Ch: 16 Kim's Uncle
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Wolverine's dark eyebrows lowered significantly on his face. His lips thinned into an inexorable line.
This cant' be happening to me right now, he thought silently.
He stood rigid before the checkout desk, glaring down at the receptionist sitting before him. The brightly painted waiting room did nothing to alter his mood. Birds egg blue washed over the walls, dashed with brightly polka-dotted butterflies. Comfy chairs sat in a row beneath open windows on the opposite wall, located directly behind the glass sliding doors. Their cushions caught the last of the sunlight and if he'd been more exhausted, they may have seemed tempting. He'd seen more than one parent sink into their embrace from the corner of his eye. A humming TV in a lone corner flashed vividly for a couple of children spread out on a checkerboard rug. They had taken her to a Children's hospital. Not the real thing. For this he was grateful. But yet… Everything about this particular room stunk of normal, non-mutated human beings. The woman in front of him was no exception.
He continued to stare unwavering at her, unsuccessfully striving to make her wither in his glare. Carrot orange curls framed a portly face that was heavily polished with makeup. Two almond shaped, brown eyes, emblazoned with a sharp green eye shadow, gazed up at him calmly. From the way she held herself, she held a rod of authority in this institution and nothing escaped her. A pen lay perched in her small fingers, ready to scribble on the numerous sticky note pads spread out around her. She sat poised, unperturbed.
Impossible, he thought vehemently, his eyes narrowing. How many war wounds and casualties have I suffered through? Even the number of mutilated idiots that dared tease me into a fight is definitely a scant larger than the number of years I've been alive. Rescue missions have taken up hours of my life, requiring the best of my acquired skills, demanding the quickest thinking on my feet that I've ever shown. But yet, in the 21st century, I have to tangle with this receptionist? In order to get to a kid I would absolutely die for? Great God… save me from an adamant woman!
In an unhurried, slightly bored tone, she repeated, "You are not listed as a direct relation to Kismet Reid, Mr. Logan. You just… aren't… here. I can't allow you to proceed into the ER if you aren't one of Kim's family members. We have rules…"
Wolverine stared at her, barely smothering his rising indignation.
"Why don't you try looking again," he forced himself to respond softly. "Perhaps a little harder…"
The receptionist blinked. Very slowly. Those eyes, so full of passive disdain, would quickly drive him nuts. Clearly, she wasn't impressed. She leaned a bit to the left, looking around his huge frame. A silent line was forming behind him, getting longer with every passing minute. She came back, looking at Wolverine pointedly.
"Mr. Logan-"
Suddenly, her empowered demeanor vanished. She winced to herself and clutched her forehead, the places where fingers met skin paling into a snowy white. The shiny, black pen fell out of her fingers like a snake, clacking on the desk, and rolling onto the carpet. A small moan escaped her red lips. Wolverine flashed a quick glance to his outside peripherals, not moving from his place in front of the desk. Thankfully the receptionist hadn't been too loud, and no one behind him jumped in surprise. If anything, their aggravated facial expressions became more pronounced. Her head bowed down over her paperwork, she fell uncharacteristically silent. For a long minute he shielded her, saying murmured gibberish to the air around him, hopefully fooling the others into assuming he was still carrying on a frustrated conversation. The people waiting would be none the wiser.
Then, like a cork, she jerked back into wakefulness. Her eyes flashed as she recognized his looming figure, as she'd seen him coming and dreaded the thought of admitting defeat. Sparks of daze receded back into her mind. He knew whose head had taken a seat within her own, constructing an entirely new memory to keep her shrewd calculations subdued.
"Well," she said in a resigned murmur. She broke hard eye contact and turned business-like to the monitor in her possession. The keys clicked and clacked when she began typing furiously on her keyboard. Her palm enclosed on her mouse, clicking on different links, her eyes darting back and forth thoroughly on each page. Finally, she seemed to find what she was searching for and sat back. Sighing, the receptionist took off her glasses and held his eyes.
"It appears that I was mistaken, which does not happen often. Twenty seven years working in this same building typically serves me well. However, according to our records, you are Kismet's third uncle on her….father's side?"
Wolverine let his gaze drift up to the ceiling.
"It's amazing. I swear I told you that, what? Fifteen minutes ago?"
She didn't respond when he lowered his head. She still did not utter a word when he gave her another silent, deeply aggravated stare. Finally, seeing that he had gotten his point across, Wolverine jerked his head towards the left. A long hall stretched out, traveling up and beyond, leading to a large number of patient rooms.
"May I be excused, now?" He asked.
Her eyes glittered but she kept her voice smooth.
"I'm sure the patient would be glad for family support. You will find Kismet in room 512."
Wolverine stepped away without another word. He really should be more courteous; there was no reason to stoop down to her level. She probably encountered real jerks all day long. People who didn't have a Professor to jiggle with the thoughts in her head, where the truth blared unspeakably on her computer screen. Real donkey bums that tried to get past her post.
But he was in no mood to be reflective or apologetic.
One of his kids needed him.
XXX
It was a safety mechanism.
In the back of her mind, she knew this and understood it.
They called it shock.
Even as this plethora of knowledge knocked gently on her heart, she still remained far away, off in a world that she might only breathe and physically move. There was no thinking involved. No feeling. Only a robotic sense of otherworldness. Of life.
It was beautiful.
Why had she bothered feeling, anyway? To feel meant to open up the most vulnerable bits of you and chance these bits being demolished and crushed. The strongest human beings could stand this and rebuild their pillars readily. But not everyone on this stupid planet had this inner fortitude.
It was so much easier living in…in…
Why define it?
No. She wouldn't question it.
When a shadow, a very large and very tall shadow, filled up her door, Kim didn't bother confirming who this new person was. By the way her watery second sense could distinguish the metallic blood flowing through his veins, she knew his identity.
The heart monitor beeped steadily on her right hand side. Her bed had been propped up so that she could sit forward comfortably. None of this "laying down". She didn't want to do that anymore.
Big, gentle hands gripped the IV needle dripping into her arm. They dismantled it, gently plugging up the hole of the needle, saving it for later. The heart monitor was pushed aside. These same hands supported her upper back and began to pull her forward until her upper torso leaned over the bed. Her feet were swung over and plopped onto the ground. Comfortingly, the socks they fitted her with kept her feet warm from the cold ground. The hospital gown she wore was thin, but she didn't complain. In fact, she didn't say much of anything.
Kim let her head fall onto his strong chest as he picked her up to cradle her protectively against him. Body heat immediately dashed through the thin cotton fabric that hid her nakedness from the world. They had taken her other clothes away from her. Then, her eyelids felt thick. Heavy. They closed on their own accord and she fell into a half sleep.
Wolverine began to walk. Every step he took reminded her of a rocking chair. Their promenade was noted by many a nurse and assistant. Before security was notified, they returned to the reception/sign in area. The receptionist herself looked away from the woman in front of her to stare after them, wide eyed. Once the sliding doors parted to let them leave, she squawked and quickly grabbed the phone.
But she was too late.
Thank you readers for being SO PATIENT.
I literally have been taking a break from the most stressful quarter of my college life YET. And it is WONDERFUL to have summer off!
But honestly...
You really have no idea how amazing it is to have people waiting for this new chapter to come out. It encourages me to keep writing!
And I do apologize for this one being a bit of a cliff hanger. But I'm getting a head ache and this is what pounced out of my mind.
I hope you enjoyed this little snippet. I promise there will be more soon and I'd REALLY appreciate the reviews! So go on and tell me what you think!
Sincerely Yours,
Merlin