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The Nightengale: Chapter 6
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By late afternoon, Jean walked into Logan's room cheerfully, carrying a tray of food with an extra setting. She eyed Logan, noticing he remained asleep. With what had happened earlier with nurse Ratched in the therapy room, Jean could understand that he was very tired, and she let him rest longer than usual.
She set up the tray on the table beside the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. Jean leaned back against the chair and picked up a magazine under the table for something to do. She couldn't help listening to Logan's loud snoring, a small smile creeping up on her lips.
Logan grumbled softly and turned his head to the side, opening his eyes. He yawned, looking at Jean, but didn't bother sitting up or saying anything.
"Hey." Jean smiled, setting her magazine off to the side. She grabbed the tray off the table, setting it on her lap. "I brought dinner up here. I didn't think you'd feel like going to the cafeteria tonight."
Logan eyed the tray with a raised eyebrow. "How come there's two plates?" He grumbled, finally starting to sit up.
Jean's eyes sparkled as she gave Logan a friendly smile. "I thought I'd share the meal with you." She shrugged, teasing him and started to get up. "But if you'd prefer to be alone, I'll just go eat in the cafeteria by myself..."
Logan rolled his eyes and sighed as if he was annoyed. Which he wasn't, he somewhat enjoyed Jean's playful moods, as long as he wasn't in a terribly bad mood himself. "Siddown Jean."
Jean grinned, showing off her sparkly whites in a goofy manner. She handed Logan his plate and he eye the mushy-looking meatloaf with a disgusted look on his face. As if Jean had read his mind, she watched him look up at her and said, "Well it was either that or lasagna, and I know how much you hate the hospital's lasagna."
Logan let out a soft chuckle and took a bite of the mystery meat.
Jean smirked, thinking to herself how nice it was to almost get a laugh out of him. They then continued their meals in a comfortable silence, sneaking glances at one another without each of them knowing.
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Jean and Logan began some small conversation, despite Logan's refusals, after eating. Jean had told him that it was better he continued to practice communicating, although he'd mentioned never really being much of a conversationalist. Jean just laughed and continued gabbing.
Suddenly Rogue burst into the room, bawling her eyes out. "Jean!" She cried out, looking to her friend for comfort.
Jean was surprised by Rogue's sudden intrusion, but looked to help her friend. "What is it Rogue?! What's the matter??"
Rogue crumbled to the floor, kneeling beside Jean's chair and began pouring her heart out.
Logan watched in somewhat concerned confusion. All he could hear was the empty hum of white noise. He tried to catch what Rogue was saying, but she spoke so fast and it was mainly mumbled. Logan seemed to catch the brunt of the conversation, and from what he understood...Bobby was dead.
Bobby was the young man Rogue had become quite attached to. Logan only remembered talking to the kid once or twice, not really about anything imparticular. The kid talked a mile a minute and it was hard for him to understand. He recalled Jean gossiping about things between Rogue and Bobby, and then when the kid decided to go back into the war. Rogue was upset at first, but then she was alright when she talked to Jean, mainly because Bobby had promised to marry her when he got back. Well, it was something like that anyway, Logan didn't always pay attention to Jean's gossip as much as she thought he did. Now the kid was dead? It was a terrible thing to happen and Logan felt sorry for Rogue.
Jean had tears running down her cheek as she hugged Rogue in a effort to comfort her. "I'm sorry Rogue...I'm so, so, sorry." She sniffled, gently pulling Rogue away.
Rogue's young face looked ten times older with her puffy red, tear stained cheeks, and bloodshot eyes. The tears still whelled up in her eyes as she tried to wipe them away, sniffling furiously.
Logan didn't know what else to do, so he just sat on his bed in silence. He didn't really know what to do in this kind of situation. He couldn't just use violence or shouting, or even a smart remark to make it go away. Logan refused his brain's command to keep his mouth shut when he had the urge to comfort the young girl. "I-I'm sorry Rogue."
Logan's gruff, unexpected voice broke the tears and muffled whimpers between Rogue and Jean. Rogue looked toward Logan, wiping her eyes. "Thank you Logan."
Jean was surprised by Logan's unusual compassion, but this just made her feelings for him even stronger. The fact that he could just forget about everything in that moment and focus on making Rogue feel a little reassured, totally blew her away. Logan didn't even know Rogue well, or Bobby. He basically knew what Jean had told him about the two.
Jean stood up, helping Rogue shakily to her feet. She looked toward Logan, the look in her eyes telling him that she had to leave for the moment. Logan merely nodded and Jean helped Rogue out of the room.
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Hours passed by and Jean hadn't returned. Logan figured she needed some time, from what he knew, she didn't really know Bobby that well either, but death was a terrible burden to bear and Jean was very empathic about things like that. She was probably spending some time with Rogue too, to calm her down.
Logan began getting restless. It was around 1a.m. and sleep seemed just out of his reach. He wanted to sleep, but all he could think about was Jean, incidently.
Finally giving up and letting insomnia get the better of him, Logan eased himself to a sitting position and carefully reached for the wheelchair beside his bed. His inner ear was still screwed up, keeping him off balance, and his leg felt like it was on fire when he put just a little pressure on it. Logan shakily got into the chair after almost falling over, and started to slowly wheel himself out of his room.
The hallways were like a ghost town as he wheeled out there. Being as late as it was, none of the nurses were around and there were no security guards in this hospital anyway. The nurses having the late shift got to leave their posts at midnight, and that was atleast an hour ago.
The wheelchair creaked softly as Logan made his way through the halls, but he couldn't hear it anyway. This added to the eerieness of everything. It was so quiet, so...still and lifeless.
Rounding the corner slowly, Logan thought he saw something at the end of the dark hallway. He got curious and quickened his pace slightly, going toward the dim light that entered a room. As he got closer and took a better look at the seemingly empty room, he noticed a small figure huddled by the window.
Logan wheeled into the room a bit slower, glancing at the figure but not saying anything. He suddenly realized who it was...Rogue. He guessed that she was crying because of her slight quivering, but he couldn't hear anything so it was unsure.
Rogue suddenly shot a glare to behind her where Logan was. She jumped, startled by his presence. "Oh!" She sniffled, wiping away her tears. "Logan, yah startled me."
"Sorry." Logan tried to say it softly, but couldn't tell if he was being quiet, or too silent to be heard.
Rogue gave him a tight smile and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "It's ahlright. What're yah doing up so late?"
Logan shrugged, glancing off to the side. He cleared his scratchy throat. "Couldn't sleep I guess." He knew she was there crying about Bobby, but the thought about actually talking to her about it hadn't really crossed his mind. It was a touchy subject and Logan didn't really even know how to go about comforting her on the matter, so he just chose not to pick up on that.
Rogue nodded, sniffling again and obviously fighting back tears.
Logan rolled his shoulders back, making them pop.
Rogue scrunched up her face. "Ouch."
He furrowed his brows. "What?" Logan didn't realize the loud popping sound that had come from his cracking shoulders.
"Yah shouldn't crack your shoulders like that."
Logan shrugged, half rolling his eyes.
Rogue turned her back toward Logan suddenly, looking out the window.
"Rogue?" Logan asked as softly as he could manage without whispering.
Rogue turned back to face him, realizing she wouldn't be able to communicate otherwise. "Jean went back to her room, she....she was pretty worn out I guess." She bit her lower lip in an effort not to shed any tears or get too emotional.
Logan knew that Rogue meant emotionally worn out, not physically. He also knew that Rogue seemed worn out in the same way. He nodded.
Rogue smiled wanly. She knew Logan was just trying to be kind, an effort that was not completely fruitless. She saw him starting to doze off and gently tapped on his chair so he'd look at her. "C'mon, I'll take yah back to your room."
Logan gave in, feeling that it would probably be better for Rogue to get her mind off things, or atleast keep herself busy in some way.
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As Rogue was leaving Logan's room, he called back to her. "Hey, Rogue."
Rogue turned, wiping the hair away from her face. "Yeah?"
Logan grunted, not knowing what to say. "You gonna be okay?"
The young girl smiled tightly and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Logan lay against his pillows, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. He wondered if Rogue was really alright, if she was going to go to her room and sleep, or go back to the end of the hall and cry her eyes out. Logan hoped she would be able to get over Bobby's death. He didn't want her to end up like him, left brooding and angry. Rogue was a spirited young woman, with a sparkle that Logan hoped would never fade in her eyes. He eventually overcame the insomnia, closed his eyes, and was able to fall asleep.
The Nightengale: Chapter 6
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By late afternoon, Jean walked into Logan's room cheerfully, carrying a tray of food with an extra setting. She eyed Logan, noticing he remained asleep. With what had happened earlier with nurse Ratched in the therapy room, Jean could understand that he was very tired, and she let him rest longer than usual.
She set up the tray on the table beside the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. Jean leaned back against the chair and picked up a magazine under the table for something to do. She couldn't help listening to Logan's loud snoring, a small smile creeping up on her lips.
Logan grumbled softly and turned his head to the side, opening his eyes. He yawned, looking at Jean, but didn't bother sitting up or saying anything.
"Hey." Jean smiled, setting her magazine off to the side. She grabbed the tray off the table, setting it on her lap. "I brought dinner up here. I didn't think you'd feel like going to the cafeteria tonight."
Logan eyed the tray with a raised eyebrow. "How come there's two plates?" He grumbled, finally starting to sit up.
Jean's eyes sparkled as she gave Logan a friendly smile. "I thought I'd share the meal with you." She shrugged, teasing him and started to get up. "But if you'd prefer to be alone, I'll just go eat in the cafeteria by myself..."
Logan rolled his eyes and sighed as if he was annoyed. Which he wasn't, he somewhat enjoyed Jean's playful moods, as long as he wasn't in a terribly bad mood himself. "Siddown Jean."
Jean grinned, showing off her sparkly whites in a goofy manner. She handed Logan his plate and he eye the mushy-looking meatloaf with a disgusted look on his face. As if Jean had read his mind, she watched him look up at her and said, "Well it was either that or lasagna, and I know how much you hate the hospital's lasagna."
Logan let out a soft chuckle and took a bite of the mystery meat.
Jean smirked, thinking to herself how nice it was to almost get a laugh out of him. They then continued their meals in a comfortable silence, sneaking glances at one another without each of them knowing.
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Jean and Logan began some small conversation, despite Logan's refusals, after eating. Jean had told him that it was better he continued to practice communicating, although he'd mentioned never really being much of a conversationalist. Jean just laughed and continued gabbing.
Suddenly Rogue burst into the room, bawling her eyes out. "Jean!" She cried out, looking to her friend for comfort.
Jean was surprised by Rogue's sudden intrusion, but looked to help her friend. "What is it Rogue?! What's the matter??"
Rogue crumbled to the floor, kneeling beside Jean's chair and began pouring her heart out.
Logan watched in somewhat concerned confusion. All he could hear was the empty hum of white noise. He tried to catch what Rogue was saying, but she spoke so fast and it was mainly mumbled. Logan seemed to catch the brunt of the conversation, and from what he understood...Bobby was dead.
Bobby was the young man Rogue had become quite attached to. Logan only remembered talking to the kid once or twice, not really about anything imparticular. The kid talked a mile a minute and it was hard for him to understand. He recalled Jean gossiping about things between Rogue and Bobby, and then when the kid decided to go back into the war. Rogue was upset at first, but then she was alright when she talked to Jean, mainly because Bobby had promised to marry her when he got back. Well, it was something like that anyway, Logan didn't always pay attention to Jean's gossip as much as she thought he did. Now the kid was dead? It was a terrible thing to happen and Logan felt sorry for Rogue.
Jean had tears running down her cheek as she hugged Rogue in a effort to comfort her. "I'm sorry Rogue...I'm so, so, sorry." She sniffled, gently pulling Rogue away.
Rogue's young face looked ten times older with her puffy red, tear stained cheeks, and bloodshot eyes. The tears still whelled up in her eyes as she tried to wipe them away, sniffling furiously.
Logan didn't know what else to do, so he just sat on his bed in silence. He didn't really know what to do in this kind of situation. He couldn't just use violence or shouting, or even a smart remark to make it go away. Logan refused his brain's command to keep his mouth shut when he had the urge to comfort the young girl. "I-I'm sorry Rogue."
Logan's gruff, unexpected voice broke the tears and muffled whimpers between Rogue and Jean. Rogue looked toward Logan, wiping her eyes. "Thank you Logan."
Jean was surprised by Logan's unusual compassion, but this just made her feelings for him even stronger. The fact that he could just forget about everything in that moment and focus on making Rogue feel a little reassured, totally blew her away. Logan didn't even know Rogue well, or Bobby. He basically knew what Jean had told him about the two.
Jean stood up, helping Rogue shakily to her feet. She looked toward Logan, the look in her eyes telling him that she had to leave for the moment. Logan merely nodded and Jean helped Rogue out of the room.
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Hours passed by and Jean hadn't returned. Logan figured she needed some time, from what he knew, she didn't really know Bobby that well either, but death was a terrible burden to bear and Jean was very empathic about things like that. She was probably spending some time with Rogue too, to calm her down.
Logan began getting restless. It was around 1a.m. and sleep seemed just out of his reach. He wanted to sleep, but all he could think about was Jean, incidently.
Finally giving up and letting insomnia get the better of him, Logan eased himself to a sitting position and carefully reached for the wheelchair beside his bed. His inner ear was still screwed up, keeping him off balance, and his leg felt like it was on fire when he put just a little pressure on it. Logan shakily got into the chair after almost falling over, and started to slowly wheel himself out of his room.
The hallways were like a ghost town as he wheeled out there. Being as late as it was, none of the nurses were around and there were no security guards in this hospital anyway. The nurses having the late shift got to leave their posts at midnight, and that was atleast an hour ago.
The wheelchair creaked softly as Logan made his way through the halls, but he couldn't hear it anyway. This added to the eerieness of everything. It was so quiet, so...still and lifeless.
Rounding the corner slowly, Logan thought he saw something at the end of the dark hallway. He got curious and quickened his pace slightly, going toward the dim light that entered a room. As he got closer and took a better look at the seemingly empty room, he noticed a small figure huddled by the window.
Logan wheeled into the room a bit slower, glancing at the figure but not saying anything. He suddenly realized who it was...Rogue. He guessed that she was crying because of her slight quivering, but he couldn't hear anything so it was unsure.
Rogue suddenly shot a glare to behind her where Logan was. She jumped, startled by his presence. "Oh!" She sniffled, wiping away her tears. "Logan, yah startled me."
"Sorry." Logan tried to say it softly, but couldn't tell if he was being quiet, or too silent to be heard.
Rogue gave him a tight smile and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "It's ahlright. What're yah doing up so late?"
Logan shrugged, glancing off to the side. He cleared his scratchy throat. "Couldn't sleep I guess." He knew she was there crying about Bobby, but the thought about actually talking to her about it hadn't really crossed his mind. It was a touchy subject and Logan didn't really even know how to go about comforting her on the matter, so he just chose not to pick up on that.
Rogue nodded, sniffling again and obviously fighting back tears.
Logan rolled his shoulders back, making them pop.
Rogue scrunched up her face. "Ouch."
He furrowed his brows. "What?" Logan didn't realize the loud popping sound that had come from his cracking shoulders.
"Yah shouldn't crack your shoulders like that."
Logan shrugged, half rolling his eyes.
Rogue turned her back toward Logan suddenly, looking out the window.
"Rogue?" Logan asked as softly as he could manage without whispering.
Rogue turned back to face him, realizing she wouldn't be able to communicate otherwise. "Jean went back to her room, she....she was pretty worn out I guess." She bit her lower lip in an effort not to shed any tears or get too emotional.
Logan knew that Rogue meant emotionally worn out, not physically. He also knew that Rogue seemed worn out in the same way. He nodded.
Rogue smiled wanly. She knew Logan was just trying to be kind, an effort that was not completely fruitless. She saw him starting to doze off and gently tapped on his chair so he'd look at her. "C'mon, I'll take yah back to your room."
Logan gave in, feeling that it would probably be better for Rogue to get her mind off things, or atleast keep herself busy in some way.
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As Rogue was leaving Logan's room, he called back to her. "Hey, Rogue."
Rogue turned, wiping the hair away from her face. "Yeah?"
Logan grunted, not knowing what to say. "You gonna be okay?"
The young girl smiled tightly and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Logan lay against his pillows, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. He wondered if Rogue was really alright, if she was going to go to her room and sleep, or go back to the end of the hall and cry her eyes out. Logan hoped she would be able to get over Bobby's death. He didn't want her to end up like him, left brooding and angry. Rogue was a spirited young woman, with a sparkle that Logan hoped would never fade in her eyes. He eventually overcame the insomnia, closed his eyes, and was able to fall asleep.