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Chapter 199 – Discharge
🕑 Added 2025-10-02 15:37:19 +0000 UTC
“Mom, let’s go home.”
Those were Sean’s first words—eyes shut, tears falling—when his consciousness returned.
Beside him, Luca was weeping as well, only able to nod in agreement.
Jean, who had returned from the shared mindscape with them, let go of the two young men’s hands. They, unaccustomed to being pulled into such an experience, were momentarily stiff—struggling to regain awareness of body and surroundings. Neither noticed they were still clutching a stranger’s hand.
But when Jean tried to withdraw her other hand, she realized it was still being held.
“My dear… who are you?”
“Ma’am, you’re awake!” Jean gasped, staring at the patient in bed, who was looking back at her with wide, lucid eyes.
“You were all making such a racket,” Audrey Hepburn said dryly. “How could I not wake up?” She began to struggle upright.
Everyone rushed to help, raising the bed and propping pillows behind her back. Through it all, Audrey still didn’t release Jean’s hand. “Child, you haven’t told me your name yet.”
Henry jumped in quickly: “Boss, this is Jean Grey—code name Phoenix. She’s a reserve member of the X-Men.”
“Phoenix? A fine name.” Audrey’s bright eyes darted toward Henry. “And she’s… yours?”
Henry instantly caught her meaning and flustered implication.
“Of course not,” he denied at once. “She’s just here to help. She already has a boyfriend on the team. A taken flower, and I don’t touch what belongs to others. That’s my principle.”
Yes, Jean was beautiful, her figure superb—but who had the teeth strong enough for that? Only brave fools like Cyclops and Wolverine, who weren’t afraid of being crushed to pulp—literally.
Realizing her mistake, Audrey apologized with grace: “I’m sorry, Phoenix. I misunderstood. But thank you, truly, for helping me.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad I could,” Jean said softly, giving Audrey’s frail hand a firmer, reassuring squeeze before finally letting go.
With their mother awake, the two sons’ sobbing felt out of place. Sniffling, Luca managed to ask: “Audrey… will you come to America for more treatment?”
Audrey reached weakly to comfort him. “I’ve seen the most magical side of this world… and also its worst.
“I’ve tried to live every moment well, to do everything the best I could. I bore children with the men I loved, and both of you grew into fine men.
“At this final stage of life, I’ve wanted only to spread love, and I’ve done my best. But it’s an endless path… and now it’s time to pass the torch.
“The curtain is falling. In movies, the end credits roll, thanking those who made it possible. I’ve never acted in a sequel—don’t make me start now.”
She stretched her fragile hand toward Robert, her companion of many years. He clasped it, tears streaming down his face.
“I’ve given everything I could. Surely, that’s enough?”
“More than enough,” Robert wept. “Few people have ever done better.”
“Then let’s go home,” she whispered. “To Tolochenaz.”
---
Though her voice was weak, Audrey Hepburn’s mind was crystal clear. She had chosen her ending. She looked toward her young assistant. “Henry, I’ll trouble you again.”
“If this is truly your will, Boss.” The Kryptonian’s composure verged on coldness. In truth, he didn’t know what emotions he ought to show in such a moment.
But with Audrey’s conscious decision, even the doctors made no objection. They left the discharge to Henry, along with an explanation of palliative care.
Leaving the hospital didn’t mean abandoning medicine altogether. Treatment now wasn’t about curing disease—it was about easing pain.
At home, without doctors’ prescriptions or nurses’ professional oversight, much could still be done. Henry relayed everything to the others and prepared to shoulder most of the home care himself.
By the time they brought Audrey Hepburn back to her house and settled her in, it was late at night. Only then did Henry notice an uninvited guest still with them.
He gave her a speechless look. “You’re still here?”
Jean Grey looked awkward, scratching her head. “I didn’t find the right moment to say goodbye. And… everyone needed help, so I stayed.”
Henry was about to insist she leave when Audrey, freshly lain down, interjected: “Henry, it’s late. Finding a hotel now won’t be easy. Prepare a guest room for the young lady.”
Boss, if this ‘young lady’ wished, she could appear anywhere on Earth in an instant. This makes no sense at all… but fine.
He swallowed his complaint and said aloud: “Yes, Boss. Miss Phoenix, please follow me.”
Jean blinked at him. “What’s with you? That smile is creepy.”
“As you’re the Boss’s guest, politeness is my duty,” Henry replied, his expression like a perfect textbook example of courtesy. Which was precisely what made it so unnerving.
Jean clenched her fist, resisting the urge to punch him, and followed him toward the guest room.
In truth, she relented easily because she had been drifting ever since the alien battle months ago. She hadn’t returned to Xavier’s School, nor taken refuge with the Brotherhood.
With the U.S. government pressuring the X-Men, they couldn’t openly shelter her. And Jean herself refused to bring trouble to the mutant sanctuary on Genosha.
She had kept in contact with both sides, explaining her condition, but the truth was: she had been homeless for half a year.
When Mystique called her this time, it was partly to remind her that she was still needed—that she wasn’t just a burden to be shunned.
That sense of still having worth—to someone, to the world—was like a mooring line, keeping her heart from drifting endlessly in the open sea.
And the warmth of Audrey Hepburn’s hand had eased her unease, if only for a while.
If not for a certain alien, everything might have been perfect.
