He sits down beside me. We both stare out over the slowly flowing water. The sun sinks behind the trees on the far side. Darkness will be here soon.
“How long have ve been out here, mein Schatz?”
“I figure we escaped not long after dawn, so that would make it the greater part of a day so far.”
“Victor could be following us by now, nicht wahr?”
“Yes. If he can find our scent to begin with, he’ll be on our trail.”
“And he vill be madder than hell.”
“’Fraid so, darlin’.”
Silence falls over us again. The water sits heavy in my stomach, but shows no real sign of coming up. I place one hand on my abdomen, pressing gently. It feels hard as a board. Not good at all. I push harder, but stop because it hurts too much.
“Elf, what did ya do that for? You sure you’re not losin’ it?”
“I am merely confirming the diagnosis I have made for myself. That is all.”
“I don’t need to ask you for your conclusion. If you’ve decided that you’re not in very good shape, you’re right. I can pick up that much from your scent,” he says, without meeting my eyes.
“How about a little more to drink?” I ask. “Then ve can be on our vay.”
A few more handfuls of water and I am again lifted securely in his arms, as easily as if I were a small child. Now, at last, I can stop fighting the weakness and relax. My head lolls against his shoulder as he continues our trek through the jungle. The comforting darkness of oblivion holds me in its arms and I know nothing more.
When I begin to come to again, I have not even the strength to open my eyes at first. I can tell I am lying on a hard padded surface. Please God, we are not back in Victor’s hands!!
Voices echo through my head, a foreign language – Spanish? No, but very close. Portuguese? Are we in Brazil then? That would explain the rainforest and the language. As I listen, I find that my rudimentary knowledge of Spanish allows me to make out many of the words.
Through the haze of fever and pain, I feel something tight around my arm, followed by the small stab of a needle seeking a vein. Wherever I am, someone is starting an IV on me. A medical facility. We have made it! Hope rushes through my heart. I realize I am terribly thirsty. I open my eyes, expecting to see Logan’s face. No, just two strange women, one of whom continues to search for a vein in my dehydrated body.
Licking dry lips, I try to speak. “Agua, Senhorita?” I ask, voice cracked and hoarse.
“Yes. Right away,” she replies. As she hurries away, I hear her call out, “Senhor Logan! Wake up. Your friend is awake!”
I follow her with my eyes and find Logan sprawled out on a cot over by the wall. I was not really worried about him, but it is still good to see him alive and well.
The woman returns quickly and holds a glass of water to my lips, helping me hold my head up enough to take a few sips. “Slowly,” she tells me.
By now, Logan is standing beside me. He reaches for my hand, taking it to his lips and, much to my astonishment, kissing it.
“How ya doin’, Elf?”
“I vill live. I think.”
His worry breaks into a broad smile. “Ya damn well better, after all the effort I went to luggin’ yer carcass through the jungle.”
“Ha. Ha,” I retort. “I vould laugh for real, but it vould hurt too much.”
He becomes serious. “I know, darlin’. But the Blackbird will be here any minute now to pick us up. Hang in there.”
“I vill,” I assure him.
The woman has at last gotten the IV line set up and started something dripping into my veins. Whatever it is, it hits me fast. I recognize the feeling as my head begins to feel light and my awareness fades.
“Logan –“
“Don’t fight it, Elf. I’ll look out for ya. You know that.”
I try to smile, but am not sure if I succeed or not before I pass out.
AFTERMATH
I have just crossed the lawn and started into the woods when I hear running footsteps behind me. Alarmed, I start to turn but then Logan’s voice calls out, “Kurt! Wait up!”
Of course, I wait.
“What are ya doin’ out of the infirmary, darlin’,” he demands, as soon as he gets to me.
“I’m healing vell from the surgery and the infection is mostly gone. Angelita said I did not need to be there anymore. In fact, she told me some light exercise vould be good for me, so I am taking a valk.”
“And ya didn’t even invite me along?”
“It is so early, I vas sure you vould still be asleep and I did not vish to disturb you. Why are you up at this hour anyvay?”
“I ain’t been sleepin’ so good lately. Too many dreams.”
He looks rather dejected, so I stroke the side of his face gently with the tip of my tail. “I vill be there tonight, mein Schatz.”
He brightens up at that thought. “You’re really OK then?”
“Ja.” Seeing the glimmer in his eyes, I add quickly, “Vell, maybe not quite that OK. Hank says no anal sex for a good long vhile. And nothing too rough even then.”
He captures the flattened end of my tail, which is hovering in his vicinity, and kisses the underside. “That still leaves us many possibilities, darlin’.”
“Ja, it does indeed.”
“Maybe we should go back right now and –“ He leaves the rest hanging.
“I have been lying in bed in the infirmary for over three veeks. Right now, I feel the need to move around in the fresh air and sunshine again.”
“No problem. OK if I join you?”
“Sure.”
We walk along for a time in silence. The green of the leaves and bushes surrounding me seems brighter than usual and the variety of nature delights my eyes, after staring at the beige walls of the infirmary for so long.
“Are we going someplace in particular or just walkin’?”
“Ve are going to my favorite spot down by the shore of the lake.”
“Isn’t that kind of far away for your first walk?”
“Not if ve cheat a little.” I grab him and ‘port us both a couple of miles closer. “There! Now it is not nearly so far. Was ist los, Logan? You look a little green around the gulls.”
“You know I hate to be teleported, Elf. And that’s supposed to be ‘gills’, not ‘gulls’.”
I give him a puzzled look. “Who cares? It makes no more sense one vay or the other.”
I am mostly just teasing him, to take his mind off the momentary nausea teleporting usually causes him. I put my hand in his and pull him along. “Come on. Ve are almost to the lake. I can see it betveen the trees. It is beautiful early in the morning. Besides, you vere glad enough to be ‘ported avay from Victor’s grasp, vere you not?”
“Yeah. Uh – that reminds me. Darlin, we have to talk.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” I say lightly.
“I’m bein’ serious, Kurt. There’s something I’ve got to ask you, but I wanted to give you some time to recover first.”
“Vell, I am now recovered. Vhat is it you vould like to know?”
“Are ya mad at me for screwin’ around with Victor while I was gone?”
“That depends. Are you mad at me for screwing around with Storm and Mystique, vhile you vere gone?”
“No. Surprised maybe, especially about Mystique. Not angry. After all, we’ve always said we had an open relationship, haven’t we?”
“Then you have my answer already. Surprised, ja. Angry, nein.”
“Good. I just needed to make sure there was no misunderstanding between us about what happened.”
“There is not. But I vish you had told me about it sooner, so I vould have known before Victor told me.”