Jean and Moira, Saturday morning

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Moira come to Seattle to check on Scott, and Jean. Jean is awake, so she gets taken care of first. It's nice to know that there's always going to be someone there when you just need to cry.



The nurses had pretty much squeaked and pointed out Scott's room when Moira introduced herself and asked where he was being kept. Raising an eyebrow, she couldn't help but think that Jean had been through here--after all, they were acting much the same way the nurses in New York had been when Nathan had been kept.

The Redheads of the MedLab were forces to be reckoned with, after all.

Knocking softly, Moira slipped in and spotted Jean dozing in a chair next to Scott's bed. She winced at the bandages he was sporting, but she'd get to that later when he was awake. "Jean?"

Jean was awake in an instant, starting up with a worried look. "What's wro... Oh, Moira." She sagged back into the chair and offered the other woman a pale smile. "Hello."

"Ach, I'm sorry, I dinnae realize I'd startle ye so much." Closing the door behind her gently, she lifted up a thermos. "I come bearin' tea from th' Mansion--yer favorite kind, actually. Figured ye could do wit' some wit' everythin' tha's goin' on."

"You're a saint," Jean said, waving Moira towards one of the other chairs. "And it's all right. For some reason, the nurses tend to avoid me," she gave Moira a wry smile, "so I wasn't expecting anyone to come in..." Without some frightening reason, she left unsaid.

Bringing the chair closer, she sank into it, handing over the tea. Still warm, she thought, amused. "We red heads tend ta scare them away," Moira mused. "Obviously, I 'eard wha' 'appened so I asked Clarice ta bring me over ta check on Scott. An' ye. 'ow're ye 'oldin' up?"

"You'd think the nursing board would test for an ability to cope with overbearing families or something," Jean managed, craddling the thermos. "I think I'm doing tolerably well, given the circumstances." Of course, when you considered what those circumstances were... Her gaze shifted to Scott and she bit her lip. He was asleep, soundly so... He wouldn't hear. "God, Moira. I'm so frightened..." Just the admission was enough to bring tears to her eyes, although they didn't fall.

Pushing herself out of her chair, Moira carefully sat on the edge of Jean's and put an arm around her. "I know, sweetie, I know," she murmured, knowing exactly how the other woman felt at that very moment. After all, how many times had she sat at Nathan's bedside, worried and tired and not able to do anything. "'Tis okay ta be scared, though, ye've got us ta lean on."

Leaning into Moira's hug, Jean couldn't help the shakes as she spoke. "I wasn't fast enough. I heard him and I couldn't do anything and..." And down that way lay the hysterical terror and the tears that just wouldn't end. And it would wake up Scott. Holding tight to that thought Jean kept her breathing steady, fighting for control.

Helping her put down the thermos, it would do to have it dropped because that would either wake Scott up or break it open, Moira fully enveloped her as much as possible. "Shhh, yer nay ta blame," Moira murmured into Jean's hair. "It'll be okay, ye'll see. Ye did everythin' ye could, 'tis nay yer fault."

Shielding the link, Jean curled into Moira's arms, letting the tears fall. Her shoulders shook from the suppressed sobs, but not a sound escaped.

Knowing what she was doing, she just rocked her gently, murmuring soft words for her ears only. "It'll be okay. Scott will be okay. Yer there for 'im an' tha's enough for any man ta jump back ta 'is feet."

Jean clung to Moira as she cried, and Moira simply held the younger woman, rubbing her back and reassuring her as best she could. And, eventually, as Moira had known they must, the tears ran their course.

Jean vanished into the little bathroom to splash some water on her face and came back out, looking pale, but a little better for the release as she curled back into her chair, pulling her feet up to the edge so she could wrap her arms around her knees. "Thank you," she said, softly. "I've... I've not had anyone I could just collapse on."

Moira tucked some hair behind Jean's ear and smiled. "Any time an' I 'ope ye know tha'. We all need it on occasion an' ye've all been there for me when I've needed it. Yer stron' but ye need tha' shoulder ta lean on. An' I know 'ow 'ard it is ta ask for it. Or ta remember tha' ye do 'ave tha' option."

"Particularly now," Jean admitted. "I need to be strong for him, and I'm not going to let him down. Not now, not ever."

"I really dinnae think either o' ye 'ave tha' ta worry about. Yer bot' verra lucky."

Jean managed a little smile. "Ah, but I'm going to worry anyway." Sighing, she reached out to collect the thermos again, and brought the mug someone had brought her from the gift shop to her with her tk. "Would you like some?" she asked.

"We wouldnae love them if we dinnae worry 'bout them," Moira said, grinning a bit. "An' aye, I would love some. Some tea now an' I figured we'd try some food later, since I'm assumin' ye 'avenae eaten much yet." She squeezed Jean's shoulder. "We'll get you through this."

Jean's smile widened at that. "And most people get so confused and think it works the other way," she said, pouring out some tea for Moira in her mug and taking the thermos lid/cup for herself. "Not sure I'm up to eating right now," she admited, "but later..." It felt good to let Moira take care of her, at least a little bit.

"Most people are jus' confused in general," came the firm reply. "An' I thought I spied a deli tha' looked decent downstairs since we bot' know tha' most hospital food isnae wort' th' trouble. An' I promise we can brin' it back up 'ere ta eat."

"Compromise is good," Jean told Moira, sipping at the tea. "You promise that, and I won't insist you go get it because I'm not leaving him."

Holding up her hand, she smiled. "I promise. Besides, th' wonders o' bein' a telepat' is tha' ye essentially never leave 'is side."

"And that helps. So much."