all visits to Dr. Jason Campbell were embarrassing

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Why was it that all Zoe's visits to Dr. Jason Campbell were embarrassing trials? It seemed as though she couldn't just pop by to thank him, oh no, there had to be some highly personal matter that she had to discuss. No doubt Dr. Campbell just wanted to check up with the girl, see how she was doing with her new antidote (she'd at least tried the preventative for an especially long kissing session with Alice). but oh no, he was the doctor she trusted, so she'd actually contacted him about... about this.

"It's the responsible thing to do," she mumbled to herself for about the hundredth time, and that was just counting the times after she'd made the appointment. It had taken considerable courage to call the clinic and request this of Dr. Campbell, and then it had taken a bit of convincing and insisting, till eventually Zoe had to explain her unique situation. So now she sat there, rubbing her hands along her legs, smoothing her skirt and trying to think of how she was going to explain the situation to Dr. Campbell.

There's a girl... not the one that I was talking about last time, but another one, and our relationship is... good and... and I love her now and I want to do what... what people do when they really love someone and... and I want to be responsible about it.

That appointment had to be fun to read:

Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe, 18, sexual history checkup & physical

"Maybe there's still time to run?" Zoe wondered aloud. At the exact same time, she heard her name being called. She jumped to her feet, hurrying into the office proper, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible.

[Jason Campbell]

There were some exams that were more annoying or embarrassing then others. Checking a man’s prostate was never something he particularly enjoyed, just like listening to someone’S bowel movements while they farted in the room was not very pleasant. Some twisted mind might say it must be nice to check on a woman but there was nothing sexy in testing for STDs.

A thing he liked about working mostly with mutants was that he didn’t have to do those tests too often. Their checkup had more to do with making sure the side-effects of their power were not taking their toll on them. He still had the occasional embarrassing tests to do but not too often. He understood they trusted him so they wanted him to do every checkups and tests for them. He appreciated why they did it he simply wished they didn’t have to do it.

When he read Zoe’s name on his list of appointment, he was surprised. He did tell her in the past he could come over to the school if it was easier for her. He assumed it was only to check up on her ability and also how efficient his preventive had been. He was still working on her case and not alone as he would share the results of his work with the side-effect specialist at the school. He did wish to take some more samples from her but all this left his mind when he saw the reason for her appointment. Well, it explained why she preferred to come to the clinic. This promised to be slightly awkward. He couldn’t deny she was responsible here, he just wished it didn’t fall on him. But since the girl was so nervous, maybe it was best to be done by someone she knew already. He promised himself to do it quickly.

He had her name called out and he waited by the open door of his office, waiting for her to come in. “How are you doing?” he asked her as he closed the door behind her.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Yes, there he was, looking all calm and like he wasn't at all worried or put out by Zoe being here. Zoe took another deep breath, reminding herself that he probably wasn't. Dr. Campbell did this for a living, and he actually liked Zoe. Plus, he probably totally understood that she had asked for him because this was incredibly uncomfortable for her, and she definitely didn't want to talk it over with someone she didn't know, even if said someone happened to be female (though Zoe had actually tried going online to look at some message forums, that was for something else entirely).

"I'm doing fine, good, really," she said as she hurried toward him, trying not to appear as though she were in a rush. "I, ah, tested your, um, thing a little," she flushed and fidgeted for a bit, "though my, uh, my, um, my girlfriend is, ah, a little, um, resistant? To my power? It doesn't, um," Zoe was, by this point, a brilliant scarlet, "it doesn't---I'm fine. Things are good: I'm getting better at knowing how to deal with it, see!" She held up an ungloved hand, wiggling her fingers. "No gloves! Not that I'm paralyzing people or.... or anything," and more flushing, now with her fingers behind her back.

Why couldn't her power have been to turn invisible? That would certainly make things much easier.

[Jason Campbell]

Whatever he thought about this appointment, Jason knew he couldn’t let it show. It was part of his job and he couldn’t just say he was here only for mutant-related matters. He was, after all, also a regular doctor and Zoe was a patient of his. He doubted whatever she wanted of him today was too specific for him and he had to refer her to another doctor. It was just one of those tests he preferred to do real quickly and be done with it. Besides, he wasn’t sure referring her to someone else was the best thing to do in her case. Just by seeing her walking towards his office, he could tell she was more uncomfortable about this than he could ever be.

If Zoe wanted to convince him she was as good as she said, she didn’t do a really good job. She probably was fine, aside from the fact she took an appointment with him. To make things more awkward, Zoe tried to talk to him but with all of her hesitation, it became really hard to understand a thing she said. He wanted to tell her to calm down when she chose to change the subject, or more the angle in which she talked of the subject and show how she wore no glove. He nodded at this. “That’s really good,” he commented. She was still pretty red and this was not going to help them. “I hope you don’t mind, I’ve been discussing your case a little with the side-effect specialist at the school. We’re both hoping we can help you further,” he said, figuring talking of this first would make her calm down. Then again, he tried many things in the past hoping it would calm her down and it didn’t work all that well.

“Zoe, calm down, alright? This is part of my job so whatever you came here for, just take a deep breath and we’ll get to it when you’re ready,” he said, a thought for his next patients, hoping no one was in a hurry. “You said you’re girlfriend was resistant to your ability?” When he first met Zoe, she nearly killed her girlfriend so either her body managed to take in more of Zoe’s ability before it to affect her, and it would change a lot about what he knew of her power, or, and it seemed more logical, she had another girlfriend. This was not really his business of course, but if she wasn’t as affected, it was worth looking into her ability also.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

This, this right there was precisely why Zoe had decided she needed to talk to Dr. Campbell. This was torture just getting through as it was, but Jason was the doctor who'd helped her when she'd nearly killed Devyn; he was the one who'd been ready to help her with her power.

Yes, her power, just focus on that. she nodded. "That's good," she managed, almost squeaking the words. Dr. Campbell continued, insisting that Zoe calm down, that this was okay. Zoe nodded, then let out a little chuckle. "I suppose if I think I'm ready for this appointment, then I should probably be ready to talk about it," she admitted. She took another breath, closing her eyes, calming down. After a few more seconds, she nodded, opening her eyes.

"Yes, she is," she agreed, keeping her voice much steadier. "Her power involves growing pixie wings and producing a hallucinogenic dust, and we think that she's somewhat resistant to me because of that. We can," she took a deep breath, fighting the flush, "touch for significantly longer," another breath, and Zoe's eyes widened as she realized: "this is a different girl then... then the last one. Things didn't, um, they weren't, well," she bit her lip and shifted for a moment, looking down and taking another breath. "I... I really do," she swallowed and looked up at Jason. "I really do... I have strong feelings for her, Alice, her name's Alice and--and I just," she fidgeted. "I'm sure this must be quite uncomfortable for you too, since I'm a girl and she's a girl but... but I know you should be... careful and," now Zoe was practically aflame again, shifting, "and I figured I should... talk. To you. About... sex."

Why couldn't her power have been invisibility, really?

[Jason Campbell]

“I’m not disclosing any information about your medical record and I won’t without your approval, we’re only discussing your power and how to help you,” he assured her as he mentioned his discussion with Seiji Lockard. To talk more would be against the ethic, he believed, but since Seiji was the side-effect specialist and also interested in Zoe, he thought it was better to collaborate with him. It was not a competition, they all worked together. Anyway, it might be hard to publish any result from those researches, at least not in the way doctors generally did it. Not everyone was meant to know what they were doing.

He had a little smile as she tried to joke her way into calming down. To be honest, Jason preferred to do that kind of test quickly. Some might argue he got naked people, or semi-naked, in front of him but there was nothing pleasurable in it. Not that it was something he shared with his patients. They might notice if he ever turned a little red as he did the required tests but in Zoe’s case, saying he enjoyed this perhaps as much as she did was probably not the way to calm her down.

Jason blinked as he tried to picture a fairy throwing hallucinogenic pixie dust around her. Mutants might be out of the ordinary, sometimes even they heard things that seemed surreal. He pushed that thought away however, as he had to be professional here. He was working. “She is immune to her hallucinogenic dust, I take it?” It was interesting that this could make her more resistant to Zoe’s ability. He wrote it down, not in Zoe’s medical file but on a notepad. Seiji might be able to answer him about this girl. He would certainly be interested to hear of this also. As he wrote and Zoe explained they could touch for a longer period of time, he nodded. He was very good at writing things down and looking like he was listening to everything being said, even if he probably was filtering by now. He raised his head however when she started to fidget and babble nervously. “Yes, I understood that,” he let out, not allowing any judgement to be heard in his voice. He had none after all. That a teenager broke up with someone to be with someone else was far in his list of things that could shock him.

Suddenly, their discussion about power turned into the reason for her coming here. “Who you love is of no matter to me. I’d be really uncomfortable if I was the one you loved but since you’re bringing the fact that you are a girl, I want to ask if you are comfortable with me doing the checkup or if you’d prefer it to be a woman.” He figured this might as well come out first before they really start talking about sex.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Oh, well, you could, if you, um, needed to," offered Zoe, flushing again. She didn't see any harm in sharing the bits about her power with someone, though she understood that Dr. Campbell likely wouldn't want to do something like that. SO there was just more flushing and shuffling that really didn't ebb as they moved into talking about the real reason Zoe happened to be there.

Zoe nodded in answer to the question, adding a verbal: "Yes, she's, well, I think she's pretty much immune to it," offered Zoe, adding another little shrug. She sat quietly, listening, glad not to hear Dr. Campbell judging her, either for her sexuality or for her choices in girlfriends. Zoe supposed that really wasn't his job, but then again, that's also part of why she wanted to come see him.

Which also played into the next section, with Zoe shaking her head. "No, I, um, I--" she paused, taking another breath and smiling nervously, "sorry, but, um, well, I'm not... not really all that comfortable with it, though I'm trying and all, and I, well, you're one of the few people I really trust, so... so it just made sense for me to contact you. And I know I'm asking a lot, especially since you've been so good, but, well, I just couldn't... think of anyone else..." And Zoe bit her lip, looking down and flushing as dark as ever.

[Jason Campbell]

“I will only disclose information that could be relevant to your power,” he assured her. He might mention this girl she was currently dating and her ability to resist better to Zoe’s paralytic touch but anything else was not necessary. Still, it was best to ask for her permission as a lot of the information should remain confidential. He wanted to make sure she was fine with it. And, as he said, only what was related to her power would be discussed. Anything else didn’t need to be mentioned.

It was interesting to make a connection between Zoe’s power and her girlfriend’s ability, making it easier for her to resist the paralysis. Sure, he still had a lot to check before making up any theories, and it might actually be easier for Seiji to do that, but it remained something worth looking into. This girlfriend of hers was not his patient however, Zoe was, and she was the one sitting in his office after making an appointment. He couldn’t spend all day talking about this when it was not the reason why she came here.

If Jason suggested letting a female member of the clinic staff do the test, it was because he could tell she was nervous and wanted to do anything to help her relax. If having a man check her made her uncomfortable, he was ready to accommodate her. But she said she trusted him. All with a lot of stammering and hesitations that seemed to be the usual with Zoe. At lest he got the essential, that she didn’t want it to be a stranger, woman or not.

He waited for her to be done, tilting his head to the side as she avoided his gaze. “Zoe... I’m a doctor, this is part of my job. I only asked so you could choose what you are most comfortable with,” he said. Jason knew people who happened to be less nervous than Zoe could be embarrassed to discuss their sexual history and this could lead to a very difficult and awkward situation. He wanted to avoid that if he could but it was hard to tell if this was just her normal nerves talking or if there was more to it. “If you’re fine, we can start? Why are you here for, exactly?”

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded. Yes, she was definitely fine with Dr. Campbell sharing information relevant to her power and to helping people figure out more about her power. That was actually part of her hope now: that he'd be able to apply what he'd learned from her and use it for someone else. She didn't quite see the connections, but she could at least hope for other people.

Which just left them with dealing with the more awkward and uncomfortable portion of this meeting. Zoe shifted again, wishing that there was a less awkward way of doing this. Just venture forward. They can start.

"I... I want to, um, get sexually active," she admitted, turning about five different shades of red. "I, uh, haven't... in the past. I haven't done anything sexual or anything. I already um," wow, she could get darker, "looked up stuff on the---mechanics of it," and darker still, "but I also read information that suggested that you get checked out by a doctor and---and---I thought of you?"

Wow, that last sounded horrible even to her, as though she instantly thought that every doctor should be involved in every thing. She lowered her eyes, the embarrassment at her assumption serving as the straw that broke the veritable camel's back.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason sort of figured that Zoe wanted to have some action going on with her girlfriend. You don’t get that kind of checkup just for the fun of it. With her ability, having sex must not be easy at all. Even if her girlfriend proved to be resistant to her power, it would still be something delicate to do, as so much could go wrong. Jason really hoped that she could get some without anything going bad, if only because he didn’t want to be called over for it.

When she started to talk about the ‘mechanics’ of it, he really hoped he wasn’t here for a sex ed lesson. And the poor girl was redder than he ever thought a face could be. “That’s very responsible of you. And you’ve just answered the next question I was about to ask you,” he said as he was about to ask her if she ever had any kind of sexual activity before. To him, the questioning part was not the worst. Sure, it might sound intrusive to the shyer patients but this was nothing to any gynecological exam.

He looked at her while she was doing a very good job avoiding his gaze. “You don’t need to feel so embarrassed about it. It’s not something any of us like to go through but it’s good that you chose to do it,” he assured her. He paused a moment, his eyes falling on her file, thinking real fast. “You think her resistance will be enough or do you intend to use the preventive as well?” Normally, he wouldn’t inquire in people’s private life like this but Zoe was different. Her ability made it so he had to ask and make sure no tragedy will occur because she wanted to be normal and do what normal people do with their girlfriend.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

No, Zoe probably couldn't stand going through a sex ed lesson, even with Dr. Campbell. Besides, she figured that things were likely at least a little different in her situation, considering that she and Alice both happened to be girls and all. She really just wanted to get the proper checks and such. It seemed as though she was doing alright in this.

"I know," she said, taking a deep breath. "It's just what two people do when they care about each other," or, according to a lot of the literature, were simply really hot for each other. That caused her to flush again. "I... well, her resistance should help, but I figured I'd probably, um, use the preventative," she flushed at that, letting out a giggle. "I guess that's some protection right? Is there, um, other protection I should use? And I do want to be tested and all. I should be clean but it's, um, the right thing to do. Right? The responsible thing."

At least Zoe was doing a little better at pulling herself together now. Doctor stuff was easier, even if it was doctor stuff related to the sex stuff. Yes, she was still flushed, but she was at least making coherent sentences with only a few pauses and stutters.

[Jason Campbell]

Less nervous people often took the questions about sexuality with some embarrassment so Jason expected it to be even harder on Zoe, who was naturally nervous over pretty much everything. So far, he thought it wasn’t going too badly. Jason was rational, he knew that, no matter how much you’ll tell teenagers than abstinence was the best protection, they would still have sex. It was why he was not trying to stop them, only hoping they would be intelligent enough to use protection and check themselves. He never thought Zoe was not an intelligent girl, so he was glad to see that, for once, his opinion on someone was not wrong.

He couldn’t help a little smile at her words. This sounded so much like what a parent would tell a child while trying to explain ‘the facts of life’. God, was he happy he didn’t have to explain that! “It would be safer, provided she is not resistant to it also,” he said. Resistant did not mean immune, something could go wrong at some point. Zoe had enough things going wrong because of her ability, she didn’t need that on top of everything.

“Yes, yes it is,” he began to say when she said this was the responsible thing to do. “Well, there are feminine contraceptives but most of them are more meant to prevent pregnancy than diseases. She should check herself too. But back at you, your parents have no STDs that you know of?” Again, why bother telling her she shouldn’t do it when she would anyway?

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe flushed slightly as Dr. Campbell smiled. Well, at least she was trying to get through this, do the responsible thing, move forward. Yes, have as sex as safe as possible, no, wait, as safe of sex as possible. Zoe flushed a little, feeling like she should have at least been able to get that right. She also should have figured that there was less protection for what she was doing and more worries about pregnancy.

"I'm pretty sure we don't have to worry about that," she said, attempting to joke. She smiled a little, and found that it did make her feel slightly more comfortable. She took another breath, nodding. "I mean, yes, I know that they didn't have any, at least, that I'm aware of. Um," she bit her lip and squirmed, "I haven't really, talked with any of them for a while," which she had mentioned last time, though Dr. Campbell may not be too thrilled to learn that hadn't changed. "I haven't seen my mother in years, actually. I'm not sure where she is any more."

Zoe shrugged. It wasn't really even anything that gave her the slightest twinge of pain. She'd taken on her step-mother's last name without a second thought: that had been where the Smythe part of her name came from, after all. It had been the joint decision of everyone involved to combine their names, even if it did produce quite a mouthful.

[Jason Campbell]

“Yes, I doubt you would,” he let out. Jason didn’t always know the life of his patients that intimately but when you first meet someone by trying to save their girlfriend you didn't really have a choice to know a few things about them they might not have wished to tell you just yet. For someone who was naturally nervous no matter the circumstances, Jason believed she handled it pretty well. At least she understood he was not asking this because he wanted to hear the details.

He looked at her as she started to squirm again. Was there something about her parents? Many students were uneasy about their parents. It was something he understood when he was a student at Bellefonte. Since both of his parents were mutants, and residing in town, Jason never really felt that painful feeling of being torn away from your loved ones nor had he been cast out by them for being a freak but he knew some experienced that. It could have been her case. Or she was just naturally not that close to them. It was still sort of sad but not really his business. He was her doctor, not her shrink. “Well, I supposed they would have told you before or done some tests but that is also why you’re here so we’ll do them, just to be safe,” he told her.

Which meant it was time to stand up and direct her to the examination table. And do the part of the visit none of them really wanted to do. “I’ll try to be quick,” he assured her. No need to spend more time than required. “I’ll communicate you the result as soon as I have them,” he told her when that was done (because Bobby is obviously not interested to thread that part out). He gave her space, pulling the curtain so she could change without him looking at her. “While I have you here, I have discussed of your case with Seiji Lockard, as I told you. I believe he was interested in some more samples from you, possibly even skin. I told him I would discuss this with you. Obviously, if he ever went to the point of taking a tissue sample, I would be here to heal it right away.” This was far more a subject he would like to talk about. Although, if she had any more questions regarding other, more intimate matters, he was also here to provide answers.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded. Then she moved to rise up, rubbing her hands along her body. They had seemed to enter the slightly more awkward part of things. Zoe took a few more breaths, wondering if she should suggest that Dr. Campbell take one of the preventatives or something along those lines. She didn't want to come off as presumptuous though: he certainly knew how to do his job, after all.

"Thank you," she said, as he spoke of being quick, nodding. Then she moved, working at getting changed, which would take a bit, given the elaborate nature of her outfit. She went to work at it, wishing that her hands were a little steadier. Just an examination, and she didn't have anything to worry about. At worst, he was probably going to comment on how skinny she was: it seemed like every doctor did that at some point.

The talk distracted Zoe from her own nerves, and she nearly let out a sigh of relief, thankful that Dr. Campbell was thinking about her nerves. "I'm perfectly willing to provide some samples," she said. "I, um, I don't want scars or anything, at least," she'd already removed her shirt and looked down at the slight scar along her abdomen, where the bullet had grazed her the year before, "not more." she worked on getting the provided gown on. "Should I meet with this Seiji Lockard? I wouldn't mind. Really."

She was getting better at this, after all. She paused, smoothing the robe over her lithe body. A nod, and she stepped out, ready to be examined. Which could, of course, be generally grazed over, since it's unlikely that threading out the whole examination thing would be something thrilling. Unless more awkwardness is in the order of the day, of course.