the hospital wasn't as terrifying

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

The hospital wasn't as terrifying as Zoe had expected. It probably helped that she came here perfectly healthy, save for the whole "I paralyze people by touching them" thing, which was normal enough for Zoe. No extra symptoms, no extra wound or anything of the sort. Someone could have made a crass comment about an extra growth, since a faculty member loomed behind Zoe, her presence only just barely known. Some of the faculty members were a little more persistent, talking to Zoe or working with her or what have you. She'd practically befriended one or two, even. This one just seemed happy to be in the background, like furniture or something, certainly not worth mentioning until of use to others.

Currently Zoe sat in the waiting room, feeling a little antsy about the whole thing. She shifted, digging into the pocket of her skirt to pull out her phone and check it. She'd made an appointment with Dr. Campbell, had even explained a little of what she wanted. It wasn't exactly difficult or hard to guess: they'd formed some kind of medicine that had gotten Devyn unparalyzed, so Zoe was hoping that they could take that a step further: find some kind of medicine that would make Devyn immune.

So there she sat, waiting in the waiting room of the hospital, knowing that Dr. Campbell would see her as soon as possible. She chewed on her lips, bringing her phone up to check again. It buzzed, which nearly made Zoe drop it. She flicked through, smiled as she read a horribly written, flirtatious message from Devyn, and punched out a quick reply, careful not to give out details. No reason to get the girl's hope up, just in case this couldn't happen for whatever reason.

Zoe sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back, willing a nurse or someone, even Dr. Campbell himself, to poke their head out and say that Dr. Campbell was ready to see her.

[Jason Campbell]

Being both an actual doctor and a mutant able to heal people with his touch, it was only natural Jason got most of the mutants of this town as patients. Sure, he also treated the ‘normal’ people, but ever since he came back in town, he let it know to their community that he was here to help them. It would be insulting mutants to consider they didn’t need a more specific treatment. Sure, for most things, they did. But it was always important to take their powers in consideration. And Jason was doing just that. He hoped he was not the only doctor, with Ceanna Riggs, to help them but if they were, it only made Jason want to work extra hard for them all.

He had several appointments today. He had the files on a corner of his desk, as the people arrived, ready for him to call them out when he had the time. People often complained that doctors were deliberately taking their time or something. If you listened to them, you’d think Jason was seeing a patient for five minutes then playing video games for an hour before calling the next one in. They didn’t realize the time it can take to listen to a patient, to give them all the information they wanted, to check them and then to write it down on their file. Jason was not one to waste any minute of his time, not when he was working.

He got the next file. Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe. Unusual name. He opened the file. There wasn’t much in there. A new patient then. Well, time to meet with her. He opened the door and looked into the waiting room. “Miss Wallerstein-Smythe,” he called out, reading once again the name on the file to make sure he said it right. He then lifted up his gaze to see who will get up so he’d know who this Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe was.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe popped up the moment she heard her name. She recognized Dr. Campbell immediately, though she couldn't be sure whether or not he recognized her. she worked her way through the waiting room, brushed past Dr. Campbell and entered the back of the examining area, looking about for a few moments. She figured that her presence should be indication enough of what she wanted. she still waited till they were in the back though before addressing, just in case.

"Um," she said, which was her usual conversation starter. Suddenly this felt a little more difficult now that she was back here with the handsome doctor. At least she knew she had one thing that she knew needed to be said: "Thank you, for, um, helping my girl--helping Devyn, Devyn Solway. At the school. With your, um, special talents," she said, flushing. Was that good? She didn't want to give away powers. She looked about, figuring that they should probably get to an exam room or something. Shouldn't there be a nurse to guide her? Maybe there weren't any mutant nurses? But surely nurses didn't exclude mutants; that didn't make much sense...

[Jason Campbell]

As she approached him, Jason did recognize Zoe. He was not called often enough for an emergency because someone got paralyzed for him not to recognize her. The event was still fresh to his mind. He almost passed out. Well, he kind of did later on, but he was lying on a hospital bed then so to everyone he probably just fell asleep. And when he woke up, he just wanted to eat, get news of Devyn and go home. He didn’t exactly checked if Zoe was still there, if she was feeling any better or what. He had done what was asked of him, he had paid the price and he was ready to go home.

He did wonder why Zoe was coming here. She was not the one who had been injured, in fact she caused it, quite against her will. Could easily be just a checkup. But no, it wasn’t. She began by thanking him. He had a tiny smile as she mentioned his ‘talent’ and nodded to her words. They were not in the office yet and that probably was the best she could come up with to mean power or mutation. “I’m glad I could be of help. I heard she fully recovered from it,” he replied. Devyn might be more Ceanna’s patient, if only because she was a student at Bellefonte, but Jason helped her out and so wanted to make sure his efforts had not been in vain.

He invited Zoe to step in the examination room that also turned out to be his office and closed the door behind them. “You didn’t just come here to thank me, I hope? I mean, I’m happy she is fine but you didn’t have to do it. A call would have been enough,” he told her as he walked with her to his desk.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded, smiling as Dr. Campbell expressed his own thanks at Zoe's good news. She ran her hand through her hair, feeling a little odd at not wearing a hat. In truth, Zoe was dressed light, well, for Zoe. Only gloves and the long-sleeves and tights, not the newer additions of scarf or her usual hat. She nodded as Dr. Campbell gestured toward a room, entering at his insistence. She walked a few steps in, her hands working against one another, sort of tugging at the gloves without really working to remove them at all.

The door closed; Dr. Campbell entered a little more fully, with Zoe watching him, her nerves again waging war on her stomach and other parts of her. "No! I mean," she flushed, "I do think that you deserve to be thanked in person. You did save my girlfriend's life and all, and it's usually considered good form to thank someone for saving someone you lo--care deeply for," and Zoe blushed again, biting her lip and lowering her head. Was there any way of broaching this subject without sounding like a lovelorn twit? Then again, Zoe supposed that if the shoe fit...

"Actually," she said, sounding cautious and nervous, "I, well, I---it seemed like, besides your healing, there was, um, something else, that was used to help cure Devyn, like, a drug or something. I was sort of hoping that, maybe, possibly, there was some kind of... antidote?" the last word came out as something like a squeak, with Zoe's hands contorted against one another, her face doubtfully hopeful while her nose crinkled ever so slightly. And the butterfly colony that apparently made their home in Zoe's stomach just set flight en masse.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason did watch as she was playing with her hands. Well, he was not as much staring at her hands for a second there but at her gloves. Since he knew her power, he did appreciate she thought of putting them on. He knew it was not her fault that she would paralyse people by touch. If she had tuberculosis, it wouldn't be her fault either. But Jason still wouldn't let her cough on him.

He smiled to Zoe however as she didn’t seem able to stop herself from talking. All this, to say thank you. Obviously, she liked her girlfriend. He knew at that age, it was usually kind of naive, the love you felt. Hey, he had been eighteen too! And he did date. And, as most people in his case, he was no longer dating those girls. But yeah, it always feels wonderful then. And she didn’t need him to say it was nothing compared to what she’d feel later on in her life. He wouldn’t have listened either had someone told him that at her age. “Well, you’re welcome then. And I’m glad I was able to help your girlfriend and that she is fine now,” he repeated again. It was sincere. He was glad she could breathe again. He wouldn’t remind Zoe anymore that she didn’t need to come here in person to thank him however.

He looked at her again when she began to talk. He knew that kind of nervousness. Usually, it was followed by something a little embarrassing for the patient, most of the time involving genitals. Luckily for him, it was not STD testing he would have to do today. An antidote. Yes, he did talk with Dr Riggs afterwards about the treatment she used, a mix of chemicals to help Devyn recover.

Alright, finding a cure to let two horny teenagers touch each other didn’t sound the kind of thing you want to do. But it was more than that. Zoe simply couldn’t touch, at all. Sure she’d be able to do more intimate stuff but more than that, she would be able to shake people’s hand without paralyzing them on the spot. He couldn’t turn it down. But Jason first and foremost a realist and he weren’t sure this could be possible. That didn’t mean he would not try. “Well, I don’t know the chemicals used by heart but I can contact Dr Riggs and get the proper cocktail and do tests to see if it could prevent a paralysis,” he began to say with some hesitation. He didn’t want to give her false hope. “I don’t guarantee this will work,” he added. He wanted to be honest with her. Of course, it was still worth a try and would do it if she asked him.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

More thanks and welcomes given, which was enough to make Zoe feel both warm and squishy and a little guilty. It did seem like she kept being a burden on everyone around her, first the school itself, then Devyn, and now these doctors. At least Dr. Campbell wasn't making Zoe feel too horrible about the situation. she even managed another smile.

That smile only widened as Dr. Campbell continued. Zoe realized that such a thing might only be a temporary fix; the antidote might wear off in time or just plain not work properly. It might not even be possible, given what little they knew about mutants and their powers and such. Still, at least having a chance was enough to lift her spirits considerably. Considering that this was Zoe, that uplifting showed with a broad smile on her face, practically beaming.

"But it could work, right?" she said, unable to keep it. 'It is possible to have a sort of antidote or something?" Zoe looked about ready to start jumping up and down and shouting for joy. "Is there something I need to do? Would you like to take some tests? What can I do? Give blood or something?" she wasn't sure how that worked, but she was obviously willing to start rolling up her sleeves or something to prepare for blood drawing or whatever else might be necessary.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason could only understand the join Zoe was going through right now at the thought of possibly being able to touch someone without stunning them. Sure, it might prove entirely useless. But it could also work. The thought there might be a chance, no matter how small, that she could be physical with somebody, it was all she wanted right now. She was too young to resign herself to being alone forever. It could sadly be her fate but he didn’t want to point it out at her for he too wished she would never reach that point. No one wishes for someone as young and obviously in love to spend the rest of their life cloistered.

So yeah, despite being all doctor-like, not wanting to give too much hope, Jason couldn’t bring himself to crush it all entirely. “It is possible,” he admitted. It was enough it seemed for the girl to be ready to undergo any kind of test. He supposed it was not impossible to create such antidote. There was one for most poison, you could consider it was what she gave to people, some sort of paralytic. She was ready to do anything and Jason felt he needed now to calm her. “Now, keep in mind it also might not work. Or that it could only work as an antidote and be useless as a pre-emptive strike,” he told her. He still left some hope for the girl as there could be. It may not be what she wanted but if they created an antidote, she could carry it around the same way people with severe allergies carried epinephrine and she could help the unfortunate person she would have touched for too long and got paralyzed. That still would be something.

“I’ll take some sample, but first, can you tell me more about your power?” he asked. She might know the scientific terms but that would still help him. “How does it work exactly? Is it any part of you that can produce it? How do people react? I know, it can be hard to answer, but that can help’” he assured her after he asked several questions. He pushed her file away. He would not write it in there. Instead, he took a pad to scribble down anything that could be worth it as she would answer him.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Possible was enough to make Zoe's hopes float even higher. She looked as though she were about to jump out of her skin. She settled as Dr. Campbell did his doctorly thing, listening carefully. Might not work, might only partially work. Didn't he get that even a little improvement was still an improvement? An antidote meant that Zoe wouldn't have to worry about outright killing anyone. A vaccine would be best, sure, and possibly a cure even better still. She nodded her understanding though, attempting to look more sober. She managed it, though not very well, since she still looked like a small child on Christmas being told that she had to be careful riding her bike and that it might not go as fast as she wanted it to.

Sample, and then questions. Zoe took a breath, again listening, forming her mental answers and lining them in order to make sure to give Dr. Campbell everything he wanted in order. "Well," she said, forcing herself to speak slowly and enunciate her words carefully, "it's, um, touch based. I have to press bare skin against someone else's... but you knew that," she shifted, taking another deep breath. "It sort of spreads from there. Like, if I were to touch someone's arm. what I touch goes numb first, and then it moves slowly up the longer I touch someone. If I pull away, they get better, pretty much," she bit her lip and shifted again. "Everyone reacts a little different, but they say it makes them numb and stuff. You saw what happened to Devyn..." Zoe trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Um, would it, um, be helpful if I, ah, told you about, um, the first person who---the girl I hospitalized when I---" she trailed off, her eyes sliding to look down at her feet now. He was a doctor; she was supposed to tell him stuff like that. Knowing that didn't make it magically easier to manage though.

[Jason Campbell]

Oh, he knew any kind of help Zoe could get was more than welcomed. But he considered it was his duty to be a little realistic here, even if she might accuse him of being a pessimist. He had to warn her it might not work. However, he was interested in working on this. He wanted to help her. Even finding a proper antidote would already be quite an improvement. She still would have to be careful but at least she’d have something prepared should another incident occur. It was a lot better than risking someone else’s life again, and he knew she would never forgive herself if that happened. She had been quite shaken for her girlfriend last time, even when both Ceanna and Jason were confident she’d be fine.

He could not blame Zoe for being excited however. Had he spent the last few years unable to touch anybody, he too would be dancing out of joy at the thought of a possible cure. He made notes as she told him as much as she could about her power. Touch based. Then it could be naturally secreted out of her, like some frogs. He wrote down frogs as a note to check them out and see if he could not find similarities between Zoe’s power and the creatures. And it was spreading, so whatever form of paralytic it was, it had to get into the person’s system. The muscles, the nerves or the veins? Another note down, another thing he’d have to test. It seemed limited by how long Zoe was touching someone. Another thing to take in consideration. He knew most of that he could get from Ceanna but he liked to have some notes already, to talk of it with the doctor and get her opinion on the matter after coming up with a few hypothesises on his own.

He nodded as she mentioned Devyn. He assumed this would not be easy for Zoe as she would remember that. But it was necessary. When she started to talk about another victim, Jason stopped to write and looked up at her. “I know it must be hard for you. Let’s try to talk of it real quick. How long did you keep contact? I assume the same that happened with Devyn occurred then?” he said. It was not his intention to make it hard on her. “The more information get, the more we know about your power and it will help us in the end,” he told her, using us to include her even though he also meant Ceanna.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe took another deep breath, once more steeling herself. Make it quick, don't overthink it or linger too long upon the details. "It was... similar,' she volunteered, flushing and pausing to bite her lip. Dr. Campbell was a doctor, a doctor who understood and wouldn't judge. Zoe just had to keep remembering that. "I actually just kissed her, my step-sister, and that's, um, how my power sort of developed. It wasn't that long ago, actually, I, um, was a late bloomer?" In ever so many ways, though she didn't think that might be pertinent, unless it was. She took another deep breath, forcing the words out: "I actually was in a lot of ways, though nothing quite to this extent. "I didn't keep contact as long, and it was just, um, lip to lip."

Zoe flushed and fidgeted. At least this was coming out more embarrassing than sad, which was something... actually, something that Zoe couldn't recall experiencing before now. Maybe it had something to do with how her relationship with Devyn was developing? Again, she didn't really want to linger on it, considering where she was and what they were doing.

"That was direct though, and very quick. Well, it seemed like it, but I kissed her for a bit. You know how that can be," another flush, and she plowed onward: "She ended up convulsing or something. I don't... I don't really know much more about it though..." because she'd run away, though she didn't want to add that part.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason had no idea what he’d hear exactly when he asked for more information about this other person. But obviously it was hard for Zoe. He could not blame her, he saw in what state she had been with Devyn. He had no idea what happened the time before but he did wonder if Ceanna had it in her file. If that was the case, he would take a closer look, to learn all the details. For now however, he’d hear Zoe’s story. So she was kissing someone when her power developed. He did raise an eyebrow at the mention of step-sister but said nothing. It was not for him to say anything and he tried to convince himself they might not have been related at all other than by marriage. Lip to lip? Saliva maybe? That would fit with the touch and could mean it was the water in her that might change in one way or anything inside of her to be secreted as a paralytic. That meant more notes, more questions to study over.

He felt sorry for Zoe when he lifted his head. She was blushing and quite uncomfortable about all of this. He replaced the pen on the notepad. “What was her name?” he asked. He didn’t know if he would be allowed to read that particular file but he could still ask. That would be all about this even however. He didn’t want to torture her after all. “Tell me, are you affected by your power? If you ouch yourself, do you feel any numbness6 I mean, you hand on your cheek for example, or both hands joined together,” he asked, adding the rest quickly. She talked about kissing, he certainly didn’t want her to think he meant anything sexual with the touching.

“I’ll take some sample too. Saliva and blood, if you’re fine with it,” he told her. Just because this case interested him, and that she seemed quite excited at the thought something could be done, Jason didn’t want to force her hand. “I’ll also have a paper for you to sign. It’s just a formality, saying you allow me to read whatever medical file you have,” he added. He doubted Dr Riggs would say no should he ask to read her file on the girl but it would be better to do things properly.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Her name, as if Zoe would ever forget that: "Ava," she said, her voice soft, "Ava Wallerstein-Smythe," she shifted a little, looking away, "um, is there some way you could---I don't---I don't know what happened to her, to them," she swallowed, feeling tears rising to her eyes. She didn't have a clue what was going on with her family; they had no idea where she was. She swallowed; there were more questions she had to answer:

"Um, I can't paralyze myself," she said, still fighting back the tears which made her voice warble, "I can touch myself well, um, everywhere," this last was practically a squeak as she flushed, thinking immediately of activities generally not shared in public, mostly because of the direction the conversation had taken so far. She almost immediately realized a way out and practically blurted: "like when I shower! I can shower and, um, it's fine and stuff."

More doctor stuff: blood and saliva sample; Zoe nodded, trying to regain that earlier joy. She could find a cure, or at least an antidote... perhaps an antidote would be better. Then Zoe could use her ability like most people: against people that tried to hurt her or others. She nodded as he mentioned a paper too, and forced more words out: "I'm eighteen, by the way," she said, looking up at him to meet his eyes, "so I can sign anything that's needed. I think my records can be released too," she snuffled for a moment, reaching up to wipe at her eyes with her hands. "I'm not sure how that works, but I can give you permission for all that."

[Jason Campbell]

Jason wrote down Zoe’s step-sister’s name, making mental note to try and get her file to know what happened exactly. He wasn’t sure this would teach him anything new but it was still worth checking. Something might pop up from this. He frowned a little, not sure what her request was. What happened... “I’ll let you know if I get any information from that side,” he told her as he finally understood. She must have cut herself from her family when she went to Bellefonte. He had to remember not everyone came from a family of mutants like him, many were taken away from their home.

He could see her blush as he asked her about her immunity to her power. He too didn’t want to mean whether or not she could satisfy herself but he knew one could come to that conclusion. “Then you have some form of immunity and the answer might lie there,” he told her, happy to just get over this little embarrassing moment. Jason often had to ask embarrassing questions. Didn’t mean it was easy for him. You didn’t always want to hear the answer. Besides, saying he could find a cure using her immunity might just make her happy again, as he knew he made her go through painful stuff with his questions.

As she wiped some tears, he handed over the box of tissues he had on his desk. He was tempted to take some skin as well but that might be just a little too much. He wondered if he could heal her skin before her power would get to him. Better not try right on the spot though. He’ll see with the saliva and blood and call her back later should skin sample was also required. He got the paper he would need. He filled in most of it before handing it to her. “Can you check the information is fine and sign at the bottom of the page if you agree to let me look at your records,” he told her. As she did so, he went to get everything necessary to draw some blood and get a sample of saliva.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded, sighing with relief and mumbling a thank you soon after. Maybe Dr. Campbell could come up with something. Anything would be preferable to the information void that Zoe currently lived in. For all she knew, SPECTRE had come through and murdered all her family. She hadn't even mustered up the courage to so much as Google them, fearful of what might turn up.

"That would make sense," she managed, responding to Dr. Campbell's assertions of her immunity, glad for something to distract. She had a feeling that he'd done that on purpose, recognizing her discomfort. Doctors probably got training to deal with weepy, emotional patients, seeing as there were so many diseases that could affect people and mess with emotions. "Sorry," she said, reaching for offered tissues, pulling a few, "it's just---it's been a lot. I'm sure you get that all the time though," she wiped her eyes with the tears. "You're being wonderful though."

He was, though Zoe felt a little pathetic for admitting as much. She sniffed and again used the tissues to clean her face. Soon she was staring down at a form, reading it over carefully. There were actually a few moments where she read through, nodding and finally signing. "Do you do this often?" she asked, setting the form down until Dr. Campbell reached for it; she'd hand it off then of course. "Taking samples of people like us and trying to figure things out? It sounds quite admirable," and yes, she did say it precisely like that and mean every word.