Scott, Jean-Paul and Jean

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Down one arm temporarily, Scott brings along his wife as his proxy for his regular pool game with Jean-Paul. It turns out to be a fortuitous choice, as Jean-Paul has something to ask Jean.


Harry's was bustling with couples and laughter, but the frowning speedster managed to make himself heard quite clearly.

"This is grand scale cheating, Summers." Jean-Paul folded his arms over his chest and tried his best to deliver a death-glare at the redhead that had arrived with his usual pool buddy. It might have been more convincing if he hadn't actually been fond of Jean and secretly relieved that there would be another person to distract him from his morning. "If I knew that we were allowed to bring in teeks as ringers, I'd have called Nathan to come with me."

"I'm one arm down, Beaubier," Scott said almost primly. The thickness of the bandages was obvious beneath his shirt. "And she can school you just as effectively as I can."

Jean grinned at Jean-Paul before looking over to catch Harry's eye, holding up two fingers. "Come on, Jean-Paul," she said, looking back at him. "I swear, no tricks." Then she smirked. "I don't need TK to kick your ass."

"Oh, lucky me." Jean-Paul shook his head. "I suppose it saves me a trip to medlab, at least. I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?" Jean asked, tilting her head. "What's up?" She smiled at the waitress who came over with two drinks from the bar, accepting them and heading to snag a table which had just opened.

Jean-Paul sighed to himself as they waited for one of the pool tables to free up. Maybe this would have been easier in the medlab at that. "How would one go about requesting the autopsy reports of a relative? Still no word on Jeanne-Marie," he was quick to add. "This would be about my parents."

Jean blinked, startled, setting her drink down on the table and handing Scott his before turning to give Jean-Paul a serious look. "That's an unexpected question," she said after a moment. "I guess, the first question is, are you sure there was an autopsy? How did your parents die? And when?"

"I'm not sure on the autopsy," he confessed. "I may well wind up chasing down police reports if there was not. They died when I was young. Two or three, I think. I'm told it was an automobile accident. I didn't ever bother with the grisly details -- I didn't even know they existed until I was almost twenty." He offered a weak smile. "Long story. But I started having nightmares while I was looking out for Nathan this past month and..." He drummed the tabletop with his fingers. "It's difficult to explain."

"And, something in the nightmares made you want to know more than the minimal details," Scott said. "Or, made you feel that you needed to?"

Jean-Paul nodded. "I hardly remember the nightmares. It was the trigger. Nate was projecting memories of being trapped in a fire and I caught the edge of it. It wasn't just unpleasant...it scared the hell out of me, even awake." His voice dropped considerably with the confession. "I can't find an explanation for that in any memory of mine, so I'm trying to cast back a bit farther."

Jean frowned, considering. "Were you in the crash? There usually wouldn't be an autopsy if it was a car accident, but there would be a coroner's report, at the minimum. That would be a matter of public record; you could request it from the coroner's office fairly easily."

"My sister and I were both in the crash, yes." Still quiet. "I suppose you can see where this is all going. It might be just that simple, but I'd like to know. Though I suppose it will be interesting reading either way. Cars do not catch fire very easily, I understand."

"What you know, what you think you know, what you don't know," Scott said, almost more to himself than to Jean-Paul. "Clarity's kind of the holy grail, isn't it?"

"Yes," Jean agreed. "Some solid information definitely sounds like it would be the first step."

"Given the state of my head lately, I think clarity may be a lost cause." A trio of women had finished their game and Jean-Paul rose to claim the pool table. "No matter how this turns out, I will wind up with more questions for this one answer. It is a lousy exchange rate."

"A fairly common one, too, I'm afraid." Jean followed after the speedster, pulling down a pair of cues and comparing them before taking one for herself. "I'll even let you break," she said as she offered the other to Jean-Paul with a smile.

Comments

[xp_daytripper]

There usually wouldn't be an autopsy if it was a car accident..."

*puts on the work hat and researches Quebec law* Um, actually, in the cases of death by accident there is almost always an autopsy, in order to determine exact medical cause of death. Even with car accidents, where there can be drugs or alcohol involved, or a pre-existing medical condition which might have cause the accident itself, like a fainting spell or a stroke. But yes, the coroner's report would be available upon request, and include the cause of death.

Just FYI. I'm kind of interested in this stuff since it's what I used to do. ;)