1/7 Instance: Healing the Kiss of Death

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Timeline: Directly after Pissed and Stinky, please!


Josh: Josh quickened his step as he padded down the hallway. He'd heard the voices and knew the field teams had returned. He'd been going from room to room, counting faces. And he was certain there were many missing.

Josh: The stress pervading the university seemed almost tangible. Dammit, what the hell happened out there? He bit back a growl and rounded a corner.

Rogue: Rogue shut Vic's door with a last smile to her friend then walked down the hall to start to her room, maybe to shower before she talked to Josh. She was lost in thought, looking down at the floor as she walked, nearly running into someone. She followed the shoes up as she stopped short. Fuck "Hey sugah..." Rogue couldn't hide the depressed tone in her voice as she greeted him.

Josh: Josh jerked back in surprise. "Rogue!" he exclaimed, and heaved a sigh. "I'm so
glad to see you. How are you?" He frowned at her carefully, concerned.

Rogue: Rogue bit her lip and shook her head, "Feel like shit. Lil drunk. Feelin's not s' fun right now. Didn't think 'bout feelin' mah bruises. Got slammed inta tha floor pretty hard," she hopped rambling would keep her from having to tell him a bit longer.

Josh: Josh winced. "Damn, girl... From what I've gathered, the mission didn't go well," he said dismally, hinting for a broader explanation. But in spite of her somber state, he was glad to see her. "Hey look, I could heal those bruises for you right now," he suggested, forgetting for an instant exactly what Rogue's power was.

Rogue: Rogue's eyebrows went up, "That's right! F'got 'bout that nifty lil power of yours. Go f' it. Ah'm drunk 'nuff ta touch. Vic an' Ah proved that a minute ago."

Josh: Josh only hesitated a moment. He laid his palm on Rogue's cheek and concentrated, feeling warmth seem to flow through his arms to her body. "Any better?" he asked, opening his eyes. "I hope little scrapes and bruises like yours are the worst of the injuries..."

Rogue: Rogue moved her jaw around, "Yeah. Didn't bother me much 'fore Ah got drunk though. But, damn, Josh... Thanks f' healin' me... Let's sit?" Rogue moved over and slid down the wall, waiting for him to join her before continuing, "We lost some..." She felt the anger start to try and seep back up, but she pushed it down, Not. Now.

Josh: Josh slumped down beside her warily and drew up his knees, threading his fingers together. Rogue looked like she could barely keep herself together. She's certainly more coherent drunk than I am, he thought humorlessly. "What do you mean, lost some?" he repeated slowly.

Rogue: "Bobby an' Lorna... the ceilin' collapsed on 'em... tried ta get 'em out... ordered ta retreat..." She looked at him, "When combat was waitin' f' Infiltration in tha jet, we got word over tha commlink that Remy an' Rae weren't comin'..." Rogue looked down and pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them, "Ah'm sorry..."

Josh: Josh's hands had gone to his face at the mention of Bobby and Lorna. "The ceiling..." He swallowed hard. "An-and they couldn't get out...? No one could find them...?"

Josh: He clenched one hand into a fist, opened it, then clenched it again. "Where did R-Rae and Remy go?"

Rogue: "Ah dunno... We lost them too... Cess said that Remy went off alone ta do somethin', that's all Ah know 'bout him... But Ah... Ah really don't know 'bout Rae. Ah wish Ah did." She put her forhead on her knees, taking deep, even breaths, trying not to cry.

Josh: His head shot up. "Don't know?" he exclaimed. His heart started to race in alarm and he shot to his feet. When she'd said Rae didn't come back with them, I didn't think she meant... "What the hell are you saying - you think she might be -" The word "dead" died on his lips and his eyes pleaded her to reassure him.

Rogue: "No. Ah don't. But Ah don't think she's safe there. We're gonna regroup, rest up, train harder, an' go back. We were all overwhelmed. We couldn't stay."

Rogue: Rogue reached up and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling him back down to the floor, "Sit down an' control yaself. We're all pissed. Ah'm furious. Hell, it was mah fuckin' fault 'bout Bobby an' Lorna. Ah'm pissed we left everybody, an' Ah'm pissed at mahself f' them on top of it!"

Josh: He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "At this rate there won't be any one left to go back!" he cried, on the verge of hysterics. "Damn Bobby - who the heck does he think he is, playin' hero - bastard - Rae..."

Josh: He tripped over his feet as Rogue forcefully dragged him back to the floor and swiveled his head around to look at her with his eyes smarting. Her words struck a chord with him. "I said it was a bad idea to go back in all along," he protested tearfully. "Like we had a chance, with what little info we had. I freaking hate this."

Rogue: "Doesn't matter. We had ta try. If you were stuck in there, wouldn't ya want someone ta come an' help you? Ah would." She glared at him, "Bobby was just doin' his job... That was mah damn fault.. Ah had tha guy... Ah was on him... Ah coulda... Damnit!" She buried her head again, a soft string of angry cuss-words following the first.

Josh: "Of course I would," he retorted, "but not a bunch of my kids who are
underequipped and my friends." He fell back as she lost it a bit and felt a pang of remorse for his harsh words. Awkwardly he put an arm around her shoulder and gently rubbed. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry, Rogue, honest. I know you guys did everything you could. I just wish - I just don't - dammit all..."

Rogue: Rogue shook her head and finally brought it up, "Ah know ya upset 'bout losin' Rae.. An' apparently you an' Bobby were closer than Ah thought.. But, sugah, we all lost somebody, or left somebody behind... Ah lost three of mah best friends an' mah team leader..." She let her head lay gently on his shoulder, "Ah'm sorry Ah didn't do more ta save Rae...Ah didn't find out till Ah was on tha jet already, so Ah couldn't have gone back in... Ah'm sorry...."

Josh: He put his hand to his head. It hurt physically to think of Rachel. "I know, girl, I know... I just... She promised she wouldn't get hurt." He forced back angry tears and shuddered. "I kept pushing her - tryin' to talk her out of what she was doing - 'cause I was damn scared something would go wrong. And all I succeeded in doing was pushing her away from me. And then she goes and -" It just hit him that he might never have the chance to make up for what he'd done wrong. " - And I've been such an asshole lately, and she still would forgive me for it... Last thing she must have done was apologize, of all things, on Myspace."

Josh: He ws quiet a moment, and then said softly, "It seems like we don't notice how much people mean to us, or how much we've screwed up, until we're in too deep to fix anything..."

Rogue: Rogue's eyes narrowed into a glare, "Yeah... Ah heard 'bout you an' Tessa. Ah'll lay inta later f' it, ya beatin' yaself up enough right now. But just wait till Ah'm sober. Ooooh ya gonna get it." She shook her head as something else he said registered, "She apologized? Wow. She actually took mah advice f' once when she wasn't scared of me. That's pretty cool." She couldn't help a small smile, "Rachel's an awesome girl. Ya've made her happier than Ah've evah seen her."

Rogue: "But, one tip? Don't evah tell her what ta do... Suggest it, but don't make a big deal about it if she disagrees. Ah do, but like Ah said, Ah scare her. Ah kinda mother her too..."

Josh: "She loves you," he choked out, the lump in his throat growing with every word. "And I'll try to follow your advice. Gotta say, it's been a heck of a lot better than my own lately." He sighed and shook his head. "And I ain't off to a great start either - I've been selfish since you opened your mouth. You were the one who had to fight, while I got to sit here on my fat ass, and I haven't even had a word of comfort for you."

Rogue: Rogue felt hot tears burning when he said that, "Ah love her too... Which is why Ah'm so pissed 'bout tha Tessa thing..." She looked at him, "Now, don't you even start. Ya couldn't have gone with us, so that's not ya fault. An' Ah just cuddled with Vic f' a bit, so that's kinda taken care of f' tha moment. Ah'm mostly still in shock. Ya allowed ta be selfish when ya hear 'bout tha woman ya love gettin' left behind on a mission."

Josh: "I know," he groaned. "I mean, to be honest, I don't regret it... if you know what I mean. Tessa, she's... something." He blushed in spite of himself. "But after, when I realized the only person I wanted to be with was Rae, it didn't feel worth it, ya know? How did Tessa fair, by the way? I haven't run into her yet..." Crap. He felt guilty about feeling guilty, and guiltier still about that...

Josh: "Thanks," he added. "Ya know, one reason I wish I coulda been there - I woulda liked to have seen you and the others kicking ass. When you left earlier, it finally sorta hit me what a brave thing you all were doin'. Guess I've been too angry to notice it."

Rogue: Saying that about Tessa earned him another glare, "She may be somethin', but Rae's hurt 'cause of what ya did. Anybody ever tell ya ta think 'fore ya talk? Well think 'fore ya act too. Might save ya ass 'round here."

Rogue: Rogue looked down and played with her hands, "Tessa wasn't in tha field with us, she was on tha radio with Japh, haven't gotten a chance to talk to her yet."

Rogue: He was rewarded with a small smile, "Thanks, sugah. We did kick some major tail. It was great." Her face fell, "But we still failed. Horribly..."

Josh: "Probably did, but for all my perfect hearing, I never listened," he said with no trace of humor in his voice.

Josh: "I'll make a deal with you though," he went on. "Next time I do something that dumb, come straight over and hit me - hard. I may be able to heal myself, but I still feel pain, sure as anything. Maybe you'll be able to snap my head around enough that it gets set straight."

Josh: He shook his head at her last statement and gave her a slight squeeze. "That ain't true. The results weren't what anybody wanted, but trust me, I never seen anything braver in my life. I was skeptical because, I guess I never really thought we'd get even this far. I thought we'd fall back without even much of a fight because of the danger. But even if the mission didn't turn out how we wanted... at least know that you've given me a reason to work hard, and to believe in doing what's right."

Rogue: Rogue laughed, "Ya want me ta hit ya? Even though a nudge from mah foot knocked ya on ya ass? Ya sure 'bout that one?"

Rogue: She shook her head, "Glad ta know we did somethin' f' somebody... Ah'm so angry though! Ah've nevah been this mad. Three! Three of mah fuckin' best friends, gone. When we go back, somebody's gonna get a dose of Rogue-lovin' that they won't wake up from f' a while."

Josh: He raised his free hand. "Babe, believe me, I have never been more sure about anything. If - when we get Rae and the others back, I gotta be a different kind of dude."

Josh: He nodded solemnly. "I know. I am too. I want to do something crazy to hurt the bastards who did this, but there ain't nothing I can do. It blows, yo. I don't know what else to say except that I'm real sorry and I think the monsters deserve every ounce of that proposed Rogue-love fest."

Rogue: Rogue nodded, "Good. Ah think ya should too. Honestly, if Ah were Rae, Ah wouldn't take ya back after findin' out 'bout Tessa an' you. But Ah'm spiteful an' am real against that kinda thing... But who knows what she'll do... Maybe if ya grovel..."

Rogue: "Don't worry, sugah. Ah'll give 'em some extra lovin' from you too," she winked at him. "Don't be sorry though. Not ya fault, Ah'm tha one who's sorry. Ah didn't do enough. But we'll get 'em... No doubt. We gotta."

Rogue: Rogue rubbed the base of her palm into her eye, "Ah gotta feed Bobby's mice while he's gone... Gonna be damned hard goin' ta see 'em." She sat up quickly, "An' what if Rachel has tha babies?! Fuck. Ah don't know what ta do then..."

Josh: "Groveling I can do," he nodded weakly. "I can even do the whole 'I am a worm!' shtick real well." He smiled at her wink. "Please do slug 'em for me. Be sure to say, 'And here's a kiss from Foley!' Besides, I think you did more than enough, but I guess I'm biased - I think just by going in there, you were doing enough."

Josh: The rabbit trail about Bobby's mice confused him for a minute. "Babies? The heck - you said Rachel's not pregnant!" His mouth dropped open in horror.

Rogue: "Oh, if Ah said 'Here's a kiss from Foley' Ah'd make sure ta actually kiss 'em. Knock 'em out good f' a while. Don't joke 'bout tha kiss of death 'round me," she winked, "Ah really got one. But no, we didn't do enough 'cause they're still trapped an' that Essex guy is still breathing." She calmed, reminding herself mentally that X-Men don't kill.

Rogue: She laughed at his face and his reaction, "She's not. Bobby has a mouse named Rachel. Call her Rae-Rae mostly, an' she's pregnant. 'Bout ta pop too." She giggled, "An' tha Josh mouse got her pregnant. Funnily enough."

Josh: He blinked. Then stared. Then said, "Huh."

Rogue: "Yup." Rogue pushed herself up from the floor and took a deep breath, "Well, that takes care of tha two people who didn't know 'bout tha people they loved gettin' left behind... Told TJ already, now you... Bobby an' Lorna are tagether.. Who else do Ah need ta tell?" She frowned, "Ah cain't think straight. Ah need to sleep..."

Josh: ... Ok, Bobby's slightly weirder than I thought. "Then, you should get some sleep. Come on." He stood and offered her his hand. "The least I can do is walk back to your room with you. After that... guess I'll go count my blessings or something..."

Rogue: Rogue took his hand and pulled herself up the rest of the way, "Thanks. Now ta face Tessa..."

[tears~fall~like~glass]

[Ult_Sm86]

so very...intense.

[wingyding]

Uhm. That might prove difficult, facing Tessa at the moment. But she'll find that out sooner or later herself.

Please do not throw projectiles at the invalids, thank you. --Management

[Esynthia]

Please do not throw projectiles at the invalids, thank you. --Management

Don't worry, she wont. She'll just