The Doctor is In

[x-crowdofone.livejournal.com]

Tuesday evening, around ten, Essex tracks Jamie down in order to display his famous bedside manner.



x_essex: "Mister Madrox."

x_crowdofone: Jamie muted the TV and turned around. "Oh, hey, Dr. Essex. Looking for Kitty?"

x_essex: "Not exactly. I was looking for you. I have found you in front of the television. How odd." Essex said, a thin smile on his lips.

x_crowdofone: "Yeah, well, finished my homework, Ms. Blaire was teasing me on the journals, thought I'd come in here and heckle Clark Kent. What can I do for you?"

x_essex: "Mr Madrox, I know that you and Kitty have grown quite close over the last few months. Surprisingly close, in fact. I curious what you think of her?"

x_crowdofone: Jamie's eyebrows shot up. "Kitty? She's great. Smart, funny, cute . . . I like her a lot. Care about her a lot, I guess I should say. Why? I mean, I know you've been helping her with her powers lately, and other stuff, but . . ."

x_essex: "Calm yourself, Mr Madrox. I won't be playing the jealous father. Mind you, if she should be hurt..." Essex trailed off coldly. "No, I'm rather more concerned about her in the context of the school."

x_crowdofone: "Last thing I wanna do is hurt her." Jamie cocked his head. "I figure you probably already know her grade point average."

x_essex: "Her GPA is a minor concern. You know that Ms Pryde wishes to truly learn how to use her powers, correct?"

x_crowdofone: "She's been pushing herself a lot about that lately, yeah. I'm glad she didn't hang it up after Algernon, but . . . seems like the best thing I can do for her sometimes is help her relax."

x_essex: "Prehaps more." Essex sighed. "There are some who take a dim view to Kitty's drive; her wish to excel. Mostly because they feel she isn't able to make intelligent decisions on what is dangerous and what isn't, because of her age."

x_crowdofone: Jamie shrugged. "Sometimes fast isn't safe. I think she mostly knows what she's doing, but, y'know . . ." He grinned a little. "She wants to know everything right now, which is, it's part of what makes her so amazing, but sometimes I worry she'll get impatient and take one too many shortcuts."

x_essex: "I worry that she'll be condemned for her zeal." Essex sighed. "I won't beat about the bush, Mr Madrox. I'm hearly distrubing rumours that Kitty is to be punished for her work on her powers. Perhaps because her training is with myself and not Charles... I'm not sure. However, I do not want to see her hurt. As you are the most important factor in her life, you will be the one she will likely need strength from."

x_crowdofone: "I'm always here for her. Always on her side. But she's just as human as everybody else, and so far I haven't seen the teachers punish anybody who didn't deserve it." He smiled faintly. "Including me. So . . . thanks for the warning, I guess, but beyond saying I don't want her hurt either, and I'm going to help her as much as I can, I'm gonna want to hear about what happened from her. No offense."

x_essex: "Mr Madrox, you will likely hear what happened before I do. I simply want to be sure that she will not be without support." Essex said. "Sometimes, even the best teacher isn't what a student needs. I do not wish for Ms Pryde to feel alone, no matter what the circumstance. I'm sure you understand."

x_crowdofone: "Yeah, I do. And she never has to be alone as long as I'm here."

x_essex: "Good. Then we understand each other." Essex said, his smile shocking to Jamie. He turned to leave, and turned back. "Oh, just one more thing, Mr Madrox. Hurt her, and we will have a conversation. A very long one. Have a pleasent evening." Essex nodded and left Madrox at his couch, looking at the television and feeling the chill of those final words.