It's All In Your Head: Part Eighteen

by sevenall

"You want to wake up."

It was Bishop's voice and it was Bishop's elbow in Elizabeth's ribs. She didn't recall having fallen asleep.

"We're landing in a few minutes," he said. "I should warn you, emotions are running a bit high at the moment. I've told them that you're in no condition to be questioned."

Elizabeth raised an eye-brow. Everyone got debriefed, always, even if they had to do it from the infirmary.

"And you aren't."

She wanted to protest, but realised it wasn't a good time to argue with him. He looked as spent as she felt.

"Whatever you say," she said meekly, getting out of her seat with a wince.

Instead of being grateful, Bishop looked positively alarmed at her compliance.

"I'll take you to Hank right away. Just take it easy, okay?"

"Bishop." It came out as a growl. "What emotions were you talking about? Spill it."

He adjusted a couple of instruments that were well inside tolerance..

"Rogue is back," he said. "Remy found her somewhere in Florida Keys. They came back together a month ago. She and the other girls went shopping today. For the...what was it called...the shower. They were at the mall when my call came in."

--

Hank had planned for an emergency case. Drips. Bags of blood and blood plasma. Every screen in the room was active and he was suited up in sterile robes and a mask.

"Hey," she protested as Bishop put her down and pushed her back to make her stay there, "I'm fine, I don't need this."

In response, Hank stuck a needle in her arm.

"I said I don't need this!"

"You need a transfusion, so you get a transfusion," Hank said, words slightly muffled behind the mask.

"What I need is to find Rogue, I've got to tell her..."

"Tell me what?"

Rogue was in the door, hands on hips. She had clearly been crying her eyes out not too long ago, but she wasn't crying now. Her face was flushed, her nose a shade redder than the rest. The stance was childish, but the anger in her eyes was cold and adult.

"Jean, can you get down here?" Hank said into his pocket com. Turning to Rogue, he added:

"You can't come in. You're not sterile."

"He ain't either." Pointing at Bishop. "'Sides, Ah can talk to them from here."

"Is there any trouble?"

It was Jean, running down the corridor. She touched the floor only at every third or fourth step in her hurry.

"No trouble," Rogue answered her. "We're just talking, right?"

Elizabeth had expected Rogue to slug her or cry. Maybe a bit of both. But the girl had done a lot of growing up since she had last seen her.

"Right," she said quietly.

"I transmitted a full report, while we were in transit," Bishop said stiffly.

"Screw the report." Arms crossed now. "Where is he?"

Blank looks all around.

"Probably in Sinister's lab, getting his ass patched together," Elizabeth said.

All of a sudden, Rogue's fist was under her nose. It was a fist that could punch through armour-plate and Elizabeth knew that one wrong word would result in a new, worse nosebleed.

"Don't ya lie to me, sugah. Where did he go?"

"Rogue, less than three hours ago, I killed dozens of people. Literally. Most of those hadn't even tried to punch me in the nose. Better back off, sugah."

Both Bishop and Jean stood behind Rogue now, ready to interfere. Elizabeth winked to let them know she was bluffing. Rogue hesitated, let her hand fall.

"Ah wanna know what happened."

"It happened just the way the report says," Elizabeth said. "We really didn't have a choice. We could let Sinister take him or we could let him bleed to death in front of us."

"Sinister is going to brainwash him and use him against us," Jean said. "You know that."

"Yes. But I'd rather have the original as an adversary, than some poor sod of a clone."

Jean flinched, but Elizabeth's attention was on Rogue as she said, very gently:

"I know he was precious to you, but whatever happens now, he has a chance. Maybe he'll remember you and what you two had."

"Don't ya try ta fool me, Bets...He ran out on me, the swamp rat, like Ah always knew he would..."

But the words lacked conviction.

"Why would he run?"

Rogue blushed. It was a unbecoming blush, spreading in spots from the neck all over her unhappy face.

"'Cause he didn't really want this marriage, Ah guess," she said slowly. " When he said that touching didn't matter, Ah told him: prove it. Marry me. So he said okay."

Elizabeth could tell from the faces of Jean, Bishop and Hank, that this was news to them. Rogue turned to them, hands balling into fists once more.

"Ah know what y'all are gonna say," she cried out. "How it was wrong and unfair and how I made him. Well, Jean, it's unfair how ya get to go down to the boathouse and snuggle with Scott, too. I never had anything like that."

Jean flinched again, but remained silent. So the fling that didn't mean anything wasn't general knowledge yet. Elizabeth put aside the bitter delight she felt at Jean's discomfort and spoke to Rogue as if they were alone in the room:

"Listen, I don't know if he wanted this marriage or not, or if he would have run out on you later; I'm inclined to say he would have. But take it from one who despised him and was disgusted by most things he said and did: he didn't run now. Why do you always believe the worst of him, Rogue?"

Rogue's shoulders slumped. She sat down on the bed.

"Ah've been so mad at him for so long," she said. "It's easier to be mad at him than to miss him, Ah suppose."

Elizabeth knew that feeling and for a moment, her heart went hard and brittle. Rogue, catching her change of expression, but mistaking it for something else, said:

"Ah'm sorry about barging in, Bets. Ah wouldn't have hit ya, not hard anyway. And Ah was real sorry to hear you were sick."

Elizabeth started to say something cheerful and reassuring, but checked herself. She felt bad, it was bad, it was going to get worse. There was nothing to be cheerful about. She opened her hand and let go of her brave front. The face she turned to Rogue was the one where all the years and all the pain showed.

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