Madelyn, Hank - Tuesday morning

[x-madelyn.livejournal.com]

In the name of honesty, Hank confesses his bout of testosterone poisoning to Madelyn. She's not impressed, at first but they manage to sort it out like adults.



Ow. Ow. Knee stiff. Bruises plentiful. And now he was going to have to explain to Madelyn how the knee and the bruises had happened. This wasn't going to be a fun morning...

Hank limped into the Medlab, giving her a sheepish smile as she looked up sharply. "Good morning, my dear," he said ruefully. She looked beautiful, in a waiting-to-pounce-and-rend-egos-to-shreds sort of way. "How was your shift?"

"Quiet," she replied, standing and crossing her arms over her chest in that 'I'm very displeased and you're going to tell me what the hell you were doing' way. "Although it looks like maybe I should have had some business. From your sparring partner, if not you. Care to tell me what the hell happened?" Her tone was clipped, businesslike, although if you knew her well enough you could hear the undertones of worry.

"I will tell you everything," Hank said ruefully, sitting down with a sigh of relief. "I promised you honesty, and honesty you shall have." He thought about it. "Haroun and I had a little sparring match." There. Entirely truthful.

"Haroun?!" Her volume went up a notch before she remembered where she was and that shouting in the medlab wasn't a good thing - the echo factor, for one. Too much metal. "I'm not silly, Hank, I know you two don't get on. What on earth possessed you to spar with him?" Despite her words she moved forward to inspect the knee. It was swollen, the flesh beneath the fur tight and hot, and she tutted. "Please tell me you put ice on this at least."

"Lots of ice. And I put the rest of me in a nice warm bath." Hank smiled ruefully. "I assure you, I never stint on my own treatment. And... well... as I told you, I suffered something of a rush of testosterone to the head." He gave her a guilty look. "I... well, he was there when I went into the gym, and I got a little... competitive. He was doing weights, so I did too."

Madelyn closed her eyes, visibly trying hard not to lose her temper. Or possibly break into laughter. The mental images she was getting were just so ridiculous, and so very Haroun. She had thought Hank would have known better. Opening them again, she leaned back against the stainless-steel counter, arms again folded across her front. "You got competitive," she stated. "With Haroun. You got competitive with the man who emotionally has the maturity of a sixteen year old sometimes. Again, I find myself asking, why?"

Hank thought about it. "Because I've been feeling emotionally insecure and I had a big fight with Scott the night before and I was, in general, at my lowest ebb when it came to resisting being childish," he explained honestly. "And he's prettier than I am." He hadn't meant to say that last part out loud, but it was true. He gave her a guilty look.

The corners of her mouth twitched, ever-so-slightly, and she firmly squelched the urge to laugh. She knew Hank was feeling insecure, had done her best to make him realise it wasn't needed, at least when it came to her, and here it was again. Sighing instead, she shook her head. "I can understand the need to blow off steam, Hank, but when are you going to get it through that thick head of yours that I chose you? If there was any chance of Haroun and I ever getting together, it would have happened months ago. Certainly not after he and another of my friends started dating." There was the anger again, edged with frustration and concern - how could she make him understand there was nothing to worry about? Except perhaps him fretting this thing to death. "So, you were trying to outlift each other - I take it that wasn't satisfying enough?"

Hank blinked, his lips quirking. "I do indeed appreciate that you chose me," he said mildly. "I assure you, although I had my doubts about his intentions towards you, my only concern about yours involved who you'd consider the more scenic. Petty, I know, but not my greatest concern. And I assure you, I outlifted him without half trying." He sighed ruefully. "Our problems lay more in his implications that I was unworthy of you... and, I admit, mine that he might not entirely be all that Alison deserves. He called me a doormat," he added a bit grumpily.

"Haroun is a very good friend, but sometimes he's an ass," Madelyn pointed out. "He's rude and has a habit of saying all those things polite people don't, and since when have you ever cared what he might think? Whether or not he approves of who I choose to date doesn't matter squat to me, and I should hope that you'd respect Alison's ability to make her own decisions enough to accept that maybe she sees more to Haroun than you do." Madelyn made a low frustrated noise. "Well, I hope you two beating the crap out of each other in time-honoured caveman fashion helped establish your masculinity. Or is this something we can expect regularly? Because I can tell you now, Alison's going to be even less impressed than I am."

"Actually, I seem to have impressed him. Having proved that I am capable of macho idiocy - and believe me, I'm quite aware that that is what it was - I seem to have risen substantially in his estimation." He reached out to touch her hand gently. "Maddie... you're important to him, as Alison is to me. I know it's stupid, but... we have established, essentially, that we both know the other cares, and that if either of us hurts one of you, the other will take it out of his hide." He smiled a little. "And... honestly? It was very cathartic to stop constantly holding back and actually take a swing at someone. I've been feeling... ineffectual, of late. Unneeded. It's nice to know that I still have my fallback position of guy-who-does-hitting on the team."

"'Unneeded'? Hank, you big blue doofus, how on earth can you possibly _think_ we don't need you?" Madelyn's tone was incredulous. "I swear, if Haroun hadn't already done it, I'd be thwapping some sense into you right now." Her expression was a mixture of exasperation and fondness. "Apart from all the X-Men stuff that you do that Moira and I will never be a part of and that Jean won't be ready for until she gets her TK control back, you're about to become a father. You're going to be looking after a tiny new life, who is going to depend on you for everything." Shaking her head at him, she reached over and brushed his cheek with her fingers. "And you know, I kind of like having you around."

He caught her hand, rubbing his cheek gently against it. "But if I took the baby and moved... Forge is a better mechanical genius than I am," he said softly. "Moira is better at the research. You and Jean are capable of handling pretty much anything that comes into the Medlab, between you. Haroun, as he pointedly informed me, is doing more with the Blackbird than I ever did. And I don't think there are any of the staff who aren't doing better with the students than I am right now." He sighed. "I'm... used to being needed," he admitted. "It's hard, to realize that there's nothing I can do that someone else can't do just as well." He smiled a little. "I like to think that you, at least, wouldn't want a replacement."

"You know who you sound like?" Madelyn said gently. "Me, after Jean came back. Or after you came back to active duty - remember you telling me I had nothing to worry about? Yes, Forge's power means he can invent pretty much anything - but he's a student. He's still learning, and he needs a teacher. And Moira would be the first to tell you you're every bit the researcher she is, with Jean in close second with the thwapping for even suggesting we could run this place without you." She poked him, perhaps not as gently as she might have done.. "And you know what? There's a young girl out there with more than half a chance at a decent future because you stepped in and gave her someone to talk to, to look up to - you really think Jubilee would appreciate being told you feel you haven't done anything for her?" She sighed again. "We're doctors, Hank. Helping people is our reason for getting up in the morning sometimes. But the hardest thing I've learned since I've been here is sometimes there are going to be times when I _can't_ help, like when Alison was so badly hurt. But that never stops me trying. Ever. And there's always going to be someone better at things than me - everything I do, there's someone else who can do it better. And if I focus on that, then I might as well give up now." She bapped him lightly on the forehead. "You have so much to give, Hank - it's frustrating when people won't accept it, I know. But you can't force it."

Hank smiled, his throat a bit tight just for a moment. "Well, see, there you go making sense," he said gently, getting to his feet and gathering her up in his arms. "It's so annoying when you do that. Here I am, trying to work up a good angst, like ALL the cool kids are doing, and you just ruin everything by being logical..." he kissed her, "and comforting..." he kissed her again, "and, as always, absolutely right." He smiled, resting his forehead against hers. "I'm most vexed with you. Shame on you, wench. Spoiling my sulks."

Madelyn grinned. "I am she who angst fears," she replied. "Maybe that's my so-far-undiscovered mutant power?" Wrapping her arms a little more firmly around his neck, she hugged him close. "What am I going to do with you, you silly man?" she asked rhetorically. "You've got so many gifts, Hank, so much that makes you an amazing individual. I just wish I could make you see that."

Hank smiled ruefully. "One of my less wonderful gifts is a tendency to periods of self-doubt and depression," he admitted. "Something you should know, before our relationship goes any further." He hugged her gently. "They pass. At the moment... I'm terrified of becoming a father, even though I want it desperately, and... Scott and I have been arguing. I think it's resolved now, but he and I have been close for a long time, and it's been an added strain. And when I start worrying about one thing, I usually progress to almost everything. Including whether I am insufficiently manly." He smiled ruefully. "There. You know my flaws."

"I'm not about to run screaming if that's the worst of it, hon," she told him, noting the way he was flinching slightly from bruising. "But promise me? Next time you decide to prove your manliness, you'll do it with large amounts of alcohol or maybe some sort of ball game?"

Hank laughed. "This is my first outburst of testosterone poisoning since... my twenties, at least. I think I can promise it'll be infrequent." He smoothed her hair back from her face gently. "And... thank you," he said gently. "For saying exactly what I needed to hear. I'm almost tempted to break my appointment with Charles... you're helping just as much, and are far more lovely to look upon."

"I'm not a big fan of seeing the people I care about in pain, so I'd appreciate it," she said wryly. "And maybe seeing Charles isn't such a bad idea - settle the doubts for once and for all? Besides, he'll have the tea all ready and everything."

"I do like Earl Grey," Hank admitted. "And we haven't talked in a while. It's probably a good idea." He smiled down at her. "And that date would definitely be a good idea. I'll ask Jean if she can manage taking a night shift this week so that we're both free and awake at the same time."

"That." And Madelyn kissed him, before continuing. "Is a very good idea. See? I told you you were smart." She leaned in and kissed him again, and then rested her head on his shoulder. "Being awake at the same time would be a very good idea. Since I'm not going to be for much longer."

He sighed happily, snuggling her close. "Go to your well-earned sleep, dearest," he said softly. "I will look after myself... and take my deserved medicine from Alison." He smiled, kissing her forehead gently. "You may both rest assured that, although we may be big macho idiots, we both care about both of you, very much."

"Doofus," she told him again, but smiling this time. "Like there was any doubt. And tell Alison if she singes you I'll be most put out - I hate the smell of burning hair." With a smothered half-yawn, she hugged him again, and pressed a kiss to his cheek before letting go. "And like I said, I don't like to see the people I care about hurt. Have a good day, hon."

"Sleep well, my dear." He smiled. Matters resolved with Scott, Maddie no longer cross with him, and his masculinity proven. Sore knee and all, the day was looking pretty good.