's either, but for something like this to happen…" He faltered, and with this he looked instinctively from the Professor to Hank for support, his expression representative of a soul torn by conflict; guilt, self blame and regret all registered upon his warn face. Failing to find any false comfort or source of reassurance in their eyes however he settled for gazing out of the window, gravely out at the grounds below, with a heavy sigh.
"You have nothing to reproach yourself with Scott." Hank explained comfortingly at this, getting to his feet and making his way over to sit in the seat adjacent to Xavier's old mahogany desk, and bringing himself in closer proximity to the rest of the small group. "Nobody could have known how ill he really was." He continued. "The nature of his mutation masked many of the major and more common symptoms, and he concealed the rest very well. I don't think even Logan himself realised just how ill he was. But it's really not as bad as it could be, and believe me it could have been a lot worse."
"Well, what are the risks?" Xavier asked.
The fuzzy blue mutant faltered. "Well, as you know, any form of surgery carries with it certain risks, and with heart surgery the risks of complications are usually doubled." He explained. "But I think he's now strong enough to withstand this operation with only minimal risk to himself. I wouldn't have advised it otherwise."
Professor Xavier nodded.
"I know that Hank." He smiled. "We're all exceptionally grateful to you for everything you've done for Logan."
Hank shook his head at this however, holding up one large palm to stifle his friend's words. "Don't mention it Charles. You know I'm always here for friends in need. I'm just glad that I could help."
"How's he holding up?" Xavier asked, leaning forward, both elbows resting against the desk thoughtfully, and fingers clasped together loosely in front of him.
Hank smiled. "He's scared, understandably so." He explained. "But he's putting a brave face on things. The antibiotics I've given him have already started to take effect, so he's beginning to feel a little better, and he's not in pain anymore, which can only be a good sign. I think there's every indication that once we get the chest tube in and drain some of the fluid away from his chest, which is causing such a restriction to his breathing at the moment, he'll begin to feel a lot better."
There was a long pause, filled by silence, and the only sound coming from the over zealous student, playing somewhere in the distance, outside the window in the grounds below, as all three of the small gathering did their best to get their heads around the situation.
Both Scott and Xavier found themselves needing a brief moment to absorb what Hank had just told them, and to allow this new and quite startling revelation to sink in. Hank meanwhile found his mind subconsciously wondering and drifting towards thoughts of the procedure ahead, however there was something more pressing preying upon his mind, creeping in through the back door, and filtering its way into his conscious, plaguing each one of there carefully calculated and mapped out thoughts with worry.
This current state of events seemed to be affecting Jean more than anyone, and Logan was clearly beginning to worry about the way things seemed to be affecting her, which couldn't be helping his state of health.
Suddenly Scott cut in however, disrupting his chain of thought.
"So where do we go from here?" He asked, concerned.
Hank faltered – brain slightly muddled by it's brief lack of spatial awareness for a moment – before finding his train of thought again.
"Well," He sighed. "As I explained to Logan earlier I don't want to do anything too invasive for the next couple of days, his body still needs a chance to recover, and rest before I'd recommend any form of surgical procedure, but I'll review his condition in the next couple of days." Before turning back to the Professor. "By the way, do you know where Jean is?" He asked. "I'd like a word with her."
"I believe she was planning on overseeing an advanced danger room session with some of the upper school this evening." Charles explained to his old friend, looking at his watch at this to confirm the time as he did so. "But it's almost dinner time, so she should be in the dining room by now."
Hank got to his feet. "Thank you Charles." He smiled his thanks, nodding pleasantly in Scott's direction, acknowledging his presence with a slight frown of concern upon his face as he dismissed himself quietly from the small group.
The young man looked tired and somewhat dejected – considering there'd previously been no love lost between the two of them Logan's illness appeared to have shaken Scott pretty badly.
Hank just presumed that it had made them all reflect upon their own mortality more closely over the past couple of weeks – he'd seen it before in many of his own kind, some mutants seemed to believe that having the special powers they possessed made them immortal, untouchable, when really all it did was make them different.
Logan was the closest he'd ever come to seeing anyone for whom it genuinely seemed that living an immortal life wasn't completely outside of the realms of possibility, and now this recent incident had resulted in even him having to re-evaluate his own preconceptions.
Logan had been the only constant in Jeans so far unstable and inconsistent life… it was why Hank believed she'd latched onto him with such vivacious curiosity during which time Xavier had written to Hank and told him that Logan had first turned up at the mansion, when she'd previously been so happily involved with Scott. But from that natural curiosity the love between them had eventually blossomed, much deeper and more meaningful than anything she'd ever experienced in her life before, and Hank got the impression that she might need an understanding shoulder to cry on before their ordeal was finally over yet.