xp_logs | Scott and Madelyn, backdated to Sunday morning

Backdated to Sunday morning. Scott reports for the physical. There is some discussion about the State of the Mansion, and rather a lot of banter.

"You'll notice I am precisely on time," Scott said, coming through the medlab doors and spotting Madelyn. "Precisely on time, in a perfectly cheerful mood, and setting a very good example, if I say so myself." He gave her his best charming grin.

"A Summers setting a good example? Heaven forbid," Madelyn replied teasingly. "You'll spoil me, Scott, being so co-operative. The next patient I get will need tying to the bed or something, and I won't be ready for it, having been lulled into a false sense of security."

"You could do with a little spoiling," Scott said innocently. "So. Where do we start?" He'd gotten the sense that this was going to be a pretty comprehensive physical, as physicals went. Not that he had anything to hide, oh, no. Except the headaches, and she a) knew about those already and b) couldn't do much about them anyway.

"People keep saying that - I really must take them up on it," Madelyn said, waving him over to the exam table. "We'll start with the basics first, then move onto the fun stuff. After Lorna x-rays are moving into 'the basics' side of things, but I also want to look at possible tendonitis or strains. But, we'll get to those. First things first - how are you feeling? Fit and well, no injuries or complaints? No problems with the shoulder?"

"The shoulder's fine. The knee's still a little sore," Scott confessed, "but I've been watching what I do, trying to give it a bit of a rest." He got up on the exam table. "Apart from that... just the headaches, still."

"The knee I have flagged, and there's not a lot to be done with it aside from rest, really - we can try some steriod injections to help speed the healing of the ligaments, but I don't like using those if I can absolutely help it. We'll give it another week..." Madelyn flipped through the file she had attached to her clipboard, glasses perched on her nose. "The headaches... yeah. You're still consulting with Charles on those?"

"Regularly. He's given me some meditation exercises to do. Unfortunately, as we've established, it's all in my head," he said with a faint chuckle. "You know, I scared the crap out of Deborah with one over the holidays... she was about ready to stick me in the car and drag me off to the doctor before Alex explained."

"I'm sure that must have been a lot of fun..." Madelyn frowned - she didn't like the headaches, but there was nothing she or medical science could do for them. At least Charles was on the case. "Okay, shirt off, I'll start with your blood pressure and then I'll have a listen to your chest." Not that there would be any change at all - Scott's heartrate was as stable as a metronome, such was the shape he was in - but she wanted this done by the book so they didn't get any nasty surprises. Prevention was her particular crusade at the moment. Besides, fit and muscular man with his shirt off... there were some benefits to the medical gig.

Scott obediently removed his shirt. "Horatio is none the worse for wear for his little adventure, by the way," he told her as she took his blood pressure. "But I was very much not impressed. Just because he's not as expressive as a cat or a dog or Nate's damned bird doesn't mean that it's funny to torment him."

"I don't think torment was in mind, but something a little less... alive on the Roomba might have been a good thing. How is Doug taking his early morning runs?" Madelyn couldn't help a little snicker.

"Manfully," Scott said cheerfully. "Anyway," he went on, his expression turning more serious. "I'm a bit concerned about reactions to last night's excitement. Things have been alarmingly quiet so far this morning."

"They're still processing what happened, and the repercussions of it," Madelyn said, thinking of Jamie's post about parents withdrawing their children from HeliX. "And if things pan out the way they're looking as far as the local police response goes, they'll have a lot more to be angry about. My contact is asking around for me, but I can't help wondering about that response time myself, even with Hank's attempt at reassuring the kids." She finished listening to his heart and move around to his back, to listen to his lungs. "Deep breath." As Scott complied, almost automatically by now after many, many physicals, she went on. "I'm not sure, but I think the Columbia memorial might be a good thing. Depending on how it goes, of course. I can't forsee any violence, and I doubt the audience they're expecting are going to be actively anti-mutant - it's mostly students of the university, and Hank says he's still be asked to give talks, sometimes by the students themselves. If there's a good response to Amanda's speech, it might help."

"I think it should go well," Scott said. "Call me a crazy optimist. But Amanda's got a good perspective on this, and like you said, the audience will be mostly students. I'm hoping that means more open-minded." He sighed a little as he exhaled. "I just wish I knew what to do about Nathan lurking around like the phantom of the mansion."

"I think they'll at least hear her out - a memorial service isn't really the sort of venue for rampaging mobs and showers of rotten vegetables." Madelyn frowned, although it had nothing to do with the sounds she was getting through the stethoscope - Scott's lungs were as clear as a bell. "I know it's all top secret, but this plan of Al's? The training? Something has to give his way soon, or I don't know what's going to happen. Especially with Moira away and Columbia..." Her sigh echoed Scott's. "It's not exactly something you can just cheer him up from, and the fact everyone agrees that Amanda doing this is a good thing doesn't help him."

"Charles is keeping a close eye on him. Worse comes to worse," Scott said with a wry smile, "we can stick him on a plane for Scotland. I'm sure Moira wouldn't mind." He watched her make a notation on her clipboard. "You know, I wish sometimes I'd done a psychology degree instead of engineering. Would be a whole lot more relevant in my current occupation."

"Ah, but then you'd be expected to deal with every emotional drama we have, and it wouldn't be long before you cracked and needed help yourself. Sometimes I'm amazed that Leonard hasn't run screaming for the hills." Madelyn's tone was joking, but there was an edge of seriousness to it. "Okay, the shirt can go back on - time to beat you with my little rubber hammer. Reflexes."

"Why, Madelyn," Scott said with a deadpan look. "I didn't know you went in for that sort of thing."

"Be nice and I'll even get the handcuffs out," she replied, equally seriously although there was a twitching around the corners of her mouth.

"Ooh. Promises, promises." He chuckled as she retrieved the aforementioned little hammer and started to test his reflexes. "I know a number of people who would be laughing at us right now." And a couple who would be glaring at him, most likely. As amusing a thought as that was.

"Maybe we should share - people need to laugh more around here," Madelyn replied with a wicked grin. "Although possibly not - we'd break too many student brains. Bad enough they saw Hank hauling me around on his shoulder with his hand on my ass. Still, that expression on his face after I hit him with the snowball I brought down to medlab was well and truly worth it."

Scott grinned back. "I still think we ought to reenact a certain scene from Firefly in the dining hall one morning." Hell, if nothing else, it might encourage one or the other of Maddie's obvious admirers to snap out of it and be more proactive. "Although I'm not sure I could keep a straight face - how about you?"

"It'd be hard, but so very tempting..." Madelyn tried to compose herself. "Take me Captain..." She burst into laughter, shaking her head. "I don't think I could either, more's the pity..." She patted him lightly on the shoulder, having finished with the reflexes. "Okay, x-ray time. And then I want to put you on the treadmill for a little while and see how you move..." She snickered at how that was sounding. "In a strictly functional sense, of course, Captain."

"Oh, of course. Our love is a purely platonic thing, everyone knows that..." Madelyn laughed all the way to the X-ray machine, and Scott couldn't help but keep grinning as he followed her.