Manuel and Jean, never a good combination...

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Jean goes to investigate the addition to her rosebush and meets Manuel out there. They continue to fail to get along rather spectacularly, but he only obliquely threatens her and she doesn't blow anything up, so it's not a complete failure.



Jean had been surprised when Scott had mentioned liking the white rose bush she'd added to her garden and, as soon as she'd found a time, had gone out to see what he'd meant. The last roses of the season were still visible on most of the bushes but the new bush, with it's bright new blossoms, stood out as a stunning contrast. And so did the young man, all in black, his mind locked away, who sat contemplating it. He seemed lost in thought, and Jean didn't want to intrude, but she was curious. Centering herself and reinforcing her shields, she spoke. "Hello, Manuel."

Manuel notched his mental shieding up another few notches, then turned to face Jean. His eyes were hidden by his sunglasses, and he looked terrible. Haggard, drawn, worn out. "Greetings," he said listlessly. "I added something to your rose garden."

Jean's eyebrow twitched upward at the sight of him. "I noticed," she said. "It's lovely. May I ask why?"

"I wanted to honor a friend," he said after a long moment. Holding his shields this high really took it out of him, mentally-speaking, but what was in his head had to stay in his head. "She recently passed from this world, and this was her people's way of remembering their fallen."

Jean had been studying with Nathan long enough to have learned about Askani burial traditions, and with Manuel's very specific phrasing the connection was easy to make. "I'm sorry to hear about your loss," she said, bowing her head slightly. "Would you like to talk about it, or shall I leave you here?"

"There's nothing left to say. She felt it was her time to pass Beyond," he said sadly, fighting the knot in his throat and the sinking feeling in his heart. "She wouldn't listen to me, would not accept my offer of shelter. And her host did nothing to prevent it."

There was something about that... something strange that clicked in her mind. But it was distant, and hard to catch. She'd think about it later. For now, Jean said, "Losing her doesn't mean there's nothing left to say. Would you tell me about her?" She knew Manuel had been training with the Askani, but not much more.

Manuel smiled crookedly at that. "She's been here as long as the rest were. If you didn't care then, you're not likely to start now," he told her, standing up and brushing himself off as best he could. "But if you really want to know, then come on. Take a look," he said tauntingly. "See it for yourself, Doctor Grey. See what her life meant."

"Which is to say she'd been here longer than I, from your frame of reference," Jean said, mildly, refusing to let Manuel bait her in his grief the way he had before. "Are you offering to share your memories of her with me because you want to share her, show me the woman you cared about, or are you simply lashing out, using her memory as a tool of your pain?" His tone suggested the late.

Manuel quirked an eyebrow. "If I wanted to lash out, do you really think you could stop me?" he asked reasonably. "I cut right through telepathic shields. And no, I'm not going to share her with you. What she meant is too private a thing for someone like you. But just a friendly word - don't touch the rosebush." he said calmly. "It would be a truly sad thing if it was disturbed. It's a grave marker, of a sort."

And, under stress, he reverted to veiled threats. Predictable. A quieter, darker thought added pathetic. Manuel did always seem to find a way to bring out her bad side. "I've no intention of disturbing the marker," Jean said, keeping her thoughts out of her voice and off her face, "but if you'd no intention to share her, why offer?"

Manuel quirked his head for a second and looked at Jean. No matter how she wanted to keep that feeling buried deep, he saw it quite clearly. "That's good." he said, and meant it. She didn't intend to desecrate Lusanya's gravemarker, which was safer for everyone really. "I changed my mind." he said lightly. "I thought that you might be able to appreciate what she was, what she meant. But I fear that I was mistaken." he said. He itched to do something truly rash, but he would not dishonor Lusanya's memory and her grave in that fashion. No matter how pathetic she might feel he was, he had very distinct limits.

Jean nodded, supressing the little sigh. Manuel frustrated her in so many ways. "As you will. I'll leave you out here, then, if you like..."

Manuel reacted like he'd been slapped by Jean's frustration, and his hands clenched into fists spasmodically. "Do what you want." he said with a sigh. He was definitely _not_ a diplomat. Probably because he had a hard time bringing himself to _care_ what she felt.

"Well, I want to help you, but only you can decide what that will be." There was honest truth in the statement - as much as he frustrated and confused her, Jean didn't like seeing anyone in pain, and for all that he wasn't really one of her charges, she still felt responsible. Especially if, as his reaction to her pressence seemed to imply, she was part of what was causing the pain.

Jean had something odd going on in her head, but he was way too tired to follow up on it properly. "And no, you don't. Not really. You'd rather like it if I took me and my emo bullshit and went somewhere else and left you and your garden alone. That's OK," he said as he turned to leave. But before he could leave entirely, he stopped dead. "You really want to help me?" he asked, not turning around.

Jean sighed as he turned away - she'd hoped he'd be able to see the truth of her words even through his pain. But his last words sparked a flash of hope, and also a flash of warriness. "Yes, I do," was the simple response.

Manuel nodded. "Stop having people lie to us. We're not dumb, and Nathan didn't have a car accident." he said, and then stepped out of her garden.

Jean's eyes narrowed at his retreating back, fingernails pressing sharply into her palms, her jaw clenching against the thousand responses that filled her head. Breathing deeply, she forced her mind into a calming pattern, locking away the dark voice which was railing against the damned brat, demanding that she do... something. Something unpleasant. It wasn't until well after he'd gone that she once more felt calm enough to return inside.