Dreamweaver: Part Fifteen
"Dana, we're about five minutes away," Kitty said as the Midnight Runner skimmed over the hills of Westchester County towards the Xavier estate. "Dana?" she asked when she got no answer. "Dana, what's wrong? I'm sure there's a logical reason why the comlink with the medlab went out. Rogue didn't sound particularly worried." She sighed. "Dana, are you even listening to me?"
Dana started. "I'm listening, Kitty," she said quickly, tossing her empty orange juice container over her shoulder. It landed neatly in the disposal unit. "I'm not worried about the comlink. Sam mentioned last week that they were still trying to repair the damage that Bastion did to the mansion's systems."
"What is it then?" Kitty snorted when Dana shrugged. "Don't bother, Dana. I might not be an empath, but living with Pete's taught me to know at a glance when someone's brooding."
"You may not be empathic, but you certainly are perceptive," Dana said wryly. "But it's so stupid--and selfish. I'm afraid of seeing Sam again." She shook her head. "I know I should have more faith in Meggan's lessons. She's taught me shielding techniques a full telepath would envy. The problem I had before isn't liable to reoccur. I know that."
"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself," Kitty pointed out warningly. "From what I understand, confidence is just as important as skill. You go in there expecting your shields to fail, and they will."
"I don't need the lecture from you, too," Dana flared briefly. Kitty raised a defensive hand, and Dana sighed, giving her a repentant look. "I'm sorry. Maybe my--doubts have nothing to do with the problems I had with my empathy. What if Sam doesn't feel the same way as he did? I know," she said swiftly when Kitty seemed about to protest. "He did ask me to come back, but that doesn't--I mean, it's been five months. And I did kind of run out on him. What if--" She suddenly thought of something. "Shit! Kitty, you don't think X-Force will be there, do you? I know they went off on this whole independence kick after Zero Tolerance, but with Cable so badly hurt--"
Kitty raised an eyebrow. "X-Force? Don't you mean Tabitha?" Dana winced, and Kitty shook her head ruefully. "Don't beat around the bush, Dana. Chances are pretty good that the two of you will run into each other again at some point. You need to prepare yourself for that. But I doubt anyone's managed to contact them, and even if they do show up, you've got more important things to worry about." She gestured out the canopy, and Dana looked out to see the mansion coming up beneath them. "We're here," Kitty finished unneccessarily.
Dana swallowed hard, but kept silent as Rogue, from the communications room, opened a channel and gave Kitty landing instructions. As Shadowcat banked the Midnight Runner out over the lake and piloted it deftly into the hangar, Dana tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
Kitty was right. Cable needs you right now, she told herself sternly. You can deal with Sam later. Just like Meggan had taught her, she carefully strengthened her shields until her empathy barely registered Kitty's presence, only a few steps away. But she'd had plenty of practice blocking her and the other members of Excalibur, and her problem had never been with other people, after all. Sam had been the reason why her shields had gone all wonky in the first place. Facing him again would be her biggest test--in more ways than one.
But she couldn't afford any distractions right now. Even tall, blond ones with incredible blue eyes--Dana almost groaned. Someone slap me.
"All right, we're down," Kitty said, securing the controls as the engines died. Dana fumbled with her harness, her suddenly clumsy hands unable to manage the simple latch. Kitty grumbled something Dana didn't catch, and then sighed. "Take a breath, Dana," she advised her friend dryly. Reaching out, she phased them both straight down.
Sam was waiting on the flight deck.
He looked surprised to see them emerging from the underside of the Midnight Runner. Dana's knees went a little weak at the sight of him. He looked worn and tired, the expression in his eyes more wary than she remembered, but he was still Sam. My Sam? a planitive voice from somewhere in her mind asked, but she ignored it, trying to keep herself focused on the task at hand.
"Dana!" Sam said eagerly, starting towards her. Then he stopped, donning a professional expression she could have kissed him for. Hell, I could kiss him anyways, she thought with as much hysteria as honesty. "C'mon," he said briskly, gesturing for them to follow him. "Most everyone else is in the medlab with Cable."
"How is he?" Dana asked urgently, carefully keeping Kitty between herself and Sam as they made their way through the empty corridors of the mansion. Her shields were holding, but there was no sense in risking a problem, not with a difficult healing waiting for her. "Did what Jean and ah--Domino tried work?"
"It sure did," Sam said, a smile breaking across his face as he looked over at her. She frantically added a few more layers of shielding, although it wasn't really neccessary. Not even a whisper got through. "He's back in control of the T-O virus, so you don't have to worry about that, at least."
"Oh, that's good to hear," Dana breathed as they got into the elevator. She still remembered how difficult it had been to hold the virus in check for Cable while he used Cerebro to search for Sam. Even a few minutes had nearly brought her to the point of collapse, and the strange--malevolence she'd sensed from it had only made things more difficult. Dana frowned thoughtfully. She'd been too worried about Sam to really think about it at the time, but she had gotten something very close to an empathic reading from the T-O virus. She made a mental note to speak to Hank about it later. Strange that none of the full telepaths seemed to have noticed that.
"We were worried when the comlink with the medlab went out," Kitty said almost conversationally. "Rogue said she couldn't re-establish it. What happened?"
"Well--it's kind of hard to explain, Kitty," Sam said. Shaking his head, he gave a brief chuckle. "You could call it a--power surge, ah guess." The elevator came to a stop and Dana started for the door at the same time as Sam.
They collided. Sam reached out to steady her, and Dana felt her cheeks flame. She started to further strengthen her shields, but immediately realized there was no need. They were holding. Even with such close physical contact, they were rock-solid--although she was hard-pressed to maintain them against the joy that suddenly soared from the ashes of her needless anxiety.
"Sorry," she muttered stiffly, and all but ran down the hall to the medlab, all the way fighting the urge to do a cartwheel of joy. It worked! she thought jubilantly. Thank you, Meggan, thankyouthankyouthankyou!
The door to the medlab slid aside and she nearly ran over Logan. "Sight for sore eyes, darlin'," he said gruffly, reaching out to steady her. "Good to see you home at last."
Thinning out her shields, Dana sensed both relief and worry from him. She blinked, surprised at the intensity of the latter emotion, so clearly directed at Cable. Strange--I didn't think the two of them got along particularly well. Logan raised an eyebrow, clearly aware of her brief scan, but said nothing as he took her elbow and drew her into the medlab.
"Dana!" Jean exclaimed, coming over and giving her a quick hug. #It's so good to see you, kiddo,# she said telepathically, and Dana sensed the weariness and fear in her mind. #I'm so glad you could come.# Dana felt Jean test her shields and withdraw quickly when they held against her gentle probe.
"Hey, I'm an X-Man, remember?" Dana said, trying to keep her voice light. She didn't like the turmoil she sensed from Jean on an empathic level. It was uncharacteristic--and alarming, as if every bit of the serenity and poise she had always admired in Jean had been ripped away. "We don't let--ah, personal issues get in the way of the job."
She glanced idly around the medlab, trying to avoid looking towards the ICU unit. Now that she wasn't shielding so tightly, she could sense Cable quite clearly. And what her empathy picked up told her how very difficult this was going to be. Rogue's injuries, her father's cancer--a walk in the park compared to this, Dana thought grimly. "Besides," she said with some bravado, "Meggan's a great teacher. My control problem is a thing of the past."
"Glad to hear it," came Scott's voice. Standing beside Hank, looking more haggard than she'd ever seen him, he still managed a faint smile. "It's good to have you back, Dana."
Dana frowned, sensing that he was in pain. Come to think of it, he wasn't the only one. Hank and Sam didn't seem to be in the best of shape, either, and more distant, she sensed something unusual from Bishop as well. She wished she dared heal them, but she couldn't risk it. She was going to need every bit of her energy for Cable. At least none of the others seemed to be too badly hurt.
There were three people she didn't know in the room. The slender, dark-clad woman fit the description Sam had given her of Cecilia Reyes, one of the new 'additions'. Dana frowned at what she sensed from the other woman: jealousy, mingled with a sort of awe that made her distinctly uncomfortable. The other two strangers stood by the ICU unit. One, a towering black man--that's a SHIELD uniform! Dana thought, shocked--gave her a skeptical look. Dana could feel the concern radiating off him.
The woman beside him had to be Domino. Despite her long association with X-Force, she'd managed to stay out of Sam's pictures, but Sam had described her to Dana once--and not really done her justice, Dana decided. X-Force's former co-leader was as striking in her own way as Ororo, Rogue and Jean were in theirs.
"Hi," Dana said uncertainly as she found herself on the receiving end of a measuring look from a pair of astonishingly brilliant violet eyes. The strength of the empathic reading she got was almost staggering. Worry, fierce protectiveness, wariness, curiosity--all with the same intensity Dana had felt from Cable the few times he had let his own shields slip. There was a certain warmth there too, Dana sensed, but she still felt more than a little intimidated.
She looks like she could wipe the floor with me even if both her hands were tied behind her back. She was gorgeous, too, for all her tough-as-nails demeanor. Dana wondered forlornly if she was always going to be the plain one among the X-women.
Self-pity. Ick. Putting aside all extraneous thoughts, Dana reinforced her shielding and walked over to the ICU unit. She stared down at Cable's pallid face, fighting to keep his pain from overwhelming her. Even her newly improved shields were being severely tested. Of course, he wasn't shielding himself from her, like he had before--Dana frowned suddenly.
Holy shit! she thought frantically. There was no trace of his shields. And they had been strong and stable enough to make him a blank slate to her empathy when he chose--not to mention the years he had hidden both his identity and his powers from the Professor and every other telepath associated with the X-Men.
"Jean, his shields are totally gone," Dana said uneasily. Domino continued to watch her intently, but said nothing.
Jean sighed. "I know, believe me. Nothing short of something like this could have knocked them out. His mind's been severely damaged, Dana, but we can't do anything about that until his physical condition improves." Dana swallowed hard at Jean's words, but Jean moved to her side and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I can maybe try to shield you, if you think it would help."
"No," Dana said firmly, although part of her wanted nothing more. "It'd be nice, but I think it'd interfere with my concentration." Get to it, girl, before you lose your nerve, she told herself, and, reaching out with hands already glowing, touched Cable's face.
Images washed over her, a tangle of faces and battles and landscapes as alien as anything the Danger Room could produce. Emotions, too: confusion and fear and longing, the latter associated strongly with an image of Domino's face. And the pain, of course, like a white-hot fire in her head. Dana gritted her teeth and used what Meggan had taught her to separate herself from Cable's mind as gently as she could. She turned her attention to his injuries, and began to heal.
***
Fascinated, Cecilia watched Dana. To be able to DO that, part of her almost moaned. To be able to heal like that, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Not to have to worry about drugs and surgery and--
The glow from Dana's hands grew more briliant, expanding outwards until the whole room was filled by light. Cecilia, shielding her eyes, looked down at the monitors. Her jaw nearly hit the floor. This is absolutely amazing, she thought in awe. Cable's injuries were just--vanishing. There wasn't any other way to put it. Even the cellular damage was reversing itself, bit by bit. Dana's healing energy was flooding his body, steadily repairing the damage.
But his vital signs and BP were elevated, she noticed with a frown--too elevated, in her opinion. She glanced up at Dana, who showed no signs of stopping. Finally, she managed to catch Hank's attention. He frowned, clearly unwilling to take his eyes off Dana, but came over to join her.
"Look at this," she said, pointing down at the monitors. Hank frowned again, this time looking more troubled than irritated. "It's getting worse, the longer she continues." She frowned, unsure of how to prhase this. "Look, McCoy, I'm no expert, but you've explained to me how his telekinesis holds his body together. Is it possible that he's interpreting her attempt to heal him as an intrusion, like the T-O virus? If he's subconsciously fighting her, that might be why the stress on his body is increasing like this."
Hank sighed. "You could be right. But interrupting this and then beginning again could be even more dangerous. We just have to hope she finishes quickly, I suppose--"
"So we just sit here and wait?" Cecilia exclaimed, the anger in her voice rising as fast as Cable's heartbeat. "What kind of--"
Hank gave her an almost stern look. "Cecilia. Sometimes all a doctor can do is wait. That's something I don't think you've learned yet."
Then, the light faded, and Dana crumpled with a groan into Sam's waiting arms. Hank bounded over to her side, but she waved at him weakly even as he knelt to take her pulse.
"I'm fine," she rasped, sounding utterly exhausted. "Or rather I will be, after I've slept for about a weak. How's Cable?" Hank glanced over at Cecilia, who looked down at the monitors to cover her amazement.
"His injuries are gone," she said quickly. "No scarring, no residual cellular damage--you did it."
"B-but?" Dana said, lifting her head with what seemed like an enormous effort. Cecilia flinched at the intensity of her gaze. The thought of telling her anything less than the absolute truth didn't even cross her mind.
"His vital signs were elevated while you were healing him. They still are," she said bluntly. "His body temperature is rising, too--I don't know why. There doesn't seem to be any medical reason." She saw the beginnings of alarm on Dana's face, and rushed to reassure her. "I don't think it's anything serious. Just strange. What you've done is amazing."
Dana sagged back into Sam's arms. "Mind'n body--not as se-separate with him," she said drowsily, her words slurred. "I could only heal--his body. The rest--he has to do himself." She looked up at Sam and smiled. "Love--the ponytail, Guthrie." Sam flushed scarlet, and Dana chuckled softly. "N-not." Then her fatigue seemed to get the best of her, and she closed her eyes with a sigh.
Hank smiled down at her for a moment, his eyes gleaming with pride. Then he gave Sam a tolerant look. "I don't suppose I need to ask for a volunteer to carry her up to her room.
"No, sir!" Sam said, lifting her carefully as he got to his feet. "Actually, ah've kind of missed this part." He blushed again as he realized how his words could be taken.
I bet, Cecilia thought wickedly. Still, she was intrigued when Sam looked over at Cable for a moment, almost hesitantly. She was about to tell him that she'd call him if anything changed, but Domino gave an exasperated snort as Sam's eyes moved to her.
"Go," she growled, her expression almost as amused as it was relieved. "And tell her thank you for me when she wakes up."
"Yes, ma'am," Sam said with a brief chuckle, and left. Hank got to his feet and looked over at Cecilia.
"All right," he said briskly. "Let's get him prepped for surgery--I want that damned amplifier out of his head as soon as possible." He looked around for a moment, almost puzzled. "Someone find Regina, too." When nobody moved, he sighed. "I'm afraid this will require the rest of you to leave."
Domino looked rebellious, but when Jean looked at her, she smiled almost reluctantly. "Sounds good, Jean," she said with a sigh, clearly responding to some telepathic suggestion. The look on her face almost indecisive, she stared down at Cable for a moment. Then she leaned over and kissed him gently, a kiss that lasted only a heartbeat before she straightened, her cheeks flaming, and distributed a warning glare around the room.
Standing behind her, Bridge chuckled. She whirled, and for a moment Cecilia thought she was going to deck him.
"Not a word," she grated.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Bridge said, raising a defensive hand.
Cecilia frowned, puzzled by the odd combination of relief and glee she saw on his face. Domino gave him an almost scornful look and headed for the door, stopping by Logan, who was looking more amused than Cecilia had ever seen him. Her expression grew positively malevolent as she glared at him.
"I suppose you have something to say, too."
"Oh, loads," Logan said almost whimsically. "But that can wait 'til later. Hank and Cecilia have plenty on their hands right now. They don't need to be patching me up."
"You have a healing factor, Logan," Hank pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "Why would either myself or Dr. Reyes need to be 'patching you up'?"
Domino snorted. "Never mind, Hank. I think that was Logan's version of a compliment."
"You bet, darlin'."
Cecilia rolled her eyes. One day I am going to understand these people. Then I'll have myself committed.
***
"This what I call coffee, Jean," Domino said with a sigh, sitting down at the kitchen table. "What did you do? Lock up the good stuff so Hank can't get at it and replace it with decaf?"
Jean, sitting across from her, gave a brief laugh. "No, not quite. Logan threatened to--ah, defur him if he ever did that again."
Domino smiled nostalgically. "Typical. Logan loves his coffee." She took a sip of hers and glanced out the window, frowned as she saw Scott and Bridge standing out in the backyard talking. "Now what could the two of them be discussing so intently?" she asked idly. Jean followed the direction of her gaze.
"Business," she said wryly. "What else?" Her eyes narrowing, she smiled in satisfaction. "Now they're talking about the weather."
"Jean!" Domino said, surprised. "You didn't--"
"No, I just told Scott to move to a neutral topic. I don't get the sense that Commander Bridge particularly wants to talk about SHIELD's disarmament plans for Bastion's troops." Jean sipped at her own coffee, regarding Domino thoughtfully. "I was surprised to see him with you today."
"Surprised to see him with me, or surprised he came?" Domino asked shrewdly. "You shouldn't be, either way. Even if I hadn't need his help to get Gryaznova's inhibitor out of my head, I probably would have gone to him anyways." She smiled faintly, remembering some of the long talks she and G.W. had had over the last few weeks. "He's the closest thing to a brother that Nate and I have. And, like most brothers--look at your husband and his if you don't believe me--they sometimes try to beat the crap out of each other, literally and figuratively. That doesn't mean they don't care."
"Even with everything that happened with the Six-Pack?"
"Jean, if Kane could forgive him, if I could forgive him--and I'm not the most reasonable person in the world--there wasn't much chance that G.W. wouldn't come around sooner or later. The two of them were a team before the rest of us came along, you know." Domino shook her head wryly. "I don't know how, but he knows a little more about Nate's--past than you'd think. I think he understands why Nathan did what he did."
"I sometimes wonder how much we really know about his past," Jean said darkly, staring down into her coffee. "Like this business with the Phoenix. None of us even suspected--" She shook herself. "Time enough to deal with that when he's better, I suppose. You know, you took one hell of a risk, stepping off the path like that."
Domino sighed. She'd been expecting this. "I've got a headache, Jean. I don't need a lecture on top of it. I did what I thought was right at the time."
"Whoa, I'm not trying to lecture you," Jean said quickly, raising a defensive hand. She sighed at Domino's expression. "Look. We're both tired, and I don't mean to start an argument." She chuckled wearily. "I just wanted to say that I'm very impressed by what you did. You were the only one capable of reaching him, I think." She gave Domino a keen look.
"Will he remember?" Domino asked, not looking back at her. Jean shrugged.
"On some level, yes. Consciously, I'd doubt it. Why?" A slow grin started on her face. "Is there something you two said to each other than you want him to remember?"
Domino gave Jean a level look. "I suppose this is the point at which I'm supposed to panic and change the subject."
"You've done it before," Jean pointed out. Domino was silent for a moment, remembering a similar conversation they'd had in the Danger Room's control booth, just before she and Nathan and--Storm had gone looking for the Morlocks.
"Jean," she started hesitantly, "do you know if Ororo--I mean, are she and Nathan--" She trailed off, feeling her cheeks color. "Hell, would you just read my mind so I don't have to say it, please?"
Jean was trying very hard not to smile, Domino realized. "Would it bother you if there was something between her and Nate?" Jean asked slyly.
"Of course it would--" Domino took a deep breath, and continued in a more moderate voice. "Jean, don't play with me, please?"
"Sorry," Jean said, looking sincerely repentant. She took another sip of her coffee, looking troubled. "This isn't exactly easy for me. You must know that Ororo is as close to me as my own sister. I want to see her happy."
"But?" Domino asked, hearing the hesitation in Jean's voice.
"But not at the expense of what's best for Nathan." The expression on Jean's face made it perfectly clear who she thought fit that description. She shrugged, giving Domino a rueful smile. "When it comes to his welfare, I'm afraid I still tend to go into fire-breathing dragon mode. When Scott and I were raising him in the future, there were so many dangers--it's hard to get out of the habit of protecting him." She winced. "Oh, dear. That didn't come out well at all. I don't mean to imply that he needs protection against Ororo--I just don't want to see him get hurt."
Domino sighed, comforted by Jean's obvious support but still unsettled. "After we fought the Dark Riders--when we found out Tyler was leading them, Storm told me to go to Nathan, to comfort him. I told her he needed to be alone." She shook her head. "I've been wondering if that wasn't a mistake--if me holding back didn't make her think I wasn't--"
"Odd," Jean murmured. "You pick an example of why I think you're so good for Nate, and hold it up as some flaw on your part."
"What do you mean?" Domino asked uncertainly.
"I've seen that night in his memories, Domino. He did need to be alone for those few minutes, and you knew that. You know when to back off--just like you know when to be persistent. You understand him, and he needs that badly."
"But what if all of this--what if once he's better, we just go back to the way things were?" Domino asked, frustrated. "If he doesn't remember what happened, I don't know if I can make myself--" She shook her head with a helpless chuckle. "You know the old saying. 'There are no atheists in foxholes.'"
"Maybe not," Jean said. "But people like us live our whole lives in a foxhole, Dom." Jean's use of Nate's nickname for her made Domino look up sharply. Jean smiled, raising her mug almost in salute. After a moment of surprise, Domino grinned wryly and did the same.
to be continued...
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