If You Pardon, I Will Mend pt 5


Rogue ripped off her gloves and fell to her knees beside Jean. "Jean, Jean?" Rogue pleaded with the girl.

Jean stirred and her eyes fluttered open. One side of her face was already starting to swell up; the beginnings of a dark purple bruise appeared on her right eye.

Without thinking, Rogue reached down and gently touched Jean's swollen face, "I'm sorry," she murmured in a sincere voice.

Suddenly Jean's body shook with violent convulsions. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed out in intense pain.

Logan leapt over the ropes into the ring in one smooth motion. He knelt beside Jean and delicately lifted her head.

Rogue stood and backed up, looking at her bare hands in disbelief. She had forgotten what she was, just for a brief second. But one second was all it took. Suddenly she clutched her head and slumped to the mat. There were voices, Logan, Kurt, Scott and Jean all screaming in her head. "Shut up! Shut up!" She yelled as she pounded on her head with a fist.

"Elf," Logan shouted, "come up here so we can get Jean down to the doctor." Logan glanced over at Rogue worriedly.

Scott climbed into the ring and took Jean into his arms. He could feel his heart catch as she trembled against him. He nodded to Kurt and with a puff of smoke, all three of them were teleported to the infirmary.

"Rogue," Logan said quietly as he approached the girl slowly.

She lay on the mat, hand covering her head, rocking back and forth slowly. As Logan moved closer he could hear her repeated mumbling. "No, no, no, no," she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

Logan suddenly wished that the Prof. was there and in DC. Chuck was the only one who might be able to control Rogue's newly borrowed powers. Or Jean, Jean might be able to help. Logan cringed at the thought. She can't help anybody right now, he thought with a frown.
"Rogue, come `ere, kid," Logan said softly as he lay his hand on her back.

Rogue flinched at his touch and suddenly Logan found himself flying through the air with tremendous force. Rogue rose from the mat and twisted around. She watched in horror as Logan's body was lifted and thrown across the room to the opposite wall. He slammed against the wall, shaking the whole building. His body slowly slid down to the floor, leaving a large dent in the wall.

"No!" Rogue screamed in a choked, strangled sob as she watched his unmoving body. She had done this, she had hurt him. "No!" she screamed again. The glass windows surrounding the gym simultaneously burst. Showers of glass fell to the floor as Rogue vaulted over the ropes and ran out of the gym.

Logan lifted his head weakly and watched her go. "Shit," he mumbled as he rose stiffly. "Chuck is going to kill me." He stood and arched his back, satisfying himself with the delicious pop of his spinal cord as it set back into place. He began to head out the door but stopped himself.

As he looked around the gym, at the shattered windows, he was reminded of just how much control Jean had really learned. Without Jean's control, Rogue could be very dangerous, he realized. He had to find her, but decided to give her a little time to herself.
If she couldn't control the telekinesis, then she wouldn't be able to control the telepathy either. Jean had once tried to describe to him what it was like, to have telepathy but no control. She said it was like a great cloud of mosquitoes, or gnats, thousands of them buzzing around destroying your concentration and driving you mad. You can try to lash out at them, but you only hit air. When she was younger, Jean often isolated herself to avoid the thoughts of others.
Logan had no doubt that Rogue was doing the same thing right now.


***BAMF***

Kitty and Dr. McCoy looked up in astonishment as Kurt, Scott and Jean appeared before them.

"Oh my stars and garters," Beast said softly as Scott approached him and placed the trembling Jean into his large blue arms. Beast lay her down on one of the exam tables and immediately felt her pulse. He frowned with concern. It was weak and thready. He brushed his hand in her swollen face gently. "What happened?" he asked without turning around.

"It vas an accident," Kurt blurted out. "Rogue, Rogue touched her, right after knocking her out."

"Oh, dear," came Beast's hushed reply.

"Will she be ok?" asked Scott in a cracked voice.

"Rogue only touched her for a second," Kurt added hopefully. "Oh this is schrecklich!"

"Yes, Kurt, it is terrible. But do not fear," Beast said as he listened to Jeans slow, shallow breaths, "it is hardly fatal." He smiled and patted Jean's head. "Her body has just shut down for a bit to allow her a chance to recuperate. She should awaken within the hour," Beast reassured them.

"That's some good news, Doc," Logan grunted as he shuffled into the infirmary. He was rubbing the back of his head absently, hovering in the doorway. He never did like doctor's offices. He glanced at Jean's still form on the bed and shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't help but feel responsibility for what happened. What kind of crappy mentor am I anyway? He thought with a sad shake of his head.

Kitty sat quietly watching the scene before her. She was relieved to hear that Jean would be ok, but she couldn't help feeling a pang on recalling the scene of Scott holding Jean in his arms. She dropped her head and mentally slapped herself for her selfishness. But it didn't help any. Jean was her best friend, but it didn't change the fact that she was jealous. She stared blankly as Scott stood beside Jean and reached for her hand. As he lifted it up and intertwined her fingers with his, Kitty finally had to tear her gaze away.

"Well, we gotta `nother problem to deal with," reminded Logan in a gruff voice.

"Rogue," Scott said quietly, never shifting his eyes from Jean.

"Right. We have to find her, the sooner the better. She's scared, she's confused and she's probably thinkin' we're pissed as hell."

Beast nodded sagely and crossed his arms in front of his big, blue chest.

"If she absorbed Jean's powers, she may actually think that she is Jean," Kitty reasoned aloud.

"A clever deduction, Kitty," Beast commented.

"Elf," Logan turned to the boy, his voice suddenly becoming serious, "look around the mansion. Keep an eye on Jean's room, Rogue's too. If you find her, stay with her and try to calm her down."

"Ja," Kurt replied. ***BAMF***

"Beast, you'd better get Storm and let `er know what happened. Where is she anyway," Logan asked.

"I believe that Ororo has departed the grounds in order to purchase the weeks necessary victuals."

"Huh," Logan grunted.

"She's, like, at the grocery store," Kitty translated.

"Well, Doc, would ya call her or whatever. Just get in touch with `er."

"Certainly," Beast nodded and left in search of the phone.

"I'll stay here with Jean," Scott said as he squeezed her hand, "I want to be here when she wakes up."

"No," Logan said without hesitation. Scott turned slowly to face him. Once again, Kitty wondered what his eyes looked like under those glasses. She saw his whole body tense and realized that she knew what his eyes would look like. It would be a hard, intense glare, eyes narrowed, `try me' they would say.

"I'm staying here," Scott said firmly.

"Listen, Slim, you know Jeannie better than any of us. Rogue isn't too pleased with me right now," Logan said in a sarcastic tone as he recalled his recent flight, "you have the best chance of finding her. Kitty will stay here with Jean until the Doc gets back. She'll be fine, kid." Logan spoke these last words with a hint of sympathy in his usually gruff voice.

Scott stood there for a moment but finally, he released his grip on Jean's hand, laying it gently at her side. He took one last look at her. "All right, let's go," he said, all business as he walked quickly out of the infirmary.

Kitty sighed at his quickly retreating form. A fairy tale, she thought with a goofy smile. Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty. She bit her bottom lip to hold back the tears.

Logan quirked an eyebrow and snorted. Teenagers, he thought as he rolled his eyes and followed after Scott.


"Where the flamin' hell do you're goin', kid?" Logan called after Scott.

"If she thinks she's Jean, I know where she is," Scott replied without turning around. "Well excuse me, mister master tracker," Logan barked.

"I didn't say I was a master tracker, I just said I know where she is."

"Fine then, if you're so sure, you'd better handle this one alone. I'll wait here," Logan said as he held back.

"Fine," Scott replied, never breaking his pace. He was headed toward the woods on the surrounding the far edge of the mansion's grounds. He cut through the trees and bushes heedless of the branches whipping him across the legs and arms. It was all his fault, he thought as he ground his teeth. Cut it out, Scott, he could almost hear Jean say in his head. She hated it when he ground his teeth. Just another one of my cute little idiosyncrasies, he would smile and reply. At this reply she would most likely scrunch up her nose and say something like, `yeah, so cute, almost as cute as that singing in the shower thing.' He could imagine her laughter. No, he didn't regret telling her he loved her. The timing could have been a little better though, he thought ruefully.

"Ya really do love her, don't you?"

Rogue's voice cut through Scott's train of thought. No use in denying it, he thought with a shrug, she was a telepath after all.

"Yeah, I do," he replied as he looked up at the branch on which Rogue was perched.

Rogue pointed vaguely to the trunk of the tree, where, carved neatly were the cryptic letters, `J &S – BFF' "Best friends forever," Rogue said as she jumped down from her branch.

"Yeah," Scott smiled and traced over the letters with his fingers.

"Wanna know a secret," Rogue whispered, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Scott felt a grin forming on his face.

"She loves ya back," Rogue smirked as she wrinkled her nose.

"Jean does that," Scott noted automatically. "The nose thing, I mean. It's one of her cute little idiosyncrasies."

"What, like your singing in the shower?"

Scott blushed and looked down at his feet. "You seem pretty calmed down," Scott coughed out, changing the subject.

"Is Logan ok?" Rogue asked with a look of concern on her face.

"Logan?" Scott echoed, clearly puzzled.

"Oh, ah guess he didn't say anything. Ah threw him across the room…by accident," Rogue added hastily.

Scott tried to hide a smirk as the image formed in his head. "He's fine. That healing factor really comes in handy."

"Yes, I see," Rogue replied.

Scott smiled, charmed at the way Rogue was constantly slipping from her distinct Southern accent to Jean's perfect pronunciation.

"Ah guess I'd better apologize to Jean. She is ok, right?" Rogue asked with a small frown.

"She'll be fine. And it's my fault, really. I'm the one who distracted her."

"No, it's my fault," Rogue sighed as she slid her back down the tree trunk, finding a seat on the forest floor. "She dropped her hands and all I could think of was how much I hated her."

Scott frowned.

"Not hated her," Rogue corrected herself, "I thought I hated her. I thought she had it so easy, ya know. Such an easy power to deal with. Not like mine. She could be normal, and I wanted to hate her for that." Rogue looked away, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.

Scott took a seat beside her and remained silent.

Rogue grinned darkly and lifted a delicate hand to her head. She brushed it through her auburn hair and sighed. "But when I actually had her power, it kinda made me realize something."

Scott waited patiently, not wanting to push her.

"Ah was filled with so much anger and jealousy, I couldn't imagine that it might have been difficult for her. All those voices in her head, all the time, never stopping. Ah don't wanna say that her power is any harder or easier than mine, just different."

Scott nodded and grinned. Maybe this fight had been a good thing after all. Strange as it may be, perhaps Logan did the right thing. He let Rogue continue.

"And it actually took me absorbing her to realize that all she wanted was to be friends with me. Ah just couldn't see it. I—I've never really had friends before," Rogue admitted quietly.

"Well you do now," Scott smiled at her and stood. He offered her a hand up, which she took gratefully. Now that she had her gloves on, there was no fear of hurting anybody.

"Let's go home," Scott said as he began to walk back towards the mansion.

"Yeah," Rogue replied as she followed behind him. Home, she thought with a small smile.