Fic : Healing is a process - chapter 2
Title: Healing is a process
Author: belladonna-izy
Pairing:Charles/Erik
Rating:T
Warnings: AU
Summary:This is a response to an lj prompt about Erik being hurt as Shaw flung him to the pipes and the effects of it all. It will be Charles/Erik. Prompt can be found here: 1stclass-kink.livejournal.com/4418.html
beta-ed by Arcana Major
oOo
Barely a second after their departure from the beach, they appeared in a dimly lit passageway.
"Where are we?" Sean whispered.
"In some sort of utility tunnels I assume," Hank replied.
"This must be a hospital where Azazel felt safe enough to take us," Charles said as he helped Erik on his feet, not paying real attention to the teleporter's affirmative nod. His entire focus was on the magnetokinetic, whose breathing was now labored.
"You should sit down. You shouldn't be moving so much," he told him.
Erik's lips were a thin line, an expression that Charles had come to recognize as determination blended with stubbornness. It was obvious that Erik regretted his moment of weakness back at the beach and seemed now determined to hide his real condition.
Ever the fighter.
He looked at Charles, moving to stand in front of him. His movements seemed restrained, suspiciously so. His hardened expression softened as he saw the depth of concern the telepath's eyes revealed.
"Charles I-"he started saying but was cut off.
"What? You are fine? You were coughing blood just a moment ago." Charles felt anger rising in him. But as it had come, it dissipated as he saw how pale Erik was and he noticed a faint tremble of his hands.
"We should get you to a doctor quickly," the telepath said in a determined tone as he made a move to wrap his hand around his friend's waist to offer him support. Half way through the movement he felt Erik's body shake, as a new fit of coughing overwhelmed him. Then he felt the magnetokinetic relax completely as he crumpled to the floor, almost dragging Charles with him.
Panicked, Charles lowered him to the floor as gently as he could.
"Erik! Erik!" his hands touched the other man's shoulders, shaking him slightly.
The others whispered in concern as Hank kneeled by Erik and checked his pulse.
"His pulse is weak and his breathing uneven. We should get him to a doctor soon, he may be going into shock," a note of urgency was evident in his voice.
"I'll go," Raven said as she shifted to her usual human form, before taking off in a hurry, followed by Moira.
Charles nodded, fear etched on his face. He was certain now that his friend had sustained internal injuries, maybe even internal bleeding, by being thrown around by Shaw.
With shaking hands, he reached out and carefully removed Shaw's helmet from his friend's head.
As soon as the barrier between his mind and Erik's was removed, all his senses were overwhelmed by pain. The helmet fell from his hands with a mild clang.
A gasp left the telepath's lips.
The feeling was so intense and unexpected that it broke through his usual mental barriers. For a moment Erik's pain was his own. Every neural passageway was filled with it. Then, his mind reacted to protect itself and pushed the pain behind the mental walls. Charles took a deep breath trying to shake off the effect.
How was he able to stand, being in such pain?
"Professor!"
"Professor?"
"Professor? Are you okay?"
The rest of the team were asking. He nodded.
"He must be bleeding internally," Hank confirmed Charles's suspicions. The younger man was obviously trying to sound as cold and scientific as he could in order to reign in his own anxiety and concern. Both of them knew the implications of Erik's condition and how potentially dangerous it could be.
"Shouldn't we hurry then?" Alex enquired as he came closer.
Hank shook his head. "We shouldn't move him."
"Raven is on her way," Charles informed them.
His hand caressed lightly Erik's hair. It was a comforting gesture he hoped would reach his friend. He could attempt to do more, take away his pain but he felt it was unwise. Charles feared that by doing something like that he could cause problems with Erik's treatment and that wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
I am sorry my friend. Please...just bear with it a little longer.
"Damn it!" he muttered under his breath. Concern overlapping with anger. Anger targeted at himself for being unable to do anything and at Erik for being so reckless with himself.
Erik's breathing was now even more strenuous. His skin felt colder too, Charles noted as he touched his forehead.
Everyone heard the echoes of footsteps and a faint clinging sound as Raven came into view, with four people and Moira in tow. Two men and a woman.
"We're here," Moira confirmed as they reached them.
One man was in his early forties, fit, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. The other one was older, in his mid fifties, gray hair and medium build. The woman, who was pushing a gurney, was younger with brown hair tied up, fair skinned and small build. As their clothes indicated, the men were doctors while the woman was probably a nurse.
For a moment Charles admired the tenacity of Moira and his sister to actually persuade two doctors to follow them and briefly wandered how they had managed it.
If the newly arrived people wondered at the circumstances or if they were taken aback by Hank's appearance, they didn't show anything besides a widening of their eyes. They took in the situation as professionals and immediately focused on the unconscious man that lay on the floor.
The two men knelt by his sides, pushing aside Charles and Hank, who gave them space to do their job but kept close, anxious to see.
"What happened?" the older man asked as he checked for a pulse.
"He was in a fight. Got tossed around a lot," Charles voice came out strained.
"We fear he may be bleeding internally," Hank informed.
The doctor's face darkened as he nodded. "How long has he been unconscious?"
The other man reached for the zipper of Erik's uniform as he put on his stethoscope.
"About 3 minutes," Hank provided.
"Did you move him?"
"No but-"Charles started saying but was cut off by the younger doctor.
"Doctor Martin! Look at this."
There was urgency in his tone and as Charles followed his gaze he saw what had instilled the tone in the doctor's voice.
There was a big bruise spreading in Erik's lower sternum.
"He is bleeding internally, his pulse is thready, he is hypothermic and tachycardic and his breath sounds are uneven," the younger doctor provided.
The older doctor, gave a short nod of agreement, "He is going into shock."
Then he turned to the nurse, "Mary bring the stretcher, we have to rush him to the ER."
As they moved Erik to the gurney Charles looked at his friend's colourless face in horror.
"He is going into cardiac arrest!" He yelled as he climbed on Erik and started giving him CPR.
"Move Jones! We're losing him!" he commanded the other man who reacted immediately and begun to push the gurney.
Charles felt like he had been frozen to the core. What he was feeling was beyond panic, a fear so all consuming that could swallow him whole. Erik was in a worse condition than he had thought.
Cardiac arrest.
That is...clinical death.
Erik could die...
He felt his breath catch in his throat. He wanted to scream.
This wasn't supposed to happen!
Charles was suffocating, his throat burning and he felt his eyes water.
"Charles," Raven's soft voice shook him from his daze. She looked upset and he could see tears in her eyes. Tears she refused to let fall.
He knew Raven cared about Erik as well. They were all a family now.
"He'll be all right," she whispered softly as she drew him in an embrace.
Charles briefly wondered when his sister had become this strong young woman that was comforting him now.
"We should follow them," Moira said.
Both siblings nodded their agreement and started towards the route Raven had taken earlier.
"Ah, I-" Hank muttered, "go on, I will follow you later."
Charles steps were steady as he moved, followed by the rest of his team. He had chosen once again to embrace hope. A hope that was fueled by the fact that he could still feel, however vaguely and dampened by the pain, the presence of his friend's mind.
Erik! I'm here. I am by your side. Please hold on!
.
oOoTBCoOo
Author: belladonna-izy
Pairing:Charles/Erik
Rating:T
Warnings: AU
Summary:This is a response to an lj prompt about Erik being hurt as Shaw flung him to the pipes and the effects of it all. It will be Charles/Erik. Prompt can be found here: 1stclass-kink.livejournal.com/4418.html
beta-ed by Arcana Major
oOo
Barely a second after their departure from the beach, they appeared in a dimly lit passageway.
"Where are we?" Sean whispered.
"In some sort of utility tunnels I assume," Hank replied.
"This must be a hospital where Azazel felt safe enough to take us," Charles said as he helped Erik on his feet, not paying real attention to the teleporter's affirmative nod. His entire focus was on the magnetokinetic, whose breathing was now labored.
"You should sit down. You shouldn't be moving so much," he told him.
Erik's lips were a thin line, an expression that Charles had come to recognize as determination blended with stubbornness. It was obvious that Erik regretted his moment of weakness back at the beach and seemed now determined to hide his real condition.
Ever the fighter.
He looked at Charles, moving to stand in front of him. His movements seemed restrained, suspiciously so. His hardened expression softened as he saw the depth of concern the telepath's eyes revealed.
"Charles I-"he started saying but was cut off.
"What? You are fine? You were coughing blood just a moment ago." Charles felt anger rising in him. But as it had come, it dissipated as he saw how pale Erik was and he noticed a faint tremble of his hands.
"We should get you to a doctor quickly," the telepath said in a determined tone as he made a move to wrap his hand around his friend's waist to offer him support. Half way through the movement he felt Erik's body shake, as a new fit of coughing overwhelmed him. Then he felt the magnetokinetic relax completely as he crumpled to the floor, almost dragging Charles with him.
Panicked, Charles lowered him to the floor as gently as he could.
"Erik! Erik!" his hands touched the other man's shoulders, shaking him slightly.
The others whispered in concern as Hank kneeled by Erik and checked his pulse.
"His pulse is weak and his breathing uneven. We should get him to a doctor soon, he may be going into shock," a note of urgency was evident in his voice.
"I'll go," Raven said as she shifted to her usual human form, before taking off in a hurry, followed by Moira.
Charles nodded, fear etched on his face. He was certain now that his friend had sustained internal injuries, maybe even internal bleeding, by being thrown around by Shaw.
With shaking hands, he reached out and carefully removed Shaw's helmet from his friend's head.
As soon as the barrier between his mind and Erik's was removed, all his senses were overwhelmed by pain. The helmet fell from his hands with a mild clang.
A gasp left the telepath's lips.
The feeling was so intense and unexpected that it broke through his usual mental barriers. For a moment Erik's pain was his own. Every neural passageway was filled with it. Then, his mind reacted to protect itself and pushed the pain behind the mental walls. Charles took a deep breath trying to shake off the effect.
How was he able to stand, being in such pain?
"Professor!"
"Professor?"
"Professor? Are you okay?"
The rest of the team were asking. He nodded.
"He must be bleeding internally," Hank confirmed Charles's suspicions. The younger man was obviously trying to sound as cold and scientific as he could in order to reign in his own anxiety and concern. Both of them knew the implications of Erik's condition and how potentially dangerous it could be.
"Shouldn't we hurry then?" Alex enquired as he came closer.
Hank shook his head. "We shouldn't move him."
"Raven is on her way," Charles informed them.
His hand caressed lightly Erik's hair. It was a comforting gesture he hoped would reach his friend. He could attempt to do more, take away his pain but he felt it was unwise. Charles feared that by doing something like that he could cause problems with Erik's treatment and that wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
I am sorry my friend. Please...just bear with it a little longer.
"Damn it!" he muttered under his breath. Concern overlapping with anger. Anger targeted at himself for being unable to do anything and at Erik for being so reckless with himself.
Erik's breathing was now even more strenuous. His skin felt colder too, Charles noted as he touched his forehead.
Everyone heard the echoes of footsteps and a faint clinging sound as Raven came into view, with four people and Moira in tow. Two men and a woman.
"We're here," Moira confirmed as they reached them.
One man was in his early forties, fit, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. The other one was older, in his mid fifties, gray hair and medium build. The woman, who was pushing a gurney, was younger with brown hair tied up, fair skinned and small build. As their clothes indicated, the men were doctors while the woman was probably a nurse.
For a moment Charles admired the tenacity of Moira and his sister to actually persuade two doctors to follow them and briefly wandered how they had managed it.
If the newly arrived people wondered at the circumstances or if they were taken aback by Hank's appearance, they didn't show anything besides a widening of their eyes. They took in the situation as professionals and immediately focused on the unconscious man that lay on the floor.
The two men knelt by his sides, pushing aside Charles and Hank, who gave them space to do their job but kept close, anxious to see.
"What happened?" the older man asked as he checked for a pulse.
"He was in a fight. Got tossed around a lot," Charles voice came out strained.
"We fear he may be bleeding internally," Hank informed.
The doctor's face darkened as he nodded. "How long has he been unconscious?"
The other man reached for the zipper of Erik's uniform as he put on his stethoscope.
"About 3 minutes," Hank provided.
"Did you move him?"
"No but-"Charles started saying but was cut off by the younger doctor.
"Doctor Martin! Look at this."
There was urgency in his tone and as Charles followed his gaze he saw what had instilled the tone in the doctor's voice.
There was a big bruise spreading in Erik's lower sternum.
"He is bleeding internally, his pulse is thready, he is hypothermic and tachycardic and his breath sounds are uneven," the younger doctor provided.
The older doctor, gave a short nod of agreement, "He is going into shock."
Then he turned to the nurse, "Mary bring the stretcher, we have to rush him to the ER."
As they moved Erik to the gurney Charles looked at his friend's colourless face in horror.
"He is going into cardiac arrest!" He yelled as he climbed on Erik and started giving him CPR.
"Move Jones! We're losing him!" he commanded the other man who reacted immediately and begun to push the gurney.
Charles felt like he had been frozen to the core. What he was feeling was beyond panic, a fear so all consuming that could swallow him whole. Erik was in a worse condition than he had thought.
Cardiac arrest.
That is...clinical death.
Erik could die...
He felt his breath catch in his throat. He wanted to scream.
This wasn't supposed to happen!
Charles was suffocating, his throat burning and he felt his eyes water.
"Charles," Raven's soft voice shook him from his daze. She looked upset and he could see tears in her eyes. Tears she refused to let fall.
He knew Raven cared about Erik as well. They were all a family now.
"He'll be all right," she whispered softly as she drew him in an embrace.
Charles briefly wondered when his sister had become this strong young woman that was comforting him now.
"We should follow them," Moira said.
Both siblings nodded their agreement and started towards the route Raven had taken earlier.
"Ah, I-" Hank muttered, "go on, I will follow you later."
Charles steps were steady as he moved, followed by the rest of his team. He had chosen once again to embrace hope. A hope that was fueled by the fact that he could still feel, however vaguely and dampened by the pain, the presence of his friend's mind.
Erik! I'm here. I am by your side. Please hold on!
.
oOoTBCoOo