Sitting beside Charles and Hank in a brightly lit waiting room, Gretchen could do nothing but rake a hand shakily through her hair, shift in the uncomfortable plastic seat, and look about with wide scared eyes. She was thankful she wasn't on her own, if she was she would surely be going mad. It seemed like Charles at least sensed this, he seemed quite adamant on not leaving her, or both, until he knew they were both okay.

Though really, okay and Liesel was probably going to be a push. Once Erik had made his escape, it wasn't too long before the emergency services managed to get in. They wasted no time in looking over the injured gathered. They were most gentle with Liesel, they checked her over, got her on a stretcher and bought her straight to the hospital. Gretchen had sat in the ambulance with her, clutching her hand tightly. She was out for the count, Gretchen was concerned that maybe Charles had done more to her than just knock her out. But he had reassured her that was all he did for the sake of calming Liesel down.

If she kept moving about like she was, she surely would've done more damage to herself. Neither of them knew the extent of her injuries. Though Gretchen did ask any doctor she could spy walking past them. No one gave them any information, they just kept saying that she was either in surgery, or she was back in recovery waiting to be bought back to her room. Each time they got given something contradictory, in the end Gretchen ceased asking. They would come get them and tell them all when they seemed to know what exactly was going on. It just so happened though that the waiting was torture.

"I can't deal with this," Gretchen pulled her face from her hands and looked to Charles and then Hank, they both looked at her sympathetically.

"There is nothing else we can do," Charles stated simply while trying to be as reassuring as possible. Gretchen nodded slowly, relaxed back in the uncomfortable plastic chair and looked to the ceiling.

"What if something has gone wrong? They'd have come and told us, right?" Gretchen asked after a few moments of silence had passed. She tilted her head to the side and looked at the two males. By the looks on their faces, it was clear to her that that wouldn't happen. With a defeated sigh, Gretchen accepted the long haul; she sat, eyes shut and still.

----

Life slowly came back to Liesel, it was slow at first; groggy, agonising, calming and heavy. There was a numbing ache in her head, chest and legs. She hurt. She wasn't even going to lie, all of her hurt. What had happened? Her eyes flickered under closed eyelids. There were flashes. She remembered the White House, she was there for...something. The Sentinels, which were made by Trask, and...they were bad, because they were mutant hunters; they needed to be stopped. The stadium, and darkness. She couldn't remember the small details. The small details were on the forefront of her mind, just as she reached out for them, they vanished and dissipated into the recesses of her mind.

She remembered the short term, but anything before these events was a blank. Liesel slowly opened her eyes to a darkened room. Why couldn't she remember anything which happened beyond today? Was today even still today? What if she had been asleep for months, years? What if she was remembering things from years ago?

Her breathing picked up then, the calming beeps of the machinery around her heightened and seemed almost deafening in the otherwise quiet space. The door burst open and a worried nurse rushed over, after messing around with something, she injected some clear fluid into the cannula in Liesel's hand and then, yet again, everything went numb. Her trailing thoughts ebbed and fled as her eyes slowly slipped to a close. She couldn't remember anything anymore, just that she was really, very, incredibly tired. Sleep sounded good to her, maybe sleep would make her feel better; she certainly hoped she couldn't feel any worse than she did now.

----

Days, it had been days since the White House incident, and Erik had spent that time laying low, avoiding all contact with anyone, he may have spent sometime following Gretchen; after all, she knew where Liesel was, and he needed to know how she was. He hadn't meant for her to get hurt, that was the last thing he could ever want in his life. He should've expected that she would get involved somehow and end up hurt in some respect. She just seemed unable to not get hurt, every little mission they had in the past she wound up with some injury.

That was different, because those times he wasn't the fault. He was the fault here, and it plagued him hugely. Keeping the hat low on his head, he easily followed the other twin into the hospital, he paid mind to the elevator and the number of the floor it landed on. He took the stairs two at a time, thankful that it wasn't an impossibly high level which Liesel was being kept on. He left the stairwell and looked around the ward, he eyed up the nurse's station, information of patients was scribbled up there in thick black pen.

Erik found her name, and then turned and left. He had no intentions of going in there when Gretchen was there. Though he was sure she was being serious about her threat, he honestly didn't want to have to hurt her from her moment of lashing out. He would defend himself, if needs be, regardless of who it was. But then that wasn't exactly going to buy him any favours, was it? He left the hospital and waited, Gretchen, he had noted, had a habit, a routine, and she stuck to it. He hadn't seen Charles or Hank around, so he presumed they had left to return to the manor; which was good, two less people to encounter. The less obstacles in the way, the better.

Taking up sitting outside of a nearby café, Erik reclined back in his seat, crossed one leg over the other at the ankles and fully prepared to wait this out. He was getting into the hospital, one way or another, he was getting in. Even if it meant having to wait outside for hours just for the current visitor to leave, he would wait. He was patient, he honestly didn't mind. He was thankful though that Gretchen did seem to be quite the stickler for holding a routine. Because dead on half two, she came walking out of the hospital and going along the street in the opposite direction.

Putting some money on the table, Erik paid for what little of his coffee he drunk and made his way over. He bustled about slightly with the commuting people of this city, and crossed the road without sparing a glance at those travelling by his side, nor at the stationary cars waiting to go again. Going into the elevator, he pressed the third floor button, waited for the ride to be over. Stuck between whining patients and bad music, this was a pretty horrific experience. He should've manipulated the elevator so it was just him, make it seem like it was out of action so he wouldn't be wedged in.

In hindsight, learn from mistakes, he could always do this again when and if he came back to her. None of the nurses seemed to bat an eye at him briskly walking along the white walled corridor, it showed how little the urgency seemed to find him. He'd been out of his little cell for about a week now, just over, and though with a few brushes with the law; none had succeeded in arresting him, none had imprisoned him again, and none seemed to have even bothered to check nearby hospitals. After all, he too was hurt, Raven's shot had gone wide and clipped the side of his neck. Nothing a little rough first aid couldn't fix, but if he was really hurt, he probably would've gone into a hospital just to get sorted out before making a quick exit again before the police could arrive on scene.

All these thoughts and musings left his head though when he entered the room he had spied Gretchen enter. He opened the door enough for him to get through, then shut it again. With a slight hand gesture he locked the door while walking over to the bed. Over the years Erik had seen Liesel in different states of hurt and healing. Not something he was ever going to get used to seeing, but he could easily say this was perhaps the worse yet; other than when they were children and she had terrible frostbite which almost took her fingers, or at least some of them. The blackened remembrance of her fingers somehow didn't compare to the comatose sight before him. Though yes, her small digits were in an awful state, but this...she just looked so lifeless, and he was to blame.

Placing his hat in the chair, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at her. Someone had tied her hair out of the way so a bandage and dressing could be placed over and around her forehead; the blood which flecked her skin had been cleaned, though cuts on her face and neck had scabbed over and the minor ones were left uncovered. Her arms were resting across her stomach, a few grazes and bruises here and there, but nothing substantial. Apart from those few injuries, she seemed fine. Erik let out a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding as he looked down at her sadly. He reached out slowly to grasp onto one of her hands, her fingers gave the slightest of twitches yet she remained otherwise motionless.

He didn't quite know how long he sat there just holding her hand and looking at her. But eventually she seemed to stir, Erik's eyes blinked slowly and came out of the haze they were in, he had been lost in endless thoughts and hadn't registered Liesel waking until she was pulling her hand from his and fiercely attempting to push herself up and away from him. Erik could honestly safely say he had never seen her afraid of himself. He could also admit that he did not like it one bit. Though he guessed, she did have reason to be a little fearful. But of him? Erik never thought he would see the day, it left him dumbstruck before he reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. He attempted to calm her down, with little to no success as she lashed out and hit him away.

"Go away!" Liesel shouted, Erik didn't want to, but he put a hand over her mouth to cease her shouting and yelling. Her calls came out muffled as she continued to hit him on the chest. Eventually though, her strength ran out and she fell back against the bed. She deflated and her breathing was coming out short and sharp as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm going to move my hand, and you're not going to scream, yes?" Erik asked lowly while leaning closer to her, Liesel's eyes hardened as she looked up at him. Yet she gave a small nod, Erik removed his hand with some trepidation and looked at her with a smile when she didn't utter a sound.

"I don't want you here."

"I needed to see if you were all right." Erik said, completely deciding to ignore her harsh tone and glare. As true as her words may be, to her, he felt the complete opposite.

Liesel laughed, it was a bitter sounding thing which caused him to frown down at her. She ran a hand over the bandage on her forehead, "All right? You're kidding me?" Liesel put a hand to his shoulder and pushed him away so she could sit up. She put her hands underneath herself and pulled herself up. She shuffled back and leaned against the headboard. Her green eyes darkened and looked at him. "I'm so far from all right that it's a joke." She said through gritted teeth while her eyes narrowed and filled with tears.

"Liesel, I didn't mean for-"

"You dropped a stadium on us! On me! You did mean for that to happen, so don't you dare sit there and say otherwise!" Liesel hissed and looked away from him, she shot looks to the window and inhaled deeply and shakily. She was seriously so angry.

"I didn't mean for you to get hurt in the process!" Erik exclaimed back lowly while glancing at the door, though locked it still didn't mean someone hadn't heard their raised voices and would come to investigate.

"What did you think would happen?! You left me! Where else was I meant to go? Home? Erm, hello, you bought the cops and the damn FBI and everyone else to there when you did your great escape! Like that place isn't still being watched?! The warehouse? What, you think after leaving me, in the pouring rain, that I'd just go there and forget about all of this? How much of an idiot do you take me for?! Of course I was going to go to the White House!" Liesel fisted her hands and clenched them tightly on the bed cover as she looked at him with unblinking eyes. "Just leave, Erik." Liesel looked away again while leaning back into the pillows with a deflated look. "I don't have the strength right now to fight you."

"I don't want a fight!"

"Then what do you want?!" Liesel shouted at him. "You want some form of forgiveness? No! Sorry, no. Do you honestly want to know the extent of my injuries, and then see if you still deserve forgiveness. I have pins in one of my legs, I'm pretty sure they're keeping it together, my ankle is broken, my other leg is somehow fine, I have three broken ribs, a concussion, sprained wrists, a dislocated shoulder, which is fine now, and that's not including the mental injuries. So yes...do you deserve forgiveness? I am human, because of you. There is absolutely no way I will ever be able to use my powers again without hurting myself in the process, because of pins being screwed into my bones! Forgiveness? Don't even make me laugh..." Liesel said dryly in a shaking voice of both anger and sadness. She frowned deeply and looked away from him, he went from tense and serious to sympathetic and shocked. "Just leave, Erik. I don't know what you want from me. I have nothing...I have given you everything, I have nothing else left to give. I hurt, I hurt so much...and I am so tired, so, so tired..."

"I left, because I didn't want you to come and be put in danger again, Liesel."

"How did that work out for you?" Liesel commented in a hollow tone while her eyes looked equally as hollow, and right through him. "Went splendidly well, wouldn't you say?"

"I realise I am why you are like you are, and I am sorry, Liesel. I never thought this would happen."

"And that's the problem: you didn't think." Liesel rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. She sniffed quietly and bit her lip to stop it from trembling. "All you thought about was the end goal, and not all the people in between who could get hurt. I mean the people close to you, not the humans..." Liesel said while wiping a thumb under her eye. "I'm such an idiot." She said with a broken laugh, Erik shook his head and looked like he hugely disagreed with her.

"You're no such thing, Liesel."

"I am! I'm such an oblivious idiot...you know, I foolishly did believe that after all these years you did still care. But you know what? I am under the presumption that you honestly don't care about anyone but yourself; because if you did care, you wouldn't keep hurting me." Liesel shut her eyes and sunk into the pillows, she suddenly felt rather exhausted. "I care for you, you know...and I would never put you in situations which could've rendered you like I am now, some pathetic snivelling idiot. But then, I guess that's always been the difference between you and I; I easily show I care, you don't." Erik's form of caring always seemed to come off backwards with some sort of sarcastic comment and action. Liesel opened her eyes slowly and looked to him. "I'm being discharged tomorrow. I'm getting out of this city. I'm going to stay with Charles for a bit...just to get a change of scenery."

Erik clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes down at the ground. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So you don't come looking for me. Because I know you won't cross Charles's path unless you really need to. And you won't need to, not for me, I'm not that special." Liesel smiled sadly at him.

"You're more special than you know, Liesel. Never sell yourself short."

"Well, sort of hard not to now, considering."

"I can't take back what I did," Erik turned and looked at her. "There is nothing I can do to take back what's happened. But I can reassure you that I didn't mean for you to be caught in the crossfire. I never wanted this for you, Liesel. Believe it or not, all I could ever want for you is to be happy...and, well, you always seemed at your happiest when with me. But I don't think those moments are going to come back. I don't blame you for hating me. Nor would I blame you for never forgiving me; I've done enough to warrant nothing of the such from you." Erik said while watching as the tears she was keeping at bay by will power finally escaped and trailed down her cheeks. Reaching out hesitantly, he placed a hand to her cheek and wiped them away.

"I don't hate you, you idiot!" Liesel exclaimed and vaulted forwards to grasp onto him. She hissed and exclaimed in pain from the sudden shooting feeling travelling up her leg. If anything this caused her to cry more. "Okay, a part of me does, but the most part can't. This is what makes me more of an idiot! I should hate you. I should be calling you every name under the sun, but...I can't...because it's you...if anything, I hate you because I love you! How does that make any sense?! It doesn't!" Liesel said shortly and hysterically while burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"You've always been contradictory, Liesel." Erik said while putting a hand gently on the back of her head while the other rested against her back carefully. He leaned his head on top of hers and shut his eyes. He felt her shake from the quiet sobs coming from her, but all he did was turn silent and hold onto her firmly, not too firm to cause further harm, but enough to give her the comfort she so clearly needed.

----

Edited: 17/June/2019

Reedited: 27/August/2021