Continued from waking up

ic:
Raina arrived at work at the NYC aquarium earlier than usual- early enough to see the new banners with her mermaid picture all over them being hung from the ceiling. Raina stood with a smirk and her hand on her hip checking them out. "I look fat." she said to no one in particular after observing the very unflattering way her chin and neck seemed to glob together while she twisted in the photo.

"You most certainly do not." came Dr. Gray's cool voice.

"Ah!" Raina jumped a little and spun around to see Dr Gray as handsome as ever, run his fingers through his hair and adjust his tie.

"I thought you'd be rather pleased with the new signage. Afte rall, thanks to you business is booming and we can finally undertake our conservation project. There's even talk of upgrading the sewage plant for the harbour thanks to the mayor being at our opening." He looked pleased and motioned for her to follow while he headed up to his office, keys jingling.

"Oh, well that's great news." said Raina with a smile taking the hint and following, having to pick up her pace to keep up with him. "It wasn't really a big deal when I finally did it. I think I needed to do it, honestly."

"I know, your spirit animal told you. " replied Dr. Gray without missing a single beat as they headed up the stairs.

"Uh... well... yeah."

Dr Gray tapped his temple and Raina remembered her boss was a telepath. Can't really hide much from a guy like him.

"No you cant, and in answer to your question, yes it was more than just a dream... and yes I have time this morning if you'd like me to scan your memories and see if I can help. Be warned, I still expect you to work after wards." He shot her a cheesy grin over her shoulder as they reached the top of the stairs and rounded the corner. A few people waved and said good morning as they headed toward his office.

"Oh well.. uh... that's great then!" replied Raina following as quickly as she could, the information not really setting in yet. "wait, it was more than a dream??" she asked

"You believe it to be more than a dream. The memories sitting in the top of your mind lead me to agree with you." replied Gray handing her a coffee he'd picked up off the table outside his office and with his other hand opening the glass door for her.

Raina's eyes bounced around the aquarium insignia on the door as she accepted the coffee even though she didnt really like to drink it. She followed through the open door.

"Well I mean, you can just read people's minds... it's not like you can tell me anything I don't already know. I was just hoping for help putting the pieces together." she added walking in the room and finding herself the first spare chair and dragging it over to his desk nearly spilling the coffee in the process.

"That's not entirely true. When you've been reading minds as long as I have it's quite easy to recognize the red flags of warning." he took a seat at his desk and turned the computer monitor on, taking a sip of his own coffee. The sun was just starting to spill in the partially opened blinds.

"What does that mean?" asked Raina sitting comfortably in her hair and taking a sip of the coffee- oh yea she didn't like that stuff- and tried to maintain a neutral face.

"Honestly Raina, your brainwaves are practically screaming about how tired you are. I thought coffee would help, I can see you only like peppermint tea however. You could have said no thank-you." he pressed a button on a voice box on his desk and asked for peppermint tea "really my dear, you have to speak up."he winked

Raina took a bit of a blushing spell and looked away. Nope, there was no hiding things from Doctor Gray. "What do you mean red flags?" she asked again

"Oh, just warning signs that the brain has been tampered with. Maybe drugs, alcohol, trauma, even the influence of a mutation or some sort of device."

Raina raised an eyebrow. "Ok, now you've got me." she sipped the coffee anyway.

The morning was getting on and people were slowly trickling in for work. Raina was feeling the effects of the previous night's lack of sleep and was patiently awaiting anything Doctor Gray had to say for her while convincing herself to stay awake.

"Yes, I think it is directly effecting your ability to transform so if it makes you feel any better we wont book any shows until you get this all sorted." said Doctor Gray responding to her question before she'd even spoken it out loud.

"Oh, thanks for understanding. I seem to have a knack for allowing emotions to tamper with my power." she replied

"It's not a bad thing... it means you're in tune." Said Doctor Gray reflectively while he leaned back in his chair which then squeaked in response to challenging gravity.

"So you think something may have influenced this dream?" asked Raina "I mean, more so than my memories just bothering me?"

"Im nearly positive. It doesn't follow the rules or patterns of a regular dream, and you remember great lengths in various detail. It may have some involvement with the men you encountered in Paris. I've heard of Dr. Chey." his face went a little grim at the mention of the name outloud. Raina didn't have to read minds to see he'd had his own encounter with the awful man. "Either way, if you'll just sit back and relax this shouldn't take so long. Close your eyes even. It seems you could use the rest after the night you had."

Raina did as she was instructed and leaned back in her own chair. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly urging her muscles to relax as Dr. Gray placed his hands hovering around her temples. He closed his eyes with a crease in his brow to concentrate as Raina sat motionless.

She tried to recall the dreams and the memories she felt inspired them. She thought of Rupert, thought of her real life miscarriage, thought of the other school, the mansion, of Luke and of... a woman... a woman with a little girl named Alice. She thought of traveling, of Ghost, and the camps.

After what seemed like forever to Raina but in reality was only a few moment Dr. Gray pulled away.

"I can't say for sure... but I think you're under the influence- or rather were- of a mutants power. Likely unintentional... maybe someone within close proximity to you at the mansion, maybe not.

"So somebody put those thoughts there..." said Raina letting her body slump.

"I can't say for sure. I mean, if they were some sort of reality manipulator or something they'd either have to be really close to you to know so much or have a lot of power. But... I could be way off base on this. I'm only speculating. It may not be a mutant at all. I just know with all o f the conviction I have that this is not entirely your own doing or your own consciousness." replied Doctor Gray.

Raina felt even more down-traughten. "Heh, is there any hope then? what exactly am I suppose to do with all this information...? What does it all mean? How am I supposed to function?"

Doctor Gray took a sip of his coffee and brushed the stubble of his beard with his hand. "I think you need to relax. Things are going to come to you. Talk to your friends maybe, certainly don't keep it bottled up inside but you really can't get all crazed like a mad woman. Not everyone is a mind reader, not everyone will understand" he smiled.

Raina nodded and stood up all too quickly, partially because she was disappointed and partially because she felt like an idiot. "Sorry for taking up so much of your time. I just... needed to talk. I'll get ready for work now" she bobbed her head in his direction and headed to make a quick escape

"I know. But oh Raina? You need to figure out which of the two is the one."