H&C: 07) From Hurt to Comfort

Chapter 07: Deeply Touching, Touching Deeply

As they emerged into the living room Storm immediately went for the nearest door and motioned for Sprite and Tempest to follow. Portal and Havock stood on either side of the open vortex watching for any sign of trouble. Cyclops pointed at Angel then motioned to a doorway, he pointed at Wolverine and to another door. Then he pointed at Iceman and Rogue and motioned for them to follow him upstairs.

The three silently crept up the stairs. When Cyclops reached the top he looked at Iceman with question. Bobby pointed to his brother's room. With his hand on the trigger mechanism of his visor, Cyclops quickly opened the door.

What he saw made his heart lurch. Laying in the floor in a puddle of blood was an older man. He had blood coming from his nose and mouth. Cyclops counted six compound fractures before he decided that it didn't matter. He looked further on to see a pale and trembling boy laying on the bed crying. He was naked from the waist down and there was blood smeared on his buttocks and thighs.

"You need to get him out of here." Marie said quietly to Bobby.

Bobby nodded in stunned disbelief before he walked to his brother and said, "Ronny, I'm here to help you. Come on and we'll see what we can do to help."

As Bobby tried to put a comforting arm around his brother, Ronny flinched back in fear.

The action tore at Bobby's soul and he said, "Come on Ronny, let's get you cleaned up. I promise that I won't touch you... ever again, without your permission."

Scott realized what the words meant and the scene before him took on new meaning.

"Scott, help Bobby with Ronny. He doesn't need to be in here." Marie said and snapped him out of his shock.

"Yeah, um, get Andrew to call for Hank." Scott said absently as he walked to Bobby's side.

Marie gave one sharp nod and left the room.

"Ronny, we're going to take you into the next room. Help us out here. Bobby, grab a robe for him." Scott said with a gentle voice.

Bobby and Scott got Ronny to stand and put the robe on him, Marie returned to the room as the three were leaving.

Marie knelt down beside the broken man and noticed slight movement. He was breathing. She looked at the door quickly then pinched his nose closed with one gloved hand while she covered his mouth with the other.

William Drake struggled for breath for a moment before becoming still. Marie looked up to see Logan watching her.

Logan looked at the scene before him and took a smell of the air. He winced with disgust and finally said, "It's better than he deserved."

Marie looked at her gloved hands that were stained with blood.

She looked up at Logan with shock and question in her eyes.

"It needed done and you did it. That's all." Logan said and held out a hand to help Marie to stand.

Hank ran into the room a minute later and Marie said, "I think he's dead."

After carefully looking for a pulse Hank hung his head sadly. "His body is still warm, apparently his injuries were to grave for him to survive." he whispered with regret.

"Hank, we have another patient for you." Scott called from the doorway.

* * * * *

Hank walked into the room and saw a young man in severe emotional shock.

At the sight of Hank, Ronny began to mutter, "No... NO!" With increasing volume.

"Hank, maybe you can get Andrew to have a look at him first." Scott said with apology.

After a quick nod of comprehension, Hank left the room, a minute later Andrew appeared with his MedKit.

He scanned the boy and felt revulsion at his discoveries. Finally he said, "We need to get him to the MedLab, he needs a doctor."

"Is there anything you can do for him now?" Scott asked with hope.

"I can give him something to calm him down, but then Hank needs to see him." Andrew said decisively.

"He's afraid of Hank." Bobby said, standing a foot away from his brother and feeling helpless.

"My name is Andrew, what's yours?" He asked quietly.

"R... Ronny." He said in a trembling voice.

"Ronny, I'm like a paramedic. I can give you something to calm you down if you want, but only if you want. I'm not going to do anything unless you say it's okay." Andrew said honestly.

"How do I know you're not going to poison me?" Ronny asked with fear.

"Bobby, will you let me give you this shot first so Ronny can see that it doesn't do anything but calm you down?" Andrew asked carefully.

"If Ronny wants me to, I will." Bobby said, looking his brother in the eyes.

"Yeah, if he'll take a shot, so will I." Ronny said with a note of caution.

Andrew pressed the hypospray to Bobby's neck and a small hiss could be heard.

"That didn't hurt at all." Bobby said with wonder.

"Yeah, I wish they had these when I was growing up." Andrew said before turning his attention back to Ronny.

"Now if you want me to do this, I will. You still don't have to." Andrew said with assurance.

"How does it feel?" Ronny asked as he looked at Bobby.

"I just feel a little better, less edgy. I'm not sleepy or dopey or anything." Bobby said honestly.

"You're always dopey." Ronny said, then looked at Andrew and said, "Okay."

Andrew quickly and efficiently administered the sedative to Ronny. The effect was almost immediate.

"Now Ronny, I need to get you to a doctor. That big blue furry man is the doctor at the institute, but if you would rather go to the emergency room, we can do that. What's important is that you *need* to see a doctor." Andrew stressed.

"What... What's wrong with me?" Ronny asked with renewed fear.

"There is a large tear in your sigmoid colon. If it isn't repaired it could easily become infected and threaten your life. That's where most of the blood is coming from." Andrew said professionally.

"If I go to the emergency room, they're going to ask questions." Ronny said and glanced at Bobby.

"Yeah, and since you're a minor, they'll call the police." Andrew confirmed.

"Do I have to be knocked out for the surgery?" Ronny asked carefully.

"Honestly, I don't know. I just stabilize patients until the doctor can treat them. I don't know what's involved in that surgery, but I promise that we'll find out and let you decide before we do anything. *Nothing* is going to happen to you without your permission." Andrew said as a vow.

"So if I say no, what then?" Ronny asked hesitantly.

"Then we'll find another doctor, someone who won't ask questions, if that's what you want. Ronny, all I'm concerned with is that you go to see a doctor, I don't want you to get sick when it can be prevented." Andrew said sincerely.

"Let's talk to the blue guy and see if he can do the surgery while I'm awake." Ronny said and moved toward the door.

* * * * *

Angel stayed in the living room and awaited instructions. He could smell blood, violence and sex in the air. Bobby, Andrew and Scott came down the stairs surrounding a younger boy. As the boy moved closer Angel could smell the fresh blood coming from him and knew what had happened.

Thoughts of Chris flashed through his mind and he suddenly had the need to see him and know that he's okay.

"You're growling." Alex said quietly.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Angel said quietly as he watched Andrew and Bobby lead the boy through the vortex.

"We'll need to do something to make this look natural, we don't want any questions." Scott said to the group.

"Robbery gone wrong?" Alex suggested.

"That wouldn't explain why Ronny is missing and the condition of his father. I think most of his bones have been broken." Scott said in thought.

"A big storm? Maybe collapse some of the house?" Rogue interjected.

"It has possibilities. But that still doesn't explain Ronny being missing." Scott said absently.

"How missing do you want him? Missing gonna come back in a few days or missing and presumed dead?" Logan asked seriously.

"Um... the second one, I think. That way he can still come back if he wants, he'll just have to make up some kind of story. And if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to." Scott said unsurely.

"How about a big storm *and* a fire... maybe a lightning strike." Marie suggested.

"That's good." Scott said then tapped his comm device. "Storm, come in, we've got work to do."

* * * * *

"Put it in." Xander said through gritted teeth.

"But it burns." Remy said as he tried to wipe the concoction off his penis.

"Remy, PUT IT IN NOW!" Xander said with ferocity.

Remy looked at Xander and saw the sweat beading on his face.

After a brief moment of indecision, Remy moved into position and gently placed his burning, itching cock at Xander's most private opening.

"We'll do slow next time. Slam it in and get moving. I'm going nuts here." Xander said as he balled the sheets in his fists.

Remy did as instructed and thrust into the opening.

"Harder." Xander commanded.

Remy could feel slight relief as the friction served to ease the itch.

The pace was fast and furious. Remy could feel the sweat running down his own face as he pounded faster and harder than he had ever done before.

"Scoot forward a little, change your angle." Xander said in gasping breaths.

Remy scooted forward in one quick move and continued to grind into Xander's needy ass.

"Yeah... Yeah... Yeah." Xander said in breathy whispers as Remy was hitting his prostate with each thrust.

Somewhere between seconds and hours later Remy felt the climax building within him.

"I'm gonna cum." Remy said with desperation.

"Let'er rip. I'm your husband, we don't need to be safe." Xander said as he felt his own orgasm approaching.

Remy couldn't have stopped if he had wanted to. The combination of the pepper sauce, the hard pounding sex and the two months without a satisfying release drove Remy to a point of arousal he had never even approached before.

Xander could feel Remy's penis glancing across his prostate on every thrust and

felt his own climax coming fast. Although he was no stranger to sex, he had never had anyone really plow into him like this before. The hyena spirit trapped deep within him was radiating satisfaction at the animality of the action. Xander could feel himself approaching the precipice of his control.

Remy pulled Xander's hips to move him in time with his thrusts. He slammed with all his force and fury as his orgasm finally took hold.

The first spasm of release caused Remy to howl out in ecstasy. The primal scream from the depths of his soul rang out into the air and filled the room.

Deep within Xander the hyena spirit acknowledged the howl of her mate with a responding howl that sounded up through Xander's soul and finally out of his mouth. A great whooping cry of completion exploded from Xander's mouth as the semen exploded from his engorged cock and released in long streams across his belly and chest... and a little on the headboard of the bed.

Time froze as both men felt the perfect moment of release slip away.

Remy continued to thrust in a much more gentle movement and carefully stretched forward to give Xander a kiss.

Xander strained up from the bed to pull Remy into the kiss. He held Remy tightly and began to kiss him passionately, trying to convey his emotions without words, since he had no words for them anyway.

Finally Remy slid free from Xander and they both held close to try and compensate for the loss of connection.

"Dat was..." Remy began.

"Yeah, I never..." Xander said in wonder.

"I need to wash dis stuff off. It still burn." Remy said in an exhausted haze.

"Yeah. Me too." Xander said without moving.

"I love you." Remy whispered as he looked Xander in the eye.

"I love you too. I never understood the word 'soulmate' before." Xander said peacefully as he held Remy's gaze.

"I really need to wash dis stuff off." Remy said and forced himself off of Xander's prone form.

"Me too. Will you help me?" Xander asked gently.

Remy pulled Xander to standing and held him close.

"Dat's my job now." Remy said with a glow of satisfaction.

"You do it good." Xander said as he was led into the bathroom.

* * * * *

As Andrew, Ronny and Bobby walked into MedLab, Andrew said, "Hank, could you give us a few minutes to get Ronny comfortable?"

Hank nodded and left the room without a sound.

"So you're a mutant too?" Ronny asked Andrew as he climbed onto a bed.

"Yes. That vortex that we walked through to get here, that's my mutant ability." Andrew said calmly.

"But you look so normal." Ronny said with question.

"It's easier to think of mutants being so different from yourself. Most of us are just like anyone else, we just have a little something extra." Andrew said calmly.

"Um... Are there any, like, not-mutants around here?" Ronny asked hesitantly.

Andrew smiled and said, "Yes, there are quite a few. Xander, Dawn, Tara, Angel, and my kids."

"Could I have a not-mutant person in here with me? You're nice and everything, but I'd feel better having one of my own kind around." Ronny said nervously.

"Will you be okay if I leave you alone with Bobby for a few minutes?" Andrew asked carefully.

"No. Send Bobby, you're not leaving me alone with him." Ronny said with a definite tone.

"Okay, Bobby, will you go find a *not-mutant* to come in here?" Andrew asked, trying to hide a smile.

Bobby sadly nodded and left the room.

"You said kids, how many you got? I mean you look like you're sixteen." Ronny asked with honest curiosity.

"Six, and I'm twenty three. We adopted them about two months ago." Andrew said happily.

"Oh, that makes more sense. Wow, six kids?" Ronny said, impressed.

* * * * *

Bobby and Icheb walked into the room a few minutes later as Andrew was running a scanning device over Ronny.

"What the hell is that?" Ronny asked as he stared at Icheb.

"What is what?" Andrew asked curiously.

"You said he's not a mutant, then why's he all deformed like that?" Ronny asked with a note of disgust.

"He's not deformed... He's just not human." Andrew said simply.

"So instead of a mutie, you bring an alien freak? Let me try again. Do you have any not-mutant *humans* here?" Ronny asked with a condescending attitude.

Andrew took a deep breath to calm himself and finally said, "Yes, Dawn, Tara and Xander are all fully human and are not mutants."

"Are you ready for me?" Hank asked from the doorway.

"What do you say Ronny? Can Hank come in and talk with you?" Andrew asked, trying to fight his anger and revulsion toward this boy.

"Yeah, I guess, if the alien freak can come in, why not the mutie cookie monster too?" Ronny said with a chuckle.

"I prefer 'blue wookie'." Hank said dryly.

"I would prefer that you not call my son a freak." Andrew said calmly to Ronny, then turned to Icheb and said, "Go find your dad and ask him to tell Uncle Scott that we need Tara or Dawn in MedLab to help Ronny."

"I don't want no girls looking at my bare butt if you're going to operate on me." Ronny said immediately.

"Okay, see if Angel can come here. He's about as human as we've got right now." Andrew said to Icheb with a look of sympathy.

"Yes Father... I'll tell Dad." Icheb said distractedly and left the room.

"Hank, he has a significant tear in his sigmoid colon." Andrew said, careful not to look at Ronny.

"Your kid called you father, and said he's going to his dad. Does that mean you're a fag too?" Ronny asked with a laugh.

Andrew quietly said, "Ronny, please don't use that word. It is offensive."

"Oh God! I was right! You're a mutie fag with six alien freak kids." Ronny said as he began to laugh.

"Will you let Dr. McCoy operate on you?" Andrew asked through gritted teeth.

"Can you do it without knocking me out? I don't want the mutie fag to be near my ass if I'm not awake to defend it." Ronny said as he fought back laughter.

"Yes, depending on the damage, I should be able to clean and suture the tear in a matter of minutes. And you won't have to be unconscious, it can be done with a local anesthetic." Hank said with a low, emotionless voice.

"Well get to it then, I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." Ronny said demandingly.

"Yes Hank, please hurry." Andrew added in a gruff whisper.

* * * * *

Angel walked into the room at a hurried pace. "Scott said you needed me in here?" He asked with concern.

"Ronny wants a human, non-mutant to be here with him so he'll feel safe." Andrew said coldly.

"Me?" Angel asked incredulously.

"You're all we've got." Andrew said with a shrug then turned to Ronny who was laying face down on the bed, waiting for the surgery to begin.

"This is my friend Angel. He's not a mutant." Andrew said in a cold chopped tone.

"Is he a fag too?" Ronny asked without looking up.

"You'll have to ask him about that, we're not that kind of friends." Andrew said and turned to leave.

"Where you goin? The Cookie Monster is about to start, I didn't think you'd want to miss the show, it might make you hot." Ronny asked with cruelty.

"I need to talk to my son." Andrew said and continued out the door.

"So how about it? You a fag too?" Andrew heard Ronny ask as he left the room to find Icheb.

* * * * *

"Father, I do not understand... the things that boy said... they hurt." Icheb said with watery eyes.

"I know son. I was hoping you'd get to have a little more time to get used to this world before you met someone like that." Andrew said sadly.

"Is there nothing to be done? You fixed Uncle Dave." Icheb asked with hope.

"First of all, Trey is the one who fixed Uncle Dave, I just helped. Second, it's not my place to try and dictate how another person should think or feel. I can't control Ronny's actions, only my own. Third, Dave was a good person inside. Trey just helped to bring that person out. Ronny seems to be cruel, evil and bigoted to the depths of his soul." Andrew said honestly.

"So he is a bad person." Icheb said in realization.

"Yes Icheb, he is." Andrew said quietly.

"In the months I have been with you and Dad, I have not known any bad people. I am unsure how to react." Icheb said with a note of question.

"The best advice I can offer is to ask you to understand that you are a good person. Don't let someone like Ronny drag you down to his level. He wants to force a reaction from you, to instigate a confrontation. That is how you validate him. Just do what is good and right and he won't have any control over your actions. That's not to say he won't still hurt you, but you won't be feeding his desire to cause pain if you don't sink to his level and fight him." Andrew said, feeling hurt at the lost and damaged expression on Icheb's face.

"So I am not a freak?" Icheb asked hopefully.

"Actually you are." Andrew said, then quickly continued, "But the word 'freak' is just a derogatory term for an individual. He called you an alien freak, he called me a mutie fag. To someone from earth, who is on earth, you are an alien. You are a unique individual. Since you aren't like him, he sees you as a freak, but would you want to be like him?"

Icheb shook his head immediately.

"I am a mutant, and I am same gender oriented. So technically he is correct, but the term 'mutie' is a slur toward mutants and 'fag' is a slur toward homosexuals. So he effectively insulted us both, but said only the truth." Andrew explained carefully.

"I wanted to hurt him in response, does that make me a bad person?" Icheb asked quietly.

"No son, that makes you a feeling person. It is natural to want to cause pain to someone who hurts you intentionally. I wanted to hurt him too. But our hurting him wouldn't improve him, and it would diminish us. And by causing us to hurt him..." Andrew trailed off, hoping that Icheb understood enough to finish the thought.

"He succeeds in making us more like him, mean and hurtful." Icheb said with comprehension.

"That's right. I can't tell you exactly what you should do, or how you should react to someone like Ronny, you need to use your own judgment and behave in a manner that you can be proud of." Andrew said with assurance.

"I will try Father. But it is difficult to know what is appropriate to do." Icheb said honestly.

"For me too Icheb." Andrew said, then had a thought. "You know how your Dad or I will hug you when we know that you're hurting?"

Icheb nodded.

"It goes both ways. I really need a hug, do you mind?" Andrew asked with a small smile.

"I do not mind at all Father." Icheb said with a smile and pulled his father into a hug filled with love and respect.