Eye of the Beholder

Author’s notes: Thank you blue_lioness for your review, they mean the world to me. The next chapter is still in the works, but please leave a review.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda wakes to the sound of rhythmic thumping against her bedroom wall and muffled moans. It takes her sleep fogged brain a minute to figure out what’s going on and with a groan she rolls over, pulling a pillow on top of her head. It takes several more moments for it to register that she’s not in her apartment and it’s not Bobbi making those noises.

She practically shoots out of bed, grabs her robe and slippers and moves as quickly and as quietly as she can out of her room. She tiptoes down the stairs in an attempt not to wake anyone, pulling on her robe as she goes and heads for the kitchen. She checks the coffee pot and thanks God that her father always sets everything up the night before so all she has to do is turn the thing on.

While the java is brewing, she finally puts her slippers on her quickly chilling feet, pulls a mug out of the cupboard and puts in the requisite amount of sugar and cream in her semi-awake state. After cleaning up the spilt sugar and cream that her tired brain couldn’t aim properly, the coffee pot is only half full and that’s good enough for her. Knowing the spout closes when there’s no carafe in the machine, she pulls out the pot and pours herself a cup.

She puts the carafe back where it belongs and then just stands there sniffing her coffee. Once she’s sufficiently awake, she takes her coffee out onto the front porch and sits on the swing to watch the sunrise. When the sun is about half way up, the front door opens and her father comes out with his own cup of coffee.

“Morning,” he greets as he sits down beside her.

“Morning,” she replies.

“Happy birthday,” he says with a kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you,” she responds, not really taking her eyes off of the lovely view in front of her.

“Something wrong?” he asks in concern.

“Tired,” she answers and then sighs. “Confused. I like being a lawyer, but…”

“But?” he prompts after a few moments of silence.

“I know there’s more out there, but I don’t know how to get it,” she admits with a sigh. “I’m thirty and I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“Dear lord, don’t let your mother hear you say that or she’ll be setting you up with every available man in the county,” he groans but smiles none the less.

“Well, as long as he’s willing to move to New York, then maybe,” she chuckles before turning sober once more. “Maybe I should just get a cat or something. I don’t want to just grab the first guy off of the street and hope for the best. That’s one of the reasons why divorce lawyers are so bloody rich. I want someone who I can grow old with. Annie has it, why can’t I?”

“I think that God was smiling on Annie when Mike walked into her life,” he states hesitantly.

“So that’s it?” she questions. “God is smiling on Annie and I get the shaft?”

“No, honey, of course not,” he assures her as he puts his arm around her shoulders. “I just think God has some very special plans for you and you’re just going to have to be patient.”

“I’m thirty, Dad, I’m not sure I have time to be patient,” she grumbles while she leans against him.

“Patience is a virtue, Amy,” he reminds her and then looks down at her attire. “Aren’t you freezing?”

“A bit,” she admits. “The coffee helped keep me warm.”

“Well, why don’t you go get cleaned up,” he suggests. “Your mother is making a big breakfast and then we’ll go to church.”

“Oh boy, church,” she says, sounding about as thrilled as having bamboo splinters shoved under her nails.

“Haven’t you been going to church?” he asks, a frown wrinkling his forehead.

“No, Dad,” she answers truthfully. “I have to get dressed up five days a week and spend it with a man telling me what to do and how to think. I do not wish to do that on one of my days off too. Besides, I like sleeping in.”

“If your mother finds out…,” he starts.

“She’ll go to church and pray for my soul,” she finishes. “Dad, I’m thirty now. I think I can manage to make my own decisions.”

“You didn’t seem to mind going to church when you were younger,” he points out.

“That’s because that was the only time Annie and I got to see kids our own age was when we went to church,” she tells him. “I know why we moved out here to the middle of nowhere and why Mom home schooled us, but it didn’t make isolation any easier. I’m just glad that you and Mom were a lot more understanding than Serena’s family.”

“We could do nothing less,” he states. “So what are you doing up at this hour? I thought you were going to sleep in on your birthday.”

“I was planning on it until…um…well…,” she stammers.

“Until Annie and Mike started going at it like a couple of wild rabbits?” he inquires, a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his lips.

“To put it nicely,” she grumbles. “I thought I wouldn’t have to put up with that any more after getting rid of Bobbi. You would think they could have waited until they got home or something.”

“You’ll get no argument from me,” he agrees. “It’s one thing to know your daughter is no longer a virgin, it’s something else entirely when it’s forced down your throat.”

“How’d they wake you up?” she asks as she stands. “Their headboard is against my wall.”

“Obviously you weren’t around for the grand finale,” he states, his face starting to redden.

“Thank heaven for small favors,” she replies as she opens the screen door. “I better go get cleaned up. I hope there’s some hot water left.”

With that, she returns to the house to get ready for what promises to be an interesting day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank wakes to a darkened room and he’s a bit disoriented for a few moments, but then he remembers where he is. He notices his magazine and glasses are on the table, a blanket is covering him and he knows that only one person would have done such a thing, causing a smile to touch his lips. He looks over at his patient and sees she’s still sleeping. The bag of fluids emptied a long time ago and he gets up to remove it. As he’s sliding the needle out of her arm, she whimpers and opens her eyes.

“Good morning, Serena,” he happily greets as he applies a bit of pressure to the hole in her arm. “How are you feeling?”

“How am I supposed to be feeling?” she nearly growls as he makes her bend her arm while he disposes of the used items.

“Ah, not a morning person, I see,” he continues cheerfully while he applies a small strip of medical tape and a bit of gauze to the tiny hole on the inside of her elbow. “I imagine you’re quite sore after that incredible trek you took yesterday and your feet probably are none to pleased with you as well. However, no major damage was done and you’ll be right as rain in a few days.”

“Great,” she grumbles with all the enthusiasm of someone who’s been told their pet has just died.

“Would you care for some breakfast?” he asks as he goes to turn up the lights. “I’m quite famished myself and can only imagine how hungry you must be.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” she mumbles as her stomach loudly growls.

“It seems your stomach disagrees with you,” he chuckles as he steps towards her bed. “But before I call someone to bring us breakfast, I think a trip to the lavatory is in order. Now, I can carry you or you can lean on me. Which do you prefer?”

“I can do it myself,” she snarls.

She throws back the covers, swings her legs over the side of the bed and stands up, only to immediately collapse. Fortunately for her, Hank has been expecting such an occurrence and easily catches her before she falls to the floor.

“Now then,” he says patiently. “Would you like to lean on me or for me to carry you?”

“I’ll try walking,” she states stubbornly.

“Very well then,” he replies as he places one large hand under her elbow and the other around her waist. “Take it as slowly as you need to. I’m in no great rush.”

By the time they’re half way to the bathroom, she’s shaking and when they finally make it there, she’s sweating and about ready to collapse again. It takes them ten minutes to complete the journey and all she wants to do is to crawl back into bed. Instead, he leaves her in the lavatory to freshen up while he goes over to the phone on the wall and calls up to the kitchen.

By the time he hangs up, the bathroom door is open and she stands there leaning against the door frame eyeing the room. There’s half a dozen beds down each side of the room much like the post op ward on M*A*S*H though this is a much more updated version. She looks at her bed at the other end of the ward and inwardly groans.

“Why don’t you take the bed closest to the bathroom?” he suggests as he steps up to her.

“Ok,” she weakly agrees.

He helps her to her new bed and then grabs a couple extra pillows so that she can sit up comfortably. Just as he’s finishing getting her set up in her new bed, the door opens and Bobby walks in carrying a large tray of food. Hank looks down at Serena and sees she’s intently staring at her hands in her lap instead of looking at Bobby.

“Thank you, Bobby,” Hank says as he quickly crosses the room and takes the tray.

“Is she ok?” Bobby quietly asks.

“Physically, she will be alright,” Hank answers softly. “Psychologically, may be another matter all together. What she needs right now is rest.”

“I suppose visitors are out?” Bobby questions.

“For the time being, yes,” Hank replies. “After breakfast, perhaps.”

“Ok, I’ll let the others know,” Bobby replies. “Kitty’s feeling pretty rotten right now. Storm chewed her out something good last night. It seems Kitty was sneaking out of their room and spending it in Rogue’s room, totally ignoring Serena.”

“I’ll see if she’s up to having visitors after she’s eaten,” Hank tells him. “She’s in a bit of a sour mood right now.”

“Ok, thanks,” Bobby says and then leaves.

Hank looks down at the food and smiles before turning around. He puts the tray down on the table next to Serena’s bed and then starts to divide up the food.

“We’re in luck,” he happily states as he hands her a plate. “Storm’s made her famous blueberry pancakes, a rare treat indeed.”

“Are you kidding?” she asks, staring with wide eyes at the large stack of pancakes on her plate. “There’s no way I can eat all of that.”

“Eat what you can,” he replies calmly as he takes a seat on the bed next to hers. “No one says you have to eat all of it.”

Without another word, he starts to eat his breakfast and after a few moments, she does likewise. The only sound for the next several minutes is the clinking of their forks against their plates. When Serena stops eating, she stares at her now empty plate, completely in shock over the amount of food she’s put away.

“Feel better?” he asks and when she opens her mouth to answer a loud belch emerges causing her to blush furiously and him to laugh. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

“Oh my god, excuse me,” she mutters past the hand she brings to her mouth.

“In some cultures that is considered a high complement,” he chuckles as he takes her plate. “Now I would like to examine your feet and then I think a bath will be in order.”

“I’m a little old to be taking a bath,” she points out as he goes to retrieve his glasses.

“Do you think you can stand for a shower?” he questions as he puts on his glasses.

“No,” she mumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Very well then,” he states as he delicately lifts her foot by the ankle making her giggle and try to pull her foot away to which he instinctively grabs a hold.

“That tickles,” she laughs as she involuntarily jerks her leg only to find that he’s much stronger than her and ends up pulling herself down the bed.

“I assure you, I’m not trying to tickle you,” he says, looking over the top of his glasses with a bemused look on his face.

“You’re…you’re…fur,” she gasps while trying to squirm away.

“Ah, I see,” he replies as he moves his hold so that her pants are between her and his hand and then she finally holds still.

“Why are you taking care of me?” she questions after she gets her breath back. “I thought you were a politician.”

“I am, but I’m also a doctor,” he answers as he lowers the first foot so that he may examine the other one. “I used to be the X-Men’s doctor in fact.”

“Why’d you leave?” she inquires.

“I felt I could better the lives of all mutants if I became more politically involved,” he explains as he touches a rather red spot on her foot with one of his claws.

“Ow,” she hisses as she tries to pull her foot away again.

“Sorry,” he apologizes.

“So is it working?” she asks. “Have you been able to help mutants?”

“I don’t know,” he confesses as he lowers her foot back to the bed. “Some days it feels like I’m trying to ski uphill. I guess only time will tell.”

Before anymore can be said, Kurt suddenly appears out of thin air.

“Ah, good morning, Kurt,” Hank cheerfully greets.

“Guten Morgen, Herr Beast, Serena,” Kurt replies with a smile. “How is ze liebchen?”

“She’s not going to be doing much walking for the next few days,” Hank answers as he takes his glasses off and slips them into a pocket. “I would like her to stay down here for today, but she should be moved back to her room tonight. Someone is going to have to help her around until the blisters on her feet have had a chance to heal.”

“I don’t want to go back to my room,” she butts in. “Kitty…”

“Katzchen iz very sorry for her behavior,” Kurt tells her when she doesn’t finish her sentence. “However, Storm iz moving you to a different room.”

“Oh,” she replies in a small voice.

“Kurt, could you get someone to bring down a change of clothes for Serena, please?” Hank requests.

“I vill zee to it,” Kurt assures them as he picks up the tray of empty dishes and vanishes with a loud ‘bamf’.

“I’ll go start your bath,” Hank states as he turns towards the bathroom. “After yesterday’s adventure, a nice bath will help ease those sore muscles.”

He disappears through the door, closing and locking it behind him. A moment later the sound of the bath filling reaches her ears and about a minute later, she hears the toilet flush. She blushes slightly and a moment later he reemerges just as Storm walks in carrying a bundle of clothes.

“Morning you two,” Storm greets; trying not to let the stress of the past twenty-four hours seep into her voice.

“Morning,” Serena returns a bit sullenly.

“Good morning, Ororo,” Hank replies much more cheerfully.

“I brought Serena her clothes,” Storm announces, holding up the bundle. “How are you feeling?”

Serena simply shrugs her answer, refusing to look at the headmistress and a slight scowl creases Storms brow.

“Wonderful,” Hank states with a bit of forced happiness. “Ororo, would you please put those in the bathroom while I help Serena in?”

“Sure, Hank,” Storm agrees a bit reluctantly, staring at the girl.

As soon as Serena is situated in the bathroom and the door firmly closed behind her, Hank leads Storm into the treatment room.

“Well, that was rude,” Storm grumbles.

“Take it easy on the girl,” Hank sighs. “She’s been through a lot.”

“Any idea why she took off like that?” she asks.

“Not yet, but I will work with her,” he assures her. “I may not be Charles, but I like to believe that I can win over almost anyone with my sparkling personality.”

She laughs as he gives her a big smile.

“You probably could, you snake charmer,” she chuckles.

“I prefer the term ‘charismatic’,” he grins before becoming serious again. “But all joking aside, I’d like to keep her down her for today. I’ll need to leave tonight, so I’d like her to go back upstairs.”

“I’m already having Kitty move Serena’s stuff to her new room,” she states.

“Good,” he nods. “Have someone send down her school work. She doesn’t seem interested in just telling me what happened. So maybe if I distract her with her studies, I may be able to get somewhere.”

“Ok, I’ll send someone down with her homework,” she replies. “I’ll also try to keep Logan at bay. He’s still in a snit about having to track her for so many hours. However, he’s currently using the Danger Room and that’s right down the hall. Hopefully he’ll have worked off his anger by the time he comes out.”

“Let us hope,” he agrees. “The last thing she needs is to have Wolverine scaring her half to death. I’ve heard about her power; I’d rather not witness it first hand.”

“I don’t blame you,” she responds with a half smile. “I better get going and make sure Kitty and Jubilee are doing their punishments.”

“What did Jubilee do?” he asks.

“Stained one of the good bed sheets while making a banner to welcome Serena,” she answers. “When she gets a chance, Miss Simon wants to talk to her. I’ll send down her phone number.”

“You don’t sound too happy about that,” he observes.

“She threatened law suit, remember?” she reminds him.

“Ah, yes,” he sighs. “Very well, it’s best to appease the lady. After all, she did save Serena from spending the prime years of her life behind bars.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she sighs as she heads for the door. “I’ll send her books down in a bit. Call if you need anything.”

“Will do,” he replies as she goes through the door.

With a sigh tinged with regret, he watches her leave wishing that there had been a way to be sure that her feelings for him had been real. He sadly shakes his head and returns to the recovery room to wait for Serena to emerge from her bath. Who knows, maybe he’ll get a chance to talk to Miss Simon and this time convince her that he’s not someone named Brian.