Chapter 6 – Back to Life

He was gasping for breath, his heart thudding like he'd been more afraid than he ever had in his life. A strong burning sensation in the left side of his chest made him cry out in pain and tears of agony stung his eyes, it felt like he was on fire.

“Lie down, calm yourself...” he heard Jean say softly.

He cried in agony and writhed, this laser wound was nothing like he'd ever felt.

“We thought we'd lost you for a time there,” Hank said, patting Remy's shoulder and then pushing him back gently so he was lying back. He struggled, his back arching. “Jean, get him something for the pain...”

Jean rushed to a locked cupboard and fumbled for keys – the powerful medications and drugs for pain were always kept in a locked cupboard – which was also alarmed inside. With teenagers in the building, couldn't be too careful, Jean felt.

“It burns!” he cried, tears streaming down the sides of his face into his hair.

“Laser wounds are very rarely ever painless,” Hank admitted. “And this...well...It's a nasty one – fourth degree burns I'm afraid,” Hank continued in a gentle calm voice. “There was some infection – we've managed to rid you of that and you're past crisis mode. You're a very lucky man, Remy LeBeau...”

Jean arrived with a vial of clear liquid and a packeted hypodermic, she handed the both to Hank who expertly went about tearing the packet open and drawing the liquid in to the needle.

“You'll feel sleepy...incredibly sleepy,” Hank said soothingly, “it's best, for the moment...that you sleep through some of this pain,” he wiped Remy's arm with an antiseptic wipe then gently slid the needle into a vein.

Remy sucked in a breath, his body felt hypersensitive, and the needle was sharp, hard and cold against his flesh, against his vein. He tried to breathe out the pain but it wasn't working.

“The pain won't completely subside...but it will make it tolerable,” Hank explained.

Remy pulled himself up again, tearing the intravenous drip tube from his left hand, and yanking off the pads from his chest that had been hooked up to the EKG.

“Uhm...where do you think you're going,” Hank tried to stop him.

He gripped onto the bed, a fast dizzy feeling came to his head from whatever Hank had injected into him. “Need to...see her,” Remy said woozily, he somehow clumsily managed to pull away from Hank's attempts to stop him getting away from the bed and he stumbled numbly towards the doors, nearly falling through them.

Rogue and the Professor were still in the hall and Rogue glanced up in shock to see Remy there, tears stained her face, her lips were trembling. She quickly got to her feet to hurry towards him.

“I...” he managed to say, but this was as much as he could manage, his legs gave out, his body grew heavy and he dropped like a ton of bricks, Rogue's arms barely just catching him.

“Remy...”

The pain in his chest was throbbing in strong pulses, but his mind was barely awake enough to care about it anymore. He fought to keep his eyes open to look at her.

“He needs to be put back to his bed,” said Jean, who had followed him out, “He's heavily sedated – he's in a great deal of pain.”

“Let me,” Rogue said gently, she sniffed, blinking away tears. She pulled Remy's bare arm around her shoulders, being careful to make sure their flesh didn't touch. He was barely awake enough to help walk, but she didn't want to completely lift him, she was almost scared she might break him.

They got him back to the bed in the hospital wing and helped him settle back there.

“He's stable now? For good?”

“Yes,” Jean said, “he's passed the crisis point – and his mind is back where it should be,” she added, she checked Remy's pulse, “good, strong pulse...” she took a small flashlight and pried one of Remy's eyes widely open to shine the light in, “his pupils are abnormally dilated more than that drug usually causes.”

Remy's eyes flickered open weakly to look at Rogue, he reached for her, his arm barely strong enough to get up off the bed, “chere,” he whispered.

She took his hand, she squeezed it gently, “don't try to talk right now,” she whispered softly to him, with her other hand she stroked his hair away from his face tenderly, “we'll talk...later...when you're not sleepy...when you feel better...”

“S'it a'gn,” he pleaded of her.

“Hmm?” she asked softly, leaning closer to hear him, she looked into his eyes, ruby on onyx; his pupils were abnormally huge and the red in his irises was barely more than a thin dark red circle. It made his eyes seem strange and barely recognisable, despite the familiarity Rogue felt for them. She could almost see her reflection in the shine of those huge pupils.

“Say...say it again,” he focused hard to say each word, exhaustion was dragging him down.

“Say what?” she asked confusedly, she sniffled, the tears were still trickling down her cheeks.

“That y'love me,” he sighed softly, his eyes closed of their own volition, he could no longer fight it. Sleep was taking him over.

“I love you,” she said softly, she kissed the fingers of her gloves and pressed them to his lips. She was unsure if he heard this before he slipped into the deep sedated sleep. She turned to leave the room, wiping at her tears when she saw Bobby Drake standing at the door of the hospital wing.

THE END

((Okay so I know it sucked, forgive me))