Jean and Gabriel: Bedside Manner (Backdated)

[xp_phoenix]

After hurting himself, Gabriel goes to Claremont Medical Center to get patched up. He finds two doctors with different kinds of bedside manners.

The cut on his leg was a stupid injury, obtained in a stupid fashion, and Gabriel knew it.

But Gabriel generally only ended up injured enough to be in hospitals for doing something stupid. And on this trip to Claremont Medical Center, he was seeking stitches for a bike accident caused by impatience, cockiness and a powers glitch.

As he leaned back on a hospital bed, a nurse stood at the other end, removing the T-shirt he'd tied around his leg to stop the bleeding. "Be careful with that," he advised her, wincing as she peeled it off. "I had to sleep with an ex to get those concert tickets, and I'm gonna want that souvenir back."

The nurse, who's nametag read 'Georgia' gave Gabriel a smile. "I'll do my best, honey," she said, gently setting the t-shirt into a pan.

"I don't think that blood is gonna come out in the wash, though."  

"Who do we have now?" a male voice said, muffled from outside in the hallway, and Georgia's smile disappeared like flicking a lightswitch.

"Human or another mutie? This one has insurance right? We aren't running a charity hospital."

Georgia spared Gabriel a sympathetic look. She stared to speak when a thin man in a lab coat pushed his way in to the exam room. He was starting to go bald, and had a severe face that was only tempered a little by glasses. His nametag read 'Dr. Martin Morano,'

"How it's going in here, Georgia?" he said, picking up Gabriel's chart.

"Gabriel...Co-hue-lo....Ah. You speak English?" he said, raising his voice slightly, squinting. "Se habla....English?"

He eyed Gabriel's leg. "Well, that looks nasty. Better be more careful."

Georgia cleared her throat. "Uh...Dr. Grey is on her way. This is her patient," she said.  

Morano waved her off. "Grey's running late picking up labs. I just popped into make sure nothing goes pear-shaped until she gets here. He'll be fine."

"Charming beside manner there, doc." Gabriel's eyes had narrowed considerably. He had already decided to pilfer the man's watch, wallet or wedding ring on his way out of the hospital. "Or maybe you were out sick the day they taught that in medical school?"

He let a beat go by before looking down at Georgia in mock shock. "Oh gosh, did I say that right? My English just isn't so good, you know?"  

Morano's 'friendly' demeanor turned a few degrees colder. "This isn't a clinic for freeloaders. It's for people who can pay. Cut that deep looks reckless esse. You sure you weren't somewhere you weren't poking around somewhere you weren't supposed to be? I bet NYPD might want to have a talk," he said, taking a step forward. "Since you seem to have a mouth on you."

"Dr. Morano."

A figure stepped into the doorway, her red hair illuminated by the florescent lights in the hall.

"Can I speak to you privately?" she said, her words carefully spoken, calm but sharp.

Morano rolled his eyes a little. "Of course, Dr. Grey," he said, making his way toward the door. He gave Gabriel a look as they stepped out in the hall.

Georgia sighed. "I'm sorry about that. He's..." she struggled to find the words that wouldn't get her fired if he overheard. "Talented, but...challenging." The way she pronounced 'challenging' looked like 'an asshole' judging by the expression on her face.

"Racism being one particular challenge. His wife's a lucky woman." The gears in Gabriel's head were already turning as he tried to think of a solid way to ruin Dr. Martin Morano's life. Catfishing, perhaps. Or planting some pills. "How do you nurses take your revenge? What's the secret? There's got to be a way."

Georgia laughed. "The only thing that man's in love with is his ego," she mumbled, occasionally glancing toward the door. Jean's face was visible through the window in the door and she didn't look pleased.

"You a friend of Dr. Grey?" Georgia added carefully. "She talked like she knew you."

"Former lover, actually." Gabriel said drily. "I wasn't man enough for her, it turned out, but we kept in touch."

Looking a little skeptical, Georgia smirked. "Are you now? Delighted to meet you," she said as she gently cleaned the blood off his wound with sterile gauze and water. "Well, we have a few ideas, but that one's a hard nut to crack. He's got friends in high places, and money in pockets."

The door opened and Jean walked in, letting out a breath. "Sorry about that. Georgia, I'll take it from here. You mind keeping an eye on Dr. Morano? He's feeling a little testy today."

Georgia saluted. "Sure thing, honey. Don't want to come between you two ex-lovebirds," she said with a grin, giving Gabriel a nod as she peeled off her gloves and tossed them in the bin before walking out.

Cocking her head to the side with confusion, Jean sat down on one of the stools, glancing over Gabriel's wound with an appreciative whistle. "Looks like you're going to need quite a few stitches. How fast were you going, anyway? That amount of damage is a little impressive."

"You know me, Jean. Fast and loose." Gabriel gave her a grin and a wink. "Honestly, though, I couldn't tell you. He was on an e-bike, and it just kind of... happened?" He shrugged. "Honestly, he was probably texting."

"Mmhm," Jean said with a laugh. "Either way, I think better leg protection might be worth an investment."

She resumed Georgia's task of cleaning the blood off the gash. "Before I start sewing you up I'd like to apply some topical and subcutaneous anesthetics to numb the pain...Are you currently on any medications that might cause an adverse reaction?" she said. It was a standard question.

She didn't know if Gabriel was as much of a recreational partier as Quentin was with his drug cocktails. While she didn't approve of heavy drug use, she was also a doctor, so patient confidentiality was imperative. Not to mention vital when treating a patient.

"Just my daily dose of Truvada, but nothing more interesting." Gabriel cocked an eyebrow. "Why? You offering?"

Jean smirked. "Not particularly," she said, occasionally dabbing at any extra blood that might have sprung up.  "But it's something I need to ask just in case."  Standing up, she crossed over to one of the carts in the corner and grabbed all the materials for stitches.

"So, how've you been? Other than...you know, potentially adding a new scar." 

"Here's hoping scars are still in." Gabriel's eyes followed the doctor as she assembled her supplies. He rarely saw Jean in her element; it had been a while since he'd done something so reckless or dumb to land himself in need of actual medical attention.

"I'm good," he said after a second. "Just took a bit of a trip along the Mediterranean actually. More work than vacation, but it's nice to get away and shake things up." He was alarmed at how boring that sounded. He had never been boring.

"I will take some prescription-strength something, for the record. No opioids, but, like, you know. Something good."

"Mediterranean, huh? Sounds like a nice place to have to work. Hope it didn't give you any reason to regret going there in the future," Jean said, eying the wound a little. "And since this wound is pretty bad I can send you home with something for the pain. It's going to ache for at least a couple of days, maybe more while it heals."

She finished cleaning off all the blood. "I'm going to start adding the numbing agent and the subcutaneous anesthetic. Unfortunately this means needles. I'll try to be fast." She held up the needle. "You ready?" 

"Sure." Gabriel shrugged. Uneasy as needles made him, he was hardly the type who needed to be held down. "I mean, your fast is still gonna be too slow for me, I guarantee it, but I'm sure you can make it work."

He shifted his position slightly and closed his eyes, because he knew he'd tense up if he saw the injection coming. "You know," he said as he waited for her to stab him, "you've got a very different vibe when you're here being Doctor Jean, Medicine Woman."

Jean quirked a brow. "How so?" she said. She paused. "Hold that thought. We should probably get this over with. Okay...you're going to feel a pinch in 1, 2..."

She went ahead and quickly started poking along the wound, injecting the anesthetic.

"Almost done. You're doing great, Gabriel," she said quietly as she worked along the surface with a jab and a rhythm. Finally, she pulled the needle away and gently dabbed at the wound.

"Alright, finished with the anesthetic. You should start to feel a numb tingling sensation. Based on your metabolism rate I used a bit of a higher dose than normal so it won't wear off as quickly. Do you feel anything yet?"

"I try not to make a habit of it," he quipped, aware of how lame the comment was even as he said it. "I dunno, it just feels kind of cool and — yeah, okay." He nodded. "Sure. Kind of dull and... tingly?"

"Good. Here we go," Jean said with a smile.

"So what did you mean by 'very different vibe?'" she said, going to work as they spoke and keeping eye contact with him as she made the first stitch, going quickly. 

"Hard to explain." He said with a shrug. "You're just all business. And I feel like at home you're not? Maybe that's not right, I'm not sure. Words aren't my strong suit."

"Nah, it's okay. I have to act a certain way here around my coworkers," Jean admitted, carefully continuing the stitches. "There's a lot of politics here to navigate. I try not to let it bleed into my patient interactions but sometimes it happens, like earlier. Morano is as bigoted as they come. So sometimes he requires a leash."

"Yeah, what the fuck's with that guy?" Gabriel rolled his eyes. "A racist, genetic purist who is a doctor in... New York? How does that even happen?"  

"He's the only one who took the job," Jean muttered. "We're short staffed. Doctors and nurses are harassed for treating mutants and sometimes they quit. But people are too afraid to apply. Except for the assholes."

"Sounds fun. You guys must pay great."

"For people who have marks on their record and can't get a job anywhere else, yes," Jean said, finishing up her work. "I've been working on trying to get him removed but it's slow going."

"Hm. I don't suppose patient complaints would help." Gabriel looked down at his stitches. Planting pills it was. Surely, it wouldn't be hard to frame Dr. Martin Morano for abusing opioids — not with his powers, anyway. Of course, if they drug tested, he'd have to find a way to crush Percocet and sneak into Morano's food, but he was sure someone else on X-Force could help with that. "Shame, that."

Jean covered Gabriel's stitches with a bandage. If she had any idea of what Gabriel might have been planning she would have protested, but that was the pesky problem with being a telepath with morals: she didn't read his mind.

"They're worth a shot. But be careful," she said. 

"I usually am," he said, a reply that was more instinctive than anything else. But the reality of their current situation hit him, and so he added, a little sheepishly, "Today not withstanding."

Jean merely smiled in sympathy at his admission. "Well, I think we're done," she said.

"I'll write you a prescription to help with the pain and keep inflammation down. You can pick it up at your nearest pharmacy here or at the medlab when someone's on duty."

"Got it, doc." Gabriel gave her a mock salute. "Thanks for the speedy service."

Jean's smile widened into a grin. "You're welcome," she said, reaching into her pocket to produce a lollipop and a gold star sticker.

"For all my good patients.".