xp_logs | Manuel and Jean - An Offer, Fairly Given, Fairly Refused

Manuel can feal Paige's distress. He wants to help. Jean tells him no. They talk past one another a lot, don't they?

Manuel stuck his head inside of Medlab, soon to be followed by the rest of him. He was dressed in nice grey neutral colors - he was triyng to be as non-threatening as he possibly could be. "Hello?" he said, trying to get the attention of whichever Medical person was on-duty. By the feel of it he'd say Jean, but he was determined to make his case the deadhead way, see where that got him. The waves of crippling fear and self-loathing were much stronger from down here, specifically coming from iso. It was so familiar to him that it almost made him feel normal. Comfortable.

Jean recognized Manuel's voice and looked up from Paige's blood work. As they had suspected, it wasn't a physical disease causing her problems. "Hello," she answered, rising and heading out into the public area of the medical lab. "Manuel, what can I do for you?" He was not one of the one's she'd been expecting. Jay, she thought, would come down soon but she would have though Manuel and Dani would stay away, Paige's mental state not being terribly conducive to a healthy psi environment.

"I could not help but notice that you have a mind in serious distress down here." he said carefully and neutrally. "I came down here to offer my assistance. I have a great deal of very intimately personal experience with the mentally ill. My insight could be valuable to you." he said. "I would really like to help. May I see her?"

Well, Jean did appreciate that he was sticking to non-confrontational language and tone. That said... "No, Manuel. I do appreciate that you want to help, but I can't let you into the iso ward."

"Why not? Have you read my file? I spent _years_ in an insane asylum myself. I know the mentally ill - I know what it is to be one, I know how they feel. I ... I want to help her get better." he said, knowing that he sounded retarded and childish but not having the words for phrasing it better, more persuasively.

"Yes, I have read your file, and I know but... Manuel. You have been in such a situation, so you should be the first to understand just how carefully we need to proceed here. Trying to help in the wrong fashion could simply exacerbate the situation. Paige is highly mistrustful of psis to begin with, and manipulating her now would be counterproductive."

"I have no intention of manipulating her right now!" he said, trying and failing to keep the anger out of his voice. He supposed he'd earned it, but he was fast getting _tired_ of people always assuming he wanted to jump down someone's brainstem power-first. "I know how to talk to her, how to get her to open up. Even if it is just a little, having her be more cooperative can't be a bad thing..." he suggested.

"My apologies for the assumption," Jean said, "but the answer is still no. Paige is adamant about not allowing people to see her and Charles and I are in agreement on the matter. Physically, mentally, emotionally... She's in no state to have visitors."

Manuel took a deep breath and released it. He was so _close_ - he could probably just do it from here and be done with it. But he couldn't - no matter how badly he wanted to. "I see." he said carefully. "You're right, I should have known better. I'm sorry for bothering you. Will you make an announcement when she is able to receive callers?" he asked.

"I will, of course," Jean agreed, feeling the sense of frustration coming off him, but not really sure what she could do about it without compromising on her patient's health and her rights. "Manuel, Charles is in charge of her therapy. If he feels that your insights will be helpful I will happily let you in to see her." Well, perhaps not happily, but if Charles truly thought he could help, she would step aside. "If you really want to help, talk with him. Lacking all else, as you say, you have been there and have a perspective that he and I may not."

Manuel picked up her suspicion, her skepticism. He saw them easily, shining bright in the reddish-gold that was her mind. The concern that went with them, though, went un-noticed, woven as it was through the other, darker strands. "Very well. Hopefully Charles will deign to answer my email so I can broach the topic with him. I know I could help, if it were permitted. I can feel it."

While the inhibitor on her wrist gave her enough shielding that Paige's instability didn't bleed into her own mind, it was dialed down so she would be able to check her patient's mental state. Which meant the ongoing stress of her mind was pushing at her, which meant the headaches were inevitable. Jean refrained from rubbing her temples and told Manuel, "Or you could do as you've done here and go speak with him in person..."

Manuel shook his head. "No, I think that would be unwise." he said. "I am the unstable one, the crazy empath with no control, remember? By showing restraint and going through channels, I demonstrate my willingness to play by the rules, to stay within proscribed boundaries." he said. "You used to lobby on the Hill, you should know these things."

Sarcasm... the protest of people who are weak, Jean quoted to herself. Maybe it was just Manuel himself who was giving her the headache. "Having just explained exactly why it would be in everyone's best interest for you to speak with the Professor, I fail to understand why you are so determined not to."

"That's because you can't see things from my perspective." he snapped back, and then gritted his teeth to keep from saying anything else. But inside her mind he could see he was making no headway with her. She would not listen, was not receptive to what he had to say. "Good night, Doctor Grey." he said, bowing to her in the old-fashioned courtly style, before retreating out of Medlab entirely.

Jean sighed and tugged her reading glasses off, running a hand across her face. "That boy..." she muttered to herself, but didn't even finish the thought. Well, the good thing about working in the medlab was there was always plenty of aspirin around.