Jean and Angel: Finders Returners (Backdated)

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Angel returns Jean's necklace after her ferrets steal it.



It was a very pretty necklace, Angel thought as she walked along, examining it with a curious eye. She'd known the moment she'd raided Slinky's and Twinkie's hidey hole that they'd stolen it from someone else - it was obviously expensive and not something she would own.

Of course if nobody claimed it...

And there had been no luck on that note so far. Five doors and no one had claimed it yet. She'd post on the journal and if nobody came forward she'd figure out what to do from there. Usually someone claimed the stuff though. Everything had an owner.

She stopped in front of another door, knocking and calling, "Anyone home?"

Jean was having an off morning. Her hair wasn't curling right, someone had eaten the cereal she'd bought for breakfast, her high heel to her favorite shoes had broken off, and, to top it all off, she was cramping worse than 1980s shoulder pads. So when someone knocked at the door she was trying her hardest not to turn off all the lights and curl up in bed with her iPad and cup of cocoa. And candy. And pizza.

Man, she really wished they hadn't eaten her cereal.

It took her a moment but she opened the door, tugging on her doctor's jacket. She was headed out the door anyway to go down to the medlab.

"Hello," she said, tilting her head. "Can I help you?"

A brief beat of 'what the hell' silence was the only hesitation Angel showed before launching into speech. "Hey Doc, sorry, guess this is a bad time, I was just wondering if you were missing any jewelry?" She held up the necklace. "My ferrets have a habit of getting out and getting into rooms and stealing anything they think is pretty."

Yeah this wasn't too weird. Right?

Jean blinked at the woman curiously. The way she spoke it sounded like she knew her well. But any thought of that disappeared when she saw the woman holding her necklace.

"Wow...they're very good," she said, laughing incredulously. "Yeah, that's mine. My mom gave it to me for my 16th birthday. It's an antique she found in Glasgow."

That was sort of just the way Angel talked. Everyone was a friend until otherwise stated. "Really glad I got it back to you then," she said brightly as she handed the necklace over. "It's a beautiful necklace. Oh! Sorry, I'm Angel," she added quickly. "The beasts who took that are Slinky and Twinkie. They mean no harm, I swear."

Jean shook her head with a soft smile. "No harm, no foul. I didn't even know it was missing," she said. It was hard to stay annoyed with the day when other people seemed to be sunny. At least, today it was hard to stay annoyed. Some days there was no hope for improvement.

"I'm Jean. How did you know I was a---" She glanced down at her coat. "Oh, right."

"Thanks," she added, slipping the necklace around her neck.

Angel smiled. "Nice to meet you Jean." Jean. Not Dr. Grey. That was weird. She didn't look like she was much older than Angel either. That was weirder. Everything was so weird here. "Are you new?"

That felt so strange to ask.

"Newish," Jean confirmed with a nod. She smiled. "I'm not sure how long it'll be before I can say I'm old. I've been here for a few weeks. I was in X-Corps for awhile and then we got stationed here."

"It's been my experience that you stop being new when another new person comes in," Angel said thoughtfully. "So for all you know you might even be new anymore. It happens sometimes."

"With the amount of people coming in and out of here I wouldn't be surprised to be no longer new," Jean mused, leaning against the doorway. "It still feels that way. Even if...I like it here. It feels more like home than I've been in awhile." Despite the last few days.

"Yeah, this place has a way about it." Angel looked up and down the halls - familiar, but not at the same time. It was still weird. "It sort of always feels like home. Even if you've only been here a few days or you leave for a few years."

"Must be a magic spell," Jean said with a soft smile. "Anyway, thanks for returning my necklace. I should really get to rounds down in the Medlab, though. It was nice to meet you, Angel."

"Right, yeah," Angel said quickly. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Nice to meet you too Jean." Yup, no. Still weird.

Jean shook her head. "It's not a problem at all. I would stay and talk longer but I don't want to make a bad impression with my fellow medics." She was surprised at how many there were.

"Of course, first impressions are everything." Angel smiled before giving a wave and turning to head down the hall. "If you need any help finding your way around I'll be out all day returning to jewelry to other people."

"Thanks," Jean said with a thoughtful nod. She was gradually figuring things out but it was always nice to meet new people.

"Catch you later," she said, closing the door behind her as she headed down the hall.