Notes: See, I'm going to be so harsh on myself for this chapter. I feel like I'm missing some valuable information here and as a future med student, that's just unacceptable, lol. I also need to move out. Like soon. Living with people isn't fun. TV's biggest lie right here.
But oh wow, you guys are amazing. :) Thanks for staying with this story, guys. And welcome, new readers!
Blackbird
Chapter 4
Kurt was surprised that he woke up in his room. He was still dazed and his body felt heavy. But he could move his head. To his right there was his bed stand. He never really held much there, just his alarm clock. He blinked, feeling his vision going blurry then turned his head to his left. Kurt smiled. It was his sister, hunched over in a chair sleeping. It was a bad position for her to relax in, but it was great to know that she was watching over him. Kurt tried to flick his tale, but even it felt as heavy as the rest of his body.
"Rogue," he tried to call out, but something was off. He couldn't speak. She stirred a bit, but didn't wake up. He tried again, feeling himself falling back to sleep. This time she did wake up. Belatedly, he realized that she wasn't reacting to him. She was just waking up.
She rubbed her eyes, smudging her makeup then looked over at Kurt. Her green eyes twinkled as she grinned at him.
"Kurt, you're okay." She moved to give him a hug, then thought better of it.
She helped Kurt sit up on the bed.
"Now, I'm gonna give you somethin' to drink then I'll get Mr. McCoy," she told him, "I think you might be the first one up."
Kurt gave Rogue a confused look. First one up?
She reached down on the side of the bed and pulled out a water bottle then helped him drink the water. As he drank, Rogue spoke.
"They're saying it's something with the heating. Grew to unbearable levels and all the guys on this side of the mansion got a heatstroke. Put everyone affected in a coma."
She pulled the bottle away from him and gave him a concerned look.
"Can you hear me?"
Kurt nodded.
"So, I'm gonna go get Mr. McCoy. We can see if you're okay and change your vest and sheet," she told him. Kurt nodded again. She hesitated for a moment before lightly running her gloved hands over his cheek.
"You're going to be okay," she whispered, and Kurt smiled back. He was sure she was saying that for her benefit as well as his. She stood, gave him a parting glance then left his room.
Kurt sat there, trying to get his bearings. It felt like he was still dreaming, he felt every bit hazy, and he was so confused. He tried to get out of the bed, but he felt a strong sense of vertigo and he collapsed on the bed, feeling numb. Slowly, Kurt started noticing things that he didn't before. Like the drip he was attached to. Like the fact that these weren't his regular covers. It felt like there was a big gap in his head, he felt so disoriented.
He was falling back into his slumber when Rogue and Mr. McCoy came into the room.
OoOoO
His dreams were strange.
The varied from black and white images to images with colors he didn't even realize existed. Sometimes, they made sense. There was one where he was in Germany, talking to his brother. It wasn't a memory, he knew. Stephan wasn't the type to talk about strange things.
"Promise, Kurt," Stephan pleaded, "promise you'll do this."
"I don't kill," Kurt replied, "and you wouldn't do that."
Maybe it was a memory. It did seem familiar. He wished he could remember.
Other dreams weren't extremely weird, but they still didn't make sense. There was another, where he was inside a cathedral, preaching. The peculiar thing was just the people around him. The looks they gave him... such admiration. Such hope.
"By waiting and by calm you shall be saved," Kurt quoted, smiling, "in quiet and trust your strength lies."
Beautiful dream... but unrealistic. God doesn't want demons in his sanctuary.
Sometimes, his dreams blurred with reality. He didn't catch it at first, but later on he did. In his dreams, Amanda and Kitty would comfort him, tell him everything was alright, while Mr. McCoy would try to keep his attention.
"Wake up, Kurt," Kitty and Amanda would tell him, "they need you out there."
"Can you hear me Kurt?" Mr. McCoy would ask. He could, he just wouldn't be able to respond.
When his dreams were like this, Kurt never wanted to wake up. It felt like he was going insane, because he didn't know what was a dream, and what wasn't, but it was something he could deal with. Something familiar.
Other times, Jean would visit Kurt. He thought it was Jean. She was a peaceful presence in his mind. There was an understanding between them. Today, she was with him in his mind.
"A coma," Kurt repeated. Jean nodded.
"Scott, Bobby, and a few others are still out," she said, "you're still the first to show some recovery."
They were sitting in the white room again. It was a peaceful place for them to just talk. The dreams he had was filled with too much chaos for Jean to properly sort through without messing him up. He looked at Jean. It seemed like she was a little messed up too.
"How is Scott," Kurt asked.
Jean sighed and shrugged.
"I don't know," she whispered, "I... just can't."
Kurt gave Jean a concerned looked.
"Why not?"
She gave him a guilty look before she answered.
"I think I might be the reason behind this whole thing..."
Kurt had stared at Jean for the longest time, not knowing what to say. He shook his head and looked at the four portraits in the centre of the room. Only one of them was void of its glass casing, the rest were showing scratches and cracks. Jean had stood and announced that she had to leave. Kurt told her that he wouldn't tell anyone of the conversation they had, should he even remember it. The look of relief on her face brought a smile to his.
OoOoO
Sometimes, the Professor visited him. The meetings felt long, but the Professor had smiled in his all knowing way and would inform him that no, he had been there for only a few minutes.
"Telepaths are a strange bunch," Kurt mused, as he lead the Professor through the white room of portraits, like he did with Jean numerous times.
"So are the minds we encounter," the Professor shot back with a wry smile.
Kurt's tail flicked in response, liking this side of the Professor. It was still strange to see the man walking, but it was his mind, meaning none of this was truly real. There was a door on one end of the room and Kurt let the Professor lead him from there.
"It's been a while since I've been in here," Xavier said with a thoughtful expression.
Kurt shrugged, "I suppose..."
They were walking through a hallway and it held portraits of each person Kurt had met. The Professor walked by each of them, expression never changing, even as he walked by portraits of the Brotherhood, Mystique and Magneto. Kurt had paused at the Brotherhood's portraits.
The one thing that surprised Kurt was that he bore no ill feelings towards them. Not now anyway. There was a small amount of resentment, but that was simply because Mystique was their leader. Kurt frowned as he walked to the portrait of his mother. She didn't have a smile on her face, but she didn't have her usual sneer on her face either. the only question that crossed this mind was just "who is this woman?" In his mind, this was a very valid question, considering the type of woman she is, and the nature of her powers. Kurt wondered if she knew herself.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see the Professor patiently standing, waiting for him to continue on with whatever was going to do next. Kurt looked down, and walked over to the Professor. He let him wrap a comforting arm around his shoulder as the continued down the hallway. Kurt wondered if he would ever be this honest with himself like he was now.
As if hearing the question, the Professor squeezed Kurt's shoulder. It felt like he was saying "no, you won't, but it's good to know that you are capable."
OoOoO
With the Professor counseling him in his mind and Mr. McCoy prodding him in the physical world, Kurt found himself making a slow, steady recovery. Kurt heard in passing that the others were making a steady recovery as well. Jean, Rogue, and now Kitty were permitted to visit him on a regular basis now that he was lucid enough to respond to McCoy's questions.
Kitty was an animated visitor, talking and smiling and generally keeping him distracted from any dark thoughts that threatened to enter his mind. Jean was a calmer version of Kitty, opting to talk to Kurt or listen. Kurt found it hard to ever think negatively with her around. Rogue, however, understood Kurt for what he was.
She would sometimes talk to him about a book she was currently reading. Her tastes in literature were different from what he expected the Southern Goth to enjoy. Romance novels to sci-fic collections. Strange girl. Sometimes, Rogue would tell her of the outside world. They were all working to get the boys in working order at the moment. Still, no one knew the cause of the collective heatstroke. Sometimes, Rogue would just sit beside Kurt quietly. He loved those moments the most; Rogue looked so relaxed.
He found that Logan and Ororo had visited him regularly as well, but only when he was unconscious. One day though, he did manage to catch Logan once. The Canadian gave him a grunt, saying, "Next time, Elf, warn a person before you stink up their gym."
His only response was a fanged grin and: "Herr Logan, being the only occupant of the gym does not equate to being its owner."
He could hear Mr. McCoy laughing in the distance and he could see Logan's proud smirk.
OoOoO
Kurt's proof that he was getting better came in the form of Jamie Maddrox.
Kurt was sure that the boy had snuck in. He could see that Jamie was looking around with that fearful look that he adopted from Bobby. The look that expressed his knowledge of getting caught and his fear of getting caught too soon. Bobby stole that look from Kurt. Jamie tilted his head at Kurt, expression suddenly void of his previous nervousness. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Kurt watched as Jamie looked through one of his pockets and pulled out a pack of cards. A lazy smile eased onto the German's face.
"I don't know how to play any of the hard stuff," Jamie informed Kurt with a pout.
"'S okay," he replied, trying to sit himself up, "you can choose the game."
The only help Jamie gave him was when he needed pillows behind his back to keep himself vertical. Aside from that, Kurt did his own work. His sloppy reaches for the cards were never called out by Jamie, and Jamie didn't complain about the time it took Kurt to do certain actions. They played a variety of games. Gold fish to solitaire. Hearts to war. And all through it, Jamie kept up conversation for the both of them.
"Bobby's waking up," Jamie said, and there was a hint of relief in his voice, "so are the others."
Jamie reached for another from the deck. They were playing another round of solitaire.
"How are they doing," Kurt asked.
"I don't know," Jamie admitted, "nobody will tell me. I heard that you were the only one doing stuff though."
Jamie laid the card down in it's rightful place, looking at Kurt with expectant eyes.
"Probably means that they don't have enough information to give out," he assured Jamie. He reached for a card in the deck. His movements were slower than he was use to but they were becoming a bit more fluid since he had been playing with Maddrox. Finally, he picked up a card. Ace of spades. Cool.
OoOoO
It took Kurt a while before McCoy let him out of the medlab. It took even longer for the others to show the type of progress that he showed himself. Time was spent doing physical and mental therapy. Kitty and Rogue still spent their time with Kurt (Kurt wondered sometimes if they were forced to do it). Kurt started teaching Jamie how to play cards.
His moves weren't as quick, and it took the longest time for him to keep his German out of his English. But he was making progress, and that was all that mattered.
Things weren't going to be like they were before, Kurt realized. But he knew that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.