xp_logs | Dori and Kurt, Friday morning

At Dori's gymnastics evaluation, Kurt tries to make her feel better, with debatable success.

School hadn't officially started yet, but Doreen did have a couple of school related things to do. She had signed up for gymnastics, for one. She had taken it and loved it as a kid but as soon as she had started high school, Doreen had found herself banned from just about everything gym related. Which was bad. She loved gym.

With shopping money from Grandpa she had managed to get herself a new gym shirt, though she had to wait on the shorts being tailored before wearing them. The colors might not have matched but it fit. Not even the prospect of starting up gymnastics though managed to lift the cloud completely.

The outcome of the custody proceedings were still fresh in her mind. Even getting ready to see just what she could do before class started.

With a smile for her, Kurt walked into the room, already stretched and ready to go. "Good morning, Dori. How are you today?"

Doreen shrugged. She wasn't smiling like she normally did, "I'm okay. We're all back here now."

"You are, and all safely despite the incident Angel reported." He looked her over, his own smile fading at her unhappiness. "Sit, please. I would like to talk to you."

She hadn't been there for that, though she had found out what had happened from Julian after the fact. Doreen sat down cross-legged, "About what?" she asked.

"About you", he said frankly, sitting down opposite her. "It is hard not to notice that you have not been very happy since you returned from California."

"Oh," Doreen said, "Well, a lot of stuff happened, I guess. With my family."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Kurt offered. "I am told I am quite a good listener."

"I guess.... I mean, it's pretty... I don't know," Doreen said, leaning back a bit, "My Dad... he really didn't want me."

"I see." He looked at her soberly. "I know that cannot be easy for you to hear. Especially when he loved you once."

"He really isn't a bad person. But I don't get it. Because he took Ryan, my little brother, from my mom too. Though Ryan wanted to live with Dad, I guess. ...I... I really thought if I was away for awhile things would go back to normal."

"Oh, Doreen. If your manifestation was really the problem... even then, your going away would not make him forget you exist. And that is if your mutation was the sole problem."

"Mom says it wasn't... but things only really started going bad then," Doreen said. Everyone kept saying it wasn't her fault. She really wanted to believe it, but at the same time now everything had changed back home.

"Then it is your father's issue to deal with", Kurt said firmly. "Even if what happened to you caused him to leave, it is nothing you could control."

"...I know, but he didn't used to be like this and I don't get it. I'm not any different now - I mean, I look different, but it doesn't mean I'm not me," Doreen was a normal, albeit nerdy, sixteen year old girl. Who happened to have a tail, among other things.

"Of course you are still you", he reassured her. "But in your father's mind... the physical changes matter more than they should. I wish I could change his mind."

"I don't know what can change his mind," Doreen said, pulling her knees up to her chest, "But everyone out there was always way to concerned with how people look. Except for Mom and Grandpa."

"Then at least you still have them. And perhaps your brother is not lost to you, even if he is with your father."

"Maybe. He does think everything is my fault. He even said so," right in front of their mom, no less, "I don't know, I guess I did really think everything would fix itself."

"He is young. There is still time for him to change his opinions, and learn." He reached out and patted her hand. "And it is natural you would want to believe that."

Or it was just stupid. She did stupid things from time to time, after all. It didn’t help that during the whole hearing process, whenever her Dad was in the room she could smell the liquor on him, “…I really hope so. I don’t want him to hate me.”

"He has no reason to truly hate you, I think. And he is your brother. Give him some time to grow up and form his own ideas", Kurt suggested. "And perhaps he will find he misses your mother, when he is living away from her."

“Maybe… I know I miss Mom, but I like it here too,” Doreen said. “But this really is a lot better than my old school,” she said, a lesson that was driven home back in Malibu.

"I am glad you are happy here." He smiled slightly. "If ever you need to talk again, you know I am here."

“I know… I just don’t want to be a bother or anything,” Doreen said, with a shrug.

"I promise you, you never will be. Student welfare is part of my job, after all."

Doreen nodded, “Thank you,” she said and then stood up, stretching, “Can we get started now? I really want to get started,” it wasn’t anything against the conversation; she just really wanted to have some fun. And gymnastics would be that, she hoped. No, she knew.

"Of course we can." He stood in turn. "I will need to see what you can do. Pick your favourite piece of equipment, and show me."