(Nine)
Kimble knew sleeping would be a waste of time so he got up and went upstairs, sneaking past Henry who had returned to the Engine Room. Gambit was still on guard duty in the Main Room, but had fallen asleep. He was out cold, still stretched across the front seats of the passenger section as before. Kimble looked down at the dozing thief and smiled. Kimble liked Henry well enough, but he liked Gambit all the more because Gambit seemed to accept him as he was. Coupled with Remy's sense of fun, Kimble's affection could only grow greater. Still, Kimble was envious of Remy's peaceful slumber and was loathe to wake him. He had considered talking to Remy before about his dreams, but wasn't sure if he should. Maybe his new friend would become afraid of him and Kimble didn't want that. He decided to wait and see if things would settle on their own.
He went to the cage room and peeked into Fallen's lav. Maylee was seated on the floor next to Fallen, gently petting her hair as she slept. "May? Kin I talks to ya?" he asked quietly, coming into the room. He left the door open deliberately, to show he wasn't trying to pull anything and to give her a way out so she wouldn't feel trapped with him.
She looked up him distrustfully just the same. "I suppose so."
He sat down against the wall, keeping a respectful distance between them. "I jus' wants ta 'pologize fer bein' so nasty b'fore. I wuz mad an' I shouldn't have said what I did."
"Saying you're sorry doesn't make it okay."
This is going to be fun, Kimble thought wryly. Still, he plowed on ahead. "No, it don't. Jus' the same, you gots no right ta 'cuze me of whatcha said neither. I wouldn't ever hurt Fallen, ya knows that."
"No, I don't know that. The way you talk to her sometimes makes me wonder. Seth doesn't do that. He's always nice to her."
"I knows I'm a little rough, but Fallen knows me. She knows that I kin be counted on fer sayin' what needs ta be said. Not evrathin' is nice an' pretty in this world. Yer big enough ta sees that now."
"You're a bully, Kimble. You always get your way. It should have been Seth out here. She loves him and now he's stuck in there with no way out. She's never going to be happy now," Maylee complained, her eyes growing shiny with tears.
"Listen, kid..." he soothed, automatically coming towards her in comfort. She jerked away from him in fear and he sat back, wounded by her lack of trust. "Ya don' hafta be afraids of me, kid. I knows ya don' like me much, but yer still family ta me an' ya always will be. I'm here ta looks after ya, keeps ya safe. Yous guys're all I got. I ain't about ta do sumpthin' ta lose any of ya."
"How can I believe you when all you do is yell and fight?"
Kimble sniffed and sat back down further away. "I know I ain't been doin' so well keepin' control, but I promise ya I'll try ta do better. As fer Seth, don' worry 'bout him. I'll just bet Henry's got some stuff at his place that'll git him out. Henry's real smart an' I know he'll help us. We just gots ta git there in one piece is all. Us fightin' ain't gonna help that."
"I don't think you can control yourself," she said quietly. "You've never been able to do it before and it's worse now. I see the way you look at Fallen. You don't want Seth to come out because you want her for yourself. You always get what you want one way or the other. I'm going to watch over her and make sure you don't do anything to her or Seth. I won't let you kill him!"
Kimble started to shake with hurt and rage. He couldn't believe what she had just said, he would never do anything to harm Seth and the accusation was more than he could stand. "Git out!" he hissed, his eyes blazing.
"No." She sat back on her heels with her hands fisted.
All it did was enrage him further. "I said, git out!" he shouted, rising.
The sight of his fury was too much, she squeaked in fear and bolted out the exit Kimble had provided. Kimble glared at the door and it slammed shut and locked of its own accord. He had just used telekinesis to shut it and in his fury, hadn't even realized it. He had felt a pinch as the door shut and then a sharp lance of pain shot right behind his eyes, making his head feel it was going to explode. He was in horrible pain now and enraged almost beyond the limits of his feeble control. He couldn't stop a whimper of mental agony from leaking out of his tightly clenched teeth. As his shaking grew worse, he realized he couldn't trust himself right now. He was more afraid of losing control than he was of this pain. In an attempt to calm himself down, he went back to the wall and sat in the corner next to the washing machine, his head turned into the center. He was trying to block out everything around him and so found the smallest space available and jammed his body in.
Seth immediately popped up on the screen, alerted by both Maylee's flight and Kimble's noise. "What's going on? What's wrong with Maylee? She's all upset."
Not a second later, Gambit pounded on the door. "Open up dis door, Kim! Maintenant! Now!"
Kimble covered his ears and scrunched into the corner even further. He was trembling badly now, and wanted only to hide. He wasn't sure what he would do right now if confronted. Maylee could have no idea how much she'd hurt him with her words. He was angry and exhausted. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to kill and rip and tear. His head was pounding and his stomach was burning from the rage. Everything in front of his eyes was red. He spread his wings and covered himself, trying to hide himself from this ugly terrible place and all the angry voices in it.
Gambit pounded again. "Open de door, Kim, or Gambit's gonna blow it down!"
Fallen stirred and woke from all the noise. She was still groggy from the sedative and totally clueless. "What's going on?" She heard Gambit's pounding and unlocked the door with a mental command. He burst inside in a rush with Henry behind him. "What's going on?" Fallen repeated.
"Maylee's all scared. Kimble done sumptin' she won't say," Gambit explained without accusing, being very careful about his tone of voice. He could see Kimble turned away in the corner looking like a child who had already been punished. The sight of it made him feel sick and he started to approach Kimble in an attempt to help him, but Henry held him back. Remy relented, giving Beast first crack at comforting the poor stricken Siskan.
Henry went close to Kimble and lightly touched his shoulder. "Kimble?"
"I done whatcha said..." Kimble said from under his wings. His voice was scratchy and strained, his teeth gritted tightly. "All I done wuz make it worse. She said things that ain't true...She said I wanna kill my brother. She said...!" he couldn't finish because of the sob in his throat.
Henry patted his shoulder. "It's all right. At least you tried. Give it some time and try again later."
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Fallen demanded.
"Maylee and Kimble are having some difficulties," Beast replied, turning to look at her.
Fallen laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time." She looked up at Logan as he came to the door, her smile fading when she saw his hostility, he was clearly furious at Kimble. "Maybe you should just leave him with me," she suggested, a little authority now in her voice. "I'll take care of this."
"Yer boy's gotta watch his mouth. How can he be yer Second when all he does is fight and cause trouble?" Logan complained harshly.
"I find it hard to believe that all of this is his fault alone, but I assure you, I will find out. Now, leave us. All of you."
"I'm not sure any of us should be alone with him. He's a fucked up mess."
Fallen just snorted at him contemptuously. "Get out!"
The others walked out at that, but Wolverine stayed behind. "He can't be trusted."
"Please, continue to insult him while he's still in the room," she retorted sarcastically. "Get out or I'll remove you myself!"
"Yeah, right," he grunted arrogantly but then he startled when he felt her telekinesis shove him briskly towards the door. She was obviously getting better and stronger. He glared at her and walked out, being sure to leave the door open behind him.
Fallen waited until she was sure he was gone and then looked at Kimble in the corner. "Hey, you. Troublemaker," she teased.
He ignored her.
"Kimble Bee..." It was what she called him when he was upset or behaving regressed like he was now. It never failed to make him laugh.
He flattened himself against the wall, pulling one of his wings back and turning his head to look at her. "What."
She saw Kimble's reddened eyes and the obvious strain on his nerves. She could tell he was exhausted and needed to sleep. He was always crabby and irritable when he was tired and she figured that was part of his problem. "C'mere."
Kimble glanced up at his brother on the screen. Seth had been quiet all this time and was looking at Kimble now with a combination of uncertainty, fear and distrust on his face. "Don' think that's such a good idea right now," Kimble said, putting his head down again. He was wiped out and just wanted to lay down someplace quiet. Preferably far, far away from here.
"Tell me what happened, then."
"May...she wuz thinkin' I wants ta hurt yous guys. She said alla this wuz my fault an' I done it on purpose ta gits out. She said...she said I wanna kill Seth an take ya fer myself...I-I wouldn't ever hurt you," he said looking up at Seth, his eyes pleading. "Yer my brother. I couldn't-I wouldn't!"
Seth sighed and relaxed. He'd never seen Kimble so angry and distressed before and it had frightened him badly, Kimble was his foundation, the one who took care of everyone. What would happen to them if Kimble fell down? Now that he knew why his brother was so upset, he might be able to help out. Seth didn't believe Maylee for a minute, Kimble just wasn't capable of that kind of treachery. "Tay kunda Siska esk, ratay a nooroo, Kimble. Don't worry. I'll go talk to her," he said gently and winked out.
"She's just a kid and she's frightened, Kimble. Don't be too hard on her," Fallen added.
"She hates me. Everybody hates me!" he whined like a child.
"Nobody hates you. C'mere." She held her arms out and this time he slowly crawled over to her. She lay him down next to her under the blankets and held him. "You need to sleep."
"I ain't tired..." he protested, his eyes heavy. Her heat and Ristle trickled into him, soothing him. Her arms were finally around him, giving him the comfort he so desperately needed. She kissed him and he felt her love come into him like a gentle comforting wave. He hadn't realized just how badly he had needed her to hold him like this. All of his anger and pain melted away and he finally relaxed, resting his head against her neck. He breathed in her smell, loving her, and closed his eyes. He started to say something else, but was asleep before he could finish.
She felt him drop off and smiled to herself. She was still woozy from the sedative and the heat from his body was making her drowsy. It wasn't long before she too was back asleep again, warm and cozy beside him.