Moira, Madelyn...and a Guest

[x-mactaggart.livejournal.com]

Madelyn stops by to check in on Moira. Things start to go well as they chat but the folks at Mistra have other ideas and Moira feels more than just backlash when the link is affected.



Madelyn tapped on the door to Moira's suite, precariously balancing a plate of buttered toast and a mug of tea in one hand. "Moira?" she called gently. "It's Maddie. I brought you some tea."

Moira blinked and sat up. She'd ended up on the couch after a while. "Come in," she said, having figured someone else would come along soon.

Careful not to spill her load, Madelyn came in. "I figured you wouldn't be up for eating much, but you need to get something into your stomach before that ulcer of yours starts complaining," she said, briskly but with real compassion in her voice. "So, we have plain toast and tea. Dinner of champions."

A small, but real, smile appeared on her face and she scooted over a little bit to make room. "Forgot all 'bout th' bloody thin'," Moira said quietly. "Guess this dinnae 'elp it at all."

Madelyn waited until Moira had settled herself before handing her the mug and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "No, this is generally not what I'd call standard ulcer treatment," she said wryly, watching Moira take a sip of the tea before handing her the plate. "Then again, what ever is standard here?"

"Nay really," Moira said, her voice tired. "I swear, we never seem ta catch a break." She took a small bit of the toast and then looked up at the other doctor. "'ow are they all reactin'? Do they know?" She had avoided the journal systems all day, for that reason.

Madelyn nodded. "Charles told them. They're upset, as you can imagine. But they're tough, and they're supporting each other, which is good. They're good kids."

"Aye, they are." She reached up and wiped her eyes. By this time, she wasn't trying to hide the fact that she was crying easily. No one seemed to be blaming her for it.

"Hey, it's all right. Things will work out, they always do, remember?" Madelyn reached out to pat Moira's knee. "This is the X-Men we're talking here, they'll find him. If he hasn't kicked their asses first."

Moira blinked and then smiled, clutching the mug of tea like a lifeline. "Me vaulted confidence an' iron will 'ave gone right out th' bloody window." She touched the dark bruise on her face. "Guess I'm allowed, aye?"

"Definitely. And if anyone says otherwise, I'll put laxative in their coffee or whatever." Madelyn couldn't help but reach out to tip Moira's face towards the light, examining the bruise. "That's a nasty one, all right. Is your head still aching?"

"Aye, but then, I did give meself a blood concu--" She stopped half way, eyes going wide at the feeling in her head as the link opened but it felt wrong.. #N-Nathan?!# She had to reach out and touch it, touch him...not noticing dropping the mug to the floor.

Looking up. Up at faceless figures, backlit by the overhead light. Razor-sharp knives peeling away his mind, layer by agonizing layer, laughing as he tried to protect the link...

"Moira?" Madelyn touched the Scot's shoulder as she broke off what she was saying, body stiffening. "Moira, what's wrong? Talk to me, dammit."

There was a brief moment where she felt _Nathan_ touch her mind, protective and yet seeking help--and she tried to touch him but there was something blocking. Laughter?

They found it. They tore away the last of his defenses, and the link was laid out in front of them. Shimmering gold in the dark, and he reached out through it desperately, feeling an entirely different kind of pain as he pushed his telepath to its limits and beyond. #Moira... MOIRA!#

Moira screamed and clutched her head as she felt Nathan being ripped away from her. Not just Nathan...the entire thing. There was a shattering in her mind and she dimly felt herself fall off the couch as she went into convulsions. Blood--in her mind, on her hands. Pain. Loss. #NATHAN!# Nothing but the pain and emptiness. And the pain was unbelievable.

"Shit!" Madelyn shoved the coffee table back, away from Moira's convulsing body, knowing better than to try and restrain her. #CHARLES!# she screamed in her mind, not sure if he'd hear her - she'd never actively tried to call someone telepathically before. She grabbed the cushions from the couch, trying to reduce the inevitable bruising that was apt to follow. If the convulsions didn't stop soon...

It felt like she had water in her ears--on her brain, even. Everything felt heavy and awkward and her body was still moving without her wanting it to. Moira cried out again, more of an anguished sob this time, as the remnants of the link fractured in her mind.

#Moira?# The voice in her mind was shaken, dazed-sounding... and female. #Moira... ne'haslya sirridean vaelah, mi'saevra... Moira?#

Moira whimpered, it hurt but not as much as before. Vaguely, she felt Maddie moving around her. #A-askani?# But _how_?

#Moira...# Askani's voice was faint, uncertain. #Su'la... they drove us out, mi'saevra. Broke his mind...#

#'ow're a-are ye 'ere?# She was beginning to realize why Maddie was so frantic as she now felt the blood coming from her nose and ears.

The convulsions eased, but now Moira was muttering in a language Madelyn didn't recognize, and she was bleeding from the nose and ears. Some kind of stroke? Grabbing a box of Kleenex from the table, Madelyn held a wad to Moira's nose, repeating her name. "Moira, come on you stubborn Scot, talk to me. What's going on?"

"They...broke th' link," she gasped, crying. Trying to hold two conversations was...painful, she realized, and she still needed to keep talking to them both.

#The link... our only way out... the others on the astral, they...# Askani trailed off, sobbing in her own language.

#Are t-they still t-there?# Trying to round up her thoughts, she bit her lip. #Is 'e dead? Is Nathan dead?# She had to be sure.

#I don't know... I don't...#

"M-maddie...need Charles." Everything hurt so much, even moving. And the bleeding wasn't stopping. "Please..."

"Don't worry, Moira, we'll take care of you. Just hang in there for me, all right?" Madelyn strove to keep her tone calm, even as she realized how hopelessly out of her depth she was. Psychic links weren't covered in med school. #Charles, if you can hear me, get to Moira's room. Something's happened with the link.# she thought desperately.