Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. I own Catrina and Lara. Blah, blah,
blah.
And it's finished! I'm thinking about writing another Catrina/Kurt story that will introduce you more to her character. Please let me know if you think this is a good idea. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hoped everyone who read this enjoyed it!
An hour before dinner, Lara began clamoring to go outside. Catrina and Kurt decided that letting their daughter run around outside might get her to sleep soundly that night, so they took her out into the spring evening. Lara toddled to the trees, with her parents on either side of her.
When they reached the trees, Lara placed her three-fingered hands on the trunk of one tree. "Nein, liebling. You are staying on the ground," Kurt said, walking over to take her hand. Raising a toddler was hard enough, but when that toddler could climb trees and walls, the job bordered on impossible.
He glanced back to Catrina, who was standing in the middle of the path with a strange look on her face. He called her name, and she turned her gray eyes to him. "Something's wrong," she said with a frown. "There's someone here. Similar mutation to Logan, but larger and incredibly angry." She shook her head to clear it. "You need to get Lara back. Now."
Kurt picked up Lara, who yelled a protest, and walked over to Catrina. "That sounds like Sabertooth. He shouldn't be able to get through the defenses."
She wasn't listening, but staring wide-eyed to her right. "Go, Kurt. Take Lara to the mansion."
By now, Kurt could hear someone crashing through the undergrowth. "I'm not going to leave you here to face him alone."
"Someone needs to keep him from the mansion before the rest of the team is ready. Go!"
Kurt started to grab her to take her back, protesting that she was no longer an X-Man and wouldn't be able to take on Sabertooth alone, but something triggered his power to teleport. The last thing he saw before standing in Charles's office was Catrina sagging from exhaustion and Sabertooth breaking through the trees behind her.
"Nein!" he shouted. Charles was talking with Northstar when he appeared.
Kurt must have been projecting strongly because Charles' face paled and he whispered Catrina's name. "Jean-Paul," he said swiftly. "Go gather the available X-Men. Sabertooth is attacking Catrina in the north woods."
"Can you watch her?" Kurt asked Charles, walking over to hand Lara to him. His mentor nodded, taking the little girl, who was saying that she wanted to go back outside in a mixture of English and German. "I'm going back." He bamfed away before Xavier could protest.
When he got back, Sabertooth stood over Catrina's still form, claws bloody. He saw Kurt's stricken face and started to laugh. Kurt raced to his wife's side. Sabertooth had sliced her open from right shoulder to left hip. The ground beneath her was saturated in blood and it was impossible to tell what color her shirt had been. Kurt was amazed and relieved to find her still breathing.
"Nein," he whispered. He looked up at Sabertooth, who was still laughing as he wiped Catrina's blood on his pants.
And then Northstar flew in at high speed, carrying Logan. Wolverine snarled when he saw his nemesis, claws popping out. With a roar, he pounced, slicing across Sabertooth's chest. Sabertooth lashed out as well, catching Logan on the arm.
In a flash, Northstar was at Kurt's side. "Henri's coming with a stretcher," he said quickly, giving Hank's name a French inflection. He looked down at Catrina. "Is she...?"
"She lives," Kurt said bluntly. He took his wife's hand, trying to tell himself that he was imagining her breathing becoming more labored.
Cyclops, Storm, Havok, and Phoenix arrived, followed closely by Hank and Annie. The four suited X-Men joined Wolverine and Northstar in fighting off Sabertooth so Hank and Annie could get close to Catrina.
"You need to step aside, Kurt," Hank said gently. Kurt mutely obeyed, eyes never leaving Catrina. He helped Hank carry the stretcher when asked, mind screaming at the sight of her lying there, pale, blood- soaked, and still.
They got her to the Infirmary and lay her on a sterile metal table. Annie guided Kurt out backwards as he refused to look away. "I bought her that shirt," he said numbly as he watched Hank start to cut it off. Annie said something that didn't register and shut the door. He stared, seemingly trying to see through it.
Time lost meaning. Charles came by, telling Kurt that Ororo was taking care of Lara before entering the Infirmary. Remy came by, leaning against the wall to Kurt's left, also staring at the door.
Eventually, Kurt looked over at the Cajun. The hem of his trench coat was singed and his face had smudges of soot on it. "What happened to you?" he asked.
"I turned one o' Cyke's motorcycles into a bomb. Forgot to factor in the full tank of gas." He pulled out a deck of cards and started flipping through them.
"Did he survive?" Kurt knew that the person the bike was charged for was Sabertooth. Remy nodded curtly.
"Xavier put him in the Danger Room for now."
Kurt's tail flicked back and forth angrily. "You should not have told me that."
Scott and Jean stopped by then, the former giving Remy a quick, furious glance, before turning to Kurt. The loss of a bike was something Scott would not take lightly. They both told Kurt they were there to talk to if he needed it, Scott more awkwardly than Jean. When it became obvious that Kurt wanted to be alone, the couple left, after Jean had whispered something to Remy.
A few minutes later, Remy walked off without a word. Kurt stood there, hours ticking by, tolerating visitors, praying for his wife to live.
Someone was saying my name, urgently and repeatedly. Another person was holding my arms behind my back. I tried to remember how I had got in this situation, but the last thing I remembered was Hank telling me about Catrina.
I slowly recognized the voice as Charles's. He stood before me, face worried. "Kurt?" I blinked at him, and he visible relaxed. "You were gone mentally, you were so angry and upset."
"I blame myself for that, Kurt," said Hank from behind me. He released my arms and I turned to face him. "Perhaps my first words should not have been about the troubles in surgery, but of the success of it."
"She's alive?" I gasped.
"Quite. Not awake, but she is stabilized. She is still in danger, though. I give no promises of a full recovery."
I honestly could have slugged him. Me, Kurt Wagner, man of infinite patience, who was best friends with Logan, a man who went berserk at least once a week; who was married to a woman who delighted in pulling pranks; who was the father of a little girl with unimaginable amounts of energy and the ability to climb walls. I balled up my fist, trembling with anger, before I managed to control my emotions.
"I need to see her," I demanded. Both Charles and Hank realized that not granting me this could have resulted in massive injuries, so they quickly nodded. I entered the Infirmary, and ran to Catrina's side.
Someone brought me a chair, and I sat without thanking him or her, or even looking to see who it was. I took her cold hand, rubbing it lightly, delighted to feel it warm under my touch. I heard people gather behind me, heard them talking softly. I picked out a few voices, including Remy's. He was closest, perhaps two feet away.
"You can come closer, Remy," I said softly. "Perhaps she will heal faster with both of her angels near." He was quick to take me up on my offer, standing watch on her other side. "Will someone get Lara?" I asked.
"Of course," Jean answered.
A few minutes later, I heard Lara come in, talking animatedly to Logan about how their prayers worked. I heard him grunt and offer monosyllabic answers. They reached my side, and Lara attempted to climb up my leg. I lifted her to my lap.
"Why is Mommy asleep?" she asked. "It's not bedtime."
"Mommy needs to sleep to get better." She started wriggling in my grasp. "Was, liebling?"
"Wanna see Mommy."
The last thing Catrina needed was our overly energetic daughter climbing all over her. "Nein. Bleibe mit mir."
She did not like that response. She pouted, folding her arms across her chest, tail swishing angrily. I sighed and moved the chair closer. "Here. You can hold Mommy's hand." That was enough to satisfy her, and we sat like that for a while. Lara's attention started to wander, though, and Ororo came to take her somewhere she could play.
After hours and hours of waiting, both outside and inside the Infirmary, Catrina awoke. I gripped her hand, and she slowly turned her head to look at me. She smiled faintly, her eyes black from pain.
"Hey," she said roughly and coughed, wincing at the pain this caused.
"Hey yourself," I replied, grinning like a maniac.
"Is Lara okay?"
"Ja. She was here for awhile. Tried to get in bed with you."
Her smile grew. "I can imagine." She briefly shut her eyes before turning to Remy. He smiled down at her, eyes glowing brightly. Her eyes closed again, longer this time. When they opened, she looked at me again.
"Ich liebe dich," she said simply.
"Ich liebe dich auch," I replied.
She smiled at me again before closing her eyes. "I'll be okay," she said slowly. "I have angels looking after me."
Translations:
German:
Nein, liebling—No, sweetheart
Was, liebling—What, sweetheart
Bleibe mit mir—Stay with me
Ja—Yes
Ich liebe dich—I love you
Ich liebe dich auch—I love you, too
And it's finished! I'm thinking about writing another Catrina/Kurt story that will introduce you more to her character. Please let me know if you think this is a good idea. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hoped everyone who read this enjoyed it!
An hour before dinner, Lara began clamoring to go outside. Catrina and Kurt decided that letting their daughter run around outside might get her to sleep soundly that night, so they took her out into the spring evening. Lara toddled to the trees, with her parents on either side of her.
When they reached the trees, Lara placed her three-fingered hands on the trunk of one tree. "Nein, liebling. You are staying on the ground," Kurt said, walking over to take her hand. Raising a toddler was hard enough, but when that toddler could climb trees and walls, the job bordered on impossible.
He glanced back to Catrina, who was standing in the middle of the path with a strange look on her face. He called her name, and she turned her gray eyes to him. "Something's wrong," she said with a frown. "There's someone here. Similar mutation to Logan, but larger and incredibly angry." She shook her head to clear it. "You need to get Lara back. Now."
Kurt picked up Lara, who yelled a protest, and walked over to Catrina. "That sounds like Sabertooth. He shouldn't be able to get through the defenses."
She wasn't listening, but staring wide-eyed to her right. "Go, Kurt. Take Lara to the mansion."
By now, Kurt could hear someone crashing through the undergrowth. "I'm not going to leave you here to face him alone."
"Someone needs to keep him from the mansion before the rest of the team is ready. Go!"
Kurt started to grab her to take her back, protesting that she was no longer an X-Man and wouldn't be able to take on Sabertooth alone, but something triggered his power to teleport. The last thing he saw before standing in Charles's office was Catrina sagging from exhaustion and Sabertooth breaking through the trees behind her.
"Nein!" he shouted. Charles was talking with Northstar when he appeared.
Kurt must have been projecting strongly because Charles' face paled and he whispered Catrina's name. "Jean-Paul," he said swiftly. "Go gather the available X-Men. Sabertooth is attacking Catrina in the north woods."
"Can you watch her?" Kurt asked Charles, walking over to hand Lara to him. His mentor nodded, taking the little girl, who was saying that she wanted to go back outside in a mixture of English and German. "I'm going back." He bamfed away before Xavier could protest.
When he got back, Sabertooth stood over Catrina's still form, claws bloody. He saw Kurt's stricken face and started to laugh. Kurt raced to his wife's side. Sabertooth had sliced her open from right shoulder to left hip. The ground beneath her was saturated in blood and it was impossible to tell what color her shirt had been. Kurt was amazed and relieved to find her still breathing.
"Nein," he whispered. He looked up at Sabertooth, who was still laughing as he wiped Catrina's blood on his pants.
And then Northstar flew in at high speed, carrying Logan. Wolverine snarled when he saw his nemesis, claws popping out. With a roar, he pounced, slicing across Sabertooth's chest. Sabertooth lashed out as well, catching Logan on the arm.
In a flash, Northstar was at Kurt's side. "Henri's coming with a stretcher," he said quickly, giving Hank's name a French inflection. He looked down at Catrina. "Is she...?"
"She lives," Kurt said bluntly. He took his wife's hand, trying to tell himself that he was imagining her breathing becoming more labored.
Cyclops, Storm, Havok, and Phoenix arrived, followed closely by Hank and Annie. The four suited X-Men joined Wolverine and Northstar in fighting off Sabertooth so Hank and Annie could get close to Catrina.
"You need to step aside, Kurt," Hank said gently. Kurt mutely obeyed, eyes never leaving Catrina. He helped Hank carry the stretcher when asked, mind screaming at the sight of her lying there, pale, blood- soaked, and still.
They got her to the Infirmary and lay her on a sterile metal table. Annie guided Kurt out backwards as he refused to look away. "I bought her that shirt," he said numbly as he watched Hank start to cut it off. Annie said something that didn't register and shut the door. He stared, seemingly trying to see through it.
Time lost meaning. Charles came by, telling Kurt that Ororo was taking care of Lara before entering the Infirmary. Remy came by, leaning against the wall to Kurt's left, also staring at the door.
Eventually, Kurt looked over at the Cajun. The hem of his trench coat was singed and his face had smudges of soot on it. "What happened to you?" he asked.
"I turned one o' Cyke's motorcycles into a bomb. Forgot to factor in the full tank of gas." He pulled out a deck of cards and started flipping through them.
"Did he survive?" Kurt knew that the person the bike was charged for was Sabertooth. Remy nodded curtly.
"Xavier put him in the Danger Room for now."
Kurt's tail flicked back and forth angrily. "You should not have told me that."
Scott and Jean stopped by then, the former giving Remy a quick, furious glance, before turning to Kurt. The loss of a bike was something Scott would not take lightly. They both told Kurt they were there to talk to if he needed it, Scott more awkwardly than Jean. When it became obvious that Kurt wanted to be alone, the couple left, after Jean had whispered something to Remy.
A few minutes later, Remy walked off without a word. Kurt stood there, hours ticking by, tolerating visitors, praying for his wife to live.
Someone was saying my name, urgently and repeatedly. Another person was holding my arms behind my back. I tried to remember how I had got in this situation, but the last thing I remembered was Hank telling me about Catrina.
I slowly recognized the voice as Charles's. He stood before me, face worried. "Kurt?" I blinked at him, and he visible relaxed. "You were gone mentally, you were so angry and upset."
"I blame myself for that, Kurt," said Hank from behind me. He released my arms and I turned to face him. "Perhaps my first words should not have been about the troubles in surgery, but of the success of it."
"She's alive?" I gasped.
"Quite. Not awake, but she is stabilized. She is still in danger, though. I give no promises of a full recovery."
I honestly could have slugged him. Me, Kurt Wagner, man of infinite patience, who was best friends with Logan, a man who went berserk at least once a week; who was married to a woman who delighted in pulling pranks; who was the father of a little girl with unimaginable amounts of energy and the ability to climb walls. I balled up my fist, trembling with anger, before I managed to control my emotions.
"I need to see her," I demanded. Both Charles and Hank realized that not granting me this could have resulted in massive injuries, so they quickly nodded. I entered the Infirmary, and ran to Catrina's side.
Someone brought me a chair, and I sat without thanking him or her, or even looking to see who it was. I took her cold hand, rubbing it lightly, delighted to feel it warm under my touch. I heard people gather behind me, heard them talking softly. I picked out a few voices, including Remy's. He was closest, perhaps two feet away.
"You can come closer, Remy," I said softly. "Perhaps she will heal faster with both of her angels near." He was quick to take me up on my offer, standing watch on her other side. "Will someone get Lara?" I asked.
"Of course," Jean answered.
A few minutes later, I heard Lara come in, talking animatedly to Logan about how their prayers worked. I heard him grunt and offer monosyllabic answers. They reached my side, and Lara attempted to climb up my leg. I lifted her to my lap.
"Why is Mommy asleep?" she asked. "It's not bedtime."
"Mommy needs to sleep to get better." She started wriggling in my grasp. "Was, liebling?"
"Wanna see Mommy."
The last thing Catrina needed was our overly energetic daughter climbing all over her. "Nein. Bleibe mit mir."
She did not like that response. She pouted, folding her arms across her chest, tail swishing angrily. I sighed and moved the chair closer. "Here. You can hold Mommy's hand." That was enough to satisfy her, and we sat like that for a while. Lara's attention started to wander, though, and Ororo came to take her somewhere she could play.
After hours and hours of waiting, both outside and inside the Infirmary, Catrina awoke. I gripped her hand, and she slowly turned her head to look at me. She smiled faintly, her eyes black from pain.
"Hey," she said roughly and coughed, wincing at the pain this caused.
"Hey yourself," I replied, grinning like a maniac.
"Is Lara okay?"
"Ja. She was here for awhile. Tried to get in bed with you."
Her smile grew. "I can imagine." She briefly shut her eyes before turning to Remy. He smiled down at her, eyes glowing brightly. Her eyes closed again, longer this time. When they opened, she looked at me again.
"Ich liebe dich," she said simply.
"Ich liebe dich auch," I replied.
She smiled at me again before closing her eyes. "I'll be okay," she said slowly. "I have angels looking after me."
Translations:
German:
Nein, liebling—No, sweetheart
Was, liebling—What, sweetheart
Bleibe mit mir—Stay with me
Ja—Yes
Ich liebe dich—I love you
Ich liebe dich auch—I love you, too