More Than Meets the Eye

Faith perched on the edge of her bed, trying to remember the breathing exercises the Professor had shown her to help her control her thoughts. No, not my thoughts, everyone else's thoughts, she reminded herself.

Her hands were still shaking, and they ached from her fall. Her fingers traced over the coarse texture of the gauze, remembering the gentleness of the mutant doctor when he had bandaged them... his voice was so deep and soothing, it was as if she could listen to it forever.

Oh, come on, girl, she reprimanded herself sharply. You're not some flaky teenager, ready to go mooning after the first deep voice you hear, even if it did come with a very strong pair of arms. And, besides, he's a doctor. Probably like all the rest.

But her mind nagged at her irritatingly that he had just let her go. No Haldol, no Ativan, just... okay. Just like that.

He wasn't like any doctor she had ever met. That bothered her. How could she know what to expect if she didn't understand him?

She would just stay out of his way. He seemed like the type who would get caught up in something else and forget about her soon enough if she just stayed out of his way.

She winced as two strong empathic presences suddenly flooded her mind a moment before a sharp rap sounded at the door. "Um, come in," she called tentatively.

The door creaked open. "Hiya, sugar!" came a bright, alto voice in a clear Southern accent. "We'd heard there was a newcomer and had t'come meet ya!"

"Um, hello," Faith replied unevenly. "I'm Faith Delacoeur."

"Ah'm Rogue," the voice said as Faith felt the other side of the bed dip with the added weight. "This here is Katherine Pryde."

"It's Kitty," a sweet soprano corrected. "It's nice to meet you Faith. I hope you don't mind us stopping in."

Faith shook her head. "No, it's-it's okay. This place can just be a little overwhelming."

"You're tellin' me," the southerner - Rogue - said wryly. "Ah didn't know what to do with myself when Ah first got here."

"It can take some getting used to," Kitty added. "That's why we thought you might need a friend or two."

Faith realized that she had been scanning the empathic projections she was receiving from both of them for signs of deceit or subterfuge, and there were none. Just sincerity and kindness. The suddenness of it made her throat tighten with emotion. "Thanks," she said tightly. "That's-that's really nice of you."

A hand patted her shoulder. "We've all been where you are, sugar," Rogue said sympathetically. "And trust me, it does get easier."

Faith nodded again, not entirely trusting her voice.

"So have you met many of the others?" Kitty asked. From the sound of her voice, she seemed to be near the desk.

"Um, yes actually," Faith replied. "Professor Xavier, obviously, and Scott Summers, they came to pick me up. And I've met Storm, and Miss Frost, and Logan... and Dr.McCoy."

"Physicals," the two girls chorused together.

"Hank is very by-the-book when it comes to his duties as school physician," Kitty offered.

"Yeah, and sometimes Ah'd like to shove that book somewhere even he couldn't remove it from," Rogue grumbled.

Faith offered a small smile. "Yeah, I noticed that," she said quietly.

"Did he make ya wear one of those stupid gowns?" Rohue asked. "Dumb things always leave my butt hangin' out in th' wind... like t see him in one sometime.."

"I didn't end up doing a physical," Faith muttered.

She could feel the shock and surprise from both girls.

"How the hell did you manage that?" Kitty asked, stunned.

Faith held up her hands. "I kind of tried to run away," she explained weakly.

"You ran away?" Rogue repeated dumbly.

Faith slowly related the whole story. "I'm, just, not very good with doctors," she said. "I don't know why, I'm just not."

"Ah don't believe you ran away," Rogue said again.

"What did Hank do?" Kitty asked incredulously.

Faith smiled as her mind when back to how gentle he'd been, his voice soothing her, his hand stroking over her hair. "He was really very understanding about it," she finally said. "Though I think he's decided to make me his pet project. We have 'a meeting to address this issue and attempt to find a resolution.'"

They all laughed at her feeble attempt at impersonating Hank. "Now, THAT sounds like Hank," Kitty said.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll forget all about it in a day or so," Faith said dismissively. She pretended not to hear Rogue's snort.

"Anyhow, darlin' we really came to see if you wanted to come raid the kitchen with us and find some ice cream to help you spill your whole story to us girls," Rogue said. "You in?"

Faith smiled, feeling for the first time in her life like she belonged. "Ice cream? Oh you better believe it! Just lead the way!"