capeandcowllogs | Log; Ongoing

Entry tags:

Log; Ongoing

WHO: Scott Summers and Jean Grey
WHERE: Medlab at the Institute
WHEN: Sunday morning
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: Scott visits Jean for a check up and to talk about his crazy ex-wife.
FORMAT: Quicklog or paragraph

Scott was actually looking forward to seeing Jean. With all the craziness with Maddie the craziness with Jean seemed relatively low key. There were still a lot of things they had to discuss, but he wasn't quite as worried about it now as he was when she first came. They had spent some time together on Friday and gotten used to be around each other, which helped.

So when he got to the medlab, he was a lot more relaxed than he originally thought he would be.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She'd managed to get settled and had even set up an office just off the Medlab so that she could go through the Institutes records - what few there were - and try to make sense of things at the school and with the Team. From what she could tell there hadn't been much documentation kept with regard to the health of the mutants at the Institute and it concerned her, especially for faculty and the members of the X-Men.

If she thought about it, she probably would realize that she was compensating just a little in her mind so as not to think about Scott - her Scott, and the Scott here, the one due to arrive at any moment. She sighed and pulled her hair back from her face, pulling a lab coat over her jeans and sweater, as she put the finishing touches on Scott's new lab file.

She'd noticed that he'd been at less than top function on Friday when he'd shown her around and was a little more winded than usual after an especially long trek through the City's boutique district. She'd told him that she could go it alone but he'd insisted on accompanying her anyway. It was a nice gesture, and one she appreciated.

Scott smiled at Jean as he came into the medlab. It was so easy to smile at her here, with none of the ugly history between him. He realized that probably meant things were harder for her, and he felt a bit bad about that, but it was good to feel comfortable around the person that he had been so close to for so long.

"Getting yourself all settled in?" he asked.

"A little bit at a time," she said, looking around at all of the equipment she'd yet to get set up. "I think I may enlist Doctor McCoy in helping me with the heavy lifting when he has a chance. I know you've been keeping him busy.." She raised an eyebrow, having heard whispers of a Danger Room amongst others at the Institute. Of course, whether those whispers were out loud or just drifting through her psychic consciousness she wouldn't say. "But I think I'm making some progress."

Jean smiled, nodding towards the medical bed that she'd already set up, ready to scan his vitals and for any other physiological anomalies. "Shall we?"

"I promise, I'm completely fine," he said, sitting on the table where she was sitting. He'd been through this sort of process so many times before he almost didn't think about it. At least his ribs were healed though, he didn't need someone else chiding him about them.

"If there's anything you need for the medlab though, just let me or Warren know."

Jean moved to circle around the table, giving a short laugh as she tapped gently on his shoulders. "Lay back, Scott. Not that I don't believe you, but we might as well get this over with while you're here." The computer would scan everything, his heart rate, vitamin levels, blood pressure - it would even show her the evidence of any recent injuries so that she could note them in his file.

Scott laid back and waited for the machine to scan him. He was curious what it would show about the injuries to his ribs. Would it be like they were never there or that they had healed naturally?

"So a medical degree, huh?" Scott said. "I never asked where from."

Jean followed the readouts on the screen, making notes in Scott's file as it processed the scans. "Empire State," she said softly, notating where he'd last received injuries before turning to him. "And how did you get these? They seem recently healed." She pressed her hand against his side, pressing slightly between the muscles of his ribs to see if there was any residual pain.

Scott nodded, almost absently when he heard where she got her degree from. He was just making small talk, which he suddenly realized was a very weird thing to be doing with Jean. He was used to knowing everything about her.

“I got them doing something stupid,” he said, not really wanting to expound on it. “And a girl named Rikku healed them for me today.”

Jean raised an eyebrow, curious. Mutant healing factor had always fascinated her and the ability to heal, well, that was even higher on her list of things she yearned to study and understand. Still, she knew what it was like to be scrutinized under a microscope and knew that most others would probably feel the same way. "I see," she said calmly, still focusing on the readouts and making notes in his file. "It seems everything else is in good order as well. Blood pressure is on the high end of normal, but," she gave him a smile. "That's to be expected."

"We need to talk about Madelyne," Scott said, sitting up once she had given him what he considered an all clear. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid small talk, but he wanted to tell Jean about her as soon as possible. Depending on when Maddie came from, she could be incredibly powerful.

Jean nodded, setting the file aside and leaning against a table opposite the bed where he sat. "Your ex-wife... people seem somewhat concerned that I stay away from her."

"Madelyne is a clone of the Jean from my world," Scott started to explain. He hated this story, mostly because he had been such an ass to Maddie.

"I met her just after the first time Jean died. The resemblance was uncanny and I quickly fell in love with her. With her, not the fact that she was a clone of Jean, we didn't even know at the time. We got married and I left the X-Men. Maddie and I had a son, but not long after he was born I got a call saying Jean was alive. I just- I left them. No word of where I was going, no real goodbye, I was just out there door."

Jean's brow furrowed and she sighed, looking at him. "You must have loved her very much, your Jean." It seemed so unlike him to have done that, but she didn't say that, just waited for him to continue.

"It-" Scott stopped and shook his head. There was no excusing what he had done. None at all. "It's the thing I regret most in my life," he finally said.

"She was understandably furious," he continued. "And things happened, and she made some bad choices and she became evil. There's no other way to put it. Insane and evil."

"So what does this have to do with me?" She shook her head. Obviously, this woman would be none too pleased with Jean, even if it wasn't specifically her who had caused Scott to do what he did, but she was still unclear as to why absolute avoidance was necessary.

“When she finds out you’re here, there’s a very good chance she’ll try and kill you,” Scott said, matter of factly. There was no doubt in his mind that’s what Maddie would try and do. “Doesn’t matter if you’re not the Jean from our world.”

Jean's eyes widened a bit and she tilted her head, smiling despite the shiver of unanticipated fear she felt at having him say that someone she didn't even know would want her dead. "So she's that kind of crazy."

"She might be," Scott cautioned, not wanting to paint Maddie out as a stark raving lunatic from the get go. "She certainly becomes that way. But for a long time, until I hurt her, she was a good person. But the two people she hates most in the world are Jean and I."

"So then, me by proxy." Jean closed her eyes a moment, wondering how in the world you dealt with something like this. When someone you weren't even with's ex wanted you dead because of something another you did in another world. It was a bit of a whirlwind and she sighed, deciding there was really nothing she could do about it. "I suppose that life goes on, though. I'll be careful but it's not exactly like I can keep her from knowing I'm here if she's as powerful as they say she is."

"No, not long term, and I don't want you to feel like you have to stay in lock-down or life in fear," Scott said. As much as he felt guilty about what he'd done to Maddie, she had caused others enough pain that it was easy to not feel too bad for her.

"Well, I might be slightly more cautious," Jean said, pushing off of the table and crossing to him. "But I daresay you know it's not in my nature to hide."

"I know," Scott said, sitting up from where he was laying down. "And she became very good at psychological manipulation as well, even without her powers."

Really, she sounded like such a lovely person already. "I'll keep that in mind..." she trailed off, giving him a curious look. "You don't think she would try to come here, to the Institute?"

"She'll definitely come eventually," he said with a nod. "One way or another, if she is past the point of no return in regards to her sanity, then she'll come here."

Jean nodded. "Then we'll just have to be prepared for that eventuality, but," she smiled. "Until then, life goes on. And you have to remember that, too. I know how you are, Scott. Dwelling on the past won't do you any good, so just focus on what you do best. Keep the kids safe. You know everyone here is on your side."

Scott thought of Alex and wasn't so sure that everyone was on his side. He and Alex had come to terms with Maddie, but that was in their own world when she had been a homicidal maniac. Not here where she was maybe still a victim.

"Hopefully everyone is on my side," he said with a sigh. "I'm sorry I brought this problem on you."

Jean looked at him, perplexed. "You didn't bring this problem, Scott," she said, shaking her head. "You didn't bring her here. And whether or not you contributed to her state is neither here nor there. We'll assess the threat when and if she becomes one. And either way, I'll be fine. You don't have to worry."

"No, I did," he said, shaking his head. It was nice that people were trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but it was.

"At least partially. But anyways, we've dealt with her before and we'll deal with her again. We've trained for this sort of thing."

"Yes, we have," she answered, picking up his file again. She wasn't sure what else to say, fearful that this would devolve into some sort of emotionally uncomfortable back and forth if they weren't careful and she knew that right now that was the last thing Scott needed.

"So I spoke with Doctor McCoy about the lack of records and he agrees that we should perform physical evaluations. The Team first, then faculty. The students only if you deem it necessary, but it would be a good idea."

"You're right," he said with a nod, glad to leave the subject of Madelyne behind.

"Dr. Kinney did some tests when she was here, but she split her time between the Institute and the clinic, so she didn't have the time she would have liked to for everyone. I'll go ahead and let everyone know they'll be expected to come in for physicals soon."

"That'd be great. Oh," Jean said, remembering Warren's offer. "That reminds me. Warren approached me about working for a clinic as well. If there's time left between teaching and fulfilling my duties here. Obviously, I wouldn't shirk any of my responsibilities to the team or to the Institute, but if I can be of help..."

"Of course, just don't stretch yourself too thin," he said. He knew how hard Jean worked and didn't want her getting burned out. "If you have to cut back on teaching, that's fine."

"I wouldn't do that," she said, her brow furrowing. "I would think you'd know that about me, Scott. The kids, the team, they come first."

"We have lots of teachers," he reassured her, giving her a smile. "I know your passion is to help. I'm just saying, we have lots of people who could teach, not nearly as many who could be doctors."

"I'll give it a week or so and see how things are going and then decide," she said with a shrug. "I want to finish getting settled here first."

"Of course, if there's anything more I can do to help, just let me know," he said. Again, she reminded him so much of his own Jean, how she was so willing to help others out and put their needs first.

"I will," she said, nodding. "I should get in touch with Doctor McCoy so we can organize for the examinations. That'll keep me busy for a while, I'm sure."

"I'm sure it will," Scott said. He could only imagine how starting over from scratch on the medical records would be a time consuming process for people as thorough as Jean and Hank.

"Make sure you take some time to socialize though."

Jean laughed. The last time she'd socialized, well... that would probably be something she shouldn't think about much.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," he said, smiling at her. He would make sure that she wasn't keeping to herself too much.

"Are there any other tests that you need to run?" he asked.

"No," she said softly, finishing the notes she had started in his file. "I've got everything I need. Unless there's something you're concerned about?"

"No, as long as the ribs are fine, then I'm good to go," he said, once again twisting and marveling at the lack of pain.

"And if you ever need a healer, a girl here named Rikku apparently does an amazing job."

Jean nodded. "Good to know," she smiled. "Take care of yourself, Scott."

"You too, Jean," he said, smiling back at her. "And don't be such a stranger, okay? I know this is... it's weird and it's difficult, but I'd rather that than not have one of my best friends, alright?"

"I..." she faltered, turning away and walking to her desk with a short laugh. If there was one person with whom she'd never been able to truly keep her emotions hidden, it was Scott. And it seemed so easy for her to let that facade fall. But she couldn't.

She took a steadying breath and nodded, placing his file on her desk. "I'll try."

"I'll see you around Jean, even if you try to hide," he said, giving her one last smile before heading out of the medlab and on to his duties.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Log; Ongoing

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject