xp_logs | Topaz and Cecilia

xp_topaz posting in

Day two, and Topaz is already climbing the walls and trying to escape. Cecilia clearly has knack for catching witches going against medical advice.

Jean had insisted Topaz stay for at least a couple days, if only to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't have another meltdown. Which was fine - except for the fact that Topaz was twitchy and after two days (or a lifetime, as it had felt) trapped in a room, she did not feel particularly comfortable stuck in another one. The IV had been taken out when she had started eating, leaving her free to get up and pace the room. But after a while that wasn't good enough either. The hall, maybe. Just a quick walk. She felt perfectly fine, she was basically on a mental health lockdown, nothing physical. She could walk real quick and be back before Jean came around to check on her.

That was the plan, at least, until she opened the door and nearly ran right into another doctor. She jumped back with a small squeak, shoulders hunching as she looked up. "Um... hey, Dr. Reyes."

"You have got to be kidding me, Topaz." The doctor in question rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. The sense of deja vu was almost overwhelming. Like mother-figure, like daughter-figure, apparently. Although Topaz was, physically, anyway, in much better shape than Amanda had been. "Really, girl?"

"I'm fine," Topaz insisted weakly. "Besides, I'm going mad in here." That part wasn't entirely untrue. She was shaking and bouncing on her heel, eyes flitting around. "I wasn't going to leave the med lab or anything. Just go for a walk in the hall."

"Mmhmm." Cecilia's skepticism was all too clear. But she could tell Topaz was going a little stir crazy, and knowing what she knew, it was less trouble to occasionally indulge the rebellious tendencies of the mansion's magic users than it would be to try and restrict them. And at the very least, if she was wrong, and Topaz was an expert in malingering, she figured it wouldn't hurt to call the young woman's bluff.

"Well, okay," the doctor said, looking a little bit smug. "Let's go for a walk."

Topaz immediately relaxed, not even bothering to hide the relief in her expression. "Really?" She asked tentatively. She'd been prepared for Cecilia to put her right back in bed.

"Yeah," Cecilia nodded, "sure. We'll take a short walk down the hall and back. We'll go slow, and if you weak, I'll get you in a wheelchair faster than you can protest. One of my many skills." She shrugged. "I don't think there's any reason to be bedridden, and as long as you're accompanied, I don't see a problem." Cecilia considered that. "And if Dr. Grey were to take issue with it, she can be reminded who's in charge here." A beat. "Or maybe we won't tell her."

Topaz smiled a bit. "I'm happy not to tell her and do whatever you say. Thank you." She was a little shaky as she stepped out of her room, looking up and down the hall. One deep breath, then another. She hadn't seen the outside of a room for what felt like months. At least she was seeing it.

"If only all patients were so easy," Cecilia said wryly, because nothing about this situation was easy. She stood quietly for a second, watching Topaz. "Are you — I mean, how are you, honestly?"

"I do my best to make things easy on you lot." Of course, there was that question again. Topaz looked up and down the hall, anywhere but at Cecilia. "I... don't know," she admitted, rubbing her bandaged arm. "Weird. Still having trouble believing..." she waved her hand, "this."

"Yeah." The doctor just nodded, unsure exactly what to say. "A lot of this situation is... unbelievable." She stepped down the hall with Topaz, ready to offer her arm or shoulder or whatever was needed. "It's things like these that make me glad to have Jean around. I'm a great surgeon," she said, with no pretense at humility, "but magic and the mind? Beyond my level."

"I think magic is beyond everyone's level." Topaz kept her eyes on the floor, shuffling along slowly. "Let's be real, the actual magic users barely understand it sometimes. We were researching for days and couldn't figure out how to reverse that curse."

Cecilia made a vague noise of assent. She wasn't entirely sure what to say; it wasn't like she and Topaz had the warmest relationship. They'd never really been close. "Did Amanda tell you I almost had to handcuff her to the bed?" She smiled a little. "I sort of regret not taking the chance when I had it. How many opportunities do you get, really?"

Topaz coughed, trying to hide a laugh. "Sounds about right," she murmured. "What was she so desperate to do that would have warranted handcuffs?"

"Oh please," Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "What do you think? She was just gonna sit idle under the care of me — a person for whom I am pretty sure she has no great respect — while you were in trouble?"

"I..." Topaz' shoulders hunched up a bit. Amazingly, how upset Amanda would be about her putting herself in danger had never really occurred to her. Her first thought was, of course, to say no, of course not, Amanda understood the bigger picture better than that. But she knew better. "I guess not. She's stubborn when her kids are in trouble. She stole a book from a god-like being once."

"Did she? Color me impressed." Cecilia did not sound particularly impressed. "It's a mark of how jaded I've become that I wouldn't even think to ask a follow-up question to that. Ah, age."

"At some point, you have to stop questioning things." Topaz shook her head. "Things get too weird around here, you'll drive yourself mad." Her eyes followed the tiles ahead of her, still moving slow. It was surprising how much two days of minimal food and water could effect her.

"You need a break?" Cecilia said, eyeing her patient a bit warily. "Just because your mind's ready, doesn't mean your body is. I'm happy to wheel you around if that's better."

"I'm all right," Topaz said, but she could tell Cecilia didn't believe her. "A little dizzy," she admitted begrudgingly. "Honestly, it's okay. I've done worse to myself."

"That's not really relevant," Cecilia pointed out.

"Means I'll survive?" That was far from convincing. "Just need to take it slow." She was still better off than a lot of other people.

Cecilia offered her a small smile. "I'm going to remind you many times that you've said that, you know. Like, every time you're begging to get out of here and pretending not to feel pain."

"You're confusing me with Amanda," Topaz said dryly. "Trust me, if there's actual pain, you don't need any handcuffs to keep down."

"I'm not so sure about that, but we'll see." Cecilia shrugged. "It's not fun to be stuck here. Delightful as I am, I get it."

"It's not the med lab right now. It's the room." Topaz shuddered slightly. "Feeling trapped isn't great."

"I know. But that's a solvable problem. Let's call it some kind of PT. You'll need to be supervised, obviously, but we can get you moving." She smiled. "Doctor's orders or whatever."

Topaz offered her a small smile in return. "That'd be brilliant." Anything to get out of the room.