A Morning Jog is Good for Your Health

A Raven

He pulled up a chair and placed it close to the head of Raven's hospital bed. Then he sat down and looked at his sister. His movements were slow and methodical as if trying to fake calmness.

"So here I am." Charles said softly as he brushed his fingers lightly across Raven's hand.

It broke his heart a little all over again that she did not respond. The machines were beeping around her, a constant reminder of her condition. Charles shut his eyes closed for a moment to collect himself. He hated seeing Raven like this, it was terrible. He could never get used to it and he never wanted to get used to it either. Getting used to it meant accepting it and he could simply not accept it. He would not accept it.

He sucked in a shaky breath and opened his eyes again. "You look lovely. You've grown into quite the beauty." he chuckled, unable to hold the sad undertones from his voice.

No reply came. His voice sounded weird in the silence, accompanied only by the beeping sounds of the medical equipment.

"Well, you've always been beautiful." Charles continued. "And clever." he added, taking Raven's hand in his. "And-- and so very brave..." another deep inhale. He was holding Raven's hand in both of his now. "Raven, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I failed you."

He broke into tears, pressing his forehead to Raven's hand as he sobbed. There was no one to stop him from crying now. He needed to let it all out anyway.

Raven -- the other Raven, the Raven inside his head, the Raven that was his constant companion over the years -- placed a comforting hand on Charles' shoulder. He could feel it as if it were more than just a fantasy. The real Raven, of course, was lying unconscious in her hospital bed. Her eyes closed, face calm and unexpressive, silent. Coma patients tended to be that way, you see. They didn't talk. And Raven was just that -- a coma patient. His bright, vibrant, cheerful sister Raven has been in a coma for the last 13 years.

Charles cleared his throat. "The research was supposed to work. I really wanted it to. Enhancing hidden potential in the DNA, you see. It had to enhance your cells and wake you up. It had to trigger your body's ability to fight and make it possible for you to-- to open your eyes again. To come back to me..."

The doctors had given up on Raven's case long ago. People in her condition did not wake up again. Kurt was only keeping Raven around to have something on Charles. Only Charles still maintained actual true hope, waiting for a miracle and subjecting himself to living with Kurt Marko and working for En Sabah Nur so that he could create the serum and help his beloved sister. If only he had the funds to conduct this research on his own, without needing Kurt's money. But his mother Sharon gave away his trust fund to her husband before she died. So like it or not Charles was dependant on the Markos. Finding a sponsor for a dubious research like that would take ridiculously long time, time that Charles could not afford to lose. It was worth it and Charles did not regret his decision -- not once -- until now. A human life was lost because of Charles' goal. And nothing, nothing, was worth sacrificing a human life. Not even the chance to wake Raven again. He had to find another way around it, he had to find a way to buy more time until he was sure the serum was safe. Would he even be able to look Raven in the eyes after what he did if she-- when she wakes up?

Charles was so deep in thought that he lost account of time. Suddenly he heard a voice, coming from behind him.

"A brother at his sister's sickbed. How sweet."

Charles froze. The voice belonged to Kurt Marko. Kurt Marko was in Raven's room.

Charles jumped up from his chair, getting between Marko and Raven's bed protectively.