"How is she?" Remy demanded the next morning, marching into the medbay and finding the similar sight of Ellen, still tiger, on her belly on top of one of one of the med tables. Then the purple haired teen noticed Hank, on another table, was sitting up and rubbing his head, looking at him through blurry eyes.
"Young Remy?" the blue furred man said in a low voice.
"Doc!" Remy cried, rushing over. "You ok?"
"Dizzy, with a rather large headache, but all in all, in pretty good condition," Hank said, shaking his head and then wincing. "Luckily for me it appears my captors merely rendered me unconscious, which was easy owing to the large amount of physical strength I used before the girl stepped in..." Remy looked down, embarrassed.
"I was my fault," he said. "De girl who robbed me followed me n' Steph n' I got into de fight wit dem."
"Well it may have been irresponsible for you to do that," Hank said, smiling at him. "But as I understand it, it was you, Stephanie, and young Danial who rescued me from my captor's lair, I thank you for it, as it was both timely and quick. Now I must ask for forgiveness of my unknowing curiosity, but why does there appear to be a large feline on the other table?" Remy smiled.
"Dat's Ellen, she helped us get ya out... do ya know if she's ok?" Remy hesitated as he looked at Ellen, lying still, her broad back rising and falling incredibly slowly and not rising much at all.
"Ah, I am not able to give out information I do not have young Remy, but I'm sure Jean has taken good care of her," Hank said.
"I've certainly tried, but that cat has taken a lot of bullets, I'm still not sure I got them all," Jean said, walking into the room.
"No, you missed one," the tiger gasped in a tiny voice. Remy jumped and Jean's head snapped around as Hank stared.
"She speaks?" he said.
"You speak?!" Remy cried.
"A talking tiger..." Jean mumbled. A small rumble came from Ellen's throat as her head retracted a little, eyes still closed.
"Didn't... didn't have the chance... to talk before... not like... like we've known eachother for a while..." Ellen said. Jean hurried forward.
"What bullet did I miss?" she asked gently.
"Foot... back left... my left," Ellen gasped.
"Shh," Jean said. "Don't speak." The tiger didn't respond as Jean found another hole with a fragment of bullet in it in Ellen's foot and carefully extracted it with her telekinetic powers, making the tiger snarl with pain. Then as Jean and the boys watched Ellen slowly transformed back into her human self, keeping the wounds she had earlier but shrinking considerably.
"Ow," she wheezed.
"Careful," Jean said, taking out some bandages from a drawer underneath the table and started to bind the cuts. "I couldn't do this with all that fur," she said, a smile playing at her lips. Ellen cracked one eye open and looked at Jean.
"Ok... just don't... don't kill me, I can't really do much to stop you right now," she said.
"No one's going to kill you," Jean said, smiling for real. "Why on Earth would you think that?"
"Well," Ellen said. "I don't even know your names, for one thing. Hell... only one I know is Big Blue Furry Guy over there... because we share a name, and to be honest, you're a strange lot... I don't quite know what to... what to make of you."
"You don't even know Remy?" Jean said in surprise.
"What?" Remy said. Ellen closed her eyes again.
"Name's don't... they don't tell you anything... I only gave mine because you asked," Ellen said, then sighed and seemed to shrink even more.
"We share a name?" Hank asked in surprise.
"McCoy, her name is Ellen McCoy. Well, I'm Jean Summers, and you met my son, Danial, the red head?"
"Funny kid," Ellen nodded and Jean continued.
"And the young man with purple hair is Remy LeBeau Jr., and the young lady is Stephanie Munroe Logan," Jean said. "That's who you've met, I think."
"Steph, just Steph," Steph said, walking in and grinning, leaning on the med table and looking at Ellen. "You're as strange as my old man, helping us out like that when you didn't even know our names. And remember, the only one who can get away with calling me Stephanie is Hank, jus' because he's too lazy to learn my real name."
"Steph, I think Ellen needs some rest right now, Hank, are you alright?" Jean asked, looking up. Hank stretched and then winced.
"Bruised slightly, yet prevailing in my battle against stiffness," he replied. "And hungry. Come Remy and Stephanie, let's go and get some food, and leave Ellen to rest in peace."
"Right," Steph said, rolling her eyes. "Jus' making sure Ellen's not-"
"Steph," Jean said sharply as Ellen groaned.
"What?" Steph asked, looking surprised. Ellen slowly opened her eyes.
"You were about to... about to say I wasn't dead... and she cut you off," Ellen said.
"So?" Steph asked before Jean could stop her.
"It means I'm doomed," Ellen said gravely, looking directly into Steph's eyes.
"Oh, whoops," Steph said as Jean gave her a withering look.
"Out," the doctor said. "All of you, you too Hank, these kids gravitate to you. And it's not true, with a little time and patience you'll be fine-"
"Don't give me that... please." Jean sighed as Ellen shut her mouth again and closed her eyes, shoulders sagging back.
"Alright, well, it may take a little more than time, and you did need more blood, but you're conscious and that's a very good thing," Jean said truthfully. "Now you three, out! And Ellen, try and get some rest."
"As long as it isn't eternal... I'm good," Ellen said as Hank, Steph, and Remy left.
"That's not funny," Jean said. "And stop talking, it can't be good for you."
"Last word... I wasn't cracking a joke." Jean, who had been going too leave, stopped and looked briefly at Ellen, who appeared to have dropped off into exhausted sleep, and then shook her head and left the medbay, finding her husband waiting outside for her. Scott smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.
"How's the tiger doing?" he asked. Jean sighed.
"The tiger is a brutally honest girl who also is optimistically challenged, and living on a miracle," she replied. Scott kissed her on the forehead as they walked down the hall.
"Well, that's how some people are," he said. "But somehow I get the feeling she'll pull through, maybe just a feeling though."
"Well, feelings are pretty accurate sometimes," Jean said, shrugging and smiling. "I think she'll pull through too."