Rogue took a deep breath as she opened the door to the hospital room. She shivered as she saw her best friend with an IV in her arm but forced herself not to cry again. She reached out her gloved hand to touch Raven's flour white cheek. Her tawny eyes fluttered open and she gave a slight smile. "Hey," she whispered.
"Shhh, don't talk." Rogue sat on the corner of the bed holding her friend's hand. "How do you feel?"
"Fantastic," she said, her voice barely audible. Her face was white as a sheet and her voice was strained, as if every word hurt. Her body was very weak.
But she was alive, and that was all Rogue cared about.
"Raven, do you remember how, when you were little, you would climb into my bed room window when your dad and step-mom were tryin' ta' kill each other?"
"Yeah. I would…throw pebbles at your window and you would pull me and Pepper inside. I would crawl in your bed and you would tell me that it was going to be alright. You would sing…what was it that you used to sing?"
"The Sun'll come out Tomorrow. Remember how we saw Annie over a hundred times because it was the only play the high school knew?" Raven giggled softly.
"That's were I got my love for music, because it always made me feel better when you sang to me. You were always the strong one, Rogue." Rogue pulled back the covers on the hospital bed and slid in next to her, holding her in a comforting, sisterly embrace. She began to hum the familiar tune as Raven drifted off to sleep once more.
Logan was sitting in the living room, enjoying the quiet when Jean entered the room. She sat down beside him and smiled. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Do you know anything about Raven yet?"
"Rogue called and said that the transfusion went fine and they're going to send her home in the morning. Technically, it's already morning but they mean when normal people aren't asleep. Probably around eight-ish. Pepper's asleep in Gambit's room. I finally got him to go to bed."
"I feel kinda silly, talking about that dog as if he were a human."
"Well, Raven thinks of him as human. She can understand his language, so, I guess he's human to her. Besides, he saved her life." Logan shrugged. "I think you're starting to like her a little more then you're willing to admit."
"Maybe a little. She's a tough kid. She reminds me a lot of myself at her age. I was alone, a wanderer with no place to call home. I had seen to much that I just wanted to forget. Then I came here. This is the first place I have ever felt safe." He took a deep breath and smiled at the memory. "At least she found her safe haven earlier in life then I did. Maybe there's hope for her after all."
"I don't think you turned out so bad," Jean said softly. He sighed.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe there's still hope for me too."
Evan stepped quietly into the infirmary, where Raven had been moved. Rogue looked up and smiled at him. "Hi," she whispered tiredly.
"Hi. Why don't you go get some rest. I'll stay with them." She yawned and left the room. He took the seat she had sat next to the bed and scratched Pepper's ears. Raven opened her eyes and smiled.
"Hey!"
"You sound better."
"A little rest and music and I feel a lot better." She gestured at the guitar laying beside the bed. "Rogue brought it down. She hasn't heard me play in a while so I played for her."
"How'd you learn. Did you take lessons?"
"Nah. I just taught myself. I could teach you, if you want."
"Sure. Later though. You're still healing. I wanted to talk to you about what happened at target practice yesterday."
"Geez, was that only yesterday? It seems like a lifetime ago." He smiled, gripping her hand. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that too."
"Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have been-"
"Shhh!" She said, placing a finger on his lips. "Let me say this before you start apologizing." He nodded, allowing her to continue. "I pushed you off because I was scared. I didn't want you getting close because ninety-nine point nine percent of the guys in my life have been creeps that have hurt me and I didn't want you to be one of them. I would have rather of had you as a friend then to loose that friendship by datin' ya'."
"So you've dated a lot of creeps, that doesn't mean they're all creeps."
"I'm not talkin' bout' datin', Evan. My daddy drove my mamma to drink and then he drove her away. He spent all his time yellin' at my step-mamma and, after she died, he took it all out on me. Two outta three brothers smacked me around constantly so I had to learn to fight young. Trust me, at twelve years old I could deck my five foot nine, fifteen year old brother."
"What about the other brother?"
"Benji always looked out for me. Skip grew up eventually, but Toby-"
"Whoa, wait. Benji, Skip, and Toby? Please tell me that you're talking about human brothers and not…dogs."
"Of course there humans, except of course, when the full moon is out. Benjamin, Stephen, and Tobias. The point is, when I was bleedin' ta' death, I felt you holding my hand and I heard you tell me you loved me, and I realized that I loved you too. I also realized that I hadn't told ya' how I felt, and I wanted to. That's why I fought for my life so hard. I couldn't stand dyin' and you not knowin' how I felt." He smiled, wiping a tear from her eyes.
"I understand," he whispered, leaning in for a kiss and smiled when she obliged. They broke apart when Pepper growled, scooting himself upwards, resting in between them.
Think of me as the Berlin wall, boy, he growled, try to cross me and you find out what barbed-wire between your legs feels like. Raven giggled.
"He said-"
"Thanks, but I get the picture. I would prefer not to know what he really said." They sat a moment in companionable silence before Evan leaned down, pulling Raven's guitar off of the floor and pulling the guitar pick from under the strings, handing it to her. "You know, I've never heard you play. Play something for us, the two none abusive men in your life," he said, affectionately rubbing Peppers ears.
"My arm's a little sore, but I'll try." She took a deep breath and strummed a chord.
"Do you sing or just strum chords?"
"I can sing a little."
"Well, go for it." She smiled, taking a breath as she strummed again.
"How could you know
That behind my eyes a sad girl cried
And how could you know
That I hurt so much inside
And how could you know
That I'm not the average girl
I'm carrying the weight of the world
YEAH!
So can you get me outta here"
Her voice is beautiful, Evan thought, placing his hand on her knee, inviting her to go on.
"Take me away
We'll jump in the car
Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far
That we can't
See this place anymore
Take a day off
Give it a rest
So I can forget about this mess
If I lighten up a little bit,
Then I will be
Over It
I'm playin' the role
Of the happy girl
But no one knows
Inside I'm alone
But I would never let it show
I get everyday
Too much work and not enough play
Over and over
It's always the same
YEAH!
But you can make everything OK...
Take me away
We'll jump in the car
Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far
That we can't
See this place anymore
Take a day off
Give it a rest
So I can forget about this mess
If I lighten up a little bit,
Then I will be
Over it
Over it
And when the world is closin' in
I can leave it all and just walk away
I can always start all over again
I am closer to a better day
Take me away
We'll jump in the car
Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far
That we can't
See this place anymore
Take a day off
Give it a rest
So I can forget about this mess
If I lighten up a little bit,
Then I will be
Take Me Away
Take Me Away
We'll jump in the car
Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far
That we can't
See this place anymore
Take a day off
Give it a rest
So I can forget about this mess
If I lighten up a little bit,
Then I will be
If I lighten up a little bit,
Then I will be
Over It
Over It
I am Over It (over it)" He grinned as she finished.
"Beautiful," he said softly, kissing her gently. Pepper growled a warning.
It had been a few days since Raven had gotten home from the hospital and she had moved from the infirmary back to her room. She and Pepper were still encouraged to take it easy. Rogue stayed with her most of the time, catching up on old times as Raven absently strummed her guitar, humming the tune under her breath.
I can see it your eyes you're hurting
But pain is part of learning who you are
All these truths can sometimes be deceiving
When your whole world comes crashing to the ground
"Hey, Raven do you remember when we used to go catchin' fireflies in the meadow?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Do you remember when ya' taught me how to catch them properly?"
"Yeah, I told ya' ta' cup your hands around them and hold them gently, being careful not to crush 'em."
Tell me everything you need now anything at all
And I will be the one who's waiting anytime you fall
Yeah, When you come undone
When you come undone
"I always wanted to keep em' in my bedroom, but you wouldn't let me, because they needed their freedom. And you always told me ta' poke holes in the lids of the jars so they could breath. You remember the first summer we were old enough to hunt fireflies. I was upset when they disappeared in the fall?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"I was thinkin' about it the other day."
"I told you that they'd be back but you didn't believe me."
You know I can't be like everybody
Cause I can't tell you what you want to hear
I don't know if I can make it better
All I know is I will be around
"Do you remember what you told me the next summer?"
"No I don't," Raven said, strumming the guitar again.
"You said, 'See Marie, they never really go away. They just hide until it's safe to come out. It's their way of survivin'." Raven shrugged. Rogue giggled and leaped off the bed and began digging in her dresser, Raven watching curiously.
Tell me everything you need now anything at all
And I will be the one who's waiting anytime you fall
Yeah, When you come undone
When you come undone
She pulled out two mason jars with holes poked in the top with a hot nail. Raven giggled. "What's with this?"
"I thought we might go huntin', for old time's sake."
"Rogue, we're almost sixteen years old. Firefly huntin' is somthin' ya' do when you're seven."
When all your plans are made out lying on the floor
And all your dreams are turning into nothing more
When all your hope has left you know you're not alone
Just hold on
Hold on
"So? We missed out on a lot of fun times while I was gone. Come on, Firefly. Please?" Raven giggled.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to be kids one more time." She took a jar from her friend and opened the door.
"See Marie, they never really go away. They just hide until it's safe to come out. It's their way of survivin"
Tell me everything you need now anything at all
And I will be the one who's waiting anytime you fall
Yeah, When you come undone
When you come undone