Chapter Twenty:
The next morning, Henry and the Professor stepped out of the medical bay quietly as the door slid closed behind them. Henry smiled reassuringly to the three concerned faces in the hall, though he still looked perplexed by his new patient's condition. He had spent the night in the medical bay to monitor Mary's condition, should her violent symptoms reappear, but had found no medical cause for them.
"How is she?" Storm asked quickly.
"She's fine for now," Henry said, sounding frustrated, "She's sleeping. With anyone else, I would say she fainted, maybe a bit overwhelmed and exhausted by her trip today, but the Professor was explaining to me how her mutation seems to affect her in the same way. I'm afraid I won't know more until she wakes up. For now, her vitals and brain functions are normal...I think a nice long rest will do wonders. Although, I would like to examine her medical history, if we have received it..."
Scott shook his head, "No, not yet. We usually request it weeks before a candidate arrives but her decision to come was made so quickly...I'll try to have them faxed straight to us today or tomorrow."
Henry nodded, with an amused smile, "Or next week...or next month. Never can tell with the new confidentiality regulations regarding mutants..."
"In the meantime," Xavier said, "You need some rest yourself, Henry. Bobby or Rogue can monitor the girl until she wakes..."
Henry chuckled, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes at the top of his nose.
"Sounds like a good idea," he replied, "Besides, I have a cot set up in the lab's office...just in case of late night patients. As soon as Mary's up, I'll be up."
"Fine," Xavier said, "If you need any assistance, we'll be down the hall."
Henry nodded, and yawned widely before returning to the medical bay. Xavier sent a call to Rogue and Bobby to assist the doctor, before turning to others.
"Logan, do you have the video and papers from Colorado?" Xavier asked. Logan nodded and withdrew two parcels from his jacket. The video had been wrapped securely in a plastic bag to prevent the exposed tape from being damaged further and the recovered documents had been packed as neatly as possible in a large manila envelope.
"Let's go see what the computer can salvage from them," Xavier said, leading the others on to another unmarked silver door.
***
Rogue sat in the kitchen eating breakfast quietly after most of the other students had finished. She was studying from an advanced chemistry book, pausing every now and then to make a note or highlight a sentence from the text. It was not the most fascinating subject in the world, but she had an exam with Dr. McCoy next week and had been using every spare moment to prepare for it.
Bobby had volunteered to take the first watch over the new student, and Kitty and Jubilee refused to study on a weekend, so she was left to suffer alone. If it had not been for the donuts her friends had smuggled in for her, she would have been much more upset at having to spend such a beautiful morning stuck in a textbook. She sighed and considered taking her studies outside when Kurt appeared suddenly in the room.
She grinned as the smoke settled, noticing that he was still bundled up and hooded from his trip to church. Despite the dangers of being recognized as a mutant in public, Kurt still attended mass every Sunday, never letting the possible ridicule of a few keep him from his faithful practice.
He usually teleported back inside the mansion when he reached home, saving him the long trek up the driveway. Kitty laughed when Rogue questioned Kurt about that, saying they had evolved beyond the use of doors and walls, just as Logan had evolved beyond the use of a can opener. Rogue had been annoyed at Kitty's analogy, until she visualized Logan growling viciously at a stubborn can of tuna.
"Good morning," Kurt said cheerfully to her, pushing back his hood with a sigh of relief. With the days getting warmer, he was going to have to find a different disguise, or try attending church without one.
"Hey, Kurt," she said, "Powdered and chocolate covered here if you want one..."
He shook his head with mock sadness, "No, but thank you. I've given up dessert foods for Lent."
"Oh, sorry," Rogue replied, "I'll buy you a whole box for Easter to make up for it."
Kurt chuckled, then sat down and frowned curiously, "What are you reading?"
"Homework," Rogue sighed, "Tryin' to get some work in before takin' over for Bobby. He's helping Dr. McCoy with the new student."
"Oh, I see," Kurt said softly. He had said a prayer for the sick girl at mass, it was sad that her first hours here had to be so difficult. It reminded him of his own introduction to the X-Men.
"Did they tell you what her gifts were?" Kurt asked, and Rogue nodded.
"Precognitive, they think," she said, "Like she can see the future..."
Kurt's eyes widened as he considered the possibility as Rogue continued.
"Storm said they're not sure though," she said.
"Sounds like it would be quite a burden," Kurt replied, "Always knowing what will happen..."
Not as much of a burden as other mutations, Rogue thought, flexing one gloved hand and glancing at Kurt's heavy hooded coat, unable to think of a reason that seeing the future could be a bad thing. If Rogue had known about her mutation before it appeared, she might have kept her first boyfriend out of the hospital. There was a touch of bitterness in her thoughts, a chill that had recently been dampening her typically affable attitude.
Kurt noticed the distance in her face and decided to try to change the subject.
"The doctor said Blink's arm was not broken," he said with a grin, "I heard he's playing umpire today..."
Rogue blinked and returned his smile, shaking off the shadow for now in deference to her friend.
"Why don't we go watch the game again?" she suggested, "Just in case he makes a bad call for Siryn. I need to get some sunshine anyway..."
Author's note: Sorry for abrupt end. Didn't have time to move onto next "Random Morning Conversation." Terrible title too… *sigh* It's very late right now… ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ