Moira, Amanda - Saturday afternoon
May. 22nd, 2004 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_daytripper posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsFollowing this email from Doctor Strange, Moira tracks down Amanda and they renew the old science vs magic debate, as well as realising they both have the same tendency to push themselves way too hard...
Moira had gone looking for Amanda as soon as she had read Dr. Strange's e-mail and once she knew Amanda was back at home. She had meant to hunt the girl down earlier in the week, but things just had a way of popping up and preventing talking to her. Her room had been empty, so Moira had started poking her head into every place she knew was a popular hang out. She finally walked into the living room to find the T.V. on.
Blinking when she didn't immediately see anyone, she peeked over the top of couch and nodded to herself. Amanda had apparently fallen asleep catching a movie. It was, actually, rather adorable and she looked much more vulnerable asleep than awake. "Amanda?"
Amanda made a small complaining noise and tried to snuggle closer into the arm of the armchair she'd fallen asleep in. It wasn't the most comfortable position, however, and she gave up. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see Moira standing over her, looking amused. "Wot? Have I been droolin' or somethin'?" she asked, running her hand through her hair - fortunately bedhead didn't count when dishevelled was your normal style.
"Nay, lucky for ye because I think th' armchair is older than Nathan an' I put together," Moira mused. "Glad someone's gettin' some sleep 'round 'ere, without th' 'elp o' medication."
"Seems like all I'm doin'," Amanda said, wincing as she straightened out the kink in her neck. Pillows were a good thing, yes they were. "Missed me session with Strange this mornin', an' can't seem t' keep meself awake."
"I know, I caught yer post." Moira walked over and sat on the couch near by and frowned. "Ye up ta a talk right now?"
"Yeah, 'm fine. Movie was borin' any way..." Amanda sat up and stretched out her legs. "How you doin'? Yer head all right?"
"Still achin' some, nay one 'undred percent, but it may be me lack o' sleep more than anythin' else. An' actually, tha's wha' I wanted ta talk t' ye 'bout." Moira fixed the other girl with a pointed look. "Lass, I know all 'bout pushin' yerself until ye drop. Yer probably almost there, aren't ye?"
Amanda's eyes skittered away from Moira's gaze. "'M doin' all right," she said, perhaps a little defensively. "A bit tired, but I've been studyin' a lot for these finals, same as everyone else."
"On top o' 'ealin' me. An' Nathan, repeatedly. Amanda, for one, I'm nay stupid. For two, yer doin' th' same bloody thin' I do, I recognize th' signs. For three..." Moira had always been a big believer in when you have a full hand of cards, you show them all. "Strange e-mailed me."
"He wot?" Amanda looked startled. "Look, I called him an' explained about missin' his class, an' he said that was fine. What the fuck is he doin' emailin' you?"
"Bein' concerned for ye," Moira said calmly. "We all are. Th' last thin' we want ye t' do is get 'urt...again. T' many people I care 'bout 'ave been boppin' back an' forth out o' tha' MedLab. I've nay been able to keep Nathan out o' it, so ye'll be damned sure I'll do me best ta see ye stay far away from th' infirmary beds."
"No argument here - it ain't like I wanna be anywhere near that place again," Amanda said, shrugging. "An' I'll be all right - I just need t' hang on a bit more until Nate's a bit stronger, an' then I can stop. I have t' do this, Moira, an' I ain't gunna let a couple of nosebleeds get in the way. 'S normal, any way, for the amount of power I've been usin'. I'm used to it."
Moira tilted her head quizzically for a second. "Is tha' 'ow I sound when I tell everyone I'm fine an' can pull another night after three nights without sleep because I'm used ta it?" she asked honestly.
A smirk twitched at the corners of Amanda's mouth. "Just a bit," she said, then realised she'd nicely cornered herself. "But that ain't t' say I'm doin' the same thing..." she added, trying to recover.
"Sure it isnae. Trouble sleepin' an' then fallin' over because yer exhausted. Probably nay eatin' correctly. Gettin' weird objects only God knows 'ow ta 'elp out. Nay, not th' same thin', yer right."
"Would you rather I stuck Nate with nerve damage in his shoulder, then?" Amanda retorted, stung by Moira's sarcasm. "'Cause there's fuck all yer science can do about it, but I could, an' it's down t' me him havin' use of his hand back."
"Would ye bloody well drop tha'?" Moira snapped softly. "For yer information, Amanda, th' nerve damage in 'is 'and will get better over time. 'Tis *nay* permanent. Bloody annoyin' an', aye, I'm grateful yer 'ere ta 'elp. But...me science nay bein' able ta fix it? There's nay much me science cannae fix wit' time. I brought 'im back from th' brink th' first time wit' machines an' me brain, thank ye verra much. 'ad ye asked me, I would 'ave told ye tha'. An' then told ye tha', aye, I would still like ye ta 'eal 'im because th' sooner th' better. An' we could 'ave worked a way around ye tryin' ta burn yerself out because ye 'ad th' wron' information."
Amanda crossed her arms over her chest, pouting mutinously. "All right, fine. I'll ease off a bit. Give it a break for a couple of days. But I ain't gunna stop, not as long as someone needs it."
"Let's make a deal, shall we? Nay more "I'm 'sneakin'' past th' doctor's, whee!" bullshit," Moira said, dryly. "Between th' three o' us, we sport at least...well, many PhD's. We're nay stupid. Ye more than welcome th' 'elp. But we also know wha' we're doin' as well. Why nay start comin' ta one o' us, talkin' 'bout th' 'ealin' thin', see if'n there are complications, an' then 'ealin' them? We knew ye were 'ealin' Nathan, but...like I said, lack o' information."
"I wasn't sayin' you were stupid..." Amanda began defensively, but realised that was exactly what she had been doing. "Look, I know I can be a bit painful 'bout the magic thing, but look at it from my point of view. Most people don't even believe in what I can do, let alone understand it. So most of the time 's just easier t' go ahead an' do what I need to an' deal with the consequences later. Like when I healed Ange - McCoy wouldn't let me do it, an' Ange was in so much pain, so I went ahead..." She sighed. "But if yer willin' t' take it seriously, then I'm willin' t' talk t' you about it."
"Amanda, I 'ave seen weirder thin's than magic in me time. I've been in th' mutant business a lon' time, an' I've 'ad many mutations cross me doorstep. Believin' in it, nay a problem. I mean, come on, three words. Weird. 'appenin's. Organization. We Scots an' Brits take this stuff a wee bit more seriously."
"Well, that's you. The other two... Well, McCoy an' I have already bumped heads over this, an' Bartlett don't really like me, I don't think..." Amanda shrugged. "An' they ain't ever shown they're willin' t' consider there's somethin' else other than science."
"Then come find me." Moira frowned and shifted, suddenly remembering something she had thought about. "Amanda, there's another reason I want ye ta check wit' me. Magic's great but we're dealin' wit' mutations, 'ere. If ye were 'ealin' baseline 'umans, I wouldna be pressin' so much. But th' x-gene sometimes does more t' someone than they're power. It can change 'ow cells function, 'ow th' body reacts. Wha' would 'appen if'n ye went ahead wit' somethin', nay knowin' wha' their medical file says, an' their body reacts badly ta it?"
Amanda opened her mouth to retort, realised she had nothing to counter that, and closed it again. "Healin' spells don't hurt anyone..." she muttered, but she remembered that she wasn't supposed to be able to turn people into giant frogs either.
"An' sometimes shit 'appens," Moira replied plainly. "Yer an intelligent lass, Amanda. I dinnae want ye doin' somethin' an' it turnin' out badly, simply because ye dinnae think ta ask for all th' details. From wha' I know, magic sometimes doesnae always work th' way ye want it ta. Yer much more useful ta everyone if ye stop for ten minutes ta talk ta me an' get th' information ye need."
"All right, I'll talk t' you before I do anythin' more." Amanda sighed again - the sigh of the put-upon teenager - and rubbed her head. "I was thinkin' of takin' some of yer medicine classes any way, when me readin's up t' scratch. Figure it'd help, knowing what was what and what goes where."
"O' good, another victim," Moira said cheerfully. "Remember, 'tis only advanced first aid, I'm wha' this lot would call a nurse practitioner, but it'll be 'elpful ta ye, tha's fer sure."
"Well, the stuff they taught us for Red X was interestin', an' there's only so much the magic can do without it knocking me on me arse..." Amanda cut herself off, not wanting Moira to know just how much it was taking out of her. "What exactly did Strange say? Ain't like him t' be all sneaky behind me back."
"'e mentioned tha' bauble o' yers," Moira responded. "An' asked us ta make sure ye took care o' yerself. Eatin', sleepin' tha' sort o' thin'."
"He wants me t' stop usin' it?" Amanda asked. "'Cause he didn't say nothin' t' me, just t' be careful an' make sure I kept Rom's gizmo on. An' that's the truth, Moira." She sounded a little wounded, like her trustworthiness had been called into question.
"Nay, nay," she assured her. "'e wants us ta make sure yer nay overdoin' it. Ye'll only do more 'arm than good if'n yer goin' off usin' magic when yer body cannae keep itself up right. 'e knows ye willnae stop, 'tis why I decided ta ask ye ta start comin' ta me before 'and. Make sure everythin's okay."
"I am okay, really. Tired, is all." Amanda shrugged. "Soon as finals're over, I'll get plenty of rest, promise." She made a mental note to growl at Strange next time she saw him.
"Sleepin' in a bed might be a good start," Moira pointed out, grinning a little. "Take it from me, chairs are nay th' best place ta sleep well."
Moira had gone looking for Amanda as soon as she had read Dr. Strange's e-mail and once she knew Amanda was back at home. She had meant to hunt the girl down earlier in the week, but things just had a way of popping up and preventing talking to her. Her room had been empty, so Moira had started poking her head into every place she knew was a popular hang out. She finally walked into the living room to find the T.V. on.
Blinking when she didn't immediately see anyone, she peeked over the top of couch and nodded to herself. Amanda had apparently fallen asleep catching a movie. It was, actually, rather adorable and she looked much more vulnerable asleep than awake. "Amanda?"
Amanda made a small complaining noise and tried to snuggle closer into the arm of the armchair she'd fallen asleep in. It wasn't the most comfortable position, however, and she gave up. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see Moira standing over her, looking amused. "Wot? Have I been droolin' or somethin'?" she asked, running her hand through her hair - fortunately bedhead didn't count when dishevelled was your normal style.
"Nay, lucky for ye because I think th' armchair is older than Nathan an' I put together," Moira mused. "Glad someone's gettin' some sleep 'round 'ere, without th' 'elp o' medication."
"Seems like all I'm doin'," Amanda said, wincing as she straightened out the kink in her neck. Pillows were a good thing, yes they were. "Missed me session with Strange this mornin', an' can't seem t' keep meself awake."
"I know, I caught yer post." Moira walked over and sat on the couch near by and frowned. "Ye up ta a talk right now?"
"Yeah, 'm fine. Movie was borin' any way..." Amanda sat up and stretched out her legs. "How you doin'? Yer head all right?"
"Still achin' some, nay one 'undred percent, but it may be me lack o' sleep more than anythin' else. An' actually, tha's wha' I wanted ta talk t' ye 'bout." Moira fixed the other girl with a pointed look. "Lass, I know all 'bout pushin' yerself until ye drop. Yer probably almost there, aren't ye?"
Amanda's eyes skittered away from Moira's gaze. "'M doin' all right," she said, perhaps a little defensively. "A bit tired, but I've been studyin' a lot for these finals, same as everyone else."
"On top o' 'ealin' me. An' Nathan, repeatedly. Amanda, for one, I'm nay stupid. For two, yer doin' th' same bloody thin' I do, I recognize th' signs. For three..." Moira had always been a big believer in when you have a full hand of cards, you show them all. "Strange e-mailed me."
"He wot?" Amanda looked startled. "Look, I called him an' explained about missin' his class, an' he said that was fine. What the fuck is he doin' emailin' you?"
"Bein' concerned for ye," Moira said calmly. "We all are. Th' last thin' we want ye t' do is get 'urt...again. T' many people I care 'bout 'ave been boppin' back an' forth out o' tha' MedLab. I've nay been able to keep Nathan out o' it, so ye'll be damned sure I'll do me best ta see ye stay far away from th' infirmary beds."
"No argument here - it ain't like I wanna be anywhere near that place again," Amanda said, shrugging. "An' I'll be all right - I just need t' hang on a bit more until Nate's a bit stronger, an' then I can stop. I have t' do this, Moira, an' I ain't gunna let a couple of nosebleeds get in the way. 'S normal, any way, for the amount of power I've been usin'. I'm used to it."
Moira tilted her head quizzically for a second. "Is tha' 'ow I sound when I tell everyone I'm fine an' can pull another night after three nights without sleep because I'm used ta it?" she asked honestly.
A smirk twitched at the corners of Amanda's mouth. "Just a bit," she said, then realised she'd nicely cornered herself. "But that ain't t' say I'm doin' the same thing..." she added, trying to recover.
"Sure it isnae. Trouble sleepin' an' then fallin' over because yer exhausted. Probably nay eatin' correctly. Gettin' weird objects only God knows 'ow ta 'elp out. Nay, not th' same thin', yer right."
"Would you rather I stuck Nate with nerve damage in his shoulder, then?" Amanda retorted, stung by Moira's sarcasm. "'Cause there's fuck all yer science can do about it, but I could, an' it's down t' me him havin' use of his hand back."
"Would ye bloody well drop tha'?" Moira snapped softly. "For yer information, Amanda, th' nerve damage in 'is 'and will get better over time. 'Tis *nay* permanent. Bloody annoyin' an', aye, I'm grateful yer 'ere ta 'elp. But...me science nay bein' able ta fix it? There's nay much me science cannae fix wit' time. I brought 'im back from th' brink th' first time wit' machines an' me brain, thank ye verra much. 'ad ye asked me, I would 'ave told ye tha'. An' then told ye tha', aye, I would still like ye ta 'eal 'im because th' sooner th' better. An' we could 'ave worked a way around ye tryin' ta burn yerself out because ye 'ad th' wron' information."
Amanda crossed her arms over her chest, pouting mutinously. "All right, fine. I'll ease off a bit. Give it a break for a couple of days. But I ain't gunna stop, not as long as someone needs it."
"Let's make a deal, shall we? Nay more "I'm 'sneakin'' past th' doctor's, whee!" bullshit," Moira said, dryly. "Between th' three o' us, we sport at least...well, many PhD's. We're nay stupid. Ye more than welcome th' 'elp. But we also know wha' we're doin' as well. Why nay start comin' ta one o' us, talkin' 'bout th' 'ealin' thin', see if'n there are complications, an' then 'ealin' them? We knew ye were 'ealin' Nathan, but...like I said, lack o' information."
"I wasn't sayin' you were stupid..." Amanda began defensively, but realised that was exactly what she had been doing. "Look, I know I can be a bit painful 'bout the magic thing, but look at it from my point of view. Most people don't even believe in what I can do, let alone understand it. So most of the time 's just easier t' go ahead an' do what I need to an' deal with the consequences later. Like when I healed Ange - McCoy wouldn't let me do it, an' Ange was in so much pain, so I went ahead..." She sighed. "But if yer willin' t' take it seriously, then I'm willin' t' talk t' you about it."
"Amanda, I 'ave seen weirder thin's than magic in me time. I've been in th' mutant business a lon' time, an' I've 'ad many mutations cross me doorstep. Believin' in it, nay a problem. I mean, come on, three words. Weird. 'appenin's. Organization. We Scots an' Brits take this stuff a wee bit more seriously."
"Well, that's you. The other two... Well, McCoy an' I have already bumped heads over this, an' Bartlett don't really like me, I don't think..." Amanda shrugged. "An' they ain't ever shown they're willin' t' consider there's somethin' else other than science."
"Then come find me." Moira frowned and shifted, suddenly remembering something she had thought about. "Amanda, there's another reason I want ye ta check wit' me. Magic's great but we're dealin' wit' mutations, 'ere. If ye were 'ealin' baseline 'umans, I wouldna be pressin' so much. But th' x-gene sometimes does more t' someone than they're power. It can change 'ow cells function, 'ow th' body reacts. Wha' would 'appen if'n ye went ahead wit' somethin', nay knowin' wha' their medical file says, an' their body reacts badly ta it?"
Amanda opened her mouth to retort, realised she had nothing to counter that, and closed it again. "Healin' spells don't hurt anyone..." she muttered, but she remembered that she wasn't supposed to be able to turn people into giant frogs either.
"An' sometimes shit 'appens," Moira replied plainly. "Yer an intelligent lass, Amanda. I dinnae want ye doin' somethin' an' it turnin' out badly, simply because ye dinnae think ta ask for all th' details. From wha' I know, magic sometimes doesnae always work th' way ye want it ta. Yer much more useful ta everyone if ye stop for ten minutes ta talk ta me an' get th' information ye need."
"All right, I'll talk t' you before I do anythin' more." Amanda sighed again - the sigh of the put-upon teenager - and rubbed her head. "I was thinkin' of takin' some of yer medicine classes any way, when me readin's up t' scratch. Figure it'd help, knowing what was what and what goes where."
"O' good, another victim," Moira said cheerfully. "Remember, 'tis only advanced first aid, I'm wha' this lot would call a nurse practitioner, but it'll be 'elpful ta ye, tha's fer sure."
"Well, the stuff they taught us for Red X was interestin', an' there's only so much the magic can do without it knocking me on me arse..." Amanda cut herself off, not wanting Moira to know just how much it was taking out of her. "What exactly did Strange say? Ain't like him t' be all sneaky behind me back."
"'e mentioned tha' bauble o' yers," Moira responded. "An' asked us ta make sure ye took care o' yerself. Eatin', sleepin' tha' sort o' thin'."
"He wants me t' stop usin' it?" Amanda asked. "'Cause he didn't say nothin' t' me, just t' be careful an' make sure I kept Rom's gizmo on. An' that's the truth, Moira." She sounded a little wounded, like her trustworthiness had been called into question.
"Nay, nay," she assured her. "'e wants us ta make sure yer nay overdoin' it. Ye'll only do more 'arm than good if'n yer goin' off usin' magic when yer body cannae keep itself up right. 'e knows ye willnae stop, 'tis why I decided ta ask ye ta start comin' ta me before 'and. Make sure everythin's okay."
"I am okay, really. Tired, is all." Amanda shrugged. "Soon as finals're over, I'll get plenty of rest, promise." She made a mental note to growl at Strange next time she saw him.
"Sleepin' in a bed might be a good start," Moira pointed out, grinning a little. "Take it from me, chairs are nay th' best place ta sleep well."
