The first thing that Logan became aware of was a constant beeping noise coming from somewhere to his left. As he struggled to throw off the last vestiges of sleep, it was all that he could do to flicker his eyes. Moaning was also a little on the painful side so Logan settled for a whimper.
“Hey there, sugah. Nice t’ see ya back among the livin’,” Marie murmured from somewhere off to the right.
Letting his head roll to the side, Logan forced his eyes open. It took a few minutes, but as soon as he did he was met by Marie’s smiling face. She looked a little warn out and tired, but was smiling nonetheless.
“What’s beeping?” Logan mumbled, his voice hoarse from disuse.
“It’s the heart monitor yer hooked up t’,” Marie told him. “The doctors are just keepin’ an eye on ya till they’re sure yer all right.”
As soon as he heard the word “doctors” Logan began to panic. He flung his head around, scanning the interior of the room with wide eyes. He had to find a way out. To get him and Marie to safety before they started cutting them open again. He had to keep Marie safe at all costs yet Logan couldn’t seem to make his body respond to his mind’s commands. Logan wasn’t tied down in any way he could see, he just had a hard time making his body respond to the orders his mind was giving out.
Suddenly, Logan’s frenzied gaze landed on the small table beside his bed. He stared at it blankly for a few minutes before he was able to process what it was.
A stuffed bear with a string wrapped around its wrist that was attached to a balloon.
A balloon with the words “Get Well Soon” painted on it.
Logan opened his mouth to speak, but ended up coughing instead. Marie reacted quickly. She picked up a cup of water from the table next to her and slipped her other hand behind his head to help him sit up. Logan drank ravenously from the cut pressed to his lips. Within seconds the contents of the glass were gone and Logan was breathlessly asking for more. He drank a little more slowly this time, savouring the cold water as it poured down his abused throat.
“Why did you get me a balloon?” Logan asked once he was reclined against the pillows again.
Marie looked over at the object in question and grinned. “That’s not from me, sugah. That’s from Jack.”
Logan arched an eyebrow. “Who’s Jack?”
“Jack would be the wonderful person who picked us up and drove us here,” Marie explained, smiling down at him as she once again ran her fingers through his hair.
“The one with the truck,” Logan mumbled sleepily, wracking his brain for any memories of their escape.
“The one with the truck,” Marie confirmed, her voice incredibly soft. “He’s been real great. Stuck around till the doctor’s said ya’d be all right. Oh, an’ ‘fore Ah ferget, yer name is Hugh an’ Ah’m Anna. Ah didn’t feel real safe ‘bout givin’ our real names so Ah went with that.”
Logan furrowed his brows. “But I like Marie better.”
Marie lowered her head next to his on the pillow and brought her hand down on his chest, rubbing lightly. Without even being aware of it, Logan began to purr. Even though he was very uneasy about being in the hospital, Marie’s calming presence gave him peace of mind. He trusted Marie to keep him safe. She was the only one he trusted any more. Marie was the only person that he could trust.
“Y’ can start callin’ me Marie again once they say ya can leave,” Marie said, running the side of a nail along his bottom lip. Suddenly, Marie sighed deeply and dropped her hand. “Ah wish Ah could touch ya without it hurtin’.”
“I wish I could touch you, too,” Logan agreed, meeting her tearstained eyes with his own. “You should be touched no matter what.”
The door opened suddenly, interrupting Logan and Marie’s tranquil moment. Glancing towards the door, Logan felt his entire body tense.
It was a doctor.
Tensing visibly, Logan looked over at Marie who was grinning at the doctor. Panic overtaking him, Logan glanced between Marie and the doctor. He must have made a whimpering sound because he felt Marie’s hand on his chest again.
“Sugah, this is Dr. Mathis. he’s the one who fixed ya up,” Marie explained, rubbing her hand back and forth across his stomach.
“And how are you this morning, Mr. Hunters?” the middle-aged doctor asked as he picked up Logan’s chart.
Logan glanced over at Marie, waiting for confirmation that it was all right to trust the doctor.
“He’s doin’ a lot better than last night,” Marie answered for him, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
“Glad to hear it. You were brought in pretty beat up last night. Numerous lacerations and contusions. The blood loss you had experienced from the wounds to your hands was staggering. Do your hands hurt at all now?” Dr. Mathis asked absently, flipping through the pages of the chart.
“My hands?” Logan mumbled, glancing down. His eyebrows arched when he saw the bright white bandages wrapped around his hands. He flexed his hands, gauging whether they hurt or not. Logan got his hands roughly halfway closed before the pain started. “Shit! Ow!”
Marie picked up one of his bandaged hands and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “That’s Hugh’s way o’ sayin’ yes.”
Logan nodded his head in agreement, moaning slightly.
“Can’t expect miracles, can we. No matter. You seem to be perfectly all right otherwise so as long as your tests come back okay, you’re all set to go,” Dr. Mathis told them. “Oh, and the police will be here in a few hours to talk to you about you attack. Get you version of things, Mr. Hunters. So, until then, you rest up. It’s really the best thing you can do for yourself.”
Logan didn’t breathe easily until Dr. Mathis left the room. He couldn’t sense anything off about the doctor, but Logan knew that he wouldn’t feel better until he and Marie were alone. He had tensed up considerably since his arrival and the instant that the left the room, Logan’s body instantly relaxed.
“It’s all right, Logan, Dr. Mathis isn’t a bad man,” Marie assured him, brushing her hair back from her face. He could see the exhaustion written clearly on her face. She needed to rest, and badly.
“You should sleep,” Logan suggested, shifting his body slightly to make room for her on the bed.
Marie shook her head, yawning loudly. “Nah. Ah should probably stay awake. Ah’ll rest once we get away from here. When we’re alone an’ we don’t hafta worry ‘bout anyone sneakin’ up on us.”
Logan frowned, not liking that one bit. He wanted Marie to get some rest. She looked utterly exhausted. The angry red cut that slashed across her right cheek didn’t ease Logan’s state of mind either. He wanted to kill the men that had hurt his Marie.
“I love you,” Logan told her, making sure that she knew it before he did what he had planned next.
Marie’s brilliant smile warmed Logan from the inside. “Ah love ya, too.”
Returning her smile, Logan sluggishly lifted his hand from the bed. He strained his fingers, reaching towards the cut on her cheek. He wanted to get rid of the cut on her cheek. The cut would undoubtedly leave a scar and Logan didn’t want Marie to have any physical reminders of what had happened.
Logan’s index finger was just inches away from her face when Marie caught on to what he was doing. Reaching out, Marie lightly grabbed hold of his bandaged hand and pressed it back to his chest.
“Not happenin’, sugah. Ya need yer strength so touchin’,” Marie scolded.
A sudden thought occurred to Logan. He furrowed his brows, staring intently at Marie. “Do they know about our mutations?”
“None o’ mah cuts were real bad. Ah just had t’ wash mah face. No touchin’ involved,” Marie assured him, absently running her fingers through her hair. “As fer yer hands.... well, Ah told them that ya were in an accident a few years back. Ya crashed her motor cycle and smashed yer hands. Ah pretty much told them that the only way they could fix yer hands was by molding metal t’ yer bones. Seemed t’ by it easily enough.”
“I still think that I should touch you,” Logan insisted, frowning at Marie’s refusal to let him heal her.
Marie shook her head and sat back out of Logan’s reach. “It’s not gonna happen, sugah. Ah think all the doctors and nurses wanderin’ ‘round will notice that the cut on mah face is missin’. ‘Sides, it’s not like it hurts that much.”
“I don’t want you to hurt,” Logan protested, once again raising his hand.
“Ah’m fine, sugah.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” Logan asked, deciding to try a new tactic.
Marie’s eyes widened. “Well Ah.... Ah guess Ah.... See, back where Ah come from.... Ah just.... Wipe that smirk off yer face right this instant!”