Early the next morning Beast opened the door to Star's room and went in. She was awake, but he was surprised when she turned toward him as he entered.

"Star?" When she didn't answer, he stepped forward, through the invisible (to him) boundary created by the field he had set up the night before.

"Oh. Hello, Henry." She smiled at his confusion. "I could feel the air pressure change when you opened the door, I just didn't know who had come in until you came closer."

"I see. And how are you feeling this morning?"

"Okay."

"And how, exactly, do you define 'okay'?"

"I'm still alive."

"That is certainly a point in your favor. However, if you don't mind, I would like to have more specific information on how you feel. Are you in any pain?"

"Yes."

"You see? That does not fall into my definition of 'okay'. Besides, we can do something about pain." He opened the medical kit he carried with him, and removed a hypodermic syringe and a vial. "This will probably make you sleep, but, since you have a tendency to quickly metabolize medications, I want you to call as soon as it starts to wear off." He filled the syringe. "The only way I can gauge how much to give you is if you tell me how quickly the pain returns. All right?"

"All right." He smiled at her as he gave her the injection. "I'll be back in a little while to change your bandages." He patted her hand. "Go to sleep, now. It's the best thing for you." She nodded, but watched him until he left the psi-dampening field. She shifted positions carefully, lay back and stared at the ceiling for a while. Soon the medication pushed her into sleep.


"As I explained yesterday, there is absolutely no proof that Miss Star was involved in the incident at the courthouse. Furthermore, it would be much too dangerous to move her at this time. It would appear that you gentlepeople have made your journey for nothing." Professor Xavier was polite but firm with the contingent of uniformed officers which had appeared at his doorway that morning. "Even if it were not life threatening to move her, I would not allow you to take a minor from the custody of her legal guardian on the grounds of such flimsy evidence."

"Professor Xavier," one of the officers said. "You reported that she had been in an accident yesterday and, while no one is doubting your word it would make it a lot easier for us to report back without her if we could see her."

"I will see if it can be arranged." Xavier turned to the intercom and called Beast.

"Dr. McCoy, we have several official visitors who believe it is necessary to see Emily. Is she able to have visitors for a moment?"

"She's asleep, Professor. I'd rather she not be disturbed." Beast answered at once.

"Professor," the officer interrupted. "We just need to see her. We don't need to talk to her now."

"Doctor?"

"All right, Professor. But only for a moment."

"I'll see to it that she is not disturbed." He turned to the police officers, "Gentlemen, Lady, this way, if you please." He led them down the hall to the wing reserved for the laboratories and medical care rooms. Jubilee and Wolverine were just coming out of Star's room.

"What's with the goon squad?" Jubilee asked while Wolverine bristled.

"Jubilation, it is usually best to cooperate with the authorities. These officers merely need to see that Emily is indeed here."

"Kid's asleep." Wolverine growled.

"We will not disturb her." Xavier assured him. Wolverine continued to eye the police suspiciously. Xavier opened Star's door and preceded the police into the room. One of the officers, a young man who had not spoken since they arrived at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters watched Wolverine carefully. He edged past and followed the others into the room. Jubilee nudged Wolverine.

"How come it takes three of 'em to check on one kid?" Wolverine didn't answer.

Star lay on her back, her injured arm and leg propped up with pillows. She shifted positions slightly and made a small sound of pain. The young officer slipped into the room behind the others.

The officer who seemed to be in charge, turned to Xavier, "Thank you, Professor," she said quietly. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I hope she's feeling better soon." She turned for the door.

"Now wait a minute, Wilson," the third officer said. "We don't know those bandages are real. These people could've set this up to throw us off."

"Harry," Wilson said, turning back to the older man. "We've got no reason to doubt the Professor."

"Maybe not. But everybody knows how he feels about mutants, and that kid is definitely a mutant. I'm not going anywhere until I see for myself." He stepped forward and grabbed Star's arm and shouted at her to wake up. She sat up with a cry just as Wolverine hit the policeman from the side. The others moved forward to separate them. Star, confused by the pain medication Beast had given her, and frightened by the sudden appearance of the three policemen, moved away from the chaos in her room. She managed to tangle her legs in the blanket and then, having pushed herself to the head of the bed, fell off above the guard rail. She landed flat on her back. Wilson and the young officer were restraining Harry while Wolverine glared at them all. Xavier rolled his chair through the psi-dampener. It had obstructed his ability to stop Harry, or prevent Star's fall.

"Harry, don't you have any sense at all? We were told she was badly injured. Don't you realize you could have hurt her?"

"Only if they were telling the truth." Wolverine growled at him.

Jubilee hopped up on the bed, then down on the other side, to check on Star. Star was wild eyed when Jubilee knelt next to her on the floor.

"Star? It's Jubilee. Don't you remember me?" Some of the wildness faded and Jubilee slipped an arm under Star, to help her back into the bed. Star flinched, but allowed Jubilee to help her sit up. She held her good arm clamped to her side, her hand across her stomach. She flinched again, then started to cough. Jubilee glanced down and saw blood spreading on Star's gown, under her hand. Star coughed again and this time Jubilee saw drops of blood spatter on the blanket.

"Oh, wow," she said, then, her voice calm "Wolvie." Wolverine glanced at her, but made no move in her direction, his attention still for the police officers. "Wolvie, I need you, now!" Her voice wasn't so calm this time. He hurried around the bed and saw the blood. Jubilee, careful not to let Star slip, moved out of Wolverine's way as he knelt beside them. He put his arm behind Star's shoulders, then said,

"I got her, darlin'. You go get Hank. Tell 'im to hurry." Jubilee hopped over the bed again and dashed out of the room. Wolverine carefully picked Star up and put her back on the bed. The young officer moved to help.

"Don't touch her!" Wolverine snarled at him. Xavier moved his wheelchair to the side of the bed.

"Officer," he said, his voice cold. "If you want to help, I suggest you remove your fellow officer from this room." The officer turned and helped Wilson shove Harry, whose face was set in an odd smirk, out of the room. They quickly got out of the way as Jubilee came running, accompanied by Beast. Storm had tossed him the image inducer he used when leaving the mansion, so he appeared to be a normal, if large, man.

"What happened?" he demanded as he leaned over Star.

"One o' them uniformed geeks decided Star was fakin'." Wolverine told him. "He scared her and she fell off the flamin' bed."

"Star?" she looked up at Beast, her expression dazed. "We're going to move you, dear. Ready?" she nodded. Beast gently shifted her to the gurney Storm had brought. She moaned. Beast and Storm moved the gurney out of the room, toward the Med Lab. Wolverine followed them out the door, but turned in the direction the police, herded by Xavier, had taken.

"No!" he heard Star cry. He turned toward the sound, and saw her reaching for him. "Please don't leave me." He turned back and took her hand. He helped Beast and Storm guide the gurney. Once in the Med Lab, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Beast scrubbed and put on surgical gloves while Storm cut away Star's bloody gown and bandages. The neatly stitched incision in her abdomen had torn open and was bleeding freely. Wolverine held her hand and spoke quietly to her.

"Take it easy, darlin'. Ya got one o' the best docs in the world takin' care of ya."

"Can't....breath," she gasped, then coughed, expelling more blood. Looking at the scanners, Beast said,

"You've got a punctured lung, Star. We're going to put in a chest tube and you'll be able to breath. Logan, don't let her move." Wolverine held her shoulders while Beast inserted the tube in her chest, she hissed through gritted teeth, then sighed as the tube relieved the pressure in her chest and she could breath again. Blood and air, leaking into her chest from her lung, flowed out the tube. Beast turned his attention to the torn incision. Storm brought an IV set up over to the table and put the needle in Star's right arm. Whole blood began to flow into her vein. Xavier came in to the Med Lab. Wolverine could see Gambit, Rogue, and Jubilee through the door before it closed.

"Henry?"

"I need to put her out, Charles."

"I understand. Star," she weakly turned her head toward him. "Don't fight me, dear. I will take care of your shields." Wolverine started to pull away from her, but she grabbed his hand frantically. He stayed. Storm injected an anesthetic into the IV. Star started to relax as the drug took hold. Her white knuckled grip on Wolverine's hand eased, but did not release. Beast and Storm cut the remaining stitches from the incision. They cleaned the area, looking for the origin of the blood which welled up. Blood continued to trickle from the chest tube as well.

"Here it is. She's torn the internal stitches loose." Beast gently began to repair the damage. Wolverine continued to speak to Star. Her eyes were closed, her expression relaxed, but she continued to hold on to his hand. Wolverine glanced at Xavier. His face was covered with a sheen of sweat, his expression was grim.

Storm placed a mask over Star's face and began to feed her oxygen as well as an anesthetic gas. Star's grasp finally loosened. A moment later Xavier cried out and slumped over in his chair. Star screamed and sat up, tearing the mask from her face. Wolverine caught her around the shoulders and eased her to her back while Beast used both hand to try and staunch the bleeding. Storm hurriedly checked Xavier.

"He is alive, but unconscious."

"He'll have to wait. Please re configure the psi-dampener. Star," he spoke to her directly. "We're going to have to place you under the dampener again. Ororo will put you back to sleep as soon as its set up. I need you to be very still until then." Star looked up at Wolverine.

"I'll be right here, kid. I ain't gonna leave ya." Once more she clung to his hand. Storm adjusted the equipment until Star's body was surrounded by the invisible dampening field. Star's knuckles went white as she clutched Wolverine's hand. Storm put the mask back on. Beast worked feverishly, with Storm's help, to stop the bleeding.

"'Roro, get another unit of whole blood. She's losing it faster than we are replacing it." After several minutes of frantic activity Storm said,

"Her heart rate is dropping, Henry. Respiration is failing. We're losing her."

"Epinephrine. Quickly." Storm injected Star and her heart rate picked up.

"She's still bleeding into the chest cavity. There are a couple of bleeders here. Take care of them while I get a look at her chest." Star shuddered as Beast realigned her broken rib and located the area of bleeding. The lung had collapsed and would have to be reinflated after he had repaired the rip caused by the rib. He carefully stitched the torn blood vessels, then closed the injured lung. Her heart rate began to fall again. She didn't respond to the epinephrine this time.

"I don't understand why she's not responding," Beast said. We've got the bleeding stopped now, and we're replacing the blood volume as quickly as possible. Her heart rate should be picking up, not falling. What does that scanner say? Did we miss something?"

Storm shook her head, "Everything is clear. I do not show any more internal bleeding. She should be improving."

"Hank, turn off the dampener." Wolverine said suddenly.

"What?"

"She's givin' up. If ya wanta save her, turn the damn thing off." Beast glanced at the still motionless Xavier.

"She ain't dangerous. She's wide awake. Has been the whole time." Beast was appalled. The relaxed posture of her body had lead him to believe she was unconscious.

"Shut it off! Don't let her die locked up inside her head like this." Beast slapped the power switch for the dampener. Star's heart rate jumped then began to fall again.

"C'mon, kid. Don't give up on us now." Star opened her eyes and looked up at Wolverine.

"Star, why didn't you say something?" Beast demanded. She looked over at him.

"Told ... me ... be still."

"You always do what yer told?" Wolverine asked her. She just looked at him. "Yeah, I guess you do."

"Star, listen to me," Storm said earnestly. "Your body is very weak, child. If you are to survive it will be necessary for you to want to live."

"Too ... tired," she answered simply, closing her eyes. Her heart rate dropped steadily.

"Star! Open your eyes and look at me!" Wolverine ordered. She looked up at him, her face expressionless. "We all get tired, darlin'. That's what we got each other for. Way I figure it, you can take what you need, but you don't wanna hurt nobody, right?" She nodded weakly. "Now, 'nother minute or two an' yer gonna pass out, right 'Roro? Hank?" Both physicians nodded. "Then yer body's gonna take over, tryin' ta survive. I'm offerin' ya what ya need. Take it."

"No! Hurt ... you."

"Yer gonna do mor'n that if ya don't do it now, while ya can control it."

"No." Wolverine shrugged.

"Then we wait."

"No!" Her vital signs picked up and she tried to push him away. He put his arms around her, easily ignoring her feeble resistance, and held her close. She continued to struggle, growing weaker.

"Please. Just let me go," she sobbed.

"Not a chance, darlin'." Beast and Storm watched, helpless to aid either of their friends. Finally, Star's struggles ceased. She lay, sobbing, with her head against Wolverine's chest. She looked up at him, fighting to retain consciousness.

"Please," she whispered. He just shook his head. Slowly, she reached up and touched his cheek. He looked at her, waiting. A gentle lethargy overtook him as her readings stabilized on the scanner. Beast supported him as he started to slump. Storm took Star from his arms and gently eased her to her back. The girl looked up at her, her eyes haunted. Beast knelt beside Wolverine. He nodded to Storm after checking the unconscious man.

"He will be all right, child," she told Star. "And, I think, you will, too." Storm said, stroking Star's forehead. "Rest now." She turned the psi-dampener back on, continuing to touch Star until the girl, exhausted, finally fell asleep. Beast moved Wolverine and Xavier onto beds, where they could recover more easily from Star's draining powers.

"Ororo, will you look after our patients for a few minutes?"

"Of course, Henry." Beast opened the door to the med lab and spoke to Jubilee.

"Where are Jean and Scott?"

"They went shopping first thing this morning. Gambit and Rogue are baby-sittin' those cops. Star okay?" she looked at his blood stained operating gown nervously.

"It's going to take her a long time to recover from this, Jubilee."

"Where's Wolvie?" she asked, peering past him. Her eyes widened as she saw his motionless figure on a bed in the lab. "And the Professor! What gives?"

"We had some ... difficulties with Star's anesthetic. They are both fine. You may go in, but don't disturb any of them." Jubilee went in. Storm was checking on Professor Xavier. Jubilee made a bee line for Wolverine. Beast smiled at her, then, closing the door behind him as he went out, his face assumed a far grimmer expression. He found the image inducer in his pocket under the gown. He thumbed the switch, then turned toward Xavier's study, where Gambit and Rogue had undoubtedly 'escorted' the police.


Beast slammed open the door to the study and stood there, glaring at the police officers who had scrambled to their feet. Gambit lounged on the edge of the desk, endlessly shuffling his ever present desk of cards. Rogue stood near the window, her arms crossed. Both managed to look dangerous without any overt threat.

"You come into our home, professing public safety. You demand to physically inspect a minor child, even after being told she was in critical condition. You then proceed to terrify the child and aggravate her injuries to the point that her life is threatened. You've had a very productive morning. Is there anything else we can do for you on your way out?" Beast snarled. Wilson stepped forward,

"Doctor, I offer my sincerest apologies for Officer Jones' behavior. I assure you he will face a disciplinary hearing in this matter."

"How is that going to help Star?" Wilson dropped her eyes and gestured for Jones and the young officer to follow her through the door. Rogue saw to it that they found their way to the door, then watched as they entered their patrol car and drove away.

"De petite, she gon' be okay?" Gambit asked when Rogue returned.

"She's alive, Gambit. But I don't know if she will ever be 'okay'." He returned to the med lab, to wait.

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