Erik was tossing and turning uneasily in his sleep, his handsome face twitching with tension. Small moans were escaping him, tugging at Maddy's heart as she approached the bed. She hung back uneasily, wanting to wake him but sensible of the fact that this was a powerful mutant, in the grip of powerful nightmares - if she alarmed him, he might easily hurt her. Eventually, she screwed her courage up, and laid a gentle hand on his sweating shoulder.
"Erik? Erik, wake up. Wake up." He moaned again. She shook him gently.
Erik exploded off of the bed, and Maddy found herself pressed up against the wall, his hands around her throat. His chest was heaving rapidly, his eyes blind and panicked.
"Erik!" she choked. Slowly, his vision cleared, and he recognized her. He dropped his hands at once, took a step back, into a patch of moonlight. She rubbed her neck.
"What are you doing here?" he asked roughly.
"I spoke to Charles, Erik. He wants to see you now; I thought you'd want to know right away."
He stiffened, blinked. He looked like he was trying to convince himself he wasn't still asleep.
"Charles…" he said, in a wondering tone. She nodded, smiled.
"Go on, go to him. He's waiting for you."
Erik pulled on a t-shirt inside out, seemed not to notice he was barefoot. He was halfway out of the door before he thought to turn around.
"Thank you. I don't know what you did, but… thank you."
Erik approached the sick bay apprehensively, almost jumped out of his skin when Hank suddenly rounded the corner.
"Jeez, Erik, how many times? Charles doesn't want to see anybody. When that changes, I'll let you all know!" Erik opened his mouth to protest, when Hank's eyes went briefly blank and his irritated expression gave way to mild embarrassment.
"Oh. Well I guess I'm letting you know then. He says to send you through."
Erik couldn't restrain a smug smile.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Beast."
Hank growled.
"I'm just trying to give Charles what he wants, Erik." Erik sneered.
"A man can have too much of what he wants. Not that you'd know much about that." Hank frowned.
"What do you mean by that?" Erik gave a short laugh.
"Let's not play stupid with each other, Hank. We can all see you mooning after Madeline like a lovesick puppy. I know that you've convinced her to go on butchering herself for humankind. Seriously, if you want an excuse to spend more time with her, couldn't you just take her to the movies?"
Hank blushed, then snarled.
"What business is it of yours anyway?" Erik shrugged.
"She's one of us. I don't want to her exploited for human gain." Hank rolled his eyes.
"But you were perfectly happy to exploit her for mutant gain, for Charles's gain?" Erik felt a bloom of anger in his chest.
"I didn't exploit her; she made her own free choice." Hank laughed cynically.
"Now who's playing stupid? Anyone can see that she's got some ridiculous hero-worship crush on you. She'd do anything she thought you wanted; she's even got Charles to see you, more for your benefit than his-"
Hank. Erik. Stop this.
Erik was torn between embarrassment at being caught having this puerile argument with Hank, and sweet relief to hear Charles's mental voice in his head again. In spite of the anger in that voice, it felt like a caress, like coming home. He pushed past Hank, their argument forgot, and marched into the sickbay, to Charles's bedside.
"Tell me, Erik, why do you have to go out of your way to antagonize Hank at every opportunity? What has he ever done to you?" Erik leaned over the pillow, looked deep into Charles's ridiculously blue eyes.
"I'm sorry, Schatz. He just gets under my skin, that's all. Forget about him for a moment. Please?" Charles sighed, but acquiesced, closing his eyes. Erik pushed the hair back from Charles's brow, relishing the feeling of being close to him again after what had felt like forever. "How are you feeling, liebling?" he whispered.
Charles tried to smile, but the corners of his mouth couldn't quite turn up. He opened his eyes again, and Erik was floored by the depths of his lover's grief.
"Not good, my friend. Not very good at all." As Erik watched, the tears welled up, rolled over Charles's cheeks into the pillow. "I'm sorry," Charles whispered. "I ought to be able to be stronger. For Raven. For you." The sobs started to shudder out of him. Erik bent over, drew Charles into an ungainly embrace. His eyes bored into the wall behind Charles, and he damned to hell any God that might exist who would inflict this on the man he loved.
"You don't have to be sorry for anything. Everything will be all right, Charles. I promise. We're going to get past this, you and I." Charles nodded against his shoulder, and Erik felt some of the tension leave his body.
"Erik?" He nodded eagerly. "Will you please hold me?" Erik tightened his grip on the telepath. "I mean really hold me. Next to me?" Erik straightened, climbed up onto the narrow cot beside Charles, his leg swung over the telepath to anchor him into place. He buried his nose under Charles's ear, felt the tickle of his hair.
"I know," Charles murmured, and Erik was heartened to hear something like humour in his voice. "I'm starting to look a right old hippy. Any longer up here on my own and I'd have grown a bloody beard." Erik squeezed him tighter, felt him yawn. "I haven't had a proper, non-drug-induced sleep for weeks."
"Nor me." Charles gave Erik an answering squeeze, apparently taking that as a rebuke.
"I'm sorry I abandoned you, Erik. I never will again." And that was the last thing Erik was aware of before they both drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When he woke up, he was alone. He lurched quickly to his feet, utterly disoriented and instantly alarmed.
Don't worry, love. I'm still here.
Erik unwound instantly at the calming feeling of Charles's mental link.
Where are you, Schatz?
I went back to our room to get some clothes. You can't imagine how sick I am of hospital gowns.
Our room. An irrepressible grin grew on Erik's face at the thought of their room, their life, not lost, not ruined. He walked out of the sick bay with a much lighter heart than he had walked in with.
ERIK! What the HELL have you been doing in my study?
Erik's grin widened. Now that was definitely the Charles he knew.