An apple a day...


... had failed horribly at keeping her out of the doctors office. But- it was needed, as she was pretty sure she was dying; wasting away into nothing; turned into a literal toothpick.... or at least very ill. It was all very much distressing, mostly because she couldn’t go see a doctor- not a real one anyway- and was thus forced to wander up to the infirmary in hopes of catching the good old Doc while he was in. To her credit, this was way out of character for the twenty two year old, but- as previously stated; she was probably dying and needed to be checked out.... Hopefully off the records. With a sigh, she stared down the hallway, dressed in exercise shorts and a t-shirt, her feet shuffling along under her- just about as excited as she was- until she reached her destination and paused. There was always the possibility that the Doctor wasn’t in... She could just assume he had left for the day, head back to her room for a nap. Or, maybe she could spend the time willing away what few possessions she owned to those she knew... The Greek rubbed the palms of her hand into her tired eyes and huffed. It was her lack of sleep talking... nothing more, nothing less. She wasn’t dying. She was fine. It was...um... hormones or something along those lines. Yes, definitely.... Hormones.

“Hello..?” She called softly, after entering the room and shutting the door softly behind her. It looked basically the same as when she had first seen it, on her very first day...er, night. Ah, fond memories of tossing tea in peoples faces and having to lug an unconscious man who was at least double her own body mass up a flight of stairs. Good times, good ti- She slapped herself mentally again and gave her eyes one last good rub. Exhaustion was not her thing. It had been doing funny things to her brain since its onset, and only seemed to be getting worse with time. She needed help... Her eyes darted about quickly, before landing on a desk off to one side of the room. Mounds upon mounds- and I mean heaps of paperwork littered it’s surface, but behind it all she thought she had spotted for just a moment, the top of someone’s head. She tried her greeting again, taking a couple hesitant steps into the room. “Hello... Is the Doctor in?” Ignoring the strain in her voice, she padded further in before stopping a polite distance away. No need to crowd the poor man and all of his work...

Pharmaceuticals, The new manna for the sick, infirm and neurotic. Garrett made small marks next to quantities on the sheets given, attached to clipboard. It was a step in the right direction, being given the key to the drug locker. Also, it became more frequent that the DocProf had gone to take naps in his own room at the Mansion rather than sit in the Infirmary. The old man had decided that it would do Garrett good to learn something and to waste hours sitting in the office since he was young and full of ambition. It did give him something to do and kept his mind on things that were in the present, where he intended to remain for a while.

With the inventory finished it was back to the great excursion through the Paperwork Mountains, another pastime diverted to the up and coming medical student. Garrett had decided that the previous system was archaic and useless, so he took it upon himself to whittle the hours down by putting every piece of paper from the office in one location and sorting through all of it. Once he looked at the great and varied heaps, he decided that one of the beds would probably be his own, either by choice or exhaustion. Patient files, insurance claims, inventory, notes, all sorts of medical forms still mysterious. Forget alphabetizing. That might come later in the week when he could see anything besides the white and black of the bureaucracy.

There was some sort of strange murmuring noise. was it him? Was he talking to himself? Wouldn't be much of a surprise. He put the pen down and tilted his head up at an angle behind the papers toward the phantom murmuring. His smell and taste took a nap briefly as the sounds of shuffling feet came to his augmented ears. "Hello... Is the Doctor in?” Ooh, a patient! A three dimensional entity! Not a piece of paper! He quickly stood, smiling, the white coat covering jeans and a brown button down. The lovely green girl with the stare of stone. It only occurred to him then the significance of the thought.

" Andrea, right? You don't look so good. why don't you lie down over here and tell me what's going on? Or just lie down. Something." His bedside manner needed some work, but so far today he had been little more than a clerk. Andrea looked thin and black circles could be seen well below the line of her protective shades. Garrett hoped he could at least attempt to help her. His hearing returned to normal as the smell of dust returned to his nose. Something else to do after this and the paperheap.

A face cleared the paper, and she recognized the man it was attached to.... but, his name eluded her. Ga...something. She knew it started with a G... maybe. He stood, approaching swiftly, and she managed to not step back hesitantly for once. Mr. G looked tired as well, but in a more worn out fashion. From the sheer amount of paperwork he had littering his desk, she could understand why quite easily. He seemed to remember her name fairly easily, as if they hadn’t only met once, and she frowned on the inside. Mr. G would have to get a name, sooner or later. “Alright...” She turned and sat where she was told, wrapping her arms around her stomach as its incessant, nerve shattering growling began again. “I am not doing so well, as you could see. I don’t know what’s wrong with me though.” Her lips curved downward in a frown, and her eyebrows furrowed. She honestly didn’t know where to start. “Well... first of all, Thank you. I was a little worried no one would be here.”

Managing a weak smile, she turned her attention to staring the wall. “I have been having trouble sleeping...and these really bad headaches.” Thankfully, the thumping pain in her head was sleeping at that moment in time, yet another reason she had been able to get out of bed and drag herself all the way to see Garrett. “I have also noticed that my appetite has grown-“ She tightened her grasp on her stomach to mask another round of loud growling.”- considerably bigger, and I am losing weight at an alarming rate in comparison to the amount of food I eat.”

An embarrassed brown flush tinted her cheeks. She lifted a hand once her tummy had shut up again to brush her hair from her vision. As needed as the information might be, it still felt quite awkward confiding in someone her eating habits. Since the onset of her hunger, she was willing to bet her laptop and her oh so loved coat that she had eaten more in the past two months than a bear before winter. “I am frightened...” She muttered finally, her eyes moving back to Garrett from behind her glasses.

The shuffling commenced as Andrea relented and took a seat on the bed. “Well... first of all, Thank you. I was a little worried no one would be here.” Garrett proceeded to wrap a blood pressure cuff around her upper arm, attaching the stethoscope beneath it and looking at the clock. The finding was odd, as he initially suspected it would be low with her lethargy, but it was actually a little high. Not quite in the danger zone, but something was definitely going on within her.

After taking the stethoscope out of his ears, he responded. " Yes, well I am working on my own medical degree, so DocProf leaves me to it more often lately. If you can't find anyone here to help you, you are always welcome to come to the Iris Clinic downtown where Sebastian and I work. I believe I gave you a card the last time I saw you." Nothing wrong with an occasional plug. “I have been having trouble sleeping...and these really bad headaches. I have also noticed that my appetite has grown considerably bigger, and I am losing weight at an alarming rate in comparison to the amount of food I eat.[/color]”

Garrett found himself nodding often. Perhaps being a doctor wasn't so far fetched. After all, he had nine and a half years to get where he was in the future, though he hoped to get farther than that without the threat of Haywire looming. " I'll take some blood to rule out any diseases or parasites. Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to use my gift to have a deeper look. See if there are any obvious anomalies. Sounds good?" Not waiting for a complete answer, he stepped out of the room, though still in earshot as he procured the needles and tubes for blood work. Filling out the labels for the tubes, he had one more question. " What's your last name, Andrea?"

Shivering at the coldness of the stethoscope on her arm, Andrea nodded at him. She did have a card from him...somewhere... probably in her top dresser drawer. She wasn't even about to try and actually remember... Instead, she let her eyes shut and listened. He needed blood. Not surprising. Peeking out from one slitted lid, she watched him move off to prepare the items he would need, and scratched at the area on her arm where icy cold metal had met her flesh. Why were those things always so cold? At the question about his ability, her eyes slipped shut again and she nodded, before realizing that he wouldn't be able to see the nod.

"Yes... That is fine.." Anything if it would help...Even just a little.

In all honesty it was the needle she was more worried about at the moment. She vaguely remembered getting shots when she was younger. So she knew that they were painful. Swallowing nervously, she lifted her arm and inspected the veins on her underarm. While faint, she could still see them just under the skin, hiding under quite a few layers of green speckled flesh. Good luck needle... you'll need it... "I might be a little dehydrated... " She muttered, blinking sleepily at her arm. "You might have trouble finding a good vein..." Then again, he was the doctor in training- if anyone he would be the one to find an oh so elusive

Garrett returned to Andrea with the blood kit, wrapping some rubber tubing around her arm and tapping her skin to bring up a vein. Of course, the moment he touched her, the neural map began to write itself, though he was concentrating on her elbow. She must've been dehydrated, becuase without his neural sense showing him a space where her vein existed, he would have had a hard time finding it. " This won't hurt a bit. I am probably the only person who can guarantee that." He chuckled and anesthetized the general area as the needle entered her vein. Blood entered a few tubes and he placed a cotton ball over it and closed her arm over it, keeping his hand on her arm to keep the neural map in place.

" So, you didn't mention what your last name was. I just need it so I can make a file on you. We very well could have another student here named Andrea and I don't want to get samples mixed up." maybe his bedside manner was getting better. He put his free hand on her back. " You should really lie down, especially after taking the blood. We'll keep you here a little while until you are feeling better. I want to have a good look at your neural network anyway." He helped her move her legs and get horizontal, making sure the pillow was behind her head.

Standing over her, his neural sight traced over the contours of her body. There was nothing immediately present so he kept looking, his hand moving from her back to her shoulders. The sight moved toward her head, the mapping slowing slightly as the load of neural messages increased near the brain. There seemed to be some kind of activity around her head. It was odd and he didn't have the medical training to surmise what it could be. Fibrous root structures seemed to be present near her scalp, but they were too thick to be hair. they weren't even structures yet, but more the concentration and shape of the neural paths didn't fit normal hair. He decided to omit these findings but make a note to DocProf for later testing.

" I don't see anything that just jumps out at me. It may take a few days to get this lab work done, as I am not trained to do that yet. Would you like a soda or something?' He released her and pulled a chair up to her side.

When she looked up again, he had returned. A kit in hand, first came a length of rubber- tied neatly around her arm. Andrea watched silently, her curiosity present. It had been a long while since anything like this had been preformed on her. In went the needle... and yet, she felt nothing. She blinked. Either he was really good at what he did... or she was more dehydrated than she had first thought. Then, he asked about her last name, again. She blinked, again. "Oh, sorry!... I didn't even hear your question the first time..." Rubbing at her eyes, she shook her head quickly and laid back as she was instructed.

"My last name is Gordon..." She added after a moment, once the rusty gears in her head finally clanked into place. Once her head was against the table, and her eyes locked on the ceiling, she felt a little better. She didn't know why, but laying down always put her at lease and usually made the pounding behind her eyes lessen, even if it was only a little. Of course, the same couldn't be said for her pesky stomach, which never seemed to sleep these days. Garrett's scan of her seemed to end... she didn't exactly know what he had done, but she wasn't about to start questioning his methods, as long as they worked. He mentioned not finding anything right off the bat, and her heart sank. So much for immediate fixes. No 'Take this and get plenty of rest', as it seemed. She had expected as much though, so it wasn't a huge let down.

Then, he mentioned soda... A drink turned into food in her mind and her stomach jumped happily on the idea. On cue, because the organ had it well versed, a low grumble rumbled around in her tummy like a small earthquake. Complete with collapsing buildings and screaming citizens running about in terror... or perhaps that was just her imagination. Her cheeks darkened to Burgundy, and she tapped her fingers on the table next to her. Stupid stomach... "Er..." Another growl interrupted her and she tried to shrink into the table. "...something to eat... would be greatly appreciated..." Was the answer he finally received.

"My last name is Gordon..."

Ah, nothing like a blank space to fill or a box to check. The more paperwork he did, the more he found it lovely. No strange misgivings, no unintended faux pas. Simple answers that could be filled into their respective slots and lines. He made the necessary change, walking away to file the paperwork with the sample. Whether or not Andrea wanted a soda, he decided she should have something, considering her stomach's constant growling and the blood taken.

Returning with a clear, carbonated, sugary beverage, he set out to pouring it into a small glass and handing her a straw. " Sounds like you are hungry. Have you eaten anything today?" It had grumbled many times since she had come in, but he had tried to overlook it. Her lack of energy, headaches, dark eyes, it all leaned toward a lack of food intake. She was definitely on the skinny side, but considering Garrett's relative inexperience on the subject, he felt cautious about bringing up the possibility of eating disorders. It made perfect sense among troubled mutants.

Depending on her answer to what she had eaten, Garrett decided it might be best to go find something for them to eat. He could definitely use the time away from the paperwork and , come to think of it, he hadn't eaten much himself. If she picked at her food and didn't eat much, he might refer her to Raina. A school counselor definitely seemed like the more appropriate person to speak to over such delicate matters.

Ahh... soda. She hadn't had one in a few days, at least. Pushing herself into a better position for drinking something, Andrea muttered a soft 'Thank you' as she was handed the cup and thoughtful straw. Hopefully, sugary bubbling beverages wouldn't turn out to be a bad thing on what she figured was an empty stomach... if it even had any effect at all. Honestly, she wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest had Garrett's examination proven that there was a black hole lodged somewhere between the bottom of her tummy, and her mouth.

" Sounds like you are hungry. Have you eaten anything today?"

Her eyes flicked his way briefly behind her glasses, and she sipped at the soda he had provided quietly. Yes... I have actually... many times. Rather large meals at that... Keeping her thoughts momentarily to her self, she simply nodded and gulped down a mouthful of burning, bubbly soda. "I have..." She doubted he needed a list of items, or portions sizes for that matter... but, if need be she prepared just such a list in her head. Three grilled cheese sandwiches... about a dozen apples... some pie that had been found lurking in the back of the fridge- which had given her a stomach ache...- and a few handfuls of assorted snack foods. Her nose wrinkled reflexively as she recalled a particularly atrocious nut and honey bar she had tried... Too hard for her tastes, even with a set of sharp choppers. Blinking, she raised her cup and sipped at it again.

Come to think of it, it seemed like she had eaten less today than normally... Her eyes rose to the ceiling in thought, and she added a little more onto her previous answer. "I had breakfast, and an early lunch..." Her stomach growled again, and she was suddenly reminded of the donuts she had eaten as well... though, no one was to know about those, because she didn't exactly know who's they had been.. In her hungry tunnel vision, a lone, unguarded box of sweets was fair game. Shifting her eyes quickly, she trained them on him once more, and set her hands- with cup still held within- in her lap and commenced toying with her straw.

The soda and its sugar seemed to be agreeable for Miss Gordon. It seemed to improve her mood immediately, though it could have easily been Garrett's kindness. The realm of untouchable mutations was certainly one he was aware of. her comments on her breakfast and early lunch seemed to be incongruous to the seemingly endless tirade of stomach grumbling, however. Perhaps it was similar to hibernation or chrysalis, a great intake of sustenance before a change. The realm of mutation was a great and vast one, with so many possibilities for change that it could seem formidable to all seeking to quantify it.

It seemed the best course of action might be to indulge her rather than taunt an imaginary disorder. " Well, if you feel like you can make it, I'd be happy to escort you downstairs for something to eat. We can talk about where and when all of this came about or anything else you'd like to. Your stomach definitely demands more food and I am not going to get in its way. " He stepped out of the room and got the small sign with a picture of a clock and movable hands. He moved the sign to about an hour and a half in the future and came out, hanging it on the door. " Looks like lunch break./"

“...Your stomach definitely demands more food and I am not going to get in its way.”

With a blush, she set her soda down and scratched at the back of her head sheepishly. It was probably best that he didn’t... she had spoiled her appetite to the point it could get downright ravenous sometimes. “That... would be nice.” "Looks like lunch break."

Lunch breaks were always good, especially when had with company. There was of course the worry and paranoia that always came when she was around new people was still present in the back of her mind, but she could simply put a little extra control into her eating habits, and make sure not to get anything stuck in her teeth and that would help to alleviate her tension. She hoped. She inched her way off of the table and back onto her feet carefully. Once upright, she felt the familiar muffled, and somewhat suffocating pressure return behind her eyes and forced a frown from taking over her lips. She refused to let the common annoyance put a damper on her new, much happier mood. There were more important things to think about anyway, like what she was going to eat when they finally got down to the kitchen.

Eggs were always a quick hunger fix. So... another omelet perhaps? No... Scrambled eggs? Her tummy growled in agreement. Yes. Scrambled eggs it was. With her mind and stomach agreed, she shuffled out behind Garrett while he closed up shop. An omelet it was, with extra butter, and some chives... if there were still chives. She hadn’t though to check the last time she had been in the kitchen. Sending her eyes sideways, she blinked at the male beside her. “Would you like anything to eat as well?” A few seconds after she had asked him the question, she added, “I was thinking about making eggs... but, I have a bad habit of making too much.”

A small, teeny white lie. Her endless appetite made it nearly impossible to make too much food. She simply didn’t want to stuff her face in front of someone without first offering to include them. That would be rude of her.

Garrett waited patiently for Andrea to get up and make her way toward him. He felt the urge to reach out and help support her, but she already seemed so self conscious. he felt he would do more harm than good. He chose to remain close in case she looked like she might wobble or completely fall over. They began walking through the hallways toward the stairs to head down them toward the kitchen. It was refreshing for him to get out of the office for any reason, though as they began their descent toward the main floor, he looked at the doors.

A strange impulse stirred inside of him to just run through the doors and just run until he couldn't run anymore. He remained focused on Andrea as best he could, but not having piles of paperwork to rummage through or patients to see left his mind wandering. He had been trying so hard to avoid the turmoil inside his mind. Others' problems and mindless bureaucracy kept him distracted. “Would you like anything to eat as well? I was thinking about making eggs... but, I have a bad habit of making too much.” Ah, a perfect example. They were nearing the kitchen anyway. " Eggs sound good. Are you doing the cooking or am I?" Garrett hoped she would ask him to do it, so he had something else to keep him occupied.

Andrea's eyes seemed to continue to squint behind her sunglasses. It didn't look like light, but more the look he used to have when he got migraines. " If your head is hurting, I might be able to do something about it. I generally try not to influence another nervous system without permission, though." He took a seat at one of the stools near the island, deciding that whomever did the cooking, it was probably best to let her get her ingredients, since she was the ravenous one.

His question about who should cook caught her off guard for a moment. Being used to feeding her rather odd appetite, she was unsure if he would adequately be able to state her hunger. After a moments thought, she waved a hand idly at him, "Oh, do not worry. I can cook. After all it is kind of your lunch break, you should not have to work on break as well."

With a smile- verging on a grin, she set her sights ahead and tried to concentrate on forcing back the dull pounding behind her eyes. Perhaps, if she just thought hard enough on something, whatever she day dreamed up would bury the pain like a tidal wave and she would be able to deal with it later, in bed, when the imaginary water receded. As if on cue, he offered yet again to help, and she blinked at him- her curiosity spiking. Whatever he had done before had gone over smoothly... not like a certain hair incident she had had to deal with when another mutant offered her help... so. why not? With a shrug, she muttered "Sure, why not? I have got nothing to lose."

While she spoke, and he sat, she let herself slip into the familiar patters of darting around the kitchen gathering this and that. Eggs of course would be needed- an armful would suffice; paprika, vegetable oil instead of butter(much healthier for you according to good housekeeping) and a rather large skillet in which to scramble everything together. She lacked the patients at the moment yo try and make a good sized omelet, and instead set about pouring the oil into the pan to warm before she turned back to where Garrett sat and took a seat of her own.

"Alright... so... what might this thing that you can do to alleviate headaches be?" she paused, furrowing her eyebrows and wrinkling her nose in thought for a moment. "...and how do you like your eggs?"

"Oh, do not worry. I can cook. After all it is kind of your lunch break, you should not have to work on break as well." Garrett's eyebrows raised in surprise. An accomodating person? It seemed so rare. But then again, considering his old crowd, it made perfect sense. " Well, thank you very much, Andrea. That's very considerate of you." His step landed lighter now, his genuine smile beginning to awaken from slumber like a bear from hibernation. As he took his seat, he added," I'm also happy to hear that you will allow me to help you with your pain." It was even nicer that he was learning to relieve it rather than dish it out.

He watched her set about into a whirlwind of ingredient gathering. He slipped his shoes off and curled his toes, glad to have air reach them. Shoes were annoying. It was something he had learned from Maya that he would probably always do. He watched her pour oil into the skillet. " Thank you for using vegetable oil. It's much healthier than butter. I don't know why people use butter all the time. Must be a throwback to the old days when people had cows." He shrugged, easing into the spirit of things, his elbows meeting the island's surface. Andrea took her own seat as she worked on the ingredients.

"Alright... so... what might this thing that you can do to alleviate headaches be?...and how do you like your eggs?" Garrett replied out of order, since he had a choice. " Scrambled for sure. My gift is that of neural manipulation. By touching a subject, I can link my own nervous system to their own. I can see their nervous system and most of their body that way. Since I can manipulate nerves, I can quiet down the ones that are angry, which generally results in reducing or removing pain. That's why you didn't feel the needle. I just numbed your elbow." His fingers drummed on the countertop, his own mouth salivating. Perhaps he hadn't eaten all day. The Infirmary tended to drain the light of day rather quickly, with all the comings and goings. Oh, and of course the hours of bureaucracy.

His comment on vegetable oil earned a nod from her. "Butter is a flavoring, not a substance with which to cook in." Her father had been loved her mothers cooking for just that reason, much too much butter. "My Mana used to cook with butter all of the time. In eggs, in rice, in pastas." Clicking her tongue, she stood again and made her way back to the fridge, where she plucked and onion out to add it to her list of ingredients. Another item she hadn't thought of, but fished out of a cupboard, was a potato. The oil was crackling, just the right temperature. She set to cracking half of the eggs she had gathered into the pan one by one, all the while thinking back to how life had home had been. "I mean, the food was good- home made meals always were, but like you said it was very unhealthy..." With the eggs cracked and sizzling in the pan, she gathered the broken eggs and deposited them in the trash. Then, she set to chopping up the two extra add in's with a kitchen knife while he explained his own powers.

A person who could numb pain... he could work with nerves? She nodded absently, dropping a small handful of diced onion into the pan with the eggs. "A very useful gift... is that mainly why you are in the medical profession?" Setting the rest of the onion aside for her own eggs, she took the knife to the potato and added a handful of that as well. After picking up a spatula to turn and scramble the cooking eggs, she dropped the heat and let her mind wander a little. If he dabbled with the nervous system and could numb areas, he could probably also do the opposite. She found herself wondering if he could shut off nerves completely. She knew of certain diseases that could affect a persons nervous system and render them immune to pain...

"It it possible for you to affect someone's sight?" She paused, stirring the eggs once more, before continuing. "...say, turn off the nerve that allows someone to see... and blind them?" She had to admit that what she was thinking was kind of crazy...well, more than kind of, but to be fair if she were to effectively blind herself- her powers wouldn't be able to affect others. right? Her head throbbed and she winced. It would be best to save such thoughts for later it seemed... "Eggs are done..." Digging out a plate for him, she piled his meal on and snatched up a fork and a napkin for him, before turning back to the island. "Would you like something to drink as well?"