Chapter 9:
Jubilee regained consciousness rather quickly. She lay motionless for a moment, dazed and utterly confused. She could feel sluggish blood seeping from a large gash in the back of her head, and her shoulder was clearly dislocated. What the hell had happened? She didn't breathe or move as she listened to the conversation taking place.
"…so imagine my surprise to find the Wolverine roaming in these woods." A high-pitched female voice said. "You aren't at all what I'm after, but seeing you lets me know I must be on the right track."
"I don't know what you want, Selene, but you know I won't let you hurt her."
The woman laughed, "Oh, but I plan on doing more than hurting her. I plan on removing her head. You do know how very difficult she is to kill." There was a pause, and Jubilee could hear Logan growl in a mixture of outrage and warning. The woman chuckled again, "She's taken something of mine, and I find that quite unforgivable."
"You'll have to get through me- -" Logan abruptly stopped speaking, and Jubilee almost jumped to her feet to come to his aid, but just lifting her head caused dizziness to overtake her. That head injury must be pretty bad if hadn't immediately healed. She was able to turn her face enough to see that he was being pinned against a tree by an invisible force.
Jubilee could only see the back of the woman as she approached him. She had long black hair and a black, fur-lined cape covered her body. A black-gloved hand reached up to take one of Logan's hands into hers. She watched as his body jolted in response. She was doing something to him. Jubilee tried to push herself into a crouch, but her arm was useless, dislocated. She'd have to snap it back into place, which would make enough noise to get everyone's attention, but then the darkly-clad figure's words gave her pause: "I don't have plans on killing you, Logan; it just isn't part of my current agenda, but I don't need you mucking up my plans either." The hand flexed on his, and his claws slid out. By the gritting of his teeth, Jubilee guessed it was not of his doing. Almost as if moving the limb of a sleeping child, she easily twisted his arm until she could plunge the blades deep into his abdomen and after that, into the tree he was pressed against.
He grunted in pain, and his eyes met Jubilee's. At this point, she had managed to roll into a crouch. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. He didn't want her to interfere. The woman didn't notice the look because she was almost lovingly stroking his other hand now.
"Don't fight me, Wolverine. You know I'll win." He grunted as the claws made an appearance on his other hand. She followed the same process with this one, and this time, he couldn't help but cry out from the pain, but his eyes stayed focused on Jubilee, clear warning written in them. It took all of her trust in him from years and years of being his partner for her to remain where she was, especially when the woman ran her fingers along his cheek and leaned up to press a kiss on his mouth…a kiss that lasted much longer than was appropriate. When she drew back, his head sagged against the tree, and he gasped for breath.
The woman sighed in contentment, "Oh thank you. That will hold me over for a while. I want to be at my best when I find your little girl." Her hands rested over his, pressing harder and twisting to cause fresh blood to pour out of the wounds. "Now, I want you to remain like this for a time, and I don't want you to follow me. I will promise you to give her a quick death, but if you follow me, I will draw it out; I will torture her until her mind shatters, and she is completely unrecognizable to those who hold her dear." The woman reached up to pat his cheek. "You know I've been around long enough to have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. Now, be a good boy, and don't make me regret letting you live."
With that, the woman took a few steps and was gone. Logan screamed out in pain as she disappeared, the full weight of his body no longer being held up by her telekinesis. Jubilee dashed toward him. She used her strength to press him up against the tree to try to take the weight off of the claws. "For God's sake, retract them, Logan!" She ordered, trying to hold his body weight so it didn't cause more tearing of his abdomen.
"I…can't…" he managed to bite out. Gritting her teeth, she wrapped her hand around one of his, still trying to support his weight with her damaged shoulder, but the blood made both of their hands slippery. It took a few tries, but with powerful jerks, she was able to remove first one hand and then the other. His full weight fell against her, and they tumbled to the ground.
She carefully rolled him onto his back and pressed her good hand against his stomach to put pressure there while she waited for it to heal. The damage was severe, likely exactly what the woman had wanted to keep him from following her. He kept his eyes closed against the pain but managed to murmur, "Thanks for stayin' down. I tried to hit you hard enough to get you outta her notice."
"You hit me?" she asked in surprise as she shrugged out of her parka and pressed it against his stomach, ignoring when he jolted in pain from the renewed pressure. At least the bleeding was slowing, though not as quickly as she expected.
"Yeah," he grunted, "I barely had a second after I scented her. What the hell does she got against you?" He coughed, and some blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Jubilee paused in her ministrations, but only for a moment. She didn't meet his eyes, but just shook her head and said, perhaps more harshly than she intended, "Be quiet until you heal." She had no idea who the woman was, but she would not be the first person coming after her seeking retribution for something Jubilee had done. But she couldn't dwell on that mystery right now. When she lifted her hand to peek at the wound, she realized she was shaking, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. That was a mistake, she realized quickly as the scent of so much blood made her light-headed, her inner instincts rising up and demanding to be fed. She squeezed her eyes closed as she fought to maintain control, to focus on the task at hand. She turned her face away from him, not wanting him to see the raw hunger that was overwhelming her. Not wanting to see him recoil from her.
When she felt his fingers close around her hand over his stomach, she widened her fingers enough so that his could twine through hers. He squeezed her hand, and she absorbed his strength, realizing that she didn't have to fight this alone. His other hand lifted to turn her face back to him, and he kept his hand there, cupping her cheek until she opened her eyes. When she finally gained enough control to open her eyes, he was patiently watching her, a smile curving his lips. He winked, and mumbled, "Proud of you."
She smiled and bent down to kiss him, savoring the taste of blood despite her best efforts to ignore it. She attempted to move her arm to cup his face but winced when she remembered it was still dislocated. He frowned in concern at the wince. She untangled her hand from his and pressed his hand down. "You keep the pressure here, all right?" When he opened his mouth to speak, she pressed down on his hand again, "No. You need to do this so I can fix my shoulder without worrying about you. Then I'll get you up, and we can head back home."
He frowned at her, mumbled the word "bossy," but he remained stationary as she struggled to her feet, her arm still hanging limply by her side. She knew he was still watching her, so she moved further away and stepped behind a tree. She leaned her shoulder against it, exhaled all the oxygen in her lungs (she figured couldn't scream if she didn't have the breath to), and gripped her arm with her good hand. With a quick shove and a resounding CRACK, she reset her shoulder, popping the bones back to where they should be. The pain was intense, and her knees went weak. Her vision dimmed, and when it cleared, she was on her hands and knees, staring down at the snow where little red dots were gradually appearing. Reaching up, she realized she'd bitten through her lip. She sat up and used the edge of her shirt to wipe it from her face, running her tongue over her lip and realizing it was healing quickly enough. She leaned against the tree for just a moment, trying to regain her strength and composure. The pain still radiated from her shoulder, and the back of her head still ached, but she was in considerably better shape than Logan was. Healing factors aside, things didn't heal instantaneously, and she could already feel hunger gnawing at her, even though she was away from the blood. She was working through the blood he'd given her that afternoon at a fast pace considering they'd started on their way before sunset. Now with all the healing her body had to do….
She had to get him back home though, and quickly. His healing factor was working overtime, so he was likely feeling the effects of the cold more now than ever as it tried to both heal the ghastly wounds on his chest and fight the freezing temperatures. She glanced up at the sky that showed through the skeletal branches. She had a couple hours until daybreak, so she would have to work fast. Cursing the woman in black, she pushed herself to her feet and moved back toward him, trying to paste a smile onto her face. She knelt back down beside him and avoided meeting his concerned gaze. His lips were looking a little blue, and that worried her. She moved her parka aside to check the wound again. The wounds were just beginning to close. Being used to his normal healing rate, she knew something was wrong. She had to get him home quickly. She should be able to move him now, though she was sure he wasn't going to be much help.
"You okay? You look paler than normal," he croaked.
"I'm good," she commented, "You are not so good, so we've got to get you home. I'm going to bandage your stomach. Can you tough it out if I help you? We're not far from the cabin, just a few miles." When he nodded, she ripped the parka into shreds, using the stuffing from the inside to pack around the front and back wounds and using the strips to bandage him. Silently, she thanked the X-Men for the field medic course all of the students had had to complete. She moved as quickly as she could, forgoing being gentle in favor of expediency. His eyes had drifted closed, and he occasionally grunted in pain, but he wasn't moving much and hadn't tried to talk again. As she worked, she chewed some of the blood-soaked snow both for the hydration as well as the strength the blood might give her. Her body didn't have a high internal temperature, so it would work for the time being. She had no idea where his pack with the supplies was, and she wasn't going to waste time searching for it. When she was finished, she noticed the sky far to the east had begun to look lighter.
"Logan." When he didn't respond, she placed her cold hands on his face, tapping his cheeks lightly, "Logan! You have to wake up." His eyes opened groggily and then slipped closed again. His body was trying to conserve energy. "Logan!" She slapped his face a little harder and his eyes snapped open, taking a few moments to focus on her face. "Logan. You have to help me. I can't carry you on my own right now. I need you to try to walk. Can you do that?" He nodded but closed his eyes again. She cursed and bent her face closer to his, "Logan! The sun is going to come up, and I'm not going to leave you here. Wake up unless you want to watch me fry!"
At the urgency in her voice, he tried to push himself into a sitting position, still not opening his eyes. His head lolled forward, and she took on much of his weight as she helped him to get to his feet. The amount of blood that covered the ground where he had laid terrified her. He had lost more, much more than she had imagined. She turned away, fighting the sick feeling of dread in her stomach.
"Come on," she murmured, "Let's get you home."
It was almost daybreak by the time they reached the clearing, and by that point, Jubilee was mostly dragging him along with her. His skin was as icily cold as hers was, and she was sure his mutant powers were working hard at just keeping his systems functioning. Blood had begun to seep through the packing at his waist, and his breath was shallow. Just as she was getting ready to leave the forest, she stopped. There were fresh footprints coming from the other side of the clearing that didn't belong to either of them. Jubilee lifted her head to sniff the air. The scent was distinctive and familiar, but it didn't match what she'd smelled from the woman earlier. Whoever had been here was long gone, likely having arrived earlier in the day. Leaving Logan propped against a tree, she scouted the perimeter, and gradually moved closer to the house to study the prints on the porch. The boots were much smaller than Logan's, closer to her size, so that made two mysterious women in one day. Fan-fucking-tastic. Just what she needed.
She looked up again, her gaze searching the porch, the clearing, and the treeline for any clue of who it had been. She sniffed again, but fresh snowfall had masked any lingering scents. She pushed the door open and looked around inside. The door had been unlocked, but it appeared that their visitor hadn't even tried entering.
Jubilee jogged back to where she'd left him, each step feeling as if her feet weighed a ton. She carefully helped Logan up the steps and into the room, laying him on the couch. The fire had gone out long ago, and the backup heater had turned on to keep the place at a temperature just above freezing, but it was still cold. Clumsily, she began to build the fire, using small scraps to start and slowly feeding in larger branches until she could add a few heavier logs.
She moved to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge for him and a bottle of his blood for her. She knelt by him and lifted his head, putting the water to his lips. He was still pretty out of it, so he choked at first, but eventually, he began to drink. She made him finish half of the bottle and then let him rest again. The fire was crackling, but she threw a couple more logs on it as she went to the bathroom and turned the shower on, giving the water time to warm. His skin had been so icy. On her way back to the couch, she chugged the blood, almost immediately feeling her waning strength return.
She helped him up from the couch and half-carried him to the bathroom. She stripped him, relieved that the skin had fully closed over the wounds on his abdomen, discarded what she was wearing, and guided him into the shower, helping him lift his legs over the rim of the tub. She let him lean against her and turned him so that the warm water ran over his back. She stroked her fingers along the skin so that they would be warmed by the spray while she cleaned the blood from his lower back. She had to hold back a sob when she felt the scabs where his claws had pierced through. The reality of all of it was suddenly hitting her. She gave into the emotions for just a few moments, letting the tears slide down her cheeks as she held him, trying to warm his frigid body.
She felt him release a shuddering breath, and felt him trying to stand on his own. She soothingly murmured his name, whispering that he was safe and that they were home. He calmed, resting his weight on her once more. As she felt his body warming, she released a sigh of relief and stretched one hand to increase the temperature of the water to make it closer to hot. She rotated so the spray ran over her shoulders, covering the front of his body where it pressed against hers. His head rested on her shoulder, facing away from the spray. She heard him cough, and soothed his back again. Her lips curved into a wry smile when she heard him mutter, "Certainly planned on…enjoyin'…bein' naked in a shower… with you…more than…this." His voice trailed off and he sagged more heavily against her. Yeah, any of her fantasies of being in a shower with him had been a far cry from this reality as well. She closed her eyes and leaned her good shoulder against the wall of the shower. She was so tired.
They stayed in that position until the water began to run cold. She reached behind to turn it off and grabbed a towel to wrap around his shoulders. She dried him and re-bandaged his abdomen, which didn't look as if it had improved much, and assumed that meant his body was focusing on healing any internal injuries. She carefully guided him back to the living room, nudging the armchair closer to the fire and resting him in it. She moved the coffee table and couch out of the way and was pleased to see his eyes open and watching her. He was feeling well enough to be aware of what was going on. She dragged the mattress from the bedroom and settled it in front of the fire, returning with as many blankets as she could find. She moved in front of him and cupped his face with her hands. His skin was still cold, but at least his color was becoming normal again.
He grinned at her and she smiled back before carefully lifting him and settling him on the mattress, covering him with all of the blankets. She moved to the door and began to lace her boots when she realized that she'd never taken the time to dress. She glanced back at him, but his eyes had drifted closed. So that had been what he'd been grinning at. She closed her eyes in embarrassment and prayed that he would be too out of it to remember watching her rearrange furniture in the nude. She dashed back into the bedroom to throw on some clothing and cracked the door. The sun was just barely up. She grabbed another bottle of blood and then stepped out into the light, ignoring the tingle it caused on her skin. She wanted to check the perimeter one more time before resting for the day. When she felt secure, she went back inside, locked and barred the door, and curled up on the mattress next to him to fall asleep.
Author's Note: Thanks for another fantastic review, growlscout!
I know some of you may be scratching your head over just how long it's taking Logan to heal up, but it will make more sense if you 1. Know who Selene is and 2. Read the next chapter. It will be explained. The next chapter may not post until late on Weds as I'll be traveling for work this week. My apologies—stay tuned and keep the reviews and comments coming!