xp_logs | Afternoon: Dani & Charles (Reply)

Shortly after this log Prof. Xavier requests to see Dani regarding Jay's problems and her role in them.

When the Professor had requested Dani for a meeting, she had been nervous, but chalked it up as with being summoned to see any authority figure. Nothing had happened recently, at least not to her knowledge, that would warrant his involvement. Perhaps he simply wanted to check on her and her progress, see how things were going as an RA. She was trying and thought progress was being made slowly.

Regardless, she had taken pains to dress nicer than her normal jeans and t-shirts in khaki pants and a blouse and her hair was braided nicely into two braids, her omnipresent choker fastened securely around her neck to cover the scar there. Taking a breath, she knocked on his door, hoping this was just something routine.

"Hello, Danielle," Charles said with a smile. "Please sit down," he said, waving to the chair opposite his. "Would you like some tea?"

"Um, please?" she requested, glad that the Professor didn't seem too upset, then told herself that she was being paranoid. That there was no reason for him to be upset with her. She was fine. "Thank you, sir."

He poured each of them a cup, handing hers to her before he continued. "I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here," the Professor went on gently. "Rest assured, there is no problem with the work you're doing here at the school. I am, as always, pleased to have you on my staff."

Dani visibly relaxed, she had thought it might be something like that, "I had wondered," she admitted, studiously keeping her eyes averted from his as she accepted the tea and took a sip. He was an elder and someone she respected, showing that respect was important. "Why then, sir?"

Charles took a sip of his tea, his expression thoughtful. "When I was your age," he said slowly, "I had some... very troublesome incidents with my powers. I'm not speaking of active use of my telepathy, but rather, what happened when I was asleep. I would... wander, for lack of a better word."

"Wander..." she repeated, setting her cup down before she dropped it, "I haven't done that in years. Not since I first got here," she'd had that habit initially, but she'd worked with Haller on it and the other telepaths. She hadn't had a problem with interfering with another's dreams or inserting herself in them in years now. "It was one of the first things I learned."

Charles set his cup down, his eyes very kind. "I'm afraid you have been doing it more recently than that, Danielle."

"What?" her confusion and puzzlement was obvious, "When? To who? I don't remember this!" It had been that she remembered the dreams afterwards, even if she hadn't realized that they were were dreams at the time. "I've been sleeping better than I have in years."

"Unfortunately, Jay hasn't."

She opened her mouth then closed it again. She knew Jay hadn't been, that was part of why she had begun sleeping with him, in the hopes that it would help him. It had helped her. "Oh," she whispered, looking down at her hands. Numbly, she sipped her tea. "Then....what do I do? How do I stop?"

"I'm not certain yet," Charles went on, just as kindly. "But I will help you figure it out. Psionic abilities can react to a surprising range of stimuli. To start, however, I think it would be best to rearrange the suite assignments. To see if lack of proximity helps the situation at all."

Swallowing hard, Dani nodded, "When do I need to be out then?" she asked, automatically thinking about what suites might be open. "Jay's my friend. I don't want to hurt him."

"It may be easier for Jay to be the one who moves," Charles said. "I'm not certain that a change of scenery would be best for you while we're still assessing what's happening with your powers."

"Ah," Dani nodded, accepting this. Of course, there was little that the professor could say that she would not accept. He was an elder and more wise and knowing than she was. It was ingrained that she listen to him, "Alright. You've already spoken to Jay...." it wasn't really a question, "Is he mad at me? It wasn't intentional."

Charles was already shaking his head. "Oh, no, Danielle. Certainly not. But I'll let him tell you that himself." His smile was warm, encouraging. "Consider this a bump on the road, nothing more."

Despite his positive words, Danielle was less than encouraged, but she nodded and sighed. It felt like just when she was getting the hang of her powers she went and did something stupid and lost control of them again, first pregnancy then being kidnapped...neither were entirely her fault, but she was the one dealing with the consequences. "I'll speak with Mr. Haller again about what we can do, then, sir. And maybe the other psis as well, I don't like hurting my friends," those that were not her friends were an entirely different subject.

"I'll help you as much as I can, Danielle," Charles promised.