Scott and Alex, Friday evening

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Scott wake up to discover that he's a) not in the infirmary, and b) his little brother is attached to his bed. To say that the brothers Summers are relieved to see each other is somewhat understating the case, but Scott's not really coherent enough for much of a conversation.


It was the smell that he registered first. Flowers and damp earth and... damp, but not cold damp. Not like back in the dark. Humid. That was the word he was looking for, Scott thought dimly, and opened his eyes to see a perfectly clear blue sky above him.

He stared at it for a long, long moment while his brain tried to work.

Outside? He was... no, not outside. The greenhouse. The ceiling was glass panels. Scott blinked hazily up at it. He was in bed. In Ororo's greenhouse. Okay then. There was a soft hiss he recognized as one of the sprinkler systems turning itself on to mist the flowerbeds, and over to his left, the quiet murmur of voices, somewhere he couldn't see. He turned his head in that direction - it took much more effort than it should have - and saw some medical equipment by the bed. Hooked up to him, too. Monitors. Why monitors? He wondered rather absently where they'd plugged it all in.

He looked in the other direction and saw Alex. His breath caught in his chest as he saw his brother peering down at him - visibly worried, and looking like he hadn't been sleeping very well, but obviously okay. "Alex... you all right?" The question came out barely audible. His voice really didn't sound at all like it belonged to him.

Alex choked back a sob. Figured, that Scott's first words would be to make sure he was all right, when Scott himself had been a wreck when the X-Men had found him. "Yes, you idiot." Then he couldn't help himself; he stood up and hugged his brother as tightly as the other's injuries would allow. "God, you scared the crap out of me!"

"'M sorry," Scott murmured weakly, trying not to wince. He hurt pretty much everywhere, although it wasn't as bad as it had been... back there. His mind shied away from the thought, and he managed to put an arm around Alex's shoulder and give him something of a half-assed hug back. It seemed to take most of the energy he had, just to move his arm. But he forced the words out anyway. "Just... couldn't let anything happen to you. Said they'd kill you..."

Catching the wince, Alex sat back down but kept a hold of Scott's hand. "And you had to go be all noble. Look what that got you!" Now that he had gotten the hug out of the way, Alex wanted to smack Scott. "They certainly were trying to kill you, that's for sure." He looked down, out of breath. "God, Scott... I can't lose you."

"Don't we... make a pair," Scott managed, his eyelids feeling heavy again. He fought to keep them open. Couldn't sleep again yet. He wasn't absolutely sure Alex was all right. He'd have to watch him for a while. "And they weren't... weren't trying to kill me..." Scott tried to shift on the bed, to turn on his side and towards Alex, but every muscle in his body proceeded to scream at him not to be so stupid.

At the first, Alex snorted softly, trying very hard not to release the tears that threatened. He was not going to cry over Scott's stupidity. "And what was going to happen if you didn't give them what they wanted? I'm not stupid, Scott..." Alex couldn't ignore his brother's obvious look of pain, and his voice softened. "Can I get you anything?"

His head was swimming. He thought for a moment or two that he was actually going to be sick, but he concentrated on breathing as steadily as he could, ignoring the fact that it even hurt to do that. It took him a while to be able to answer Alex. "I'm okay," he whispered exhaustedly. "I am... don't worry?" He tried to squeeze Alex's hand back and didn't quite manage it.

That was met with a harsh chuckle. "Me not worry? You must be still be really out of it." Then he paused and squeezed Scott's hand gently. "I'm glad you're okay...but next time..." He couldn't finish because if he did, he knew he would cry.

There was a flash of something close to outright terror in Scott's real eye for a moment. "Next time... next time I find a better way..." he murmured brokenly.

"You will find a better way because if this happens again I'll kill you myself." Alex said, only half joking. But he didn't miss the terror in his normally controlled brother's eye. Silently, he stood up and sat on the bed next to Scott, taking both his hands in his. "We're both okay now, Scott. Everything's okay..."

Scott was breathing faster, and wasn't sure why. His head was still swimming, his stomach twisting - not with nausea, this time. Just with fear so strong that it felt like nausea. "Too long... I was t-there too long. I..." He couldn't say it. Couldn't tell Alex.

Alex knew the signs of someone freaking out, although he was usually the Summers expressing them. He clasped Scott's hands a little harder, knowing it would hurt Scott a bit but he wanted to anchor his brother into the now. Thinking about the past never helped. "It doesn't matter. You're safe now."

Scott squeezed his eyes shut - but that was like being back in the dark, and they snapped open again immediately. "Don't want t'sleep." His voice was increasingly slurred. "Case this... isn't real..."

If there was one thing Alex could understand, it was that feeling. He knew it exactly. "I'll stay here with you until you wake up, I promise. But you really should sleep..." He squeezed Scott's hands again to reassure him.

"Just... stay?" It was almost a plea. "Lights... leave the lights on..."

Scott didn't have to say it; Alex wasn't leaving, as he had already proved to Amelia. "Don't worry. I'm not letting you out of my sight for a long time, bro."