Eye of the Beholder

Author's Notes: Yes, I'm evil. But at least I don't leave you hanging for ages for an update this time. A big thank you to my reviewers: Aderiana, Cougar, Capt_Davy_Jones_Lover, Michael, Dragonpink, Jen, Aymiah, Kris_A, blue_lioness, moon_muse, onewing and Anon. I think that last chapter produced the most reviews out of this entire story so far.

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Her anger has her brain spinning like a whirling dervish and her tears blur her sight, but she doesn't care. She just knows she needs to escape this place and the thought of never coming back gets more and more appealing with every stumbling step she takes. She just wants to run away with Hank and disappear into a hole so no one can ever find them or bother them ever again.

She takes in another ragged breath of freezing air and sobs it out again as the emotional pain caused by over twenty years of Hell that she's kept bottled up comes pouring out. The cold wind chills the tears on her cheeks, but she doesn't care as she runs headlong into the comforting woods. The cold silence of the trees so much preferable to the heated words of her family and she staggers on as quickly as she can.

She doesn't care if she runs until she reaches the end of the world, she just wants to get away from the pain in her heart and so she keeps going. The snow is half way up her shins and has soaked through her pants and tennis shoes, freezing her lower legs and feet to numbness. She welcomes the loss of feeling and hopes it will spread into her mind and heart so she won't have to remember or feel any of this anymore.

She barely manages to avoid running into a rather sizable tree and she stumbles past it, barely able to see where she's going because of the tears. She tries to blink them away, but more come to replace them and she once more wishes the pain in her heart would just go away. She lets out another cry like a wounded animal just as the ground beneath her feet seems to disappear.

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She opens her eyes and finds herself staring at the trunk of a tree and she tries to remember how she got here. Nothing comes to mind, but she knows she can't continue to lie in the snow, so she starts to push herself upright. A searing pain shoots up her right arm and she cries out as she instinctively curls around her injured arm.

She continues to lie there whimpering and after a while she notices that her head and her arm are throbbing in time with each other. She reaches up with her left hand to where her head hurts, gently touching the spot with her fingers and when she pulls her hand back she can see the fingertips of her glove covered in blood. She stares at it in confusion for several long moments before she decides that she really shouldn't be lying in the snow.

She carefully pushes herself up with her left hand, barely noticing that something warm and sticky is trickling down her face. She gets to her feet as fast as she can and manages to stagger a couple of steps before a very bad case of vertigo hits her making her go down to her knees. She barely catches herself on her good hand as she suddenly bends over to purge her stomach of its contents.

She spends some undetermined amount of time in that position as she tries to get her body to stop trembling and only when she's pretty sure she's not going to throw up any more does she sit back on her heals. She carefully scoops up some clean snow and sucks on it to ease the burning in her mouth and throat. While the melted snow does ease the pain in her throat and it seems to calm her stomach, it also makes her aware of how cold she is as she starts shivering harder.

She carefully gets to her feet this time, using one of the trees as support and stands there for several moments as she tries to get her body under control. She hears a loud noise from not too far away, but her befuddled brain can't decipher what it is, so she ignores it. She stands there, leaning against the tree as she waits for her limbs to become more cooperative.

She takes a tentative step away from the tree, barely aware of the sound of something moving closer to her and almost immediately places her foot on a rock hidden in the snow. She starts to go down again and all she can do is curl around her injured arm and squeeze her eyes shut in preparation of hitting the ground. A pair of strong arms keeps her from hitting the ground, but they end up putting a great deal of pressure on her right arm and she screams as the pain tears through her arm making it feel like its on fire.

“Oh my stars and garters, Amanda, I'm sorry,” Hank gasps as he quickly changes how he's holding her. “Where did I hurt you?”

“Arm,” she whimpers a couple of seconds later after his words penetrate her pain fogged brain.

He carefully gets her to sit on a spot that he's hastily cleared of snow, leaning her back against a tree once she's down and it's only then that he can see she's cradling her right arm. He gently runs his hands along the injured limb, feeling it as best he can through her coat and when he reaches her wrist he can feel the bones move unnaturally making her cry out again. He then follows the trail of blood to up near her hairline where he finds a rather nasty looking gash and she winces when he tries to move the hair that's plastered to the wound.

“Why am I out here?” she asks as she tries to focus on his face and then staring off into space when she can't bring it into focus.

“What do you remember?” he inquires while he shrugs his own coat off and then slides it around her shoulders.

“I remember us playing Scrabble,” she answers in a daze as he goes over to a nearby river birch tree and breaks a couple branches off. “You were spelling naughty words.”

“Perverts is not a naughty word,” he replies with a chuckle as he breaks the branches down to a more reasonable length.

“Why am I out here?” she asks again while he pulls her right arm away from her body with great care.

“What do you remember after the Scrabble game?” he questions as he starts to splint her arm.

“Yelling,” she says a few moments later and she gets very sad as tears start to travel down her cheeks again. “There was a lot of yelling. Why is there always yelling?”

“Shhh, it's alright now,” he softly assures her while he carefully uses the pliable ends of the branches to hold the splints in place. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“No, it's never fine with my family,” she sniffs and her breathing starts becoming irregular.

“I'm here now,” he tells her as he tucks her injured arm back under his coat. “I'll keep you safe.”

“Promise?” she begs, her eyes seeking his.

“Promise,” he replies as he gently wipes away the tears.

She closes her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his warm hands on her face and he softly kisses her forehead. Her left hand comes up to hold his hand in place as she rub her cheek into his over sized mitt. He smiles down at her before turning his attention to the steep embankment they came down and he worries how he's going to get her back up there without causing her further pain.

“Hank? Amy?” Mike's voice echoes down to them.

“Wait here,” Hank instructs as he stands back up. “I'll be right back.”

Before she can protest, he moves past a few trees to get a clearer view up to the ridge and he easily spots Mike worriedly looking for them.

“We're down here,” Hank calls, waving his arm in the air to get the man's attention.

“Are you alright?” Mike asks as he moves as he can without coming down the embankment himself.

“I'm fine, but Amanda has a broken wrist, a concussion, probably has hypothermia and she's definitely going into shock,” Hank answers. “She needs to go to the hospital Is there an easier way of getting back up there? I don't want to try going up this embankment with her and chance slipping.”

“Follow the creek downstream and it'll take you to the road,” Mike tells him. “I'll go get my car and meet you there.

“Take my car,” Hank offers as he fishes his keys out of his pocket and then tosses them up towards Mike who lets them land in the snow near his feet. “I've already dug it out.”

“Nice arm,” Mike calls after fishes the keys out of the snow. “I'll be as fast as I can.”

With that, the other man turns and disappears, leaving Hank to take care of Amanda. He quickly returns to her and he finds her trying to get to her feet, not even noticing that his jacket is sliding off of her. He swiftly moves to her side and helps her stand the rest of the way up before resettling his jacket on her shoulders.

“Why am out I here?” she asks with a dazed expression on her face.

“Can you walk?” he questions as holds her steady.

“I think so,” she answers and he can feel her slightly sway. “My arm hurts. I think I broke it.”

“I know,” he replies gently as he reaches inside his coat and guides her left arm into the sleeve. “We need to go downstream to get to the road. Do you think you can make it?”

“I guess I can try,” she says, looking around at the trees surrounding them. “Why am out I here?”

“You fell,” he explains as he carefully zips up the front of his jacket. “Put your arm through mine and we'll go as slowly as you need to go.”

She nods, but then instantly regrets it as her head starts to spin again and without even knowing she's doing it, she starts to sink to her knees. His first instinct is to hold her up, but one look at her face tells him to just help her down. She goes down to her hand and knees again and all he can do is hold back her hair as empties her stomach once more.

“Perhaps I should try carrying you,” he suggests as she eats another handful of snow. “Would that be alright?”

“Yeah,” she whispers and he carefully lifts her into his arms.

She wraps her left arm around his shoulders as she buries her nose into the fur on his neck. Beast whimpers for its injured mate and Hank suddenly realizes that it's been quiet for quite some time.

Help mate, Beast demands. Now!

I'm working on it, Hank irritably responds as he carefully makes his way along the bank of the creek, ever mindful of the wounded woman in his arms.

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By the time Mike makes it back to the house, he's out of breath and there's sweat dripping down his face. Since he's not interested in playing twenty questions with his in-laws, wife or kids, he heads around the house. Unfortunately, Stuart is waiting for him.

“Where are they?” Stuart nearly demands as he steps to the top step of the back porch.

“Amy fell down into the ravine,” Mike gasps as he slows his headlong dash around the house. “Hank says she has a broken arm, a concussion, hypothermia and is going into shock.”

“And you just left them out there?” Stuart asks.

“Hank's going to follow the creek down to the road,” Mike pants, pushing at the stitch in his side. “I'm going to meet them there and take them to the hospital.”

“I'll help you dig your car out,” Stuart offers as he takes the first step off of the porch.

“No need,” Mike replies as he catches his breath and holds up Hank's keys. “I've got Hank's keys and his car is already been dug out. I suggest you guys work on getting one of the other cars dug out and meet us at the hospital.”

Before Stuart can respond, Mike's around the side of the house and heading for Hank's car.

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Hank silently thanks whatever higher being or beings that there may be in the universe for his mutation, for without it, he knows they'd both be in trouble. The way has been slow and at times a bit dicey thanks to hidden rocks and the partially frozen creek, but he can finally see the road not that far ahead of them and he gives a sigh of relief. He starts to climb up the embankment to get to the pavement and she whimpers when his foot slightly slips.

“I'm sorry, my love,” he whispers near her ear. “We're almost to the road and I can hear a car coming. Hopefully it's Mike.”

“Cold,” she murmurs, her teeth chattering so hard it's almost impossible to understand her.

“Don't worry, you'll be warm soon,” he assures her as his foot finally makes contact with the road.

He looks towards the sound of the approaching engine and nearly gives a shout of joy when he sees Mike behind the wheel of his car. Mike stops in the middle of the road since there's no shoulder to pull over to and gets out of the vehicle with the engine still running. Hank heads straight for the back door and carefully sets Amanda down in the back seat.

“Do you want me to sit in back with her?” Mike asks as Hank covers her up with the blanket that he keeps in the back seat of his car.

“No, I'd like you to drive,” Hank answers while he carefully gets the seatbelt around her, making sure the shoulder harness goes behind her back. “You know where the hospital is and I want to keep an eye on her. Please turn the heat up to high once we're in.”

“Don't leave,” she begs as Hank starts to pull away.

“Don't worry, my love, I'm not going anywhere,” Hank softly assures her. “I just need to get in on the other side.”

Before she can protest any further, he shuts the door and quickly moves around the car. He slides into the back seat and moves to the middle position as Mike gets back behind the wheel. Within moments they're rolling and Hank wraps an arm around her while she cuddles up to him the best she can. He buries his nose in her hair and closes his eyes as he silently vows to never let her go through an ordeal like this again.

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By the time Cathy and Stuart get to the emergency waiting room, Mike's thumbed through several magazines and is about ready to climb the walls.

“Well?” Cathy asks as they walk up to him.

“I don't know anything yet,” Mike replies with a shake of his head.

“Where's Hank?” Stuart questions as he suspiciously looks around the nearly empty room.

“He's back there helping them,” Mike answers, pointing towards the doors that they took Amanda through earlier.

“What's he doing back there?” Stuart demands, glaring at the doors.

“You should be back there, not him,” Cathy states as she sets down an insulated tote on an empty chair. “You're family, he's not.”

“He's a doctor, I'm not,” Mike responds while he leans back in his chair and stretches before standing up. “Listen, since you two are here now, I'm going to go find the cafeteria and get a sandwich or something.”

“I brought you some dinner,” Cathy tells him as she points the tote she had put on the chair.

“I'm going to see what's going on,” Stuart states to no one as he marches over to the nurse's station.

“Thanks, Cathy, I'm starved,” Mike says while he quickly gets a still warm container out and she hands him some cutlery and a napkin from a bag that she has over her shoulder. “I see you brought another one for Hank. That's good. He's probably hungrier than I am.”

“I brought that for Amy, not Hank,” Cathy says, a poisonous tone in her voice at Hank's name.

“That's a shame, considering the man probably saved Amy's life,” he muses as he starts to dig in.

“I'm sure she would have been fine,” she retorts. “She was always getting banged up as a kid and she didn't die then.”

“I saw her, Cathy,” he quietly states, his tanned face going a bit pale. “She didn't look good.”

“If it wasn't for Hank, none of this would have happened,” she huffs.

“You're right,” he replies. “If Hank hadn't given up his vacation in Vermont to bring Amy down here, none of this would have happened.”

“You know what I mean,” she snaps.

“I know that Hank and Amy aren't completely to blame for what happened,” he points out. “I love Annie, but she's got a temper that makes a Tasmanian devil look calm and I have yet to hear you or Stuart tell Annie she's wrong about anything in all of the years I've been married to her. Amy isn't an angel by any stretch of the definition, but neither is Annie.”

“How can you say that about your own wife?” she demands in a huff.

“Easy, I live with her,” he tells her. “When we're home, she's a totally different person then when we're at you're house. I guess I've gotten so used to it, that until Hank showed up, I hadn't even bothered paying attention to it.”

“I don't believe it!” Stuart fumes as he comes stomping back towards them, distracting Cathy from giving her son-in-law a dressing down.

“What's the matter?” Cathy asks.

“They won't let me back there,” Stuart snarls. “They let that giant hairball back there, but not her own father.”

Before anyone can respond to him, Hank comes through the doors to the back and then heads for the nurse's station. He talks briefly with the lady behind the counter and then starts to head towards the waiting area. When he sees who else is there, he pauses only a moment before continuing towards them with a carefully controlled neutral expression on his face.

“Mike, may I please have my keys back?” Hank requests and Mike quickly fishes the requested item out of his pocket. “Thank you for driving us here.”

“Not a problem,” Mike replies with a mouth half full of food and spotting a bandage on one of Hank's hands. “What happened to your hand?”

“When I went to hold Amanda down so they could sedate her, she bit me,” Hank answers as he slides his keys back into his own pocket. “It seems she wasn't exaggerating when she told me that she doesn't like needles. Most of my time spent back there was so they could clean out my wound. With my healing factor it's not really necessary, but it made them feel better.”

“So I see her opinion hasn't changed about needles,” Mike says while he loads up his fork again. “How's she doing?”

“The shock and hypothermia have mostly been dealt with,” Hank replies, trying to keep his stomach from growling and Beast isn't too happy about the lack of food either. “The gash in her head only needed a few stitches and her wrist only needs a cast so they won't have to operate. When I left they were putting the finishing touches on her cast.”

“When do think they're going to let her go?” Mike asks.

“It's hard to say, but I believe they intend to keep her for the night,” Hank responds, studiously ignoring her parents as much as they are ignoring him.

“What do you think would have happened if you hadn't gone looking for her?” Mike casually inquires just as Hank's cell phone starts to ring.

“She would have been dead before morning,” Hank tells him as he fishes the phone out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID. “If you'll excuse me, I'd like to take this call in private.”

Without another word, Hank walks out to door, never seeing the shocked looks on Cathy and Stuart's faces or the grim one on Mike's.