Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
It might have been too much to say that things were definitely getting better but at least for a few hours they hadnt got any worse and for that hank was stupidly grateful.All in all it was a miracle things had turned out as well as they had considering the disastrous start they had had to the week. The doctor looked back through his files enumerating all the close calls that had come through his hands in the last few days.
Less than a week ago it had been Michael lying on the operating table as they operated to repair the damage done by Connors claws. But of course that didn’t prevent me from patching him up and sending him on the training mission now did it? It had seemed like a good idea at the time It had even proved to be one considering how well the boy had integrated himself into his team but still It had been a risk One Hank wasn’t sure he would take again. At least not in the near future! Or maybe that was just the tiredness speaking for he had to admit that he was bone weary And with good cause.
Thursday they had saved Michael. Friday had been spent trying to stabilise Scott after his breakdown in the restaurant, a desperate task and all that the doctor could do to help his old friend. Saturday had seen Spike turn up with his attendant problems and Sunday……. The training mission. How close they had come to disaster with that one? Hank didn’t even dare to imagine. Scott Freeman could easily have died from the Spider bite if Riley hadn’t known about his allergies and the way to treat them. Garnett had spent four days in a coma. while they neutralised the poison in her system. And as for Paige……
There he had truly thought he was going to lose her. She had been so pale, so ill and not even his shiar machines had been able to do anything to save her. If it hadn’t been for Michael’s powers…… That’s too was an experience he wasn’t ready to repeat. It had been a horror from start to finish but thank God it had come out all right in the end. Hank looked at the boys X rays verifying that no harm had been done to his lungs by the pneumonia he had injected into himself.
Even saying it felt wrong. A neat moral fudge to cover the fact that Hank had provided the virus and handed him the needle! The ends justify the means? Somehow I don’t think that is written in the Hippocratic oath. the doctor thought ruefully. Not even in the small print. And yet they had done it and in doing so had saved a life. So many decisions coming one after the other, each one vital, each one changing someone’s destiny! Sometimes the responsibility was too much Sometime he was bound to make a mistake. It just hadn’t happened yet. Which considering the pressure was remarkable even if he did say it himself.
Sunday, in the midst of the chaos, Spiderman turning up, rejuvenated , confused, seeking help. All Hank could do was let him rest and offer him access to the schools facilities, too busy with his own obligations to be able to do more at the time. Monday night as Paige and Michael both spiralled down into fever, Daredevil brought in more dead than alive, only surviving because of the alien technology and his own fierce will to live. Tuesday Riley’s heart attack. Earlier today Catherine’s dismay. It seemed never ending . But now…..
Matt was stable as was Riley. Paige was thankfully on the mend. Scott had been able to walk out of med lab earlier in order to announce his retirement from active service. And now Michael was taking his leave as well. Hank had told him he could go a little while earlier but had left the boy alone to lay whatever ghosts the last few day’s experiences had raised for him And there were many. Hank had seen them in the young mutant’s eyes and known that he had been responsible for putting them there.
Yet what would he have seen looking back at him if he had refused Michael’s help and let Paige die. Would either of them have been able to live with that? He didn’t think so. And that in the end was why he had had said yes. In any case what was done was done. That was yesterday’s problem. Please god there would be no more added to the list today. Then maybe he could rest Just for a little while……..
His eyes had almost closed when the knock came to the door. A knock that said rest was not for now That someone else needed him and he had better be able to respond to their call. He only hoped that would be the case. Because for better or for worse the door was opening and he had to be ready to deal with whatever was behind it.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Julian raised a firm fist to the door and knocked in a fashion that implied urgency. With his seemingly quiet confidence and neutral expression it was difficult to guess that the young mutant was inwardly the most awkward and nervous he had been since seeing his father before his arrival at the institute in fact. It wasn't that Julian found the doctor intimidating, it was rather that he knew Dr. Hank McCoy by reputation only and had never really been aquainted with the man. Julian was the steadfast young man who could be counted on to make no trouble at all and as such, he rarely found himself within the confines of the Medical Bay area of the Institute. Even now he knocked not for his own benefit but for that of another.
Green eyes displayed barely contained worry as he shot a glance over at his companion, Charlotte. Though Julian's brow was furrowed and his lips pursed they were the only signs that he was anything out of the ordinary. He didn't realise it, of course; To be neutral or pleasant no matter the situation had been his way since a very young age and had now become so deeply ingrained in his head that he had to consciously remind himself to breathe and to feel, lest his powers get the better of him. His bottling up of emotions had seemed such a good idea when he had begun to do it. Big boys didn't show their weaknesses in front of their elders. They didn't cry and they didn't throw tantrums. So Julian hadn't...or at least not thrown a tantrum in the conventional sense of the word.
He was like a volcano though and he couldn't be contained forever, eventually where would have to be an explosion. Julian's particular brand of explosion had put a boy in the hospital and had the oh so pleasant side effect of making his father scarlet with anger. His father had never understood though. Lawrence Hugo had thought that by forbidding the boy to use his newfound abilities and by otherwise ignoring the outburst had ever happened all would return to normal. Surely the boy could decide to be normal. Julian couldn't though and whatsmore he didn't want to be 'normal'. He knew there were others like him and that he wasn't alone and he wanted to be apart of a community. Julian had been shipped off to live with his aunt the second time and he had gone from there.
So here he was with Charlotte, who he was really starting to like spending time with, and she was ill and he was just trying to remember to breathe. Composure and rationality though. Qualities he needed at the moment and ones he couldn't get if he couldn't even hold back his emotions. He kept a gentle but firm hold on Charlotte's arm. She had said she was feeling faint and that the world was spinning around her and the tantrum mutant dreaded the thought of him turning his eye for a moment and her passing out in the hall or something.
Throughout his childhood Julian had played with few other children and he was rarely sick himself so he worried all the more about others when they appeared ill. "Doctor McCoy?" he asked, polite even while he was worrying about Charlotte and if the symptoms, which seemed fluish, were more serious than he supposed.
Once again the jade eyes shifted to Charlotte, this time with concern slightly more evident although he still struggled to keep his facial expressions in check, knowing that if enough stress surged through his system he might not be able to help himself. "Are you feeling any better? Or worse for that matter," he asked, British accent colouring the words while he waited for an okay from the Doctor. In his tone too there was sincere compassion for his..companion, he dared not yet say friend even though he was not, by definition, a superstiticious man. He just hoped it was nothing serious.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Things seemed to have been picking up, then they went down hill since this morning. CHarlotte was used to the pain and the headackes, but this was different, it was worse then she was used to and she felt weaker then usual. "Doctor McCoy?" Another strangeness... she wasn't alone this time. Even more odd was the fact it was a boy that was with her, Charlotte was sure her mother would be laughing about now. The teen had rather negative thoughts on her mother, even if the woman had gone through a rough patch she was trying now to be a real mother, only it was still all too knew and Charlotte hadn't had a chance to really see the change.
It felt strange relying on someone else for support, she'd never really had to in the past, she barely relied on her family, and had few friends and none she'd honestly trust. Hannah seemed nice enough, perhaps too nice, it put Charlotte off a little when people were too happy, it seemed...false.
"Are you feeling any better? Or worse for that matter," Hazel eyes had to pry themselves open as her brow furrowed in an attempt to focus her eyes, moving their gaze to Julian. She hadn't needed to reply for her look said it all, though she offered a lop sided smile, as if trying to assure him she was ok, too stubborn to admit otherwise even if he was someone she was near calling a friend.
"..Yeah.. a little.." The sickly girl eventually replied, not clearly stating which one she was confirming but that was intentional, the self named 'Faith' was hardly about to start whinning about something, it wouldn't make it any better.
Tension mounted for a moment, her hands holding Julian all the more tighter though she attempted not to appear so obviously in pain. The suddenness of it more the cause of her reaction, though it hurt... everything ached so much, it felt like she was being ripped apart and sawn together again.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.“Dr McCoy” The voice wasn’t one he recognised straight off though the accent should have at least pointed him in the right direction. There weren’t too many British pupils at the school after all, though the number had been rising recently. Usually the doctor had a good memory for the files that inevitably passed through his hands not just in his role as doctor but also as head of security. Today though he was drawing a blank, no names springing to mind, no hint as to what problem could be waiting behind the still closed door. *All the more reason to open it and find out* he told himself rising to do just that, tucking the gold rimmed spectacles in his pocket as he went.
Contradictory as it seems, if he had he been less tired he probably wouldn’t have actually gone to open the door himself settling instead for a casual ‘come in’ which would have left him reassuringly seated and at a distance from any unsuspecting newcomer who met him for the first time. Going to see a doctor could be a daunting experience at the best of times When the doctor in question turned out to be 350 pounds of blue furred muscle the whole thing could easily be considered overwhelming. It was a fact of life, well of his life in any case, and one he usually remembered to take into account in such circumstances. Today however it slipped off his radar, not the glaring medical oversight he had feared but nevertheless a mistake by his standards. How big a one would depend entirely on the reaction of those he came face to face with.
As he now did. The young man waiting on the other side of the door was indeed a stranger. As was the girl he accompanied. That she had need of a doctors services was troublingly apparent bringing an immediate look of concern to the physician’s yellow eyes. “Goodness me” he said, the caring, cultured voice at stark odds with the savage fang filled mouth it came from. ”Come right in and sit down child. Before you fall over.”
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
(ooc: I had it written down but as usually happens in my house the piece of paper has been removed and I can't remember what we agreed upon for the situation Angie. Feel free to edit or ask me to edit if I messed anything up. In the meantime I've kept it vague.)
Julian's question of Faith was answered even before she openned her mouth. One lop-sided smile, one barely focused gaze and he could tell her symptoms hadn't exactly dissipated. Yet she seemed unwilling to admit to this, something that the often stoic seeming mutant could relate to, as she attempted to persuade him that she was okay. It wasn't exactly a successful attempt but Julian decided it was more her way of reassuring him than a comment she expected him to believe.
"..Yeah.. a little.." she replied but since she didn't say whether she was feeling better or worse Julian took that as a bad sign and his brow furrowed a little in a reaction one might not have noticed unless they were studying him. On anyone else barely a movement to be noticed. On him something important that denoted an emotional response.
She was holding him tightly and under better circumstances it might have been a good thing. In these ones however Julian took that to be a bad sign.
The door that opened before him revealed Hank McCoy. For the ill-prepared it would probably have drawn an interesting reaction but Julian was both distracted, by Faith's current health, and not one to react emotionally anyway, aside from his tantrums. Both of these facts coupled with the fact that Julian had known what to expect from other students, despite not having come face to face with the doctor himself, meant Hank's prescence barely drew a reaction from the young Brit.
His green eyes may have widdened slightly, his eyebrows rising a fraction but little else. What did Julian care about the doctor's appearance so long as he could help the girl who might just be his first real friend at the Institute?
“Goodness me,” Hank exclaimed at the sight of Faith. "Come right in and sit down child. Before you fall over.”
Not convinced that she could do that without help, Julian helped Faith into the room, keeping a firm but not uncomfortable grasp on the girl. He didn't want to cause her anymore pain. "We were just in class and she felt sick," Julian said, the obvious worry in his voice a sign that all was not well with the usually restrained tantrum mutant. Names, somepart of his mind reminded him, he probably doesn't even know you.
"Oh, I'm Julian, this is Faith," the curly-haired mutant introduced quickly, green eyes glancing up at the blue furred mutant before his gaze returned to Faith in concern. He decided it would be best to leave symptoms and such to Faith, assuming she was okay to answer any questions Hank McCoy might ask of her. His father had wanted him to be a doctor or lawyer and Julian knew enough to leave the 'what's wrong' answers to the one actually in pain. No one could better describe what a person was feeling than they themselves.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
“Goodness me,” Hazel eyes lifted to stare at the doctor, whose large form approaching them was somewhat startling and Faith’s fingers held Julian just that bit tighter, though the surprise was expected in some ways, she had heard about McCoy a few times and was aware how different he looked… but seeing it in real life was so strange. "Come right in and sit down child. Before you fall over.” He sounded nice enough, concerned enough that it seemed like he really cared, which was a surprise considering Charlotte’s last exposure to doctors had fizzled down to rather lost people who weren’t sure what they were staring at and if they were worried or excited about the bizarre phenomenon. Thankfully Julian didn’t just up and leave her there and then, and part of Faith really wanted to express how thankful she was for his help, no matter how humiliating it was to be half carried around in her state.
"We were just in class and she felt sick," And as she slept she ached, though it had gone on for so long she didn’t bother coming to complain about it yet as it hadn’t changed much since the last time she saw doctors. But today… it got worse, it all got worse, more then what she was used to and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know why, not after all the things her doctors told her and her parents.
"Oh, I'm Julian, this is Faith," No, not Faith, not here, not if Hank wanted to look up her health records, the hospital sent the files on her in her Christian name… well, they were supposed to, as of yet Hank had not received them but how was Charlotte to know that?
"Charlotte Faith Church." The young mutant added, in a tone that suggested somehow Hank should recall her name, yet another medical oversight in the public medical department where thins just seem to get knocked back. "My father arranged to have the doctors send my files over to you."
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Either he was having a very good hair day or his reputation had preceded him for the two unknown students barely batted an eyelid when they saw him. But then again they did have other things on their mind. The firl really didn’t look well and though the young man hid it well it was still obvious to the doctor that he was concerned . And with just cause. "We were just in class and she felt sick," he explained as they entered the office., before offering a concise and welcome introduction "Oh, I'm Julian, this is Faith,"
Hank would like to have said that the names rang a bell but the truth was that his mind still seemed to be out to lunch as far as recognition was concerned. It must have showed for the girl added "Charlotte Faith Church." Now that did help a little. Something was stirring, some memory of a conversation with Charles but not a recent one. It must have been months at least since the name had come up and now suddenly the name had a face, one that was pinched and pale and looking at him as if he should know all about it. "My father arranged to have the doctors send my files over to you."
Hank sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. It didn’t seem to him that any new medical dossier had been received recently but then again these last few days had been anything but calm. Always presuming the girl was in fact a new arrival. Maybe this information had come in weeks ago and he’d somehow overlooked it. It didn’t seem likely though, even if he said it himself he wasn’t that careless. All in all med lab ran pretty damned smoothly given the circumstances and important medical information didn’t just vanish into thin air. Still he had to be sure.
Just let me check my records he said sitting back down at the desk, nodding to Charlotte and Julian to install themselves in the chairs at the other side of it. Hank’s absurdly large fingers dwarfed the keyboard looking as if they should have been totally defeated by its smallness and fragility but in fact they sped over it with ease, the sound of nails hitting plastic ringing out as he sought for any trace of medical files concerning the girl and failed to find them. Her inscription was there, yes. Recent just as he had thought. But nothing to help him with the present problem.
“No I’m sorry there is nothing here. Perhaps the transfer has been delayed. In any case, not to worry” he said reassuringly. “Why don’t you tell me what seems to be the matter and we’ll just take things from there?”
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
For a few minutes Julian had been worried that his classmate was out of it to the extent where she might not be able to provide answers to any questions but she proved herself able by stating her full name, "Charlotte Faith Church." Skipping entirely over the coincidence or perhaps planned instance of a girl named Faith Church, he skipped straight to relief that she was able to think enough to give the good doctor the name she had been born with. As someone who had for a time gone by his middle name of Daniel, Julian understood the neccessity to add one's full name when dealing with official types. He couldn't expect Dr. McCoy to find his file when going by his middle name and obviously Charlotte Faith had thought of this.
"My father arranged to have the doctors send my files over to you." The ill girl added. Julian figured that this had to be procedure, that fathers often sent over their childrens' medical files. His father didn't even properly know where he was, beliving him to be at an institute of higher learning and not at a 'boarding school for freaks' as he would undoubtedly call the place if he ever found out. Julian had gotten his medical files himself and all other details needed as well. He was independant here but not everyone was so cut off from their family as he and Jules understood this.
For a moment he wondered bitterly what Faith's father was like. Did he understand her mutation and accept it or had he refused to hear of it and attempted to send her away? Sometimes Julian had imagined the way things might have gone. He imagined his mother had never left them but had raised him and been supportive when his powers first emerged. Lawrence Hugo Edwards had been a proud man and one with whom you did not argue. After his wife's disappearance he burnt most of the photos and locked the rest away from prying eyes. Julian had pieced his mother together from snatches of conversation overheard and from idealization. She had left him as a baby, she could hardly be an ideal mother and yet that part of him he didn't share with anyone still imagined her as sweet and loving. It imagined that she had had some deeply important reason behind leaving him and that oneday she would be back. In his dreams she was always beautiful and she always bore some resemblance to him.
All of this passed through the green-eyed boy's mind quickly and left no visible strain on him. The only evidence of his daydreaming was the slightly troubled look that had crossed his face for a time, a look just as easily attributed to Faith's mysterious illness as to any thoughts about his lack of a parental relationship. Julian felt guilty for giving the matter, which he felt should no longer bother him, any thought while his classmate and friend was sick and banished the idealized image of his pale, dark-haired mother from his mind for the duration of the visit with Dr. McCoy.
"Just let me check my records," the doctor said, gesturing for the two students to take seats in the chairs across from his desk. It was a perfectly normal request and situation, only the people involved were anything but normal. Hank McCoy was, for one thing, blue. Julian himself had problems of emotional repression and eventual release in devestating balls he called tantrums and Faith was a mutant too, that much was known.
Many mutants hated their mutations and Julian was not a complete exception. He had a love-hate relationship with it, not having any problem with his mutant status but with the consequences his powers often brought wih them. He was still new to being in the institute compared to some, who had spent years here, and yet the young Brit knew he was getting used to things. He hadn't found anything odd about sitting down for a consult with a blue furry doctor until a few seconds ago and even then it was only to note how others might look upon this as strange, not any uncomfortableness on his part. 'Maybe this place is home afterall,' Julian thought to himself, a little amused at the notion. His place with his father had never really felt like home. A house yes, a place to live but not a home. Xavier's was beginning to fill that hole for him and this beginning was, he knew, in part due to meeting Charlotte, who was becoming his first friend here.
Realizing his delayed response to the doctor's request Julian lowered himself into a seat after pausing to make sure Faith Church didn't need any help. After a moment of waiting in which the only sound was the tapping of Hank's fingers on the keyboard he spoke. “No I’m sorry there is nothing here. Perhaps the transfer has been delayed. In any case, not to worry.”
'Don't worry?' thought Julian. He was worrying and he wasn't even the one who was ill here. The student could only imagine how Faith must be feeling. Was it odd that the files weren't there? Perhaps it was just an electronic problem. That happened a great deal as he understood it. Technology was a huge advantage and resource but it was not without its faults.
“Why don’t you tell me what seems to be the matter and we’ll just take things from there?” the doctor continued. He must have practiced his reassuring elder tone because he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Julian already liked him, the man seemed to know what to say and hopefully he would also know what to do.
There didn't seem to be a need for him to speak and Hank's gaze had been on Charlotte so Julian just stayed and sat quietly. It was slightly strange to be sitting here with a girl he liked but was not extremely close to. He didn't know the details about her life and health that best friends did. For a moment he wondered if he was intruding and if she wanted him to leave. Julian certainly didn't want to be a burden but hopefully she would tell him when she no longer wanted him there. In the meantime he was there for her if she needed him and would be until she told him to leave or indicated that he was no longer wanted.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Curious eyes watched over Hank, a hazel gaze and paled skin, the ill looking girl wouldn't mind having lain down for a while but there would be plenty of time for that in her future.. and not much else if what her previous doctors were saying had any truth to it. And there wasn't much doubt against what they said, why would there be? Charlotte grew up being taught that despite much anger and many situations, doctors more often knew what they were saying then not.
“No I’m sorry there is nothing here. Perhaps the transfer has been delayed. In any case, not to worry” Oh she wasn't worried, annoyed slightly perhaps but hardly worried. What was the point of it? After all... she knew what they said, and she knew what was wrong with her. At least, Charlotte thought she did. “Why don’t you tell me what seems to be the matter and we’ll just take things from there?” For a moment, the self-proclaimed 'Faith' let her eyes look towards Julian. He seemed like a really nice guy, and considering how the girl grew up it wasn't something she usually could say so soon after meeting someone, and she'd definitely not actually tell him that just yet... but that didn't mean she couldn't think it!
At least, for once in her life, Charlotte had some one there to keep her company, for the first time it wasn't just her having to deal with what life threw at her, it wasn't some try hard parent desperate to make up for a lifetime of neglect, but a friend.. no matter how new the relationship was it was still comforting to have.
A small smile sadly crept to her lips as she watched Julian for a moment, turning her gaze away as she tried to figure a way of explaining things without sounding as cold as she sometimes tended to get. Just because the young girl accepted what was to come, didn't mean she was coping well with it.
"I was diagnosed about a year or so ago with some degenerative disease that is attacking the living tissue." Considering her calm and respectful tone, Charlotte might as well have been relaying some casual information that had no relation to her whatsoever. "It first became noticeable in the blood stream and spread from there, or something." A shrug followed the comment, half hearted, but her voice lowered a little softer. It still hurt.. no matter how well she tried to deal with it, no matter how hard she tried to pretend she just didn't care. "I get a lot of headaches, they went away for a little while, but got increasingly worse lately. The doctors couldn't do anything, so dad stopped taking me." And that was that. though in all honesty, Charlotte had no clue what was wrong with her, the only thing that made complete sense, and the only things her doctors really made clear, was merely the fact that sooner or later, her body wouldn't possibly survive the breakdown it was going through. Eventually, at some point soon, they insisted she would die. Her father didn't need his daughter hearing that each and every time she went in with a migraine.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Hank did wonder if he should suggest politely that Julian wait outside while Charlotte told him about her illness. But then again she herself showed no inclination for him to leave and sometimes having a friend along when you were feeling poorly did make things easier. Of course a family member would have been better but there was no chance of that on this occasion.
Of course if Hank had had the least suspicion of what was to come he might have reacted differently, sparing Charlotte the pain of making this difficult announcement in front of her schoolmate, but as it was he was left unprepared by the lack of medical records and as such was caught just as unawares as Julian by her disclosures.
"I was diagnosed about a year or so ago with some degenerative disease that is attacking the living tissue." For an brief instant Hanks eyes widened in shock though he soon had himself safely back under control. This was far from the simple ‘I have a pain in my side and I feel like I want to throw up that he had been expecting.
Instead this was all to similar to the discussions he had been having with Scott Summers over the last few months and could well prove to be leading towards the same tragic consequences. Easy now he told himself Let us not jump to conclusions. After all we have means here to treat disease that are not readily found in the rest of the world .And that is why we must never give up hope. Not even when things seem hopeless.*
Charlotte however spoke of her illness with the weariness of one who had done just that. Or perhaps she had just become resigned to her situation because those around her had already given up. Something Hank had no intention of doing whatever happened. "It first became noticeable in the blood stream and spread from there, or something." The young girl told him sadly, her explication hardly the precise medical details he required to help her but bravely stated all the same.
"I get a lot of headaches,” she went on calmly “they went away for a little while, but got increasingly worse lately. Did that mean that this disease, whatever it might be, could go into remission? Hank didn’t want to jump to conclusions but it certainly sounded like it. And if so.. well what had happened once could happen again . Especially if you pushed all the right buttons!
The doctors couldn't do anything, so dad stopped taking me." Charlotte informed him, her words bringing a slight frown to the doctors face. Why would you give up while there was even a shred of hope still left? Still , who was he to judge without knowing all the circumstances? Perhaps it had been too hard on Charlotte being dragged around doctor after doctor only to be met with the same despairing conclusion. Perhaps this had been her parent’s way of giving her peace. It still didn’t feel right though even if Hank couldn’t tell exactly why.
One thing he was certain of though. If she had been his daughter he’d have made sure that all her medical records had been safely transferred before leaving her in the school. Damn it he’d have marched right into med lab and explained exactly what was going on , asked if there was anything that the school could do for her that others couldn’t. After all Hank could safely say without fear of contradiction that he was one of the worlds foremost experts in the treatment of mutants. And neither huis reputation nor his persence at Xaviers was exactly a state secret. Wasn’t that one straw that even the least hopeful parent might be expected to grasp. And yet Charlottes hadn’t. And for the life of him Hank couldn’t understand why.
Still this was no time to be pondering over their failure in this area. The important thing was that Charlotte had come to him now and that finally he could start looking into whatever it was that was trying to put an end to her young life. “Thank you for being so frank and open with me Charlotte” he told her with a gentle smile. “That couldn’t have been easy for you to talk about and you did it with remarkable dignity. Still…… Hank leaned slightly over the desk his eyes serious and kind at the same time. “The Institute is much more than just a remarkable school you know my dear. We have medical facilities that are second to none and more than twenty years experience in treating mutants like yourself.And while I don’t doubt for a moment the competence of the doctors you have seen before I will only say that perhaps as a mutant myself I may be able to bring something to the table that they could not. ”
“I’m not in the business of dishing out false hope, my dear “ he went on honestly. “That is cruel and pointless. And it may well be that there truly is nothing more that can be done other than to make you as comfortable as possible for the time you have left. But…. with your permission I’d like to run some tests to make sure that really is the case. Because I can promise you one thing, if there is even the faintest possibility that it is not then I will help you fight this illness with every means at my disposal. And believe me.... I have many. “
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
A strange sense of intuition and a feeling of being watched told Julian that the girl named Faith's eyes were on him. He turned his head to look back at her, wondering if she was silently and politely asking that he remove himself from the room yet her eyes didn't ask it of him, nor did her sad smile. She looked away and he followed her example. He could almost hear the slow baritone of his father ringing in his ears with blunt instructions that had made a younger Julian Edwards go red with embarrassment. 'Don't stare boy, it's rude as can be. No don't look down either, makes you look uncomfortable.' Green eyes looked straight ahead and focused on a section of the wall instead of on Hank.
"I was diagnosed about a year or so ago with some degenerative disease that is attacking the living tissue."
The calm veneer and societal politeness instantly gone Julian's head snapped quickly around, his gaze examining her. The part of him that wasn't reeling from either the words she spoke or the calm tone in which they were said was telling him that seizing up this acquaintance was hardly good taste but it was a part quickly overruled. He has thought himself unemotional but to hear her speak as if she was giving a movie review about this condition of hers was enough to give him pause.
"It first became noticeable in the blood stream and spread from there, or something."
A shrug and a softer voice; signs of a response to her condition afterall. She was trying to be brave, dealing with fate the best she could. Although Julian figured it would mean little he thought she was doing admirably. He listened as she continued on, talking about migraines and doctor visits, and understood the unspoken prognosis. This girl he had met, the girl he had thought might be his first real friend here, was extremely ill and doctors had no easy solution.
She had appeared sick but he could never have guessed that it was something so serious. It wasn't what Julian had been expecting and he wondered now why she hadn't asked him to leave. Surely it couldn't be easy to confess such a condition in front of a classmate she barely knew.
He tore his eyes off her and looked, for the first time, to Dr. McCoy. Julian had always been good at reading the emotions of others and one look told him that the doctor had been as ill prepared for the news as he. There was something else in the blue mutant's face though and he looked as though he had fallen into thought of something utterly puzzling. Julian dismissed this as simple worry for a patient and medical mystery. The young man knew little of the doctor but had heard snippets from his classmates about the excellent reputation for care and the innovative and wondered if perhaps Hank McCoy might have hope or a sliver of an idea that others obviously had not.
“Thank you for being so frank and open with me Charlotte, that couldn’t have been easy for you to talk about and you did it with remarkable dignity," said Hank. 'He's a good man', Julian thought to himself, believing that his initial instinct to trust the older mutant had been correct.
His respect for the other man continued as Hank began to speak about the facilities of the school and made the expected offer of assistance. Julian continued to consider the doctor, finding him to be frank but gentle and possessed of a great deal of knowledge. It was a combination that appealed to the young Brit and he looked at Faith out of the corner of his eye, hoping that she would accept these tests and the possibility of hope. Again his thoughts turned to her name. If there was anyone who might escape an undeserved fate than surely it was a girl named Faith Church.
Julian had never been good at dealing with his own emotions, burdens or problems but the one thing he did excel in was helping people. This was a not entirely selfless act for surely Julian did feel better about himself by attempting to aid others but he didn't seek out praise and was inclined to blush furiously or look uncomfortable if ever complimented, whether the praise was deserved or not. However he was one of those people who genuinely wants to help others and especially those who might have been or might still become friends.
"I know you've probably heard it all before and it means little coming from a near stranger but if you need anything, anything at all that I can do you only have to ask," Julian said, green eyes meeting Charlotte's. When others offered help they sometimes offered out of politeness and a need to be kind without any lasting intention. Julian was not one of these people and although more destructive emotions were bottled up and hardly revealed upon his face there was an honesty in his eyes and features now that left little doubt that he was better than his word. He would understand if she refused him but she was still the closest thing he had to a friend here and he hoped that she would not refuse him completely.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
“Thank you for being so frank and open with me Charlotte” At first the self named 'Faith' couldnt really understand if the doctor was somehow being mocking to her or not, it was hard to read his furred features. And the more Charlotte looked at Hank the more she felt like this was all just so surreal... sitting her discussing medical issues with a giant blue cat! It was like the stories she used to read to herself at night, when Faith was lonely and just wanted something to drift off to sleep with, and nothing helped calm her or give her the sweetest of dreams then that of a good fantasy book! “That couldn’t have been easy for you to talk about and you did it with remarkable dignity. Still……" There was a very difficult to detect shrug that barely was a twitch in the girls shoulders as she sat with arms folded and leaned back into her seat. It wasn't like she hadn't been through all this before.
“The Institute is much more than just a remarkable school you know my dear. We have medical facilities that are second to none and more than twenty years experience in treating mutants like yourself. And while I don’t doubt for a moment the competence of the doctors you have seen before I will only say that perhaps as a mutant myself I may be able to bring something to the table that they could not.” And that's when everything seemed to crack! Mutant! The frown that creased ever so lightly the girl's forehead came as negative thoughts settled unhappily. Not that she was being called a mutant, but so convinced was Charlotte that her health problems were just that, and with no obvious sign of mutation unless she was gifted with some sort of power to bring on self headaches and headspins, this guy had no idea what he was on about! And yet here he sat preaching about the incompetence of the other doctors.
“I’m not in the business of dishing out false hope, my dear" False hope? He just called her a mutant and there was no way she was like him! She hardly had blue fur coming out of her ears! Sure deep down there had been an awareness that not all other mutants were so physically altered as Hank, but at the same time Faith hadn't considered that these students were, as a majority, mutants. Ms Grey had explained everyone was different and unique and special, only her vagueness was due to the fact that Faith was put here in order to be close to her father's New York based work. While Jean knew Charlotte to be a mutant, it honestly hadn't occured to her when she made the offer that not only the parents were in ignorance of the fact but also Charlotte. And as Hank continued the often rebellious teen looked over towards Julian for a brief moement before locking eyes with Hank's once again.
“That is cruel and pointless. And it may well be that there truly is nothing more that can be done other than to make you as comfortable as possible for the time you have left. But…. with your permission I’d like to run some tests to make sure that really is the case. Because I can promise you one thing, if there is even the faintest possibility that it is not then I will help you fight this illness with every means at my disposal. And believe me.... I have many." Although there was a stunned shock keeping Charlotte's tongue in check, she was just about to part her lips when Julian intervined and spoke, drawing her attention aside to focus on him instead of Hank, which was good, because she wasn't so pleased with him just assuming she was a mutant because she was sick! Though at the same time, the thought that he might be able to help her, even if he seemed to just assume she was like him. Though deep down underneath all the fur and inhumane features, there was indeed a human being, at least that's what Charlotte had read in the papers, some people spoke against the fact, some tried to push it as truth. Considering mutants were born from humans on occasion, it made plain sense to the girl that they were just a different kind of human being. She wasn't agaisnt them, and had no issues, she didn't really know any mutants growing up... but just because she was ill, why did McCoy assume she was one of them?
"I know you've probably heard it all before and it means little coming from a near stranger but if you need anything, anything at all that I can do you only have to ask," The comment seemed to hang in the air for a moment, before being recieved by the young Miss Church with a warm little smile of gratitude. She hadn't grown up with many friends, and never really felt like she was part of anything, the detachment was almost as much a familiar comfort as it was an isolation cell. Having someone speak to her so nicely in this moment of confusion was more then an uplifting welcome.
"Thank's Julian." It seemed like an under appreciative return to something that meant so much, but in the end, the smile she had offered was enough to explaine that she held gratitude for the offer. And the little flicker of compulsive attitude seemed to die because of it, though as she looked back at Hank, the ambers of the withheld confrontation seemed to still smolder slightly. "Since apparently my 'mutant power' is to have useless blood that liquifies my organs... go me, I'm like that chick off the 3rd Alien movie." The sarcasm that engulfed the words also seemed to be wrapped in a calm manner, one just might think that Faith was a rather subdued Madison in disguise. Though, as she initially was joining the similarities with how they both have acidic blood, she soon also realized the female hero also had a tendency to die, and unless Hank had the same sort of mad scientist appeal, Charlotte figured she wasn't coming back as any bizarre hybrid with strange new abilities.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
It had been amongst the few things that he actually had on record. The fact that Charlotte was indeed a mutant. And so it had never crossed his tired mind that she herself may have been unaware of her heritage. Even now he interpreted her rather stunned response more as a reaction to his opening up new avenues of research to pursue rather than an attempt to come to grips with a life changing revelation. One thing was clear however. Julien’s offer of help was gratefully received even if bitterness soon followed.
"Thank's Julian." Charlotte told her fellow student "Since apparently my 'mutant power' is to have useless blood that liquefies my organs... go me, I'm like that chick off the 3rd Alien movie."
“Ah! A lover of the classics I see” Hank said lightly “Though I always preferred the second volume myself. Call me foolish but I always thought it might turn out right in the end…. even if logic and the inevitable monitory lure of the trilogy argued against that likelihood. But I digress. To get back to the case at hand…
The easy manner was still there though the seriousness behind it was as obvious as his humour. “There is no reason as of yet to believe that your illness and your abilities are in fact linked,” the blue furred mutant told her reassuringly “though that is one of the things we should look into. One of the things indeed that more conventional doctors almost certainly would not have taken into consideration. ”
Even after all these years of being in the public eye it was true that mutancy wasn’t something that immediately sprang to mind when patients presented with untoward symptoms and yet it was at least in some cases the underlying cause. Would that in fact prove to be the truth here? Hank wished sincerely that it would for then there might be hope that the future was not as bleak as it now seemed for this new pupil. And the few facts he had did seem to indicate that it was possible if only because the symptoms had started at an age where mutant powers frequently emerged. But then he was no fool. There were many other diseases that emerged around puberty and not all of them were reluctant to cut a young life tragically short." In any case we will no doubt find out soon enough." he went on with a smile " But tell me, have you actually seen any signs of your power awakening as of yet? Or is it perhaps still dormant?
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
There were a few long seconds of silence during which Julian began to doubt that he had done the right thing by offering his, admittedly limited, services. While the comment hung in the air unanswered, the young mutant had time for a number of self-doubting thoughts. Among them were the very real fear that Charlotte might have preferred him to be a fly on the wall instead of speaking words that make her condition real. Most worrying of all was the nagging thought that just because he considered her a friend didn't mean that she neccessarily felt the same way. It was easy to doubt and harder to purge the mind of second-guessing thoughts. This was the trap Orpheus had fallen into. He would try not to make the same mistake.
Although the acknowledging smile that followed was small Julian recognized it for what it was even before the deceptively simple "Thanks Julian" was spoken. The word thanks was so common these days, such a plain but polite way of showing gratitude for the little things like holding a door for another being or picking up scattered pennies. When used so commonly it was easy to forget that the word 'thanks' could mean more and show appreciation for greater things. Getting the message loud and clear Julian gave her a small smile back. Appreciating her acceptance, he supposed.
"Since apparently my 'mutant power' is to have useless blood that liquifies my organs... go me, I'm like that chick off the 3rd Alien movie."
The biting sarcasm caught Julian offguard. He hadn't exactly seen the Alien movies but the idea of an ability that could be harmful wasn't exactly new to him. His gaze dropped briefly to his hands, to the slender fingers that sometimes held balls of repressed emotions that could cause serious harm to others. Although he was learning, albeit slowly, how to control and contain his powers Julian's abilities had manifested late in his teenage years and he was still coming to terms with their harmful effects. The difference was that the only person Faith was hurting was herself.
There was something about the way she said the words 'mutant power' that made his brow crease but Julian shrugged it off in a show of wilful blindness. Despite his destructuve tendancies Julian was proud to be a mutant. He had read about others of his kind and fully considered the mutant students at Xaviers to be 'his people'. Julian had had the option of living in denial and pretending his tantrums did not exist. His father would have welcomed the opinion and probably would have paid off any witnesses if it would keep his son "normal". Yet unlike Faith, Julian had sought out the school for mutants and written the professor for assistance. He wanted to be a mutant. He wanted to be here.
Luckily the blue-furred mutant seemed more capable of dealing with Faith's understandable bitterness than he, quipping, “Ah! A lover of the classics I see”.
In his typical way Julian showed his emotions through small gestures or facial expressions. As the doctor continued to speak about the Alien movies his eyebrows raised, the only indication that Julian was one part surprised and two parts amused. Somehow he hadn't taken the intellectual man as the type to watch Alien movies. Maybe that was simply because he had never met a doctor quite like this one and most had fit an older and stuffier stereotype. Then again, most doctors didn't have blue fur either and it was becoming increasingly clearer that Beast was not most doctors.
Julian listened without comment as the other man reassured Faith. Julian didn't consider himself to be the type of person who had intuition or 'gut feelings'. He was ruled more by logic than by emotion and yet he did have a good feeling about this doctor, this possible new ally.
"In any case we will no doubt find out soon enough. But tell me, have you actually seen any signs of your power awakening as of yet? Or is it perhaps still dormant?" asked Dr. McCoy and if Julian were a horse his ears might have pricked forwards in interest. One of the things about Xavier's that interested him most were the unique powers he had seen demonstrated or heard discussed by classmates. It seemed like in each person the mutation had manifested in new and facinating ways, even if some abilities had a dangerous twist to them, like his own.
Afraid of revealing his powers to Faith and fearing their nature might drive her away Julian had avoided bringing up the subject of powers. He was curious but not curious enough to be asked a question that might put this new friendship in jeopardy. To hear what her powers were, if any, without having to give a response though. It was selfish to want to hear but Julian was rarely selfish. Everything he did was to please someone else it seemed. Some part of him had long wondered if that was why his abilities had emerged in such a way, an outward expression of repressing his true feelings and emotions in order to please someone like his father.
Feeling that anything he said now would just be interrupting and hoping to hear of Faith's powers, if they had manifested that was, Julian stayed quiet and focused keen jade eyes on Faith, waiting for her response.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof."Ah! A lover of the classics I see" It took her by surprise, and why not? Thus far the doctors of her life were anything by human in her eyes¡ "Though I always preferred the second volume myself. Call me foolish but I always thought it might turn out right in the end even if logic and the inevitable monitory lure of the trilogy argued against that likelihood. But I digress. To get back to the case at hand"
Hank sounded like some bizarre character of a story she might read, the quirky doctor so full of surprises and unlike the cliché stereotype often thought associated with their kind not that he was a difficult kind of quirky, that mantle so far still sat with Sherlock Holmes. "There is no reason as of yet to believe that your illness and your abilities are in fact linked,"
This had gone on too long though, Charlotte had long since given up trying to understand any of it, her illness, this chance of mutant power, it all was just too much. Though there was no way Charlotte was yet ready to allow anyone else to know all that she hated those other doctors seeing her teary eyed, she won't allow anyone else to see her cry again. It was better not to think about it then to think herself into a worry.
"though that is one of the things we should look into. One of the things indeed that more conventional doctors almost certainly would not have taken into consideration." Conventional doctors? There was a sudden dislike to the very term itself, and then the faces she disliked the most seemed to tie in with it. "In any case we will no doubt find out soon enough."
If it was suppose to make her comfortable, Charlotte wasn't sure it was working. It was nice having Julian nearby, which was odd, because to be honest she would have figured that it would have felt more comfortable in private, not that this would ever be private, the amount of people prodding and poking her! It wasn't really something she wished about thinking either. "But tell me, have you actually seen any signs of your power awakening as of yet? Or is it perhaps still dormant?" For a moment Charlotte could only lightly press her lips together, retort or remain silent and shrug, the temptation for either was great and yet for a moment she stole a side-glance towards Julian.
"It may have escaped my notice," There was an air of a lie about to form on her tongue, not a full lie, but even a slight lie was still a lie, and before she allowed herself such a fall of grace, the images of the women who she grew up with began taking life. Beautiful women who have fallen under such impossible stress and still held such a grace and power, composure and strength. Women of stories, of make believe mostly, but not all of them, and so what if they were, they didn't make them any less real in spirit as far as Charlotte was concerned.
"Aside from my headaches, I get dizzy spells, sometimes I feel wobbly and it feels strange," there was a poised sense about her, she wouldn't show weakness, she was strong, like all those women in the many stories Charlotte had read, like all the fantasies and true stories and all things, they'll give her strength, like always, her only comfort, "But I don't really know more then what I've been told I guess." She said, wanting to keep it as casual as possible, not wanting to falter as she paused to think,
"You can take my blood," Everyone else had after all, "They said it was all in the blood, they even wanted to do a complete blood transfusion, but they later said it wouldn't work," They gave her hope, then snatched it away, told her it would be ok, then told her they don't know, they said one thing and then another, somewhere along that line, she realized she just didn't care to listen to their problems, nor their solutions. "I can't really offer anything more,"
Nimble fingers pressed lightly against her forehead, maybe it would have been better for Julian to take her to the dorms instead of to the medbay, at least there she could rest a little to ease her headache, instead of prattle on about something she's already heard talked to death.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
The doctor waited patiently for Faith to answer his question, knowing that this subject was far from being an easy one, even if it was one that for obvious reasons had to be discussed sooner rather than later. And despite her obvious resentment of a power which could very well be killing her Charlotte did at least have the intelligent to realise that, even if what she said actually give the doctor much more to work on than the information he already had.
Certainly it didn’t seem as if any visible manifestation of her abilities had taken place. These things didn’t tend to ‘escape your notice’ even if it was true that many emerging mutants tried to pretend that what was happening to them was a figment of their imagination. Charlotte however didn’t strike him as someone who would close their eyes and just hope it would all go away. After all she hadn’t done that when confronted with this seemingly deadly illness she had been struck down with. No he tended to believe that things were exactly as she had said and that until now no sign of her mutancy had manifested itself. At least not in a form that she had immediately been able to recognise.
"You can take my blood," she said resignedly, her voice saying that even if he did it would do neither of them any good. "They said it was all in the blood, they even wanted to do a complete blood transfusion, but they later said it wouldn't work, I can't really offer anything more "
“Well yes from what you have told me that would be the obvious starting point” he replied kindly “ but with your permission I would like to run a full series of tests, just to make sure that we don’t miss anything important. It won’t take very long. The blue mutant reassured her As I said we have a state of the art medical facility here
in fact..”… Hank rose and gestured towards his office door “if you would both follow me I can show you some of the technology I have at my disposal. I can assure you it is really out of this world.”
They didn’t have far to go. Just into one of the private rooms off the nearby corridor. The shiar technology looked , as well it should have, slightly alien but hardly terrifying for all that. “This” Hank explained “is my pride and joy. A complete hospital in one compact package! All you would have to do is lie on the bed my dear.. it would then adapt itself to your contours and start analysing your condition. Blood obviously. All vital signs. DNA. Complete body scan and MRI…and anything else we might feel we would need.. All in the comfort of your own home so to speak ”
“Seriously though” he went on looking with both candour and compassion at his newest patient. “You will find nothing like this anywhere else in the world . And the results will be back almost instantaneously. Nor will I try to hide them from you. In fact…. He reached up and pulled on the screen that was placed on the wall above the unit swivelling it out and round on an extendable arm till it faced the bed itself. “You can watch the scans yourself. If you would like too that is. .
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Julian waited with baited breath as another might wait for the winning lottery numbers on any given night or for a test grade to be returned. It did cross the young mutant's mind that it was probably quite abnormal to have such a curiosity about another student's mutation, particularly one he hadn't known for very long, but Julian shrugged this thought off. After all, with his powers he could hardly be considered 'normal'.
The doctor's question seemed to hang in the air between the three of them. Before breaking the silence Faith glanced at him and Julian caught her eye, hoping he appeared encouraging. Truly this was a private matter of Faith's but if she was willing to share such a personal conversation with him than he could only try to support her in any little way available to him.
"It may have escaped my notice," she answered after a moment and Julian marveled in silence at this admission. He remembered clearly the first violent manifestations of his own abilities. Still fairly new to Xavier's and to having any mutant friends or acquaintances, the English student often forgot that other experiences had been very different from his own. His eyes closed briefly and he could see as clearly as the day it had happened the face of Brian as the tantrum hit him in the chest. The cycle of emotions the sixteen-year-old had gone through were burned into Julian's memory. The initial shock and confusion as the ball hit its mark followed by the pain of impact and finally blankness as the blast knocked him to the floor and swept him into unconsciousness.
He opened green eyes again and recovered quickly from the expression of guilt and regret that had so briefly crossed his face. This was Faith's time and he had to be there for her not be trapped in the past, in mistakes he could never undo.
Now completely focused on Charlotte's words Julian noted how the other mutant spoke of her symptoms so calmly seemingly without any sign of weakness or fear. The master of keeping his emotions largely in check he wondered if he would still be able to do so under such circumstances. Could he be as brave as Faith now was?
It was all so casual, the way she spoke of whatever was affecting her as though it were a simple cold. To freely suggest that the Doctor take her blood as though it was an everyday occurrence. Perhaps for her it was. Julian had always enjoyed puzzles and he was attempting to piece everything together now from the comments Faith made but the idea that a complete blood transfusion had been suggested and rejected gave him pause. Surely that was an indication of just how serious this was and despite her steely facade Julian was fairly sure that she had to be scared. He wished that he could give her hand a squeeze or do something more. Being helpless was truly the worst feeling of all.
"I can't really offer anything more." Although it was said with the same poise as her earlier comments Charlotte's fingers pressed against her forehead and Julian worried that he and the Doctor had tired her out. Julian shot a concerned glance at Hank McCoy, sure that the Doctor would pick up on this action and let her have a bed here or else give him leave to help her back to the dorms.
The Doctor seemed to have other ideas though and while Julian was concerned he was also ready to place his trust in the blue mutant's capable hands. "In fact.. if you would both follow me I can show you some of the technology I have at my disposal. I can assure you it is really out of this world,” Hank said comfortingly and from what Julian had already seen of the institute he would not have been very surprised if Hank had meant that literally. Mutants were possible and he had heard talk of fairies and other beings. If they were real perhaps there were also aliens as absurd as the concept would have sounded to him only one year earlier.
As suggested, Julian rose and walked the short distance into a private room off the corridor. He was careful to keep pace with Faith, not wanting to leave her alone both from the standpoint of a supportive friend and out of the slight fear that she might stumble or need a shoulder to lean on just in case.
Julian had little interest in pursuing medicine or another technological field and his interests tended to lie in the humanities and social sciences but nonetheless he had to admit that the technology was impressive. As Dr. McCoy explained that the 'compact hospital' was his pride and joy Julian could certainly see why, eyeing the parts with his usual curiosity.
"All you would have to do is lie on the bed my dear..," the Doctor told Charlotte. "It would then adapt itself to your contours and start analyzing your condition. Blood obviously. All vital signs. DNA. Complete body scan and MRI…and anything else we might feel we would need.. All in the comfort of your own home so to speak".
The young man chanced a look at Faith, wondering how she was taking this pitch and offer of help. Although aware that he couldn't possibly understand what she was going through, Julian felt that if he had to be ill with an unknown possibly fatal disease Dr. McCoy and his technology would be the one possible source of help that he would trust with his life. He couldn't help thinking that if the blue mutant hadn't been a Doctor he might have made an admirable salesman, able to think of everything and reassure the customer, or patient as it were, of safety and truth.
As the Doctor mentioned watching the scans as they came up on the screen he began to feel uneasy though, again wondering if this was something private that should be kept between Faith and her doctor. If, that is, she agreed at all. Content to stay if she wished to go ahead with it and wanted him there Julian gave Faith a searching look that seemed to communicate his question with his eyes.
'Is this private?' he asked her silently. 'Are you sure you want me here?' Julian couldn't be sure what he would desire under the same circumstances. Someone there to comfort you or celebrate with you if the results were good? Or solitude in case there was less hope? Although he wasn't certain he was beginning to admire her strength and to think that perhaps, if he were in the same situation, he might let her into his emotions and state as well. For such a private and shy person as Julian this was quite an admission of mind and he was now certain that he had truly made a friend. He could only hope that he wouldn't lose her again.
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof."Well yes from what you have told me that would be the obvious starting point" The hazel eyes of the youth found themselves staring at Hank’s desk as he spoke, "but with your permission I would like to run a full series of tests, just to make sure that we don’t miss anything important. It won’t take very long. " Anything important? What could a horde of doctors miss that Hank thought he could find? "As I said we have a state of the art medical facility here in fact.. " It was as if the doctor had replied to Charlotte’s unvoiced question, and all she could do was look up at him briefly, then follow where he gestured towards another room, "if you would both follow me I can show you some of the technology I have at my disposal. I can assure you it is really out of this world. " She gave Julian a glance, then proceeded to stand, felt the room spin ever so slightly, and then tried to ignore the throbbing ache gently trying to irritate her.
"This" Their escort began, like some eager tour guide in a laboratory funhouse, or so the self named ‘Faith’ found herself picturing as she gazed over the machines, "is my pride and joy. A complete hospital in one compact package! All you would have to do is lie on the bed my dear.. it would then adapt itself to your contours and start analysing your condition. Blood obviously. All vital signs. DNA. Complete body scan and MRI…and anything else we might feel we would need.. All in the comfort of your own home so to speak " It wasn’t like she actually knew anything about medical equipment, all Faith knew was that this didn’t look like what the doctors at the hospital had, and that was about all the girl could do, it sounded complicated, but machines weren’t really her thing so it was hard to act impressed... Especially when her life was constantly hanging in the balance whenever she had to deal with these stupid things.
"Seriously though" The doctor was once again serious and once again talking to her as if all this was supposed to both impress and assure her... it was hard to really get her mood up after all the hope and disappointments she’s suffered from other hopeful doctors. "You will find nothing like this anywhere else in the world . And the results will be back almost instantaneously. Nor will I try to hide them from you. In fact…." The girls eyes stared at the screen, gave another glance at Julian, and then staring at the bed once more. "You can watch the scans yourself. If you would like too that is. " What did she want though... did she really care trying to do all this? It all seemed so pointless now... life had been so much better when she didn’t have to think about her condition or what was happening or anything other than day to day plans. It took a brief moment, but she felt Julian’s eyes on her, and turned her face towards his, the look wasn’t difficult to read, and the fact he was worried about prying on her privacy made her want the company all the more.
"If you do not mind Doctor McCoy," Charlotte began, looking away from Julian after offering him a smile and turning to address Beast, "I’d prefer having Julian stay, I’d rather not walk back on my own, I still get lost in this place," She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to change into a gown or not... but took a seat on the bed, making no attempt to lay down just incase she did need to change, "Assuming it’s not going to take long," She looked back and Julian and offered a rather amused; "You can make sure he doesn’t turn into mad doctor and start experimenting on me with his ‘out of this world’ machinery,"
Re: Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.
Charlotte’s sense of humour had, it seemed, survived intact, even if nothing else had. And if in the process it had become somewhat cynical then that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Though, perhaps her allusions to mad doctors were fuelled as much by her disillusion with the current medical system as by his own unorthodox appearance. An appearance which was matched and perhaps surpassed by that of the medical facility he now introduced her too.
Certainly, for all her bravado, it was clear that this wasn’t a situation she wished to face alone. Nor was it one that Hank would have wanted her too. He could have called her parents. He most certainly would have if she had shown the least inclination towards having them with her at this, perhaps crucial, point in her life.
But for all the inner conflict he felt fermenting within this troubled girl his instincts told him that her parents didn’t play a part in it. Comfort and support she surely needed. Just not from them. Not here and now anyway.
Charlotte had chosen her lifeline. Unexpected perhaps but strong all the same! Someone had been there to help her when she had needed it and it seemed that they weren’t ready to walk away now that things had become difficult in the extreme.
It wasn’t a situation that many people his age would be able to handle. But then the same could be said for the most part of situations mutants came up against in their lives. Still…. Death was a subject that was taboo, even amongst those whose genes refused to conform to the ‘norm’.
Julian though was still here, still metaphorically holding the hand extended to him. His composure was nothing less than miraculous, even if there were moments when his green eyes almost betrayed his emotions.
If Hank hadn’t trained himself to be such an astute observer of human nature then he might have missed the subtle changes in the youth’s expression. Especially now, when the blue furred mutant hovered on the edge of exhaustion! But the signs were there all the same. Hidden, if you didn’t look for them, it was true. But it was Hank’s duty to look. And tired or not he still fulfilled his obligations to the best of his ability.
It was good though to have an ally in this. Because Julian was nothing less in the doctor’s eyes! Even if perhaps the British youth didn’t realise it at the present. Above and beyond all else Tantrum had to be Charlotte’s friend.
Tantrum! Already the codename was reassuring. It hadn’t taken long for Hank to pull Julian’s dossier. And it had taken even less time for him to weigh up the advantages and drawbacks of the boy’s powers. Especially since he has already been assessed and judged worthy of being put on a team.
Emotional control certainly wasn’t something he was likely to be lacking. Though the hidden cost to his own psyche of such restraint was something they had as yet to calculate. If anyone but Jean ever could!
Still now his steadiness, artificial or not was a definite benefit, to the doctor as much as to his no doubt troubled patient.
Not that Charlotte was being anything but compliant, lying down when he motioned her to do so and letting the alien technology that surrounded her do its work. And it wasn’t long in coming up with some results.
The blood work was, as Charlotte had told him, strange in the extreme, confirming not only the presence of the gene that marked her as a mutant but also a level of iron and other metals that was almost off the scale. No wonder the other doctors were concerned. In fact they must have considered it nothing less than a miracle that she was still alive. But the fact remained that she was, despite the ill health she was now experiencing, which, to Hank, reinforced the theory that her mutation and these results were in fact related.
“Hmm..” he said quietly. “ I know you’ve already been told there are some irregularities with you’re blood but perhaps you don’t know precisely what they are. Hank swung a small screen round for the girl to see. “The bottom line on the chart is the normal level for metals in the blood. The top line is yours. As you can see there is a significant difference between the two.” To be honest, other than in someone suffering from heavy metal poison I have never seen anything which even comes close. And you certainly have no symptoms of such poisoning.”
The doctor made some small adjustments to the controls on the panel by the bed and went on. “But let us look a little deeper and see if we can’t come up with some sort of explanation for this mystery.” Immediately the screen filled with scanned images of Charlotte’s body starting from the feet and working up, while a line of figures scrolled themselves up on one side. “Higher levels of metal in the bone, the concentration in the bone marrow itself is nothing less than incredible” Hank went on, looking intently at the images with puzzlement and concern.
“Oh my!” If the bone structure had been strange what he saw now almost defied belief. If you hadn’t been around mutants most of your life, that was. The scan had proceeded as far as the girl’s internal organs and they were a sight to behold. Hank tapped the screen lightly to make sure what it was registering was correct, even if he knew intellectually that these machines weren’t open to error. “Oh my dear I can see why you are feeling so unwell”
Mutation was so wonderful and varied. It seemingly defied all logic, disregarding even the most basic rules of biology itself in favour of its own overwhelming need to exist. “I can safely say that this is no disease Charlotte. There is no disease known to man that could do this to your body. Mutation on the other hand.. “
Hank took off his glasses and looked compassionately at Charlotte. “It can take many forms, some visible “the doctor glanced wryly at his own furred hands “and some not “he continued looking at Julian with a smile, “but it always changes us in some way. Your mutation is changing you Charlotte, physically that is. And in a very dramatic fashion.”
Once more he pointed towards the screen, interpreting for the watching teenagers what its images meant for him. “This for example is your heart.” he told her steadily. The darker places are soft tissue… what we’d expect to find there. The lighter places….” More than half of the image was light, the conversion already so far advanced that it was clear nothing could stop it now. “The lighter places are metal, and the same phenomena is taking place in all of your internal organs. Your cells are being converted into some sort of alloy and the process is very advanced. Which means… “
Hank’s yellow eyes met hers frankly. “When you came through those doors you were convinced that you were going to die of some mysterious disease. Well that at least is not true. And though I cannot in all honesty promise you that this transformation is something you can survive, I can tell you that there is a fighting chance of doing so. Which is” he said earnestly “ better odds than we had before, don’t you think?”
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