Chapter 7:

Hank soon started to experiment the very next day and worked around the clock to find a cure to the mystery disease. The chances were slim at best, impossible at worst but Hank refused to voice those thoughts or think on them as he scoured book after book, did calculation after calculation and called everyone he knew that could help. He refused to give up on the girl who had befriended him early on and counted her as one of his dearest friends. She had always made him feel happy and had helped with a few of his experiments, bringing gifts of fudge when he was busy and pressuring him to sleep. Now, he was racing against time to save his friend and it didn't look good. When he could be persuaded to eat, drink or sleep, he used the minimum amount of time to accomplish the task before racing back to the job. The students hadn't forgotten him though and the area he was working in was constantly being invaded by students who wanted to encourage him or help in some way. In fact, a six year old student even offered Hank her beloved teddy bear Mika as a test subject and that had made him giggle.

The condition of Sienna kept deteriorating however, her breathing grew slighter and weaker every day and her body temperature would rise and then fall dramatically in a matter of hours so Hank enlisted the help of bobby and John, aka Pyro and Iceman to bring her temperature back to normal levels whenever it took a dip or spiral. Every time Hank found a breakthrough, he would take a small sample of the substance and inject it into her bloodstream. Most often, there was no reaction but her condition never dipped when the substance was injected, which worried both Kurt and Hank. Logan had barricaded himself in his room, smoking cigar after cigar and drinking heavily until he passed out on the floor. The rest of the time, Logan would either throw things at the walls or remain morbidly silent as his red-rimmed eyes glared out at his surroundings.

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Exactly three weeks after the meeting, Hank was testing a newer version of his latest antidote on the sample of Sienna's blood. Rubbing his tired eyes, he strained to stay awake but lost the battle. Slumping to the floor, he slept for a day then woke with a jolt. Looking down at the petri-dish, he blinked as the disease had totally vanished from the sample. Looking at the clock, he saw the time and then began to frantically consult his notes, grinning infectiously all the while as he mixed a larger batch of the antidote. Every so often, he would glance at the sample and smile as the dish remained clean every single time.

Grabbing the dosage, he rushed down the hall to the medical lab and burst through the doors. Pushing the startled Kurt out of the way, he injected the contents of the syringe into her bloodstream and then eyed the vitals monitor. To his glee, the vitals immediately began to rise and stabilise as Kurt began to sing praises to God in German and her heart pumped faster and faster until it settled into the proper rhythm. Over the next few hours of the day and through the night, she began to react to the antidote more and more as her immune system started to overpower and destroy the poison. The next morning, Kurt awoke to see the breathing of Sienna stable and as he sat there, her eyes slowly opened. Looking around, she saw the two blue-skinned mutants and her eyes flashed with understanding. Looking at Kurt specifically, she smiled slightly and spoke to him

"Kurt? Is that you, is it really you?"

Kurt's face convulsed in shock at the sound of her voice and rushed to her side. Taking her hand, he enveloped it in both of his and squeezed. Then, he enveloped her in a giant bear-hug and stroked her hair softly as he whispered thanks to God. Drawing away, he smiled at her with his pointed fangs and replied. "Ach, liebchen, you gave me a fright..."

Hank then walked over and looked down at his friend. "Indeed, you did give us all a fright. It is good to see you awake and smiling so soon. How do you feel?"

Sienna moaned softly. "My whole body feels like Sabretooth used me as his punching bag and then his scratching post. Ai, it hurts..."

"Rest then, my sweet" said Kurt in a mock-serious tone as he waggled a finger in front of her face. Sitting on the bed, he took her hand again as Hank walked away to alert the others of her awakening. "Sienna, you mean the world to me. I vas distraught ven you nearly died. Promise me you vill not put yourself in such danger again..."

Sienna nodded. "I promise, my love."

Setting the hand down on the bed sheets, Kurt told her sternly to sleep and hunkered down as she slipped back into sleep as she obeyed him. Moving to the door, Kurt looked back at her and smiled. He loved that mutant, loved her truly and deeply and he knew exactly what to do...