Institutionalized

INSTITUTIONALIZED CHAPTER THIRTY (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies and BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm)...Oh, great. Naked Menagerie...I can't focus....* faints * InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink are shiny groovy glitterbunnies for archiving (trust me, that's a good thing). Readers/Reviewers: Just to warn you, chapter thirty two will have slash. I'll set it off with a mark or something so you can skip ahead to the plot points. And I LOVE YOU PEOPLE. (shhh...I'm trying to make the ducks jealous. The armadillos are flamenco dancing around the Killer Kitties (tm) and their Minions (tm), making them insane with kitty-anger...hee hee).

"Hank?" Cecilia felt thick, like her body was not her own and she had to learn how to use it all over again.
"Shhh...it's okay. The power just went out." He sounded calm, but in actuality, Beast was becoming worried. The generators had not kicked on as soon as the main power went out, nor had the secondary generators. Rather than the yellow tinge of sodium lights the the beep of the computer's back up battery, there was darkness and silence. He could hear the rustle of starched bed sheets as Cecilia tried to get off the infirmary cot. "Stay there...you're not missing anything."
"I feel fine," she said with a sigh, though the rustling sounds stopped.
Beast raised an eyebrow, though he knew that she could not see it, and said, "You should know better, Cecilia, a doctor and all..." He clucked his tongue at her and heard her snort. "You've been through a lot of trauma today...can you tell me what happened?"
Cecilia sighed again. _He's gone into doctor mode...does he ever really get out of it? Fine, if he wants to play the boring version of doctor, I'll go with it. Give him peace of mind. _ In a voice slightly weaker than her norm, she relayed the events of the morning, what she could remember. When she was done, she asked, "Where's Tabby? Did they take her?"
"We're not sure who 'they' are," Beast admitted, easing around a nonfunctioning heart monitor to sit beside the bed on a rolling stool. He was glad of his enhanced vision if for no other reason than it kept him from a surplus of stubbed toes in the dark. "Logan, Storm and Wanda are out looking right now."
"Wanda? Oh, the girlfriend..." Cecilia sat up suddenly, nearly banging her forehead against his in the dark. "Hank, what about the baby? Tabby's got health problems..."
"I know, Cecilia...I am treating her, remember? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if something...untoward...happens. But hopefully, they can bring her back in time to prevent damage should the stress cause her to abrupt or miscarry."
"Her blood pressure..."
Beast laid his large hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down against the bed. "I know, Cecilia. There isn't anything I can do about it from here besides worry, and that won't help Tabby, will it? You need to rest right now yourself, so just lay quietly until the power comes back on..."
"What happened to the power?" she asked, cooperating unexpectedly. "Is it a storm or something?"
"I'm actually not sure," Beast allowed, using the opportunity and bravery the darkness provided to stroke her hair tenderly, making her sigh again. It was so rarely that they admitted, even to themselves, the physical attraction underlying their obvious and strong intellectual one that Beast found himself feeling guiltily and pleasingly unprofessional, the feel of her hair under his fingers giving way to the soft skin of her neck. He could feel her pulse jump perceptibly and jerked away suddenly, embarrassed. "Sorry...that was..."
"Fine," she said quietly. "It was fine. I don't mind being touched."
"You need rest," he said briskly, dismissing her and rising from his seat to stalk somewhat grumpily towards the lab table. _It's dark...can't damn well do anything in the dark, even if I can see it. Nothing works... I can't believe I am entertaining thoughts of sexual congress with Cecilia while she's still recuperating from her incident and all this chaos is brewing with the power and Tabby... _ He was so wrapped in his self derogatory thoughts that he did not hear Cecilia rise from the bed and pad over to stand behind him. Her cool hands on his back, felt even through the lab coat he had on, made him jump in surprise. "Gah!"
"Gah? How...mature." She smiled in the dark, though not as brightly as she would have the day before.
"Cecilia, get back to bed!"
"Come with me."
"This isn't the time..."
"When is, then?"
Beast was quiet for a long time before saying, "I'll have to check my schedule."
"Oh, tell me you're kidding!" She did not wait for him to respond before insinuating herself somewhat shakily between him and the table. "Hank, think of it as life-affirming."
"I'd rather think of it as occurring at an appropriate time and place," he said sternly, not pushing her away but not encouraging her, either.
Cecilia felt a grim determination then, his attempts to put her off only making her more driven. She had only intended to flirt a little, to make herself feel less scummy and maybe make Beast a little less serious, if only for a few minutes, but now, Cecilia found that she actually _wanted _ it to be the right time, even if it was not for a very long time. "We're consenting adults, Hank. We're not shy virgins, here...wait..."
"No, I'm not a virgin," he said, mildly exasperated. "Cecilia..."
"The power's out, right? The kids can't come down here because the elevators don't work. Besides, if you were a teenager with raging hormones, minimal supervision and were alone in the dark in close proximity to your significant other or a close approximation, would you go looking for adults?"
Beast had to laugh. "I suppose not." He did not start this time as she laid her hands on him again, this time on his shoulders. He bent to meet her kiss in the dark, hesitant to touch her himself, not knowing for sure just how much she was hurting, if at all. She quickly showed him that she was very nearly up to par as she deepened the kiss, coaxing his response from him with her lips and tongue. "Cecilia," he finally murmured against her mouth, "I don't think this is the best possible thing for us to be doing right now."
"For once, Hank, I am going to be irresponsible and spontaneous...you can plan out the next time down to the last detail if it'll make you feel better," she whispered back, pulling him in for another kiss. Beast made a rumbling noise low in his chest, something close to a purr but more like a growl, as he lifted her to sit on the table, nearly pulling away when she gasped, her body protesting with a spasm along her spine. Cecilia took a shaking breath and hooked her ankles around Beast's legs, refusing to let him move away, craning her neck to kiss his jaw and throat, moving downwards towards his chest. "Do you ever wear a shirt?" she murmured, pushing his lab coat off his shoulders.
"Well, tell me where to find one my size and I would," he said with a touch of humor in his voice. He had come to favor wearing minimal clothing as it was not only more comfortable but also because he found it was nearly impossible to find clothes that fit a six-foot-four, three hundred pound, broad-shouldered mutant. She merely chuffed a laugh in response and returned her attentions to his exposed torso, kissing and nipping at every reachable inch. Beast stood there for a few moments before he realized he should respond; he did so by grasping her by the hips, pulling her flush to his body, the hospital gown she had on providing virtually no interference between her slickening heat and his arousal. Somehow, though he did not know how at the time, his pants ended up on the floor as her nails scored his shoulders and the back of his neck. Both gasped aloud as he filled her, her neck arching as she withheld a cry of pleasure. Beast bit his lip to keep from making a similar response as the next several minutes became an absolute blur of soft friction, murmured pleas and demands, sticky heat and volatile, wonderful awareness. Her limbs bound him to her as he came, filling her anew, her own release shuddering through them both soon after his.
After he had settled her back on the bed with his doctor persona firmly in place once more, Cecilia took his hand and kissed his knuckles before saying, "See? Inappropriate isn't all bad..."
Beast opened his mouth to respond, but paused. He could hear footsteps pelting overhead, many feet running, then the distinct, high-pitched sound of a female scream, muffled by many layers of wood, plaster, metal and flooring. "Stay here," he said in a tone that brooked no argument. "If anyone comes in, hide."
"Hank..." She could not hear as well as he could and was only aware of the sound of movement overhead, writing it off to teenagers goofing around during a power outage.
"Just do it!"

"Rogue! Rogue, you out here?" Kurt had teleported to just outside the mansion, on the side of the house where he knew the breakers to be. _Must not be this far yet...it's a dark moon and the stars aren't too bright tonight...she's probably moving slower than usual. _ On silent feet, Kurt was ghostlike in the night, picking his way along the low hedge scalloping the mansion. There was a quick rustling noise ahead of him and he froze, dropping to a crouch on instinct. _Rogue wouldn't be coming through the hedge...maybe it's one of the others, caught out in the dark...maybe Amara and Lance made up and are being all freaky again... _ That thought and others were put to rest when Roulette emerged from the shrubs, followed by a tousled Piotr, his height giving away his identity even if Kurt could not have seen his face. Roulette giggled and took Piotr's hand and he let her lead him away from Kurt, towards the back of the house and the woods beyond. The Russian moved sluggishly, like he was drugged or otherwise not himself, and Roulette seemed to be flightier than usual, giggling and flipping her hair as she half-dragged her companion out of sight. Kurt was about to stand and follow them, breakers be damned, when there was more rustling from further down the hedges. Empath staggered out, clutching his head and dropping to his knees, heaving into the grass the entire contents of his upper digestive tract. Kurt was disgusted, turning away to avoid seeing the act itself, but unfortunately being treated to every wretched sound Empath made until he was finished. _I may be sick myself...ugh! _ The recently ill teenager staggered past Kurt, opposite the direction Roulette and Piotr had taken, heading towards the front of the house. _He's going to run into Rogue...shit... _ Kurt moved quickly on all fours, intending to catch Empath and bring him down, demand to know what was going on, but he was not fast enough. A silver-white blur shot past them both, the force of the breeze knocking Kurt off his feet. He felt shock shoot through his body as he realized that it had been Pietro, that the other mutant had made it onto the grounds undetected and that he was obviously up to no good. _Like he'd be here for another reason? _ Kurt chided himself. He did not know where Pietro had gone and could not port to an unknown location. _*Jean, _ * he called, making sure the urgency was obvious. _*Jean, is the Professor still here? _ * Abandoning Empath, Kurt turned and broke into a dead run in the direction Pietro had gone.
_*He and Warren went to the city for a meeting this afternoon and are staying the night so they can meet with someone Warren knows, something about setting up new systems for the Institute...what's wrong? _ *
He relayed what he had seen as best he could, being alert for signs of Pietro at all times. A flash of motion at the corner of his eye made Kurt skid to a halt at the edge of the grounds where the grass gave way to blacktop, his mental shields sliding into place and cutting off Jean's link with him. He felt her grasping for the connection again but shrugged it off in favor of what was unfolding before him. A woman clad all in white with nearly blinding white hair was leaning out of a car so black it disappeared into the night around it. Kurt could not see who was driving, but had an impression of red...a lot of red. There was no sign of Pietro anywhere but a clanging noise and a harsh, Russian curse told him where Piotr was-inside the car itself. The white-haired woman ducked back inside the car and there seemed to be a struggle and then...silence except for the purr of the engine. _*Jean...how far can your powers work? _ *
_*Pardon me? _ *
_*Tell the Professor... * _ he thought a moment, unsure of what to tell her to do _(Tell him to use Cerebro to find me if I'm not back in an hour. _ *
_*Kurt! What the Hell are you doing? Stay where you are...everyone is mobilizing. _ *
_*Don't wake Kitty...she'll feel like Hell. _ * He closed the link again and, sending up a quick prayer, ported directly into the car before him. "Hello," he said pleasantly, appearing on the woman's lap. "I'm Nightcrawler and you have my friend here..."
Emma smiled in a very feline manner. "Good evening, Mister Wagner...thank you for making this evening easy for me."
Kurt gasped as he felt a sharp jab to his lower back, the world slowly turning black.