30 January 2004 - And sometimes, things just get worse

Logan, Xavier & Octavian.

Bryce straightened his tie slightly as his chaffeur driven Rolls Royce pulled up in front of the gate. He waited irritably for the idiot on the gate security to clear him and let him in.

Logan rubbed his eyes, and against his better judgement, let the car into the grounds. He had a bad feeling about this. He hadn't liked Bryce the last time they'd met, and he wasn't sure he liked him anymore now. Smarmy S.O.B.

Bryce got out of the car and cast a disdainful eye over the mansion. Well, for the colonies, he supposed it was adequate. He entered regally and was led through to Xavier's office.

"Pleasure to meet you, Dr Xavier," Bryce said as he entered and sat down in the chair across Xavier's desk.

"I am glad to meet you at last, Baron Edgerton-Smythe," Xavier said, shaking the man's hand across the desk's polished surface.

He looked at the arrogant man keenly. He couldn't quite enter his mind...Xavier was somewhat disconcerted by this.

"I need to borrow my son for a few hours," Bryce said.

"Business reasons. While it's all well and good that he recieves an education here, he's also needed to practise business in my companies..."

"I quite understand," Xavier said.

He pressed down on the intercom button.

"Jubilee, would you go fetch Octavian?"

"My pleasure, professor," the young girl's voice came through cheerfully.

"Octavian, your father is in the office asking for you."

Octavian went slightly white and got up from his seat. He looked at Bobby, then left. Better not to cause a scene. He just hoped Bek was somewhere she wouldn't see his father. Please god, let the two of them just leave and then he could come back, and it would all be fine.

Bryce steepled his fingers slightly as Xavier and he talked quietly about different subjects. Art, literature, business, and of course, the schooling Demetria and Octavian were recieving.

Octavian nodded at Jubilee and opened the door to Xavier's office.

"You sent for me, professor?"

He nodded at his father quietly.

"Hello, Father."

"Well, we really need to get going," Bryce said, rising from his chair.

Xavier and Bryce shook hands again, then Octavian and Bryce left.

Bobby and Rebekah

Bobby looked after Octavian, not quite sure if he should run and tell Xavier to stop them from going. Or maybe Logan. Anything. Anyone.

He had the worst feeling about this.

Holy shit, where was Bek?

~*~*~*~

Rebekah opened the door to her room and pulled down her skirt, which had ridden up slightly, from sitting down. She headed for the entrance of the school, rolling car keys around her fingers, when she tensed slightly.

Something was wrong. She could feel a sudden shift in Octavian's feelings. He was close by...

And then she saw Bryce.

"Oh God, no..."

Octavian & Jonothon.

Octavian tensed slightly as his father gripped his shoulder. Crap. He was in one of those moods. This was not going to be good.

Bryce looked up and turned his head slightly. He saw Bek. And smiled slightly, before he reached out to open the door and left with Octavian.

"What's wrong, luv?" Jonothon asked Bek quietly.

He barely wondered where the hell Octavian was going.

Rebekah

"Ah, nothing, I thought I saw something."

Rebekah felt cold all over.

Jonothon.

"Don't lie to me, please," Jonothon said.

"Something spooked you. Bloody terrified you. I want to know what, so I can take it apart with my bare hands."

Rebekah

"I thought I saw the... uh... guy. But, it's ok, it wasn't him."

Rebekah stared after the car, wondering if Octavian was alright.

Jonothon & Octavian.

Jonothon nodded slightly. Not quite sure to believe her or not, but willing not to push. Least, not now.

~*~*~*~

Hours later, Octavian was pushed out of a car onto the ground in front of the gate. It smoothly rolled away and Octavian panted for breath in queer whining breaths. His clothes were torn and bloodied, streaked with red and some spots of white. Oh god. It had been so bad. He got to his feet and hesitantly climbed the gate. He dropped to the ground and cried out weakly.

God, that hurt.

He could feel his shirt sticking to his back, the stripes from the riding crop nearly pulsing with pain. Quietly, quickly, Octavian made his way across the ground to the mansion and started to climb. He couldn't even go inside. Logan would smell it. He had to just...get away. He climbed to the highest point he could reach and huddled there, shoulders shaking slightly with nearly silent sobs.

Rebekah and Bobby

Rebekah put her head up suddenly, and looked at Bobby, who was oblivious to other humans, as he focused on the cartoon he was watching. She looked at Jono and smiled, then opened a private line with Bobby.

"Tav's back. I can feel it. He's on the roof. And he's really not happy."

Bobby nodded slightly, looking like he was nodding to himself, and stood up. He stretched casually and then loudly announced he had to take a crap, then darted from the room.

"Charming," Rebekah said, leaning back into Jono's side, even though there was a nagging feeling in her mind.

Bobby went outside and spotted Octavian, and started to climb up to him.

Jonothon & Octavian.

"That's just Bobby for you," Jonothon said in disinterest.

He kissed her forehead gently.

Octavian shuddered, feeling cold and sick. God, so dirty. He felt blood sliding down the inside of his legs and wetting his clothes. He needed a shower, so badly. But he was too afraid to go inside.

He wrapped his arms around himself and panted slightly, breath hitching on small keening breaths. His face was so sore. Almost certainly there were lovely bruises coming up, and his nose had nearly been broken. He had several cracked ribs, but that was fine. He could cope with how much his body hurt. It was the betrqyal of what he expected from his father that was making him feel even more sick.

Rebekah and Bobby

"Yeah," Rebekah replied.

She had a really bad feeling about this.

~*~*~*~

Bobby climbed carefully, but when he'd almost reached the top, his foot slipped and he let out a surprised yell as he started to fall.

"Ah f*ck!"

~*~*~*~

Rebekah sat up slightly.

"That felt weird."

Octavian, Xavier & Logan.

"Bobby!"

Octavian looked around the corner of his hiding place, face anguished. He couldn't help, he oh god, he couldn't move right now.

"Logan, Mr Drake has fallen from the roof."

Logan winced and shook his head slightly as he pushed back from the desk.

"Fine. Going."

Logan walked around the outside of the building, looking for Bobby.

Bobby and Rebekah

"God, my arse," Bobby moaned. "Not even in a good way."

Rebekah took entwined her fingers with Jono's, squeezing gently, while wincing.

"Bobby's in a severe amount of pain... this is not good. Ow."

Jonothon & Logan.

"What did he do?" Jonothon asked.

Logan's nose wrinkled slightly as he walked through a trail of blood, sex and fear. Octavian. Yeah, he was really regretting letting that kid out of the mansion. He'd have to find him after he made sure Bobby was in the medlabs and find out what the hell was happening. This was the second time he'd left with his father and come back smelling like this. Except this time it was different.

Logan shook his head and decided to worry about it later as he spotted Bobby.

"Right, kid, let's see what the hell you did. What were you doing on the roof in the first place?"

He crouched next to Bobby, keen eyes taking in the position of Bobby's body. Hmm. He was betting broken leg, maybe broken pelvis.

Idiot kid.

Rebekah and Bobby

"I'm not sure, but oh God, ow."

Rebekah then focused on Octavian.

Oh sweet Jesus...

~*~*~*~

"Looking... for... Tav..." Bobby gasped out.

"God, the pain."

Logan.

"Him, I'll deal with in a minute," Logan said absently.

He reached out and cupped Bobby's face, looking in his eyes.

"Well, you're not concussed. That'll make things easier."

He looked up as Hank arrived, puffing slightly.

"One for you to carve up, Hank."

"This is not really a time to joke," Hank said reprovingly.

"If you would go fetch a stretcher..."

"Sure thing, bub."

Logan stood, spat on the ground away from the other two and walked off. Hank looked at Bobby.

"Let's see what happened. Don't move much, you might have broken something."

He looked up at the roof, then back at Bobby.

"It's almost certain you've broken something. What hurts the most?"

Bobby

"Carve? What do you mean carve?" Bobby asked in panic.

He thought for a moment, breathing laboured.

"Oh God, my leg... the... one you're standing closer too."

Hank.

"Logan was making a joke about the colluqial expression for a doctor: sawbones," Hank said in disapproval.

"I don't think it was very funny."

He ran a gentle hand down Bobby's leg, feeling for a break.

"Tell me if it hurts."

Bobby and Rebekah

"I think I see a white light..."

Bobby groaned in pain.

"Oh GOD!"

Rebekah patted Jono's leg, then got out of the chair.

"I'll be back."

She headed for the bathrooms, feeling sick about the way Octavian was feeling. It was all her fault for not reporting it.

Logan.

Hank tutted slightly, then touched Bobby's hip gingerly. Yes, a break there, and a clean fracture in the femur.

"You're going to be in traction for a while. You've broken your femur, and your pelvic bone."

He looked up as Logan arrived with a stretcher.

"He'll be alright. In a few months."

Logan snorted and put the stretcher down. Hank and Logan moved Bobby onto the stretcher as quickly and careful as possible.

Bobby

"Pelvic bone?" Bobby half shouted.

"Oh Jesus, this is worse than what Bek does. PELVIC BONE?!"

Logan.

Logan snickered as he and Hank started to carry the stretcher down to the medlab.

"How ever will you cope?"

Hank frowned at Logan's back.

"You won't be having sex for ages."

Bobby

Bobby was nearing tears.

"Just kill me now, Dr McCoy. Just do it. Logan, smother me with a pillow."

Logan.

"Suck it up, kid."

Logan was enjoying this. Hank coughed slightly as they entered the elevator.

"Perhaps a month. Perhaps more."

"Oh, I'm glad I'm here to see this."

Bobby

"First chance I get, I'll smother myself with a pillow," Bobby said.

"Oh God, this is unfair. I hate my life."

Logan & Octavian.

"You'll live," Logan said carelessly.

Octavian crept down from the roof and fled to his room. He showered and shoved his clothes in the bin under some other stuff. He threw up blood and bile into the toilet.

Hank and Logan arrived down into the medlabs and they moved Bobby onto a hospital bed. After one more grin at Bobby's predicament, Logan left.

"I'll need to splint your leg, then put you in traction to facilitate the healing process," Hank said to Bobby.

Bobby and Rebekah

Bobby nodded.

"Ok. Just... do it."

Rebekah walked into Octavian's room, holding a glass and a can of coke.

"Here, get your sugar level up."

Octavian.

"This is probably going to hurt," Hank warned.

He coughed slightly.

"And I'm going to have to remove your pants in order to treat you properly."

Octavian nodded silently and took the glass from her. He was wearing a bathrobe, but not much else. He could barely even stand the pressure of the cloth against his back as it was.

Bobby and Rebekah

"Oh God, I don't care, just do it. Everyone else has seen it anyway."

Bobby winced in preparation and looked away.

Rebekah sat down on his be.

"I could... I could share the pain with you, lifting some from you, if you think that would help."

Octavian.

Hank nodded and delicately started to do what he needed to do. He was as careful and gentle as he could be, trying not to jar the broken bones until he could set them.

Octavian shook his head. His eyes were lifeless.

Bobby and Rebekah

Bobby closed his eyes.

This wasn't happening. Oh dear God. Why?

Rebekah sighed and touched his hand, taking his pain into her body, shuddering slightly, but storing it in the corner of her mind.

"Do you want to talk?"

Octavian.

Hank explored the sites of the breaks gently with his fingertips. Hmm. At least they were a clean break straight across.

"You should be glad to know the breaks are clean."

He started to do what he needed to fix Bobby.

Octavian shook his head.

"No. I can't..."

Rebekah

"Do you want me to stay, go?"

Rebekah curled her fingers gently around his.

Octavian.

Hank finished as quickly as he could, sighing slightly.

"Would you like something for the pain?"

"Stay. Please. If I'm alone, I'm going to cut and I don't want to..."

Octavian closed his eyes.

Bobby and Rebekah

Bobby nodded.

"Yes, please."

Rebekah nodded and lay against the pillows, gently stroking his hair.

Hmmm, how was she going to explain to Jono that she was staying the night with Tav?

Octavian.

Hank fetched some painkillers and a glass of water. He helped Bobby sit up slightly.

"Here."

Octavian sighed, relazing minutely.

Bobby and Rebekah

Bobby took the painkillers and lay back down slowly.

"Thank you, Dr McCoy," he said lazily.

Rebekah kissed his forehead gently.

"She's his yellow brick road
Leading him on
And letting him go as far
As she lets him go
Going down to nowhere..."
Rebekah sang softly.

Octavian.

"Not a problem, Bobby," Hank said.

"You'll be feeling rather bruised and very sorry for yourself for a while. I'll see that you get well as soon as possible."

Octavian smiled slightly, listening to her voice.

"Sometimes...all I want to know is why."

Bobby and Rebekah

Bobby nodded drowsily and closed his eyes.

"It's ok, shhh."

Octavian.

Hank removed himself quietly to his office. He still had a great deal of work to do.

Octavian felt a tear slip down his cheek.

"God, I'm so weak."

Rebekah

"No, Tav, you're not."

Rebekah wiped his tear away, squeezing his hand lightly.

She thought for a moment.

Rebekah patted his arm gently.

"Jono, I'm with Tav, he's feeling really sick, and I don't think he shoud be left alone."

Jonothon & Octavian.

"Why can't he just go down to the medlabs?" JOnothon asked.

"Goodness knows he'd be fine. Bobby just got carried down there."

Octavian shook his head.

Rebekah

"I don't think he's going to make it down there. I'll come back as soon as I can."

Rebekah smoothed Octavian's hair down.

"Sweet misery you cause me
That's what you called me
Sweet misery you cause me

I was blind
But oh how you could see
You saw the beauty in everything
Everything and me

I would cry
And you would smile
You'd stay with me a little while

Sweet misery you cause me
That's what you called me
Sweet misery you cause me

And in my heart I see
What you're doing to me
And in my heart I see
Just how you wanted it to be
Sweet misery

Sweet misery you cause me
That's what you called me
Sweet misery you cause me

And in my heart I see
What you're doing to me
And in my heart I see
Just how you wanted it to be
Sweet misery

I was weak
And you were strong
And my and my guitar we strummed along..."

OOC: Sweet Misery - Michelle Branch