Sunday afternoon

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Jamie: Jamie walks down the hall toward Dr. MacTaggart's office; his stride has regained most of its usual bounce, and he managed to remember to wear a sweatshirt against the basement's usual chill. He knocks on the door.

Moira: A muffled "Come in" answers the knock as Moira gulps down the last of her coffee. She gives her office a quick glance, everything's in the correct place. A pile of pillows are in the corner, just in case, and hot chocolate, tea and coffee are brewed and waiting.

Jamie: Jamie opens the door and walks in, giving Moira a small wave. "Hey, Doc. The Professor said he was gonna talk to you about my powers?"

Moira: "Aye, Jamie. Come on in an' shut th' door if'n ye wouldna mind." She shivers. "If'n tha' bloody cold took away me tolerance fer winter, I'll hurt someone." She gestures at a chair, more of a recliner really. "'ave a seat."

Jamie: Jamie grins and flops down into a chair. "Yeah, I was sorry to hear about that. Let me know if it happens again, I'll slap some woad on a bowl of chicken soup and send it over."

Moira: Chuckling, Moira moves her chair closer to his and tucks her legs under her. She balances a notebook on her lap but doesn't look all that interested in writing in it right now. She tilts her head. "How're ye, Jamie?"

Jamie: "I'm a lot better. Except for the part where my powers don't work and I'm stuck doing my homework one assignment at a time. But I'm sleeping, I'm eating, I'm, uh, Kitty and I are getting along fine . . ."

Moira: She smiles. "Well, tha's good. Except fer yer powers nay workin'. I've been in me field fer a verra lon' time, Jamie, so I may be able ta help ye out there. But I need ye ta open up ta me." She stood, putting aside the notebook and picked up hot chocolate for him and coffee for her. "I'm here ta listen if ye want ta talk. I will nay judge ye fer anythin' ye've got ta say an' what ye do say will stay in this room wit' me."

Jamie: "Standard therapy disclaimer, huh? The Professor said about the same thing, the first time." Jamie takes a sip of his hot chocolate. "So, open up about what?"

Moira: She shrugged. "Anythin' on yer mind, really. There shouldnae really be any reason yer powers are shortenin' out like this. I've got me theories but I'd like ta here yers."

Jamie: "Well, I pretty much figured out that the one where it was the real me under the wall and I'm just a dupe, was just a nightmare. Other than that, I dunno. I never really thought about how I dupe, just how to deal with 'em when they showed up."

Moira: "Hmmm. Maybe tha's part o' th' problem?" She leaned back, thinking. "Ye know what ta do when it appears, ye know what ta do wit' it an' ye know what ta do ta absorb it, aye? But if'n it jus' happens, then ye dinnae know how ta start it." She looked at him curiously. "Ye want ta hear me potential theory o' why yer powers arena workin' currently? I dinnae like ta do this, usually, I like ta get people to tha' part by themselves but I think I'll by pass tha' particular point this time."

Jamie: "Yeah, anything." Jamie shrugs. "The whole bit where I can play contact sports if I want has kind of gotten old."

Moira: "Ye jus' had a verra tramatic expeience, obviously. On top o' tha', ye really dinnae know how ta start tha' process, it jus' happened. Those two things coupled together...it sounds like th' part o' yer brain tha' controlled the startin' process is freezin' up. Sub-consciously, ye may not want ta make another dupe again, lad." She paused, waiting for his reaction.

Jamie: Jamie blinks. "Well, that sucks. Why aren't I listening to the rest of me? I mean, I kid around a lot about the homework and stuff, but it's not like I had to be dragged here, you know?"

Moira: "I know. It's jus'...it's not like yer sub-concious doesna wanta do it anymore forever, but it's scared. I can only image what ye felt when tha' happened an' perhaps th' part o' ye tha' knows how ta start the chain reaction to make a dupe is ta scared ta try again. It doesna want ta get hurt again. It's protectin' itself."

Jamie: Jamie frowns. "That . . . makes a lot of sense. I don't know if--maybe the Professor told you, or somebody--I couldn't stay and help Paige, when she and Jono had that accident. I ran." He pauses and blinks. "Wait, back up the truck, are you saying I can control whether I dupe or not when I get hit?"

Moira: Tilting her head, Moira smiled slightly. "We'll go backwards, if ye want. I believe that, aye, ye can control whether ye dupe or not. An'...nay, he didna tell me. But after what ye jus' went through, I know I can understand." She paused. "I think, if'n yer okay wit' it, tha' we focus on one issue today. Perhaps the dupe issue an'...then we go talk to Alison, or th' bot' o' us if ye wish, an' Paige as well about the other one. I dinnae want ta step on Alison's toes in her position here an' wit' her knowin' all ye students a wee bit more than I, I think her headin' tha' one would be best."

Jamie: "Well, I talked about that one with the Professor already, is why I thought he might have mentioned it. I just brought it up because that's what I was thinking when it happened, I was afraid of getting hurt again."

Moira: "Makes sense. Everyone's afraid, lad, ye jus' 'ave ta work on it. An' I'm prepared ta work wit' ye on this one, if'n ye want ta. An' I've got this sneakin' feelin' tha' ye want yer powers back."

Jamie: "Yeah, no kidding. So how do we make my subconscious get the message?"

Moira: "Makin' it...ye...feel safe again. But I think ta do tha', we have ta get ye to realize ye can dupe on yer own. Not sure how lon' it's goin' ta take, but I believe ye can get ta tha' point. Now, ye dupe at -any- sudden bump?"

Jamie: "Well, usually, yeah. I mean, if it's hard enough--I used to be a lot more sensitive, when it first started happening, but I can applaud and stuff."

Moira: "So it started out wit' any bump...any kinetic sensory input an' has downgraded itself ta harder hits." She nodded once. "Seems ye've been slowly tuning yerself ta doin' it consciously, jus' very slowly."

Jamie: "Huh. Yeah, I guess. I never thought about it that way."

Moira: "Seein' as yer a bright lad, yer sub-conscious probably figured out it wouldna be a good idea if'n every little thin' set ye off." She nearly continued with a line of thought but grinned impishly and bit her tongue. "Hmmm. How free are ye, an' Kitty, this week?"

Jamie: "I can make time, I think. And Kitty probably can too. Why?"

Moira: "I'd like ta start some field experiments. Testin' ye ta see if'n we can make somethin' click back in yer mind." A full impish grin came out. "An' I'd think ye'd like Kitty bein' th' one ta poke an' prod ye than someone nearly twice yer age, hmmm? I'll see if'n Alison would like ta give me a hand, two o' us watchin' ye fer signs would be better'n one."

Jamie: "Um. Yeah." Jamie's ears are distinctly red. "I think I can handle that. And I'm sure she'd like to help. Um, when?"

Moira: "Sorry 'bout tha', lad, it's been a lon' week an' me teasin' part has been diein' ta come out." She chuckled. "Any time this week. I'll see what Ms. Blaire's schedule is like an' I'll get back ta ye, all right?"

Jamie: "That'd be great, thanks." Jamie's own grin goes more than a little impish. "Gives me time to work on the other part of my therapy. The Professor suggested I make sure to do things I enjoy, to relax, so I have a little fun with Doug's breakfast planned."

Moira: "...do I really want ta know?" Moira asked, shaking her head.

Jamie: "Well, I'm giving him some time to catch up on his sleep, but if you're curious, make sure you're around when he gets his toast Wednesday morning."

Moira: Chuckling, Moira can only facepalm. "Ye know I might take ye up on tha'. Some fun is needed around here. But if ye'll talk ta Kitty 'bout when she's free, I'll talk ta Alison an' try ta set things up on me end. Aye?"

Jamie: "It's a deal. Thanks, Doc."

Moira: "Nay problem, Jamie. Hopefully we'll be able ta help ye get around this block o' yers an' develop a better way o' dealin' wit' yer powers." The phone in her office suddenly rang and, surprised, Moira went to grab it. "I'll find ye later?"

Jamie: "Sure, I'll be around." Jamie finishes his hot chocolate and leaves.