Chapter 12- Retrieving Memories Prt. III
Charles refused to leave his daughter's bedside the whole time she was under. He had one hand on her wrist and the other on her forehead, gently rubbing her forehead with his fingers. On the second day, the door opened revealing Raven, Hank, and Erik. "Hello, Charles," Erik said.
"Hello, old friend. What brings you here?" Charles asked, his eyes on his daughter's still face.
"I came to see Peter and Raven told me that Amanda had come back and what had to be done to her," Erik said, sitting on the other side of Amanda's bed.
"Yes. I regret that we had to drug her, but it was necessary. I will have my daughter back," Charles said, raising Amanda's limp hand to his lips and kissing the palm gently.
"She doesn't remember anything?" Erik asked.
"No. A few memories here and there, but none that could help. The damage that Stryker forced on her was extensive. Hank and Dr. Nicholls hope that the antidote will repair it. We should see some results in two or three hours when the antidote has run it's course," Charles said.
Erik looked down and noticed the necklace around Amanda's neck. "She's been raised Jewish. She's wearing a Star of David," Erik said.
"Yes. I gave that to her on the day of her bat mitzvah," Nicholls said, a bowl of broth in his hands.
"Erik, this is Jackson Nicholls. He's been taking care of Amanda all this time," Charles said as Nicholls laid the bowl on the night table and stuck an eyedropper in the liquid.
"You kidnapped her?" Erik asked, his expression getting angry.
"I make no excuses for what I did, Mr. Lehnsherr. I thought like William Stryker when it came to mutants. But the look on her face when I hurt her. I had to get her away from him. He would have torn her apart and used her as a weapon against anyone who was a mutant, even her own father. It doesn't excuse what I did for my part in taking her, but I hope you and your wife can forgive me," Jackson said as he forced Amanda's mouth open and squirted the liquid into her mouth.
"I have and I do understand. You kept my daughter safe. I just feel terrible that we have to hurt her again to bring her memories back," Charles said.
"She'll understand and forgive us. One thing can be said for her, she doesn't hold a grudge. She was angry because I wouldn't let her join the girls' basketball team, but she wasn't angry long," Jack said, picking up a napkin and wiping some of the broth off her face.
"You have a problem with basketball?" Erik asked.
"None whatsoever. I played, but the reasons I gave her was she could unintentionally hurt someone with her powers and the games are on Friday nights at the school. I wasn't Jewish when I played with Shabbat commitments. She is. Shabbat starts on Friday at sundown," Jackson said.
A slight groan got all of their attentions. Amanda's eyes opened slowly, blinking. "Amanda?" Charles asked, stroking her forehead gently.
"Daddy?" Amanda asked, causing Charles's heart to leap.
"Yes, I am here, sweet," Charles said, gently raising her hand to his lips.
"My head hurts, Daddy. Too much information," Amanda said, swallowing as she closed her eyes.
"Xavier, we have to keep her awake. Sass, I know it hurts, but stay awake," Jackson said, lightly running his hand over Amanda's face. Amanda opened her eyes again.
"Abba?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, I'm here too. Stay awake, Sass. All right, what is the earliest memory you have?" Jackson asked. Amanda wrinkled her forehead in concentration.
"Having a tea party with Jean, Ororo, and Aunt Raven and I think that night, Daddy read me "The Once and Future King," I think," Amanda said with a soft groan.
"That is correct, love," Charles said.
"Anything else?" Jackson asked. Amanda looked over at Erik.
"Hi, Uncle Erik. Uncle Erik has a tattoo on his forearm that he got in a Nazi concentration camp during the second world war. There he was a lab rat because he can bend metal," Amanda said.
"Is she correct, Lehnsherr?" Jackson asked.
"She is correct. Amanda, you know what this is?" Erik asked, baring his arm to reveal the Nazi identification number.
"Unfortunately I do, Uncle Erik. I'm a Jew, raised in the values of my people. Every Jew on the planet is raised knowing the stories of the Holocaust. "The Diary of Anne Frank" is one of my favorite books other than the Torah and the Tanakh," Amanda said.
"You've read "Anne Frank?" Erik asked.
"Uh-uh. I was twelve when I read it the first time. Some girls told me about it at a swimming pool that summer and I got interested. When I went back to school that fall, I checked out a book about it and then my teacher did a whole study about the Holocaust," Amanda said. (A/N: Actually half of this happened to me. I was twelve when I got interested in the Holocaust because I had gone swimming and some girls from an army base in South Carolina told me the story and I checked out a biography about Anne when school started and then bought my first copy of the diary. I have read it quite a few times since then and seen movies and specials about Anne. And my sister was the one whose teacher did a study on it in the 6th grade.)
Amanda groaned, moving her hand to her forehead. Charles squeezed her fingers lightly. "it's all right, love. It's all right," Charles said as Moira, David and Naomi came in.
"How is she?" Moira asked.
"Mama?" Amanda asked with a whimper as she fixed her glassy eyes on Moira. Moira came to Amanda's side and gently picked her up, hugging her tightly and running her fingers through Amanda's hair.
"My baby," Moira said, kissing Amanda through her hair. Amanda then fell into a deep sleep, going completely limp in her mother's arms.
"I think that is all that can be done for right now. She needs to sleep. A lot of the damage has been repaired. She needs to sleep and let the antidote complete the rest of the healing," Jackson said.
"And how long is that, Dr. Nicholls?" Moira asked as she laid Amanda back on her pillows.
"It could go for as little as two or three hours to two or three weeks. Her mutant genetics are just way too complicated. But at least we saw some progress. She remembers you, your husband, and Erik Lehnsherr," Jackson said as another vigil by Amanda's bed started.