Hey guys! I just felt like updating. So, here's an update! :D
I want to thank ZabuzasGirl, KimKitty, and GuestD(guest), for reviewing! :D
To KimKitty: Hi! Thank you for your feedback. :) I wasn't offended by your review at all! I'm actually glad that you gave me your honest opinion. Thank you for that! Truthfully, by the end of the vacation, I was getting kind of impatient writing. I wanted Hank to be back in the chapters, interacting with Jillian, and I think that reflected on my writing, haha. :p Anyway, thank you again for your review! :) I hope you enjoy this chapter.
I appreciate you guys! Thank you all for sticking with me. :)
~Here's Chapter 37!~
Chapter 37:
I rubbed my eyes, sighing when a sign reading 'OHIO' popped into my field of vision. I was hungry, incredibly sleepy, and wanted a break, but McCoy was still sound asleep in the passenger's seat. I glanced over at him. It was dark in the cab, but I could still see his face, barely illuminated by the lights on the dash. Mom always said that people looked younger - more innocent - as they slept. I didn't believe her for a while, not until I saw Sam sleeping when we were at my house. I never thought I'd see the day when Samuel Leonard Sinclair looked innocent. I guess Mama was right.
McCoy did seem a few years younger. His face wasn't creased with worry, and he didn't have his jaw partially clenched, like it always was when he was awake. He seemed at ease, and this was probably the first time I'd ever seen him look relaxed. He did have a stressful job, after all.. I doubted he ever got a moment to himself to relax.
I heard him suck in air, before releasing a low, husky groan. I clenched my hand on the steering wheel.
'Stop that.. Stop that.. Stop that..' I silently told my lower abdomen. 'That's inappropriate.'
"Jillian..?" He felt like Chris did when he first woke up - confused and hungry.
"Good morning." I said softly. "There's a rest stop up ahead. I need to pee like a racehorse."
"I need to use the restroom as well.." He grumbled. I felt him tense, shock crossing his frame. "..Jillian, are you all right?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, pulling into the rest stop.
"..Never mind." He shook his head, rolling down the window a little. I bit down on the lower lip and parked. He was up and out of the car before I'd ever shut off the engine. I pursed my lips, remembering his words from the night before.
/'He fights for control every damn time I see you..'/
Maybe I was pissing Beast off again. I bounced my leg, ignoring the pressure in my bladder.
"Hurry up, Henry, I need to pee.."
I saw two men enter the men's bathroom. Two minutes later, Henry still hadn't left, and it was getting painful.
"Fuck waiting." I hissed, grabbing the keys and making a man dash for the women's restroom.
He checked the stalls, before entering the largest one and locking the door behind him. He held his breath, but the stagnant smell of urine still managed to enter his nostrils. He gagged slightly, unzipping his pants with lightening speed so he could do his business.
He opened his eyes, glancing up at the ceiling. Someone, probably many someone's, had vandalized almost every inch of it. Various etchings in the wood, accompanied by words written in faded sharpies of an array of colors. He finished his business, and flushed. remembering that he had hand sanitizer in the car, and went to unlock the stall and run out of the god awful public restroom.
Creeeeeeeek...
He froze inches from the latch.
"So, Ah tells him, Ah says 'Listen, ya son of a bitch bastard. Ah Ain't gonna serve yer kind around here, so get yer mutie ass outta my bar!'."
"Good one, Tim." Chuckled a higher-pitched male voice. "Those things have no right breathin' in our good air."
"damn straight. Good thing that one ain't breathin' no more."
Henry's eyes narrowed, his heart thudding hard in his chest. These men were F.O.H., and they'd killed someone. Someone that just so happened to be a mutant. He silently backed away from the stall door. He didn't want an incident. He just wanted to get on his merry way.
"Hold up, man, I gotta drop one."
"Shit. Hurry the fuck up, General Fredrickson ain't waitin' ferever, ya know."
He heard footsteps approach the stall he was standing in.
'Oh, please, no..'
The door rattled. The hick paused.
"The fuck?"
"Maybe it's broken, man."
"Bull shit, nobody would've locked the door then." He rattled it again. "Someone in there?"
"Occupied." Henry said quickly. "Sorry, man."
"S'okay, Ah'll wait."
Henry swore under his breath.
"Uh.. It's probably going to be while.. Mexican food." He lied.
"Ah can't use the other stall. Ah hate closed spaces. Just hurry up, man."
He weighed his options, but right as he was about to say something, the man's friend spoke up.
"What about the chick's bathroom? That one woman was in that SUV. I don't think she's using it."
"Hey, that's a good idea. Never mind, man." He heard them start to walk off. His heart picked up speed. He knew Jillian had needed to use to restroom as well, and he could tell that those two weren't the kind to leave a pretty woman alone.
"Wait, man, I'm done." Henry flushed the toilet and unlocked the stall.
I shivered. Really, did they have to keep public restrooms at freezing temperatures? Jesus..
I finished and pulled up my pants, before flushing the metal toilet with my foot. No way was I touching that. After unlocking the stall, I walked over to the sinks and began washing my hands.
"What the fuck is this?!"
I tensed, raising my head to look at the wall that separated the men and women's bathrooms.
" I apologize. I am finished now, so you can-"
"-Ah ain't usin no damn toilet that ya put yer blue ass on!"
My stomach churned uneasily, and I listened with rapt attention.
"Then you may use the smaller stall. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone waiting for me."
"You kidnap that hot chick in the SUV?"
My eyes went wide. Oh, shit, this was going to get bad, and fast.
"No. She's a friend of mine. Now, please let me by."
"Ya ain't goin' nowhere."
I whirled around and ran out of the women's bathroom, rounding the building, intent on bursting into the men's bathroom, when-
BOOM!
The sound of a gunshot pierced through my ears. I stopped running, frozen on the spot. Was this really happening?
I heard the bathroom door slam open. I readied myself for the redneck bastard, but paused when a familiar blue man ran out.
"GET IN THE CAR!" He shouted at me. I saw red running down his right arm.
"Henry!"
"GO!"
I turned and ran, unlocking the SUV. I leapt into the driver's seat, starting the engine as Henry flung himself into the passenger's seat.
"Drive!"
I threw it into reverse right as the two rednecks ran out of the bathroom. Henry slammed his door shut, and I floored it out of the rest stop. In the rear view mirror, I saw the two men getting into their jacked up Toyota. My blood ran cold as they started to follow us.
The highway was void of any other cars, so I kept my foot on the gas and accelerated to almost 100mph, before checking the rear view mirror. The sound of Henry wincing made me jump.
I looked over at him.
"Oh, my God." I stared at the blood pouring from the wound on his right shoulder. "Henry, is there anything I can-?"
"-Drive, just drive." His voice was tense and harsh. I tore my gaze from him, focusing on the road.
"Did the bullet hit anything?" I asked, punching the gas again.
"Just my shoulder." He spat in a snide tone. I glared at him.
"Bone. Did it shatter any bone?"
He went to move his right arm and hissed.
"Yeah, it did."
"We need to stop, I need to look at it." I checked the rear-view mirrors again. They were speeding up.
"No, just keep driving." He ordered.
"You're bleeding profusely. I need to see how bad it is."
"It's pretty bad."
"Stop being a smartass! This is serious!" I white-knuckled the wheel.
"Jillian, focus on driving. Don't worry about me. I-" He stopped, clutching his shoulder. I looked at him, then the rear view mirror. They were only twenty feet away, and the one in the driver's seat was beginning to lean out of the window. My mind began whirring at a million miles an hour.
"Brace yourself." I commanded.
"What?" He glared at me. "Don't even - JILLIAN!"
I slammed on the breaks, straightening out so they'd hit us head on. I heard them scream.
WHAM!
The sound of crunching metal filled my ears as we jerked forward. I hit my head on the wheel, but recovered quick and slammed my foot down on the gas. The SUV sped forward. When I glanced in the rear-view mirror, I saw the driver had hit his head on the metal frame of the truck and was out cold, while his friend tried to shake him away.
I looked over at McCoy, who was clutching the dashboard with his claws, tearing into the material. His eyes were wide.
Silence.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't read his emotions, other than shock.
"..I'll pay for your car." I told him quietly as I pushed the SUV back up to 100mph. He turned his head and looked at me, his eyes dark. The sound he made next surprised me.
He was laughing.
My chest heaved as I glanced at him, then the road, then back at him.
"What's so funny?"
He just laughed harder. I started to worry. How much blood had he lost?
"Y-you're ins-sane!" He managed to get out between his chortles. I watched him laugh, then found myself unable to suppress the small chuckle that escaped my lips. Soon, we were both laughing hard. In fact, I was laughing so hard that I had to pull onto the side of the road. So, there we sat, laughing like lunatics, in a badly damaged car, both of us injured. Well, more Henry. He was shot, for Christ's sake.
We slowly stopped, chuckling here and there, before silence fell over the cab.
It took me a few minutes to register that my head hurt like a bitch, and something warm was running down the left side of my face in a thin stream. For that matter, there were warm streams running down both sides of my face. Oh. Those were tears. Well, some of it. I gently touched the left side of my forehead, by my hairline, and pulled my hand back to find that it was covered in slick blood.
"Jillian..?" His voice was filled with concern.
"I'm fine." I sniffled, wiping below my eyes.
"No, you're not. You're bleeding.."
"So are you." I coughed a little. "Do you have a first-aid kit in here?"
"I can grab it." He opened the door with his left hand. I touched his uninjured shoulder.
"Stop, I'll do it. Just breath."
His blue eyes searched mine, before he said:
"It's in the back.. Under the back seat."
"'Kay."
"Wait, Jillian." He grabbed my hand. Warmth traveled up the limb.
"Yeah?"
"Let's stop somewhere that isn't the highway. I really don't want another run-in with those cretins."
"But your arm-"
"-Can wait." He tilted his head. "Actually, your head is really bleeding."
"I'm fine. Let's just get out of here."
"I know a place, up ahead. I'll tell you where to turn."
Twenty minutes later, I was standing outside of the car, while Henry sat in the passenger seat, facing me. He'd started to take his sweater off, but stopped and stifled a moan of pain. I bit down on my lower lip, giving him an apologetic look.
"Let me help." I offered. I slowly helped remove his sweater, making sure not to bump or pull his right arm in any way.
"Damn. That was a new sweater.." He frowned, wincing again.
"It's started to heal." I commented, looking at the bullet wound.
"I could feel it. I'm surprised that it hasn't pushed the bullet out by now. I can feel it about half an inch, maybe 3/4 of an inch away from the surface."
"May I?" I asked after sanitizing my hands for the eighth time and pulling some gloves on. He nodded.
"Yeah. Sorry about the fur."
"Don't apologize, it's fine." I started reaching for the scalpel (seriously, who has a scalpel in a first-aid kit?), needing to cut open the wound a bit more to get to the bullet.
"I should really look at your head first.." He shied away, staring at the scalpel.
"Henry, look at me." I ordered. He did. "This is going to hurt."
"Jillian- AGH!"
"Stay still." I said. He gritted his teeth.
"Give a guy a little warning next time!" He hissed between them.
"I did. I told you it was going to hurt. Now sit still. Grab my waist and squeeze or something."
His left hand immediately clasped roughly onto my waist. I grabbed the thin medical pliers.
"Please don't break me." I joked. He just glared at me. "Okay, not a good time to joke. But seriously." I gently pushed aside his blue fur, then wiped away some of the blood with a small gauze cloth. "Okay.. This is your warning."
"OW." He clenched his eyes shut. I couldn't find the bullet for almost a minute, until I gently tapped something that was definitely metal. I grabbed it with the pliers and slowly pulled it out. His hand clamped down on my waist, and I knew it was going to leave a bruise.
"Got it.." I said, dropping it onto a piece of gauze. "I'm sorry.."
"Don't be." He released a tense sigh. "It feels better now."
"Good. Should I put gauze in it or anything?"
"Maybe a little patch. It'll be healed within the next hour."
I wiped some of his blood off of the gloves and fashioned a small gauze patch. I checked the wound one last time, then gently placed the patch over it.
"There.. Would you like a sticker?" I joked. Henry rolled his eyes.
"Thank you, Jillian. Now, I need to take a look at your head." He said while standing.
For some reason, I'd completely forgotten that he was shirtless. Until he stood up, and my face was level with his upper chest.
Unable to stop myself, my eyes ran down his torso. He was hairy, and still a bit bloody, but, my lord, was the man magnificent! Oddly enough, his chest was actually bare. Well, not all of it, but from the bottom portion of his pectoral muscles(which were hard to not stare at), down to below his waistband, there was a naked patch of bare, lapis lazuli colored skin, which clung to well-developed(VERY well developed) abdominal muscles.
I'd known that Henry McCoy was strong, but I'd never actually known HOW strong. And I'd never seen him shirtless before. Sure, I'd thought about what he'd look like once or twice, but the mental image was nothing compared to the real thing. Nothing like him at all.
"Jillian?"
I snapped out of it, my head jerking up.
"What?"
"Your head?" My head.. Oh!
"Oh, right." I cleared my throat, well aware that an embarrassed blush now covered my cheeks.
"Sit down, please." I did as he asked. "Now, look up at me."
I peered up into his eyes, wincing when he pulled out a light and shined it into my eyes, checking my pupil reaction times.
"Hmm.. No concussion, that's good."
"Mmm." I hummed in agreement, glancing down as he pulled out a pair of gloves.
"Now, I don't think you're going to need stitches, but I just want to make sure. May I?"
"Mhm."
His fingertips lightly ran across the skin on my forehead, just underneath the now barely bleeding gash there.
"Does it hurt?"
"It's an open wound. Of course it hurts." I winced when he prodded at it. "Ow!"
"I apologize." He curled a finger underneath my chin, forcing my head up a little more. I gazed up into his eyes, watching the emotions flicker in and out of them, playing across the skin below and above them. His eyebrows would twitch on occasion, which I thought was kind of amusing.
I felt his hand leave my forehead.
"No, no stitches are needed." He announced. I continued to stare up at him.
"That's good."
"Indeed. I am going to put some gauze over the deepest part of it."
"M'kay." My voice was breathy. Oops. He immediately looked at me again.
"Jillian?"
"Mm?"
"Are you all right?"
I nodded.
"Tired." That was a lie. I think he knew that it was, too. I saw his eyes flicker away from my face.
"I will drive now. You're welcome to sleep."
"That sounds nice." I went to get up, but his arm caught me around the waist.
"I still need to put your gauze on." He chuckled, looking down at me.
"Oh, right." Wow, his arm felt nice.. And he was still very shirtless. Oh, my God. No, body, stop! That's inappropriate! Stop getting all light and tingly!
"Are you going to sit back down?" He questioned, eyebrow raised. I stayed in his grasp for a moment, before backing up and sitting down again. He leaned down and gently put the gauze patch on my forehead, his fingers lingering for a few moments longer than they needed to. "There you go.."
I reached out and touched his wrist, wrapping my fingers around it.
"Thank you."
His eyes darkened momentarily, filled with an emotion that was probably echoed in mine.
"Thank you." His voice was soft. "You saved my life."
I gave a little half-shrug.
"You would've done the same, had I been in trouble."
His eyes were like liquid sapphire. Jesus, I'd never realized how beautiful they were.
A few moments passed that seemed longer than they actually were. We stood there, almost touching, studying one another, before we both seemed to realize how close we were. His hand was actually on my waist, like he was afraid that I'd fall over or something. I was still holding his wrist. Henry cleared his throat, and I gave a little awkward cough as we both stepped away, releasing our grips on one another.
"..We should get going." He said.
"Yes, we should." I rubbed the back of my neck, glancing up at him. His face was purple. He was blushing? I felt my face. Oh.
"..I'm going to get back into the car." He announced.
"So am I."
Neither of us moved for a solid minute.
"..Yeah." He cleared his throat again, his hand on the back of his neck, before he quickly walked around the car. I rubbed my arms, nursing on my lower lip while I waited for my cheeks to stop burning, then slid into the car and shut the door behind me. Henry waited until I'd buckled, then drove back onto the street and headed for the highway.
I hate the F.O.H. Seriously. Augh.
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~OmegaPhaedra