Tag: Afternoon Fic

Note: So who’s shocked there is already a sequel bunny running around for this??

***

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

***

Hank wasn’t sure exactly when Azazael would show up with Erik.  He had his room prepped, with an oxygen tank, blood pressure kit, an IV Drip line if needed, and stacks of bandages.  He wasn’t a medical doctor, but over the past week he had read everything he could get his hands on about chest surgery, what type of medications, pain killers, and after treatment.

He wasn’t sure what his feelings were on the whole thing.  They all had seen what had gone down on the beach, but no one knew what Erik was truly thinking, not even Charles.

Raven had been … still was … pissed at Charles.  Hank wasn’t sure if it was because he saved Erik or didn’t back him.

Alex and Sean were keeping their own counsel on the event.

Hank wasn’t sure why they were all in Erik’s room, he had asked Alex for help in case he needed some, which led to all of them being there.

He was pretty sure this wasn’t going to end well.

“A teammate who was willing to kill hundreds of innocent humans!”  Raven argued with Alex who was adamant that they all calm the fuck down, and be there for their teammate as he recovered.

“A teammate who stopped those innocent humans from killing us.”  He shrugged, not backing down.  “Hey I’m not saying he was right, I’m just pointing out he took a bullet to the chest to save Charles.  So give the man some slack.”

“He was ready to keep going with Shaw’s destruction.”  Moira entered the argument, which hadn’t really helped the situation.

Hank wasn’t even sure why she was in the room, seeing her was not going to help Erik … hell it was likely going to set him off, and if Charles wasn’t with them in the first pass that was going to be bad.

He wasn’t paid enough for this.
Wait he wasn’t even getting paid.

“Yet Shaw’s dead.”  Sean stood by Alex, backing his friend.  “Wasn’t that your goal?  Besides that bullet was yours.”

“Someone had to stop him!”  She glared at them, hands on her hips.

“Shooting metal bullets at a man who pulled a submarine out of the water.”  Janus spoke up from his seat on the couch, giving them all a look.  “Yeah that works.”

“Why are you even here?” She snapped at him.  “You were one of the enemy.”

“The enemy is the humans.”  He stood glaring at her.  “I might add they were willing to kill you, collateral damage and all.”

“Enough!”  Hank rubbed his forehead, growling slightly.  “At this moment we’ve gone over this a hundred times, and the answer is still the same.  Erik is recovering from a gunshot wound, and Charles is going to skin all of us with his mind if we don’t at least act civilized.”

“Well you know how mom gets about dad.”  Sean snorted shoving into Alex, who chucked.

“What?”  Raven glanced at the two snickering boys.

Alex laughed, only to frown.  “Oh come on.  They are so a married couple.”  He glanced over to see Moira’s horrified expression.  “So what you don’t like queers.  Yet you want to preach at us about how humans will accept mutants.  Who gives a flying shit their fucking.  Charles keeps Erik calm.”

“Charles isn’t fucking Erik!”  Raven yelled, blinking at the two of them.

“She’s kidding right?”  Sean glanced at Alex, who shrugged and they both looked at Hank, who held his hands up begging them not to get him involved.  “Charles has been by his side for days, like a concerned spouse.”

“Charles would do that for any of us!” She argued.

“Not hold our hands.”  Alex pointed out, with a smirk.  “Erik is the disciplinary, hard edge dad.  Charles is the sensitive we can sneak extra sweets from mom.  They work together.  They make us work together.  If we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be here.  So if Erik found peace in Charles’ arms I’m not going to let anyone fuck that up.”  He stepped closer to Raven.  “I don’t really care if you’re his sister.”

“Charles flirts with women.” She stepped forward accepting the challenge.

“Oh please I know Charles darkest desire.”  Angel rolled her eyes, staring at the group.

She would admit it has been awkward as hell since Cuba, but she had nowhere else to go.  At this moment they all were just a ragtag bunch of misfits waiting for mom and dad to get home.

“Believe me it’s not cute miss CIA agent over here.  He likes them tall, ginger and in fishnet stockings.  And have you seen Erik’s package – woman I would pay to ride that big boy.  Charles’ is a lucky man.”

Sean snorted, giggling desperately against Alex, before he turned serious.  “Besides, he turned you down!”  He gave Raven an all knowing look.  He had seen her storm out of Erik’s room the night before Cuba, that wasn’t a woman who got laid, but one who got tossed out.  “Where do you think he spent the rest of that night?”

Hank glanced at Raven.

Alex shook his head, cringing at Sean’s bluntness.  “Awkward.”

“It’s like living a soap opera.”  Janos shook his head, watching the children argue.  “I’m so going to have to tell Azazael…”

“… to suck!”  Erik’s voice rang through the room, when the two landed.  He cringed in pain, falling against the taller mutant.

Azazel gripped him closer, looking over at Hank.  “Bed now.”

“Let’s move him…” Hank moved past Azazeal, taking Erik’s arm grateful that the mutant wasn’t fighting him.

He wasn’t sure what he expected, but what he saw wasn’t it.

Erik had lost weight, a lot of weight and he hadn’t had much to spare.  The pajama bottoms hung on his narrow hips, and the button down shirt, showed parts of the red ugly line down his chest.  His face was pale with dark circles under the eyes, and his body was shaking uncontrollably.   He was a man who was barely standing after being at death’s door only a week ago.

“I got him.”  Hank’s voice was soft as he used his new strength to help Erik to the bed.

The room began to shake.

Everyone looked around, hands reaching out, only to realize it wasn’t the room, but every piece of metal in it.

They looked at Erik’s who dark pained filled gaze was staring at Moira.  A lamp shifted, along with pens, a tray and a small knife was yanked out of Janus’ boot.

Alex stepped in front of him, hands up. “You need to calm down, dad.”

In less than a blink, Charles stood between Erik and everyone else.

All the bags he was carried fell to the ground, he stepped forward, cupping Erik’s cheek.  <<I need you to calm down.>>

<<She’s here!  The woman shot at you and has the audacity to be here!>>

Charles choked back his own emotions, as he laid a hand on Erik’s chest.  <<Darling you’re hurting yourself…please.>>

Erik cried out from the pain in his chest as the metal staples and wires pulled.  He gasped, and everything fell to the floor, as he sagged against Hank.

“Everyone out!”  Charles’ snarled, not even looking at the occupants.  “Hank help me get him into bed.”

Hank nodded, ignoring the tears he saw running down Erik’s cheeks, as he gasped for air.  Charles without thinking kicked off his shoes and moved into the bed with Erik, holding him close, soothing him as they worked to get his breathing under control.

He backed out of the room, followed closely by Azazael.   He would give them a few moments, and then talk to Charles about Erik’s care, but right now he figured they all needed to calm down.

He closed the door and looked at the group.  They were all staring at him, waiting for something he wasn’t sure what.  With a smirk, he looked at them and said the only thing he could think of. “Mom’s getting dad to calm down, once we’re sure he won’t kill anyone with a pen we’ll set up a time for the kids to visit.”

Alex snorted, choking on his laughter that sounded a bit like a sob.  Sean crossed himself, sending up prayers for both of them, wondering if there was a Patron Saint of Mutants.  Raven rolled her eyes, but sagged in a relief.  Angel nodded, walking away with Janus who gave a head tilt to Azazael who nodded in return.

Hank noticed instantly that Moira wasn’t there.

He sighed as his own thoughts churned.  He had no idea what the next step was, but he knew he was going to stick around to find out.  Though a part of him felt as if they missed the proverbial bullet … with his own humorless snort he couldn’t help think – because it hit Erik instead.

 

Note: There maybe at times, inconsistencies with previous parts – this would be because I’m writing this as I go … and then edit and adjust things down the road.  Once it’s done, edited and reposted all of it will come together.

***

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

***

“Erik No!”

Charles had only stepped outside the room, for thirty minutes.

The Head Nurse had assured him, that she would make sure Erik was ready to leave.  She adored Erik, and had practically adopted him these last few days.  She was always gentle with him, helped him sit up, showed him how to hold his chest while he coughed.  Had talked him through his breathing fits.

And after the one time she talked him out of a nightmare, ignoring the shaking metal railings. He had been tempted to kidnap her.

Charles had gone to the Administration Offices, to make sure he had everything they needed for Erik to be discharged, and pay his bill.  He had discovered that despite everything that was being said about Cuba, their health system was slowly developing into one much like the one he had seen while at Oxford.

Instead of a bill, he had been handed over a packet of material for Erik’s rehabilitation:  restrictions, breathing exercises, physical therapy, medications, treatment for the surgical incision, and a half dozen other important documents.

After picking up a bag full of medications, extra bandages and supplies he made his way back to the room.  Azazael was due to arrive in the next few moments.  The plan was for the teleporter to take Erik first, into the waiting arms of Hank.  Charles would make sure the staff thought they had helped Erik out to the front to a cab, before he was ‘zapped’ home.

He was looking forward to going home.

He wasn’t looking forward to what was waiting for him.

Despite the stress and panic he felt every time Erik gasped for a breath, the past five days had been pleasantly calm.  The two were content in their silence.

Charles was sure they would be back to bickering soon enough, and it would seem Erik wasn’t going to wait until they got back to New York.

“Where is Ester?”   He stalked into the room glaring at the sitting up patient, who wasn’t supposed to be sitting up without help.  “You were supposed to wait for me!”

“She went to get me a wheelchair.”  Erik glared, breathing hard hand clutching at his chest.  Just sitting up, and moving his legs over the edge of the bed had worn him out.  “I refused to be carried by Azazael like a bride on her wedding night back to the manor.”

“You make a lovely bride.”  The teleporter gave his burgeoning friend a smirk.   He had popped in and out over the past few days, enjoying startling Charles and snarking off at Erik.

Erik glanced over at Charles a slight smirk on his face.  “Charles prefers me in blue.”

He stared at the two of them, with a confused expression.  Until he felt Erik push an image of himself, in a blue dress with fishnet stalkings ….  “She told you!?”  Charles blushed, and then laughed lightly as he ducked his head.

“I always thought maroon was more my color.”  Erik chuckled only to cough.  “Okay let’s do this.”

He stood on shaky legs, hand gripping the hospital bed.  He bit back the groan, from the pain that shot through his whole body.  ‘Suck it up Erik, you’ve had worse.’

<<You don’t have to be strong all the time.>>

<<I can’t be weak.>>

Charles touched his cheek.  <<You’re the strongest person I know.>>

Erik reached out, taking Charles’ hand gripping it tightly.  <<Don’t let go.>>

“Never.”  He helped him move away from the bed, and closer to the teleporter.

Azazael wrapped his left arm around Erik, stepping closer to him.  He then took his right hand, into his own, the tail wrapped around his shoulder tapping Erik on the shoulder.

“Well I always knew I would end up dancing with the devil.”  He leaned into the taller mutant.

“You would take over hell, my friend.”  Azazael glanced over to Charles.  “I’ll be back in a few moments, so be prepared.

Charles nodded, stepping back almost everything he had was packed and ready to go. He just needed to shove all the paperwork and bag of meds into the duffle.

“Oh this is going … ”

And they were gone.

Note: I have an idea of where I’m going with this but no idea how I’m getting there 🙂

***

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

***

Erik was resting once again.

The doctor had removed the respirator  from his throat, Charles was thankful it was made of plastic, or the situation would have gone a lot worse, than the side rail of the bed being bent.  They made sure he had plenty of oxygen, checked the incision to make sure it was healing and no infections were settling in.

The doctor informed him, that Erik would need weeks to months of recovery.

His lungs were weak and would need to build back up to normal capacity.  He would need to be careful in the future of infections.  A simple chest cold could set him back in recovery.  At the moment simple movement would cause loss of breath, and he would need to take things slowly.

The chest muscles would take time to heal, and Erik would need help with sitting up until the muscles strengthened.

Charles had kept a straight face, taking in all the information and pulling more from the doctor’s mind.  What worried him was the fact, Erik had eight staples in his chest muscles, and about two feet of wire wrapped around his sternum.

This wasn’t going to end well, he could feel it.

He had asked when it was possible for him to take Erik home.  The doctor gave him a look, as if Charles was insane, though he was pretty sure he was.  He was told under no circumstances was Erik to leave the hospital for another five days, and would need care afterwards.  Again re-iterating everything he had already told Charles.  Adding in the history of conducting open heart surgery and the fact that Erik was alive was a miracle and not push his recovery.

Charles calmed him down by explaining he had a place quiet away from everything where Erik could recover, plus a doctor on staff.  It was only then the doctor agreed he could leave the hospital in five days.

What Charles didn’t mention was that his place was in New York, and they would be using a teleporter mutant to get home.  He figured it would be painful and uncomfortable for Erik but only a few short minutes compared to a plane ride.

And the way the news was going on about sanctions against Cuba he wasn’t even sure he would be able to get out of the country.  Considering he had no passport, documents or proof of who they were.

Last thing he wanted to do was alert the CIA to where they were.  He had a feeling the only reason he hadn’t had the ‘Men in Black’ in Erik’s hospital room was Azazael hadn’t told anyone where they were at, and was watching Moira.

A selfish part of him wanted to find a place in Cuba and hide Erik away from everything.  Including the rants Charles was going to hear from Raven, and Hank’s ‘I don’t approve stare’.

Erik was meant to be by his side, as he was meant to by his.

When he would even take a moment to think of the two of them separated dread filled him, not just for himself but for the world.

“When can I leave?”

It was still disconcerting to hear such a soft quiet tone from Erik.  The man was blunt, forceful, cold, serious, not quiet or weak.  Charles glanced at the bed, watching Erik watch him.  He hadn’t mentioned the fact Charles hadn’t let go of his hand, and the few times he had tried to pull it away, Erik had held tighter.

“A few more days.”  He shifted until he was leaning against the bed.  “They want to make sure you are more stable, and no infecitons.”

He took a few short breathes, struggling to cough.  Charles grabbed a small cup from the table … the second one they’ve had, he won’t mention what happened to the first after Erik woke up from a particular nasty nightmare … he helped him sit up and put some of the ice chips into his mouth.

“What is in my chest?”

Charles tried to bluff his way around it, but the mutant’s eyes narrowed, and the fifth pen ended up embedded into the wall.  Erik closed his eyes as pain shot through him, he gasped for air forcing Charles to shove the oxygen mask back onto his face.  <<Calm your mind.>>

<<I was shot you asshole.>>

Charles bit back the smirk, last thing he wanted to do was encourage Erik’s bad behavior.  He already knew it was going to be hell on earth, during his recovery.

<<Steady breathes.  Relax your chest.  Don’t tense.>>

<<I hate you so much.>>

But he followed Charles’ instructions, slowly calming down as he breathing regulated.  “I feel the metal Charles.”

“You have staples holding the muscles together, and a wire sealing up the bone.”

“I want them out.”

“They are holding your chest together!”  He would not back down on this.  He wasn’t the one who sat outside, watching as doctors worked to save his life.  “The staples can be removed in six weeks.  Hank can do the surgery.”  Charles ignored Erik’s snort.  “The wires … it would be best if you limited using your powers until you’re fully healed.”

“So if Hank is doing this surgery when do we go home? If I’m still welcome.”

Charles knew his expression softened at the word ‘home’.  He probably had a sappy look on his face, if Erik’s roll of the eyes was any indication.

“In five days Erik, we will go home.  Where you will do everything the doctor says.  You will not push your limits.  You will rest.  You will ask for help.  You will listen to me!”

Wakes up from nap just enough to post …

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

***

The metal vibrations alerted him that Erik was waking up.

He had been by his side for twenty-four hours, and only budged to find a shower and change, Azazael having popped in again with some clothes, necessities, and cash.  He in turn had sent a list of medical supplies that would be needed for Erik’s recovering and told him to give it to Hank to prep a room.

Charles stood, still holding Erik’s hand as he leaned over him.  “Erik I need you to calm your mind.  You’re safe.  Where ever you think you are, it’s an illusion.  Follow my voice.”  He felt the grip on his hand tighten.  “Come on Erik you can do this, I need you to stay calm … focus on my voice.”

He barely flinched when the pen on the chart embedded itself in the wall, as the metal clipboard began to crumble.

“Erik!”

Charles startled when he was pulled into Erik’s mind.

He looked around trying to gauge where he was, the rain was heaving down making it difficult to see.  He flipped the hair out of his eyes, and stared up at the iron gates and the hordes of people being shoved through it.

He heard a boy scream for his mother.

Watched as the metal gate began to bend to his will.

In a blink he was dry and in an office, startled to see Shaw looking the exact age as when they faced him down only a few days ago.   He studied the young boy, terrified of what was happening around him.

This was the moment.

The one that set Erik on his path, the one that would lead him to Charles  … to Cuba … to recovering from a gunshot wound.

A part of him was awed by Erik’s raw power as he destroyed the office and lab, inadvertently killing the German guards.

Watching Shaw put his arm around young Erik, laughing as he dropped the coin at his feet … made him wonder why he wanted to take Shaw alive.

The man was truly a monster.

The next scene made him heave, even if the scene before him was only in his head.  He logically knew what happened in the camps, read about the atrocities.  He had even seen glimpses of these moments in Erik when they first met and during their recruiting trip.

But to see it fully.

The experiments.

Torture.

‘What are you doing here?’

He turned to see Erik has he knows him standing in the corner, looking between his younger self being electrocuted and Charles.

‘You pulled me in, you need to wake up.’  He reached out to him, wanting to move him away from the scene.

‘I pulled you into one of my nightmares?’  Erik looked frustrated, as he ran a hand over his face.  ‘I am sorry for that, no one should see these.’

‘No one should have lived them.’  Charles whispered softly.

‘I don’t need your pity, Charles.’  The voice became stern.

He could feel the anger brewing. ‘Calm your mind Erik.  You’re causing damage outside …’

‘That’s why I asked for a room away from the others.’  He took a deep breath, hands clenching and unclenching by his side.

‘We’re not at the manor.’  He finally got close enough to touch, fingers softly caressing Erik’s arm.

‘Where the hell are we?!’

The scene changed in moments going from cold sterile operation room, to the beach in Cuba.  Erik looked around, then back at Charles to see him in the black and yellow uniform.

‘It’s beautiful when not being shot at.’

‘What do you remember?’  Charles asked, noticing that Erik was projecting his image without the helmet, not that it would work.  He was already in his head.

‘Shaw’s death.  Humans trying to kill us.  One succeeding.’

‘You’re not dead my friend.’  He reached out and laid a hand on his chest.  ‘You’ll recover I’ll be there each step of the way.’

‘I might as well be.’  He shrugged.  ‘You won’t forgive me for killing Shaw.’

‘I…’  Charles hesitated only for a moment.  ‘I am a pacifist by nature.  I don’t believe in violence. I believe that one day we can all live in this world together.’

‘Naïve idealism.’  Erik smiled at him. ‘But it’s what makes you … you.  I wouldn’t change that, but I do wish you would see that the world isn’t ready for it.’

‘Nor does it need another revolutionary.  It’s seen enough death and destruction.’  He pointed out in earnest.

‘Then we find ourselves at a standstill.’  He glanced out towards the water.  ‘Maybe you should just let me go.  Maybe I can finally find that peace that has eluded me all these years.’

‘I cannot survive this without you, my friend.’  Charles reached out and cupped his cheek, making Erik focus on him.  ‘We’re not a standstill, we’re at a cusp.  Neither of us is right nor wrong.  We’re better together.’

‘You teach, while I fight.’

‘The point I’m making Erik is we do it together.’  He ran a thumb across his cheek.  ‘It’s time to wake up.’

Charles blinked.

He looked down to see Erik’s eyes were open, staring up at him.  He smiled softly, running his thumb over his cheek.  “Welcome back.”

Part One

Part Two

***

A few hours later he found himself sitting next to Erik’s bed, holding his hand.  He ignored the machines around him.  The sound of the ECG Machine was background noise, telling him Erik’s heart was beating.

The scar was long and ugly down the middle of his friend’s chest, the stitches dark against the pale skin, a few pieces of thread that was holding his chest together.   Charles took a calming breath, swearing to himself that he would make sure Erik had the best care.

“You will need to keep him calm when he wakes.”

Charles jumped out of the chair, tripping into the bed, before turning around and glaring at the intruder.

Azazael gave him a smirk.  “I couldn’t sneak up on Emma.”

“Well I am a bit distracted.” Charles forced himself to calm down, and not lash out at the mutant.  “What are you doing here?”

“Checking on you two.”  He stepped closer to Erik, giving him a critical eye before focusing back on Charles.  “He is recovering?”

“They are worried about infection.”  Charles sat back down, taking Erik’s hand again, not caring about the look he was getting.  “One lung is damaged, the other collapsed under the pressure.  They lost him once, but …”

“Stubborn asshole.”

“It’s like you know him.”  Charles snorted softly.

“A man who hunts for twenty years to find the bastard who killed his mother.”  Azazael walked around the room.  “Stubborn is only the beginning.”

He looked down, not ready to talk about Shaw.

“I will have to thank him for killing the bastard.”  He continued watching his fellow mutant.  “My people can rest easily.”

Charles’ head snapped up, a frown on his face.

“You think we followed him because we loved him.”  His chuckle was rich and dark.  “Some aspects we agreed.  My mutation can’t be hidden, hence I normally stay on my island with my fellow teleporters …”

“You don’t think in time the humans would accept you?”  Charles had always thought Raven was beautiful in her natural form, but then she had the ability to hide, Azazael didn’t.

Azazael shook his head.  “They don’t let black people drink from the same fountain as whites in your country.  What do you think?”  He whipped his tail around, giving him a pointed look.  “As far as good humans think, I’m the devil.”

“But in time they can be …”

“Look at his arm.”  He pointed at the hand Charles was holding.  “I know what those numbers are.  They represent what humans will do to those who are different.”

His fingers ran across the inked numbers.

“Shaw did that, and worse.”  Azazael shrugged.  “He bragged about Erik.  The monster he created.  How he loved him.  The anger.  The hatred.  But he forgot that the story ended when the monster killed the doctor.”

“There was another way, he didn’t have to kill him.”  He stubbornly held his point.

“He will wake up disoriented and likely flash back to his time with Shaw.”  The teleporter looked around the room, eyes laying on everything that was metal.  “Be ready to calm him down.  Do you have a message for your sister?  They demanded information.”

“Are they okay?”

“I took them to your home.”  He smirked, laughing lightly to himself.  “The blue furred one, kept growling.”

“Hank!  You didn’t hurt them…”

“No.  Your sister is one to reckon with.”

“Raven can be very protective.”

“Bites too.”  Azazael smiled showing all his teeth.  “Shall I tell them, you are waiting by your lover’s side.”

“We’re not …”  The red mutant rolled his eyes.  “Tell Hank to prep for us to return, Erik will need full time care, and well I guess I’m going to have to deal with the CIA.”

“The ones who fired weapons at us?”

“They were scared …”

“Yet you think they will accept someone like me or your sister?”  Azazael’s smirk was downright vicious.  He turned towards Erik, tilting his head slightly.  “He did the right thing.”

“He was going to kill innocents.”

“And what do you think would have happened to all the civilians on this island?”

And with that last statement he teleported out of the room, leaving Charles alone with his thoughts.

Quick Note:

Yes you’ll get these updates sporadically – like I had stated in the first post these fics are palette cleansers when dealing with Sylum related materials.

This particular AU is from X-Men: First Class … Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier.  I’m not that involved in X-Men fandom so this could be interesting …. blame Speed.

<< >> denotes telepathic speech

Part One

***

Charles sat in the clean waiting room, waiting.   They had wheeled Erik away, and every instinct had him wanting to follow, but he was getting looks from other staff.  His ‘uniform’ was covered in blood and sand, and he looked wild.  He forced himself to calm down, then gently tapped his forehead to calm those around him.

With deliberate ease he stole a pair of scrubs, trashed the uniform into a hazmat bin, and worked his way back to the lobby, where he was directly pointed to the surgery waiting area.  It would seem he was startling the other patients.

After an hour of nothing but tired platitudes from the staff, he wandered around.  With his shields firmly in place, he explored the modern facility.  It had taken him sadly a while to figure out he was actually in Havana.  Azazel had got him to the closest hospital, and really at this moment he couldn’t have been happier.

‘My cousin said they were so scared.’  A voice snuck through his shields, as he passed by the nurses station.  He worked to ignore it, but something told him to pause.  ‘All those warships.  He was sure death was coming to their door.’

‘They are gone now.’  A second voice entered into the conversation.  ‘But tension has risen once again.  We are not their battle ground.’

‘Yet they sent bombs to our beaches!’  A third entered the conversation.  ‘I saw it.  Then they turned around and …’

“Code Blue!”  A yell went down the hall.  “Code Blue in OR Room 3!”

Charles looked down the hallway as nurses, ran for the operating room.   He knew without a doubt that was where Erik was located.

<<Don’t leave me.>>  He stood in the hallway, his focus and attention fully on the only thing that mattered.  <<Erik hold on!  Don’t you dare leave me now, you son of a bitch!>>

One of the older nurses made her way down the hall, stopping in front of Charles.  “Come sit down, can we get you anything?”

“Is he alive?”  He asked, letting her sit him down, his focus still on Erik.

“He coded on the table, they couldn’t find the bullet…”  She gasped.

Charles looked down at his open palm, where the bullet laid.  “You don’t know what he means to the world … to me.”

She sat next to him, folded his hand around the bullet, and held it in between hers.  “He’s got a guardian angel watching over him…”

Charles chuckled humorlessly.  “Well they’ve done a piss all job haven’t they.”  He pulled his hand from hers, gave her a halfhearted smile as she walked left him there.

He startled awake when a hand rested on his shoulder.  He stood quickly when he saw the doctor leaning over him.  “How is he?”

“He’s in recovery.”  He gave him a reassuring smile.  “We lost him for a moment, but were able to get him back.  We were able to repair the damage to his lung, but it’s going to be a long recovery.   We’ll have to watch for infections, and he’ll have a weakened lung, but if all goes well…”

“Can I see him?”  Charles demanded.

“When we settle him into a room, you can visit …”  The doctor hesitated, motioning for Charles to sit back down, while taking the seat next to him.  “I was concerned of the scars that he already has.  Do you know any of his medical history, that we should be aware of … the next 48 hours will be crucial to his recovery.”

“He’s a survivor of the camps.”  He closed his eyes, as flashes of Erik’s memory broke through the fog he’d been in for the past … he looked around until he saw clock.  Twelve hours.  They had taken down Shaw twelve hours ago, and it felt like a lifetime ago.

<<Holy Mother of God.>>

Charles glanced over to the Doctor, who had paled tremendously as he crossed himself.

<<Holy Mother I ask you to intercede with your son to heal this young man … >>

“He’s Jewish.”

The Doctor titled his head slightly, but didn’t seem upset or fazed.  “I will send for a Rabbi, in case.”

“He survived the camps, doctor.  He’s too damn stubborn to die at the hands of humans.”  Charles gripped the bullet in his palm, feeling the sharp edges push against his skin.  “But I thank you for your prayers and more importantly your skills.”

“I’ll make sure the staff knows his history.”  He stood only to pause and glance down at Charles.  “There was an incident in the surgery room.  The trays, tools, anything metal started shanking, right before he coded.”

Charles gave him a soft smile, as his fingers touched his forehead.

The doctor blinked, shaking his head slightly.  “A nurse will come to get you, once he’s settled in his room.”  He turned and walked away, not quite sure what had just happened.

He leaned back in the uncomfortable seat, ignoring the tears that streaked down his cheek.