xp_logs | Kevin & Jean | Friday Morning

Kevin seeks out Dr. Grey-Summers on the advice of Haller.

Kevin had woken up early, unable to sleep with the impending trip to be examined hanging over his head. He'd tried to figure out all night what kind of examination a person did for a problem like his. Haller was right, though. He was doing the right thing trying to get help now. If he didn't it wouldn't be a club getting burned down, it would be people without lives, or possibly just limbs. Embracing his inner monster wasn't on his list of things to accomplish in this life or any other. He'd killed the time in between by running, lifting weights and sketching, but he still managed to end up at the medlabs before anyone else seemed to be functioning. His hands were folded in his lap, clutching onto one another in a death grip, as he sat silently and waited for Jean to show up for the day. He could be patient without jumping out of his skin, really he could.

By normal standards, Jean was early and ought to have had more than enough time to get into her office and prep the exam room, but Kevin was definitely not working on normal standards just now. Jean paused as she came down the stairs, raising an eyebrow. "Morning, Kevin," she said. "Did you not sleep well?"

Kevin stood when he heard the voice, manners not fleeing despite the anxiety that knotted his stomach. The feeling of his stomach mirrored the very real effect his situation was having on his muscles. If it was at all possible he was actually more tense than he'd been the night before. "Mornin', Doctor." Grey-Summers was kind of a mouthful so he cut the name off. Kevin was nervous and was it plain in his wide eyes that didn't linger too long on any one thing. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back so as to not draw much attention to them. "Um, not really. Nerves, Ah guess."

"Of course," Jean said, nodding, and moved over to unlock the medlab, closed since neither she nor Amelia had been needed for the night shift. "Come on in," she said. "Take a seat. I have to do a couple of things before we can get started."

"Alright, no problem." Kevin's voice was faltering, dipping lower and quieter than was usual for him. He trailed through the door and wondered if maybe he should have told Nathan he wouldn't be in as early as usual. Of course, Nathan had probably figured something was up with Kevin's immense amount of weirdness which far outweighed any previous weirdness he had once possessed.

"Take a seat," Jean said, nodding towards one of the chairs. "Won't be half a second." She moved quickly about the medlab, turning on the computers, unlocking her office and grabbing Kevin's file which she'd set aside last night. Coming back into the main room after a few moments. "All right then, Kevin, let's talk. Tell me what's going on with you."

He sat where she indicated and waited patiently. Or about as patiently as was possible when he kept waiting to hear that he was going to be forced back to Muir any minute now. He was fidgeting with his hands by time Jean came back and her question made him pale. He'd wanted to avoid this part which is why he'd asked Haller to give her the general gist. All he managed was an awkward and slightly frustrated, "Ah dunno." It was true as far as direct answers were, he had no idea what was going on.

Jean's look was sympathetic - she knew this was hard for him, whatever was going on. "If it helps to relax you any, I have heard at least the generalities of the situation. But I still need some details here, Kevin."

"Ah know, it's just..." he rung his hands in his frustration. It wasn't frustration with Jean, just with the situation. Kevin sighed and his look was apologetic. "Ah'm sorry Doctor Grey-Summers. Ah'm not tryin' to be difficult. It's just Ah dunno what details you want so Ah dunno what to say."

"That's all right," Jean reassured the young man. "Why don't we start at the beginning. When did you first notice what was going on?"

Actually notice? Time blurred together in his head making it a little difficult for Kevin to really differentiate the days. He thought that had more to do with his current state of mind than anything else, though. "Two weeks, Ah think. Maybe three."

"What was going on then? Was that when you started exercising your mutation on wood or was that before?"

He shook his head. "Ah started in...in February Ah think. It was after we came back from Whistler where there was an avalanche. Ah never used my powers intentionally. Not since leaving that junkyard Ah'd holed up in right after...but people were trapped and it made me useful. But Ah think Ah used 'em too much and Ah blacked out from it. Technically Ah should've been training since the FBI let me go, it was one o' their conditions, but Ah'd been dodging it. So after Ah got back from Whistler Ah finally started training. Training was," he stopped himself from saying it was pointless, "frustratin'. Ah couldn't really seem to do what people wanted me to do, which was just not use 'em when Ah touched somethin'. It was Mister Haller's idea for me to try it with wood, sorta like sculpting. Ah didn't actually notice nothin' weird until Ah stopped doin' it so much. Before that Ah didn't really think 'bout it, but Ah guess it was happening' then, too."

"So, how did using your powers make you feel? And stopping using them?"

"Relaxed, happier, better mood," he listed off in a monotone without looking at her. It was easier to do it if he didn't make eye contact with her, or really register that Jean was there. "When Ah didn't use 'em Ah'd get tense, literally, like all my muscles would tense. And Ah'd get annoyed easily, frustrated easily, mah mood would swing quicker than it shoulda."

"Muscles tensed when you don't use it... Did you notice any physical symptoms when you did?" He seemed more comfortable not being watched, so Jean turned her attention to his file, jotting notes from his responses.

"Jus', like Ah said, Ah'd be relaxed if Ah used 'em. Physically, Ah mean, and mentally too Ah guess. Like walkin' outta a really hot shower or after ya get a massage kinda relaxed."

"All right," Jean said, setting down her pen and picking up a pair of heavy duty plastic gloves. "Time to get down to the testing."