Note: Thank you so much to everyone who's reading/reviewing/following this story. I really appreciate it. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but it's the last complete chapter I have written and edited. Still more to come, though. Enjoy the RoLo-ness! :D
Seven
By the time they pulled up in front of the mansion, Logan was no longer hot with fever, but his breathing was still bad and his heart was beating erratically. Kurt immediately teleported him to the infirmary before returning to the van for Ororo and the professor. The three person teleport trip hadn't been pleasant, and it took Ororo a moment to regain her equilibrium before she had composed herself enough to go to Logan's bedside.
Charles was trying to attach a few monitoring devices, but the feral mutant wouldn't have it. He struggled weakly on the bed in a semi-delirious state, fending off the professor's efforts to aide him.
"It's alright, Logan. We're only trying to help," Ororo said calmly, her voice soft and reassuring, like she was speaking to a small child.
"I don't…need…it," Logan gasped with effort, obviously struggling to breathe.
Ororo's worried eyes flashed toward the professor, silently asking what they could do for him.
"Logan, at least allow me to give you some oxygen until your healing factor fully eradicates the poison. It will help your breathing," Charles tried to reason with him in a firm, even voice.
Clenching his eyes shut for a long moment, Logan finally opened them again, the dark brown orbs flashing toward Ororo. Heaving out a weak, shaky breath, he finally nodded in assent.
Charles quickly reached up and placed the oxygen mask over Logan's mouth and nose as his struggles for breath continued.
Ororo watched as Logan lay back, breathing a little easier after a minute or so with the oxygen, his breaths quickly fogging up the mask as he closed his eyes. He was finally giving in to his body's need for rest as his healing factor did its job. Her own shoulders sagged with relief.
"Ororo, you must be exhausted; you've had a long day. You should go enjoy a shower before the students use up all the hot water, and then get some rest," Charles suggested kindly, his chair rolling back from the infirmary bed.
She glanced at her friend lying so still and quiet and shifted her weight with hesitation. "I'd rather keep an eye on Logan, Charles," Ororo admitted softly.
The professor smiled at her knowingly. "If you won't rest now, then at least take the opportunity to shower and change. I'll stay with Logan until you return."
Ororo laughed softly. "That bad?" she asked half-jokingly, knowing she probably didn't smell the greatest after three days camping without being able to bathe properly.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Charles teased dryly with a sly grin.
Ducking her head with another soft laugh, Ororo nodded. "Alright. I shall return in no more than ten minutes."
.
Despite her initial hesitation to leave, a real shower had felt heavenly. She'd dressed in one of her long nightgowns and threw on a robe and slippers before leaving her room to return to the med lab.
Ororo entered quietly and smiled at Charles, noticing he had placed a chair beside the bed for her. He swiveled his wheelchair around and met her by the door. "Any change?" she asked.
"His breathing is still labored, but there's no more fever or erratic pulse. I believe the poison will be completely out of Logan's system within another hour or so," Xavier told her confidently.
She nodded, relieved. "That's good news."
"Ororo, if you're still here when he wakes, try and get him to drink some water. He'll need fluids."
"I'll take care of it, Charles," Ororo assured him. "Thank you. Sleep well."
He smiled warmly at her with a slight nod, dimming the lights on his way out. "Goodnight, Ororo."
Sinking into the chair that the professor had left her, Ororo sighed and attempted to make herself at least somewhat comfortable. Her eyes were glued to Logan, however. Stripped down to his shorts, Charles had covered him half way with a blanket now that he was no longer sweating and feverish. The oxygen mask remained over his face, and he looked to be breathing much easier than when they'd arrived.
Leaning sideways in the uncomfortable chair, Ororo propped her cheek against her palm and began drifting off to sleep as her exhaustion slowly caught up with her.
.
"Unnf."
Ororo groggily dragged her eyelids open at the peculiar sound and straightened in the uncomfortable chair she'd fallen asleep in, stretching with a slight grimace. Trying to figure out what had woken her, her gaze flicked to the hospital bed where Logan was sitting up with his legs dangling over the side, the oxygen mask he'd been wearing lying discarded on the mattress. "Logan," she uttered softly, rising to her feet with a grace that didn't give away her stiffness. "Should you be up?"
He lifted his chin and looked up at her, holding up a hand to signal he was alright. "I'm fine," Logan assured her, his voice low and a little rough.
Ororo gave him a skeptical look.
"You could probably knock me over with a feather, but the poison's gone," he admitted with an attempted half-smile.
She nodded, trusting Logan's experience with his own abilities to know when his system was back to normal.
He ran a hand over his face and blew out a breath, furrowing his brows. "What time is it?"
Lifting her left wrist, Ororo squinted at her watch face in the dim lighting. "Nearly three in the morning." She tried to hide the surprise in her voice at realizing just how late—or early—it actually was.
"You been here all night?" Logan asked her with a frown as he slid off the bed, his legs instantly refusing to hold him up. "Whoa."
Ororo leapt forward and grabbed for his arm, pushing him back onto the bed. "Maybe you should lie down for a while longer," she suggested.
He shook his head and grunted. "Not here. I can make it to my room."
"With some help?" Ororo offered with a knowing smile.
"Hmph. Maybe." Logan planted his bare feet on the floor again, but this time when his knees began to buckle, Ororo swiftly ducked under his left arm and wrapped her right around his waist. He gripped her shoulder and she slowly guided him out of the med lab.
They shuffled down the hall to the elevator and made their way up to the dorm level. When they were almost at their destination, Ororo could tell that Logan's steps were a little more sure, but she knew he was tired. As they stepped into his room and she walked him to his bed, Logan huffed out an exaggerated groan and flopped face first onto his mattress.
Ororo smiled down at him and tugged at one of the blankets to drape over his sprawled form. "Goodnight, Logan." Without thinking twice about it, she leaned over and planted a kiss on top of his head. To her surprise, he reached out and grasped her hand when she went to turn away.
"Thanks, 'Ro," he murmured lowly as she stopped. "For…everything."
"Of course." She turned back to see his sleepy face gazing at her from the bed and smiled at him with a slight nod. Looking into his eyes made Ororo want to go back to the previous night, lying together in his tent. Despite her claustrophobia, she couldn't have felt more safe or at peace with Logan's arms around her. She wanted that feeling again.
"C'mon." Somehow sensing something of what she was feeling, Logan rolled onto his side and dragged himself over in bed so that he wasn't occupying the entire space.
Without second-guessing herself, Ororo slid her feet out of her slippers and removed her robe, draping it over the corner chair before crawling onto the bed. She spooned up against Logan's naked back and wrapped her arms around him.
He grunted softly. "Sorry. I know I don't smell the greatest... I can hop in the shower if you—"
"Oh, hush." She cut him off, smiling into the back of his neck. "Just rest. You are fine." Ororo closed her eyes, happy to be snuggling with Logan, and happy that he was no longer suffering symptoms from the poison that had been working its way out of his system most of the day.
Breathing heavily and feeling relaxed as she drifted in the in-between realm of being awake and asleep, Ororo smiled as she heard Logan start to snore, letting her know just how deeply he was sleeping. It told her how at ease he was, and she couldn't help but feel at least somewhat responsible for that relaxed state.
.
