Marvel owns the rights to Sabretooth & Birdy, all others are my creation.

Reviews and constructive criticism welcome.

The ticking of the clock on the wall was driving him mad. He was lying on a metal bed attachment of a giant chamber machine in a room three floors away from his own while a handful of doctors discussed him in what was supposed to be a sound-proof room. Creed could hear them just fine if he turned up his hearing. It was making him uneasy knowing that there were so many of them for what they explained as a simple MRI scan. They weren't talking about anything significant at the moment, only his vitals and history. Instead, he turned his hearing to Emma, who sat in the hall – she wasn't permitted to wait with him. She was reading the book she had brought him the night before, he could hear her turn the pages. Her heart beat just a bit faster than usual. She was nervous about something. It took him a while to realize she was worried about him.

Finally one of the older doctors emerged from the room connected to the one he was in and approached Creed, who was strapped down to the table.

"Now Mr. Creed, you understand the risks involved? I have your signed consent here." The man didn't wait for a response. "Do you have any metal on your person? Any implants or joint replacements?"

"Not to my knowledge." Creed replied cautiously. To be frank, he had no idea what was in his body. This didn't seem to concern the doctor though.

"Alright, the machine is rather loud and scary but I assure you, it won't hurt while it takes a full body scan." He tightened the restraints and reminded the patient not to move while in the chamber. Creed growled at the order but remained still as the bed eased its way back into the machine, taking him with it.

It was cramped in there and he has to turn his hearing down low as the machine began to warm up. Then there were loud bangs and bright lights. Something gurgled inside of him and then there was pain. A lot of it.

ooooooo

Emma had never heard a sound such as the one coming from the MRI room come from Victor before. It terrified her. The book she was reading spilled from her hands as she ran to see him. The doctors had already shut the machine off and were attending him.

Victor has broken from the restraints and was fighting them off. He was nearly head to toe covered in blood and he was missing his left eye. Getting free from the bed, he cornered a few of the doctors who made the mistake of backing into a dead end in the room. The older doctor who had told him the scan wouldn't hurt had pulled an alarm for security making things more confusing and loud than useful.

"Stop!" Shouted one of the cornered doctors. She was crying even before Creed had had the chance to give her a reason. Emma looped her arms around the one of his that was raised and ready to maim. They wrestled a bit until she barked at him to relax.

Something caught her eye about the blood he was covered in. With a shaking hand, Emma reached out and pulled a shard of metal from Victor's chest. She held it up to him questioningly. "You've been shot through with shrapnel. You do know that an MRI machine is a giant magnet, right?" She was angry now, like it was his fault or something.

Creed snarled at her and ripped his arm away. Security had arrived by then and were swarming the room. They tried to subdue him but as always, Victor had the upper hand in the fight. That's when an orderly ran in and handed a suspiciously large needle to the older doctor, which he proceeded to sink the tip of into Creed's thigh.

Emma watched as the drug hit him. He staggered for a moment before dropping to his knees like a ton of bricks. The whole crowd helped lift him onto a gurney and tied him down. He tried growling but in his weakened state, the noise sounds much more like mewling. His breathing was very laboured and conscious so an air mask was put over his nose and mouth. It looked ridiculously small on him.

Seeing her husband so weak and helpless finally hit her and Emma began to cry. Creed watched her for a moment until his right eye rolled up into his head and he passed out.

ooooooo

The hospital staff were completely amazed when they found out the extent of Creed's healing factor. His eye was trying to regenerate itself but was having a hell of a time while working the tranquilizers through his blood stream. It was still just a pocket of jelly. A nurse had been in to clean and sterilize the socket and mistakenly removed his body's first attempt at rebuilding his left eye, thinking it was pus from an infection.

They had allowed Emma to wash away the blood by herself, only needing help to turn him over in bed and to wash his hair. He was as clean as a sponge bath in bed would allow, but it was an improvement over being soaked in his own blood. She was reading out loud to him when he came to. He fought at the sheets but calmed down when he remembered where he was and what had happened.

"Hey." Emma smiled at him. She sniffed away some tears and approached his bed.

"What the hell did they pump me with?" Creed slurred. She replied that she didn't know and stroked his hair away from his forehead but he snapped his teeth at her so she stopped.

"So they think they know why you've been having your headaches."

"Think?" He was holding his left eyelid shut and looked a bit funny to her.

"They think that a bit of shrapnel was lodged in your brain and was migrating due to your healing factor, trying to get out. It probably caused your nosebleeds and seizure as well."

"Think?"

"And they want to perform surgery to remove any remnants that may remain after the whole MRI debacle."

"THINK?" He roared, tired of her pussyfooting around his question.

"Well they can't very well check with an MRI now can they? Besides, they found some metal in your eye socket while cleaning you up, it's probably what made your eye explode." She finally replied.

"So yer tellin' me that they wanna perform BRAIN SURGERY on me because they THINK I might have metal in my head." It wasn't a question. "I'll stick with the headaches, thanks."

"You're already scheduled to go in this afternoon." Emma shook her head at him, not hearing any of it. He did not appreciate her tone and told her as much by slapping her soundly while dragging his claws behind, leaving bleeding scars along her face. Emma fell back into the chair she had been sitting in, holding her face in her hands.

They were both quiet and still. Victor smelled the blood pooling from her wounds. She was slowly healing herself. Usually at this point she would call him an asshole and strike back, however she instead retreated to the washroom and locked the door behind her.

"Emma." He said to the empty room. She wouldn't respond. He meant to get up and rap on the door with his knuckles but found himself handcuffed to the bed railing. The bed came with him as he crossed the room and it made a terrible noise as he dragged it behind him. "Emma." He purred at the door. "Little pig, little pig, let me in."

The door clicked and pushed open violently. Had he not had his sharp senses, he would have been hit in the face. Emma glared at him through her healing claw marks. "You're having the fucking surgery!" Then the door slammed shut once more, leaving him to frown angrily at it.