Jean and Jess
Aug. 7th, 2023 10:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_alias posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logs(Backdated!) Jean checks in on Jessica, and things are incredibly awkward for a number of reasons.
Jean was glad that Jim had told her what had happened with Jessica so she wouldn't have been surprised. But that also made things, including their history, exceedingly complicated. Add in a dash of her own trauma and it made for an awkward time,
Still, Jean was a professional. She could make a good poker face. It wasn't the time for discussing any of that anyway. The focus was healing the body first. The rest could come later.
"How are you feeling besides 'everything hurts?' Any change?" Jean said, walking into Jessica's room with a tray of food.
'Everything hurts' was a pretty good descriptor of how Jess felt, actually; she looked up at the doctor from the magazine she wasn't reading and shook her head. "Not really," she said, voice still a little raspy, breath still a little uneven thanks to the sharp pain of cracked ribs on either side. "My headache switched sides, if that counts." She knew it didn't, but she had no idea how to interact with the medical staff here; the last time she'd seen a doctor, she'd been a teenager, and the doctors hadn't also been mutants.
"We'll keep an eye on it. If it gets any worse, let me know," Jean said, setting the food tray down on the bedside table. "In the meantime, I brought some food. Feel free to eat it at your own pace." It was bland but it was mainly to make sure her digestive system didn't revolt.
"It's going to suck for a while, but the pain should get better over time. Broken ribs are not fun. I've been on the other end of those a few times."
"Understatement," Jess muttered, nodding an acknowledgement of the food. She blinked and refocused on Jean's face; even though she'd seen her before, something was clicking. Her eyebrows drew together. "You were there?" A question, not a statement. "At the - " She couldn't think of the word for a moment. " - the warehouse?"
Jean let out a breath. "Yeah. You uh...busted up Garrison a little so I had to step in. It was an accident, sorry. You were running really fast, bounced off my shield. Course we didn't know the reason why you were attacking and now...now we do," she said quietly, lacing her hands together as she leaned against the door frame. There was a tinge of heaviness to her voice, a slight caution interwoven under the light discussion. She was trying her best. Like walking a tightrope.
Her lips suddenly felt dry and she looked down. "I'm going to be completely honest. I'm a telepath too. Like Haller. But I try not to read minds without permission. Not if I can help it," she said.
She could imagine the other side of it, someone with the ability that took your life away being the thing that helped save you. But safety was only fleeting. That power was insidious, it did more damage over time than it helped. She understood. She understood what even she herself could do. What her other self did. The guilt was there. It was always there. She had this power, and she always tried to use it for good when she could, but people were always afraid. And she understood.
"So that means you have a choice. I can continue to be your doctor. Or, if it'd make you more comfortable, we have another one on staff that we can put you under the care of. It might be a little disjointed for a day or so, but we can make it work." She let out a breath.
Jessica kept her eyes on Jean throughout this, her first visible reaction just the movement of her throat as she swallowed once, convulsively. Her hands moved underneath the tray, twisting a line of tension into her shoulders. She said, finally, her voice taut, "You're not gonna use that shit on me, though?"
Blinking, Jean looked up. "What? No, not without permission," she said. She brushed her hair behind her ears, sensing the unease (and by sense that was--looking at the body language).
"If you want I can schedule some time to have Dr. Voght come in for the transition."
"Don't bother," Jessica said abruptly. The clear stress in her body didn't abate, and her eyebrows drew together like they weren't sure what the rest of her was doing, but she shook her head. "Just - stay out of my head. It's . . . " She seemed to make herself look at Jean again, not quite meeting her eyes, defying something. "It's fine."
The result was a faintly garbled, confused noise. "I--are you sure?" Jean said.
"I mean...yes, staying out of your head of course. But...Okay," she said, nodding a little. She was silent for a moment or two.
"Uh...Well...I can leave you to your food. We can also get you something to watch. I know it's boring as hell. In a day or so you should be able to do some walking around the medlab."
It took Jess a moment to process anything Jean had said, and to nod, jerkily. "Sure," she said. "Something to watch would be - good." She looked less enthused at the prospect of walking anywhere further than the bathroom, and a tendon was standing out in her neck, but she didn't say anything else.
"Sooner you walk, sooner you get out of here," Jean said with a shrug.
"Anyway...I'll get you a laptop. We have all of the streaming services. Do you need anything else?"
Jess shook her head. "Nope," she said, voice still tight, "That's - fine."
After quite a few years of being around patients, and--well...people, Jean could tell when the words didn't match the feeling. But she didn't want to make this already awkward conversation veer into the tragic category. Still, she couldn't help herself.
"It's okay if it isn't...fine. But okay," she said with a nod. "Hit the button if it's an emergency, otherwise text me if you think of something you need. Or even just want. Within reason." Getting out too soon, not an option. But say...chocolate ice cream? Potentially.
The look Jess gave Jean at that was a little less stressed, but still wary, assessing. The fight-or-flight instinct that had been dominant for most of the conversation was ebbing, slowly. "Okay," she said finally, nodding once. "I'll . . . let you know."
Jean nodded. "Cool. I'll be back in a few minutes with the laptop. In the meantime, food please..." she said, motioning to the food tray.
Jean was glad that Jim had told her what had happened with Jessica so she wouldn't have been surprised. But that also made things, including their history, exceedingly complicated. Add in a dash of her own trauma and it made for an awkward time,
Still, Jean was a professional. She could make a good poker face. It wasn't the time for discussing any of that anyway. The focus was healing the body first. The rest could come later.
"How are you feeling besides 'everything hurts?' Any change?" Jean said, walking into Jessica's room with a tray of food.
'Everything hurts' was a pretty good descriptor of how Jess felt, actually; she looked up at the doctor from the magazine she wasn't reading and shook her head. "Not really," she said, voice still a little raspy, breath still a little uneven thanks to the sharp pain of cracked ribs on either side. "My headache switched sides, if that counts." She knew it didn't, but she had no idea how to interact with the medical staff here; the last time she'd seen a doctor, she'd been a teenager, and the doctors hadn't also been mutants.
"We'll keep an eye on it. If it gets any worse, let me know," Jean said, setting the food tray down on the bedside table. "In the meantime, I brought some food. Feel free to eat it at your own pace." It was bland but it was mainly to make sure her digestive system didn't revolt.
"It's going to suck for a while, but the pain should get better over time. Broken ribs are not fun. I've been on the other end of those a few times."
"Understatement," Jess muttered, nodding an acknowledgement of the food. She blinked and refocused on Jean's face; even though she'd seen her before, something was clicking. Her eyebrows drew together. "You were there?" A question, not a statement. "At the - " She couldn't think of the word for a moment. " - the warehouse?"
Jean let out a breath. "Yeah. You uh...busted up Garrison a little so I had to step in. It was an accident, sorry. You were running really fast, bounced off my shield. Course we didn't know the reason why you were attacking and now...now we do," she said quietly, lacing her hands together as she leaned against the door frame. There was a tinge of heaviness to her voice, a slight caution interwoven under the light discussion. She was trying her best. Like walking a tightrope.
Her lips suddenly felt dry and she looked down. "I'm going to be completely honest. I'm a telepath too. Like Haller. But I try not to read minds without permission. Not if I can help it," she said.
She could imagine the other side of it, someone with the ability that took your life away being the thing that helped save you. But safety was only fleeting. That power was insidious, it did more damage over time than it helped. She understood. She understood what even she herself could do. What her other self did. The guilt was there. It was always there. She had this power, and she always tried to use it for good when she could, but people were always afraid. And she understood.
"So that means you have a choice. I can continue to be your doctor. Or, if it'd make you more comfortable, we have another one on staff that we can put you under the care of. It might be a little disjointed for a day or so, but we can make it work." She let out a breath.
Jessica kept her eyes on Jean throughout this, her first visible reaction just the movement of her throat as she swallowed once, convulsively. Her hands moved underneath the tray, twisting a line of tension into her shoulders. She said, finally, her voice taut, "You're not gonna use that shit on me, though?"
Blinking, Jean looked up. "What? No, not without permission," she said. She brushed her hair behind her ears, sensing the unease (and by sense that was--looking at the body language).
"If you want I can schedule some time to have Dr. Voght come in for the transition."
"Don't bother," Jessica said abruptly. The clear stress in her body didn't abate, and her eyebrows drew together like they weren't sure what the rest of her was doing, but she shook her head. "Just - stay out of my head. It's . . . " She seemed to make herself look at Jean again, not quite meeting her eyes, defying something. "It's fine."
The result was a faintly garbled, confused noise. "I--are you sure?" Jean said.
"I mean...yes, staying out of your head of course. But...Okay," she said, nodding a little. She was silent for a moment or two.
"Uh...Well...I can leave you to your food. We can also get you something to watch. I know it's boring as hell. In a day or so you should be able to do some walking around the medlab."
It took Jess a moment to process anything Jean had said, and to nod, jerkily. "Sure," she said. "Something to watch would be - good." She looked less enthused at the prospect of walking anywhere further than the bathroom, and a tendon was standing out in her neck, but she didn't say anything else.
"Sooner you walk, sooner you get out of here," Jean said with a shrug.
"Anyway...I'll get you a laptop. We have all of the streaming services. Do you need anything else?"
Jess shook her head. "Nope," she said, voice still tight, "That's - fine."
After quite a few years of being around patients, and--well...people, Jean could tell when the words didn't match the feeling. But she didn't want to make this already awkward conversation veer into the tragic category. Still, she couldn't help herself.
"It's okay if it isn't...fine. But okay," she said with a nod. "Hit the button if it's an emergency, otherwise text me if you think of something you need. Or even just want. Within reason." Getting out too soon, not an option. But say...chocolate ice cream? Potentially.
The look Jess gave Jean at that was a little less stressed, but still wary, assessing. The fight-or-flight instinct that had been dominant for most of the conversation was ebbing, slowly. "Okay," she said finally, nodding once. "I'll . . . let you know."
Jean nodded. "Cool. I'll be back in a few minutes with the laptop. In the meantime, food please..." she said, motioning to the food tray.
