Jean goes to have a talk with her friend, David Rosenberg

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

They discuss their mutual patient and miraculous recoveries in general.

Backdated to the middle of last week



As soon as he saw Jean coming towards him, David Rosenberg rose from his seat at the small table, taking her hands and bestowing a paternal sort of kiss on her cheek before offering her a seat. "It's good to see you, Jean, under less... trying circumstances. How is your patient fairing? No poor side effects from her miraculous recovery, I hope?"

"She's doing well, David, thank you. And thank you for all of your help the other night – I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found someone who could help her." She caught the eye of a passing waiter and ordered a coffee before turning back to her old friend. "And thank you again for meeting with me, and holding off on the questions I know you must have."

"Know I do have, my dear. Let's not beat about the bush after all these years." He smiled at her, well aware of her mutant ability to read his mind.

"That is, of course, one of the things I wanted to speak with you about. I want to apologize for, well, stemming your curiosity the other night. It was incredibly invasive of me, but there just wasn't time, I'm afraid, for your questions."

"I quite understand, but I hope you will indulge me now? I must admit, I'm burning with curiosity to know how this miracle, or, rather, this other miracle was brought about. I'd understood you were lost during some camping trip in Canada, and we all believed you'd died."

"Mmmm," Jean said, holding off her explanation as the waiter returned and using the time to format a response that she could give him in good conscience. "Well, it was a... bit more complicated that that, but the substance of the matter is the same, so I hope you will indulge me if I leave it at that for now?" While she did, of course, trust David implicitly, there were things that were best not discussed with outsiders, and the activities of the X-Men were definitely one of them.

David nodded, more concerned with the outcome of the tale than its particulars.

"Well," Jean began, "after the accident, I woke up in a hospital in Vancouver with no memory of who or where I was..." David was an excellent audience, he didn't interrupt with questions, simply let Jean talk, for which she was grateful – it was still sometimes difficult to talk about this for her – and did not pry once she had finished, simply nodded his understanding.

"Well," he said when she finished, "words can't say how shocked I was to see you again, nor how happy I am that I have, that you're here to be seen. I hope you won't mind if I let a few of our colleagues know? I'm not sure I can really keep such happy news from them."

"Of course not, David, so long as you don't go into how we ran into each other."

He smiled wryly. "Don't worry about that, my dear. I assume that is one of the other things you wished to talk about?"

Jean nodded. "I hope there haven't been any problems with your staff? I know they won't remember most of what happened..." she trailed off inquisitively.

"No, they remember some slight excitement on an otherwise normal shift, but nothing terribly definite, and the general consensus seems to be that it wasn't a terrible interesting crisis, as crises go."

"I'm glad of that, and more glad that you're not upset. I asked that you be left the true memory of what happened, and I trust you, of course, but..."

"I'm not mad, Jean, far from it. Curious as all hell about what happened, although I won't pry if you don't want me to, but I do understand. There are some things that are better kept mum, and life would be far more difficult for every mutant in the country if certain things were widely known."

Jean smiled, glad her faith in him had not been misplaced, although she hadn't worried much. "Thank you, David. As for your curiosity, I can explain some of what happened, at least at the end..."

"Oh, don't worry about more than that," he cut in, paling slightly. "I admit, I've no desire whatsoever to know what could have happened to bring such a case to my ER. I swear, my curiosity is focused entirely on medical miracles, not... atrocities."

"I quite understand," Jean said, looking serious. "And I think 'miracle' is really the best possible word for it. Much of the story I think you would not believe even if I could really, honestly explain it. However, the long and short of it is that one of the two girls you saw in the operating theater has the ability to heal, at times, and the other is a teleporter, who was also able to give the first access to the... energy she needed for the healing."

"A true healer?" David asked, eyes alight with curiosity. "I've read mention of mutants with the ability to heal themselves, the so-called 'healing factor' mutation, but I believe this is the first I've heard of someone who could heal others... The possibilities..."

"Healing is not, actually, her primary mutation, merely a side effect of the mutation. And explaining it verges on the territory of things you would not believe, and which, in truth, I ought not be so indiscrete as to explain."

"But still, Jean, if she can truly heal others, think of the enormous good she can do..."

But Jean was shaking her head. "David, if it were as simple as that, why on earth would I have brought Ali... our patient to the hospital in the first place. This healing ability is an incredible drain on the girl – honestly, I think it's as much a miracle that she didn't kill herself to save our patient as that the healing happened at all. Look," she tried, wanting to explain, "I would give as much as you would if I could find a way to... to magically heal the ills of all of my patients, of all of yours, but, oh, David."

"We haven't found it yet, then?" There was a note of sadness in his voice. "That's... that's the real hell of seeing the miracles, you know, when they do happen. You know that they can't happen for everyone. That there is no universal panacea."

"I know. But every person we can help is a miracle in and of itself."

"That's why I haven't given up yet. Cause for all of the pain I can't heal, there's a little bit I can. And that's... that's magic."

"You have no idea."

Comments

[xp_daytripper]

"That's why I haven't given up yet. Cause for all of the pain I can't heal, there's a little bit I can. And that's... that's magic."

"You have no idea."

*snickers* He really has no idea. Nice log. :)

[x-juggernaut.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Excellent log.