「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(215) Relativity

Lynn's POV

Braving a migraine and concealing it well beneath the creases of my face was probably the task that exhausted most of my energy even when I was sat almost motionless in my chair throughout the actively ongoing discussions. Consequently, my body was ensnared in the endless vicious cycle that readily aggravated the pounding in my head as all of us gathered amongst a mute severity made conscious and persevering attempts to formulate solutions adequate to counter the brutal acts endangering our kind.

Yet, no matter how hard I tried to crack it, my brain felt bare, like a vacant shell wholly drained of its raw fuel. Multiple trains of thought were lost in transition, quickly crashing, as I soon made no sense of any words.

Not only had my mind surrendered, my vision had given out to a blur sight that spun with escalating speeds and I instinctively gripped onto the armrest, striving to maintain balance with everything I still had, as the whirling sensations deemed me lightheaded.

"Lynn!" The X-Men blurted and Jean hurriedly pinned me back to Charles' chair, thankfully before I collapsed completely.

"Oh dear god, you're burning!" Jean exclaimed anxiously, frantically sliding her palm along my clammy skin.

"How are you feeling?!" Jean grilled nervously as I slumped into her embrace that apparently supported my frail frame into its sitting posture.

"Terrible," I murmured frankly, knowing no lie would be convincing right now.

"Oh god, why didn't you just say so!" Jean grumbled and immediately rushed me back into Charles' ward.

As Jean carefully replaced me onto my bed with her cradle of telekinesis, pharmaceutical supplies simultaneously propelled across the sleek chamber with high accuracies, landing precisely into Jean's palm, and all the tubings from adjacent machines began hooking themselves onto me, with their screens promptly displaying the facts of my indisposed self.

"I'm giving you some antibiotics to keep the fever in check. I've picked something drowsy so try to get some sleep and I'll have your surgery done in the morning, alright?" Jean informed fluently, albeit not quite serving as the distraction she intended, while she injected a dose of the said chemical into my bloodstream.

"I can deal with the pain. Just deal with Erik," I sputtered tiredly as the others gradually crowded around my bed.

"Don't worry about the summit. It's not until tomorrow night. Just leave it to us and we'll work something out, alright?" Scott reassured definitively with a warm smile as he took my hand.

I'm sorry, Scott, I apologised and squeezed his palm gently, smiling in relief as the wise leader Charles nurtured and envisioned finally resurfaced in the young man.

"Don't be," Scott mouthed graciously as he courteously patted on the back of my hand and responsibly shepherded the others, except his future wife, from the premises.

"I think you've had enough for the night. Get some rest," Jean urged, conscientiously cranking down my bed when I reached for her hand.

"Jean," I whispered, staring pleadingly into her eyes gleaming with green elegance, before fixing my desperate gaze towards Charles' pathetically unconscious figure.

"I got it," she affirmed with a sympathetic smile.

Aligning our beds together, Jean locked them side by side and diligently rearranged the messy strands of overhanging cables such that they still functioned to track our conditions without hindering my pursuit of staying close to Charles, even when it was a physical struggle to actually snuggle up to him or get anywhere near intimately comforting. Resting a large and thick duvet over us to ensure we were duly protected from the cold, Jean gazed down at me with a faint smile as I merely laid beside Charles with our fingers intertwined.

"I know you're worried but try, at least try, to get yourself some sleep, and not stare at him the entire night, please," Jean nagged in a teasing tone as she caressed my head and I chuckled, briefly nodding, albeit patronisingly.

"Yes, Dr. Grey," I countered playfully.

"Goodnight, Lynn," Jean stressed in a stern tone and bent forward to land a light kiss to my forehead.

"Goodnight," I mumbled, pecking her cheek.

"I'll be monitoring you guys from upstairs," Jean warned, cheekily winking at me as she waved around her palm, flaunting the mobile device wirelessly linked to all the equipment connected to us before slotting it into her pocket and briskly exited.

I shut my eyes, adding more black to the dark, and made an honest endeavor to sink into a slumber but almost like a teenager sneaking into a bar, I was tossed out with no compassion.

My body never quite reacted in ways the professionals anticipate when it came to medication and regardless of the drugs Jean put in me, my mind remained lucid, utterly incapable of peace, even when they worked to slowly reduce my body temperature.

Annoyed by my futile performance, I tilted my head towards Charles and with great effort, flipped myself onto my good side as quietly and discreetly as I could manage. While the twinge bolting from my dislocation was jarring, even when it merely moved slightly with absolutely no exertion, the stabbing bite was insignificant compared to any other I have experienced and elicited no groans, besides a brief clench of my jaw, from the both of us who appeared numb to the grinding pain.

"You know I already have enough trouble forgiving myself. Why do you still do this to me, Charles?" I lamented rhetorically, purely craving for oblivion to the answer screaming obnoxiously from the bottom of my heart that jeered my brain, only sufficiently daring now when he was unawake, in denunciation for allowing the unwitting remarks to slither through my lips.

Agonizingly studying his essentially inanimate face, tears rolled themselves off my face and unknowingly, my pillow had become the sea my moistened cheeks wallowed in.

Yet, more than I would imagine, I was still vigilant to the threatening likes of the invading depression and hastily darted my attention to the sluggishly climbing charts illuminated in the background, the only source of consolation available, that indicated a slow but positive recovery of Charles' brain.

Contrary to the session just prior when it seemed to vanish like the acts of a magician, time now crawled, trickling like water leaking through the creaks. Its relativity was amazing, transforming from a furious race to a meek, yet torturous, encounter in a decisive blink of the lords.

The same seconds that slipped through our fingers just moments ago now ticked away with little drive nor efficiency. The awful minutes dragged their weary feet, idling about as they loitered in a sinister manner that strangely induced the regular beeping of the surrounding instruments to sound at seemingly lengthening intervals. The silent hours dawdled on, feeling like years, or even decades, as I mentally relived our entire lives, especially reveling in selected blissful memories that were replayed on an infinite loop.

No matter how the earth rotated on its axis or the hands of the clock circled on its face, dawn always just seemed that far away.

It was no saying how long it took me, but I was glad, I found myself sleeping, eventually.

XXXXX

Somehow, just the perfect chapter to end the week? I'm not really celebrating but I wish everyone Happy Good Friday and Happy Easter! 🐰