You Know What To Do

[Jason Campbell]

Jason made sure there were no tiny bread crumbs in the file before closing it. He barely had the time to eat while writing down the final notes in this file and catch up with the next. People seemed to think all doctors did was to play golf but Jason had to squeeze a few minutes in his day to have lunch. It didn't help that pretty much every patient of his happened to be mutants. He had to write an official file for the clinic and hospital and make an unofficial one, just for himself and a few others, with every detail on their power, their side-effects and anything that could be medically worthy of mention.

He pulled out his next patient's file. In it, there was anything he mentioned after his medical examination as well as anything other doctors wrote about it. The diagnosis? A condition that permanently weakened her immune system. He then pulled out the other file he knew he had on her. Same name, same dates for the examinations, but far more detailed as it added her power and everything it was causing on her as well as notes from staff members of the school he also talked with. He was actually surprised she was waiting here. He often told the students and staff members that he could come to the school if it was more convenient for them. He was normally not doing this sort of ‘house calls’ but their community had such a long list of restrictions and particular cases that it was just easier to allow it for them.

Still, she was here now and Jason hoped she didn't wait too long. He quickly finished his sandwich, downed what remained of water in his glass and then worked on putting everything away, including any traces of food that could be on his desk or on himself. Once he made sure his desk was tidy enough for his messy mind, he got up and came to the door. “Luxanna Viera,” he called out. He stayed by the door as he waited for her to come in.

[Luxanna Viera]

After her talk with Rox, Luxanna had decided that it was about time she figured everything there was to know about her own power and to see if there was at all anything she could do. She spent so much time in and out of the hospital and infirmary, Lux had a feeling things wouldn't get any better from here on and out, so maybe Rox was right; maybe it was about time that Lux decided to make a decision and actually do something besides hiding away and hoping that would somehow help her case.

Hence why Luxanna had arranged a meeting with the doctor who seemed to specialize in mutants and their abilities. He had helped a few of the other students, and although Lux doubted there was a whole lot he could actually do (what did she know, she was no doctor), at the very least it could give her a clear image of where she was standing. She'd tried so many treatments and medicines, which all had failed to work.

It wasn't like she could simply stop using her ability either. That was the tricky part with it being reactive. It wasn't something she could turn off or on. It just happened, and it happened  a lot. And the more often it happened, the more often the brunette was forced to spend her time in bed fending this or that sickness away. With her mother being sick with cancer and rapidly decreasing, Luxanna didn't want the same thing to happen to her. Heck, if she could choose, she'd take all of her mother's sickness for herself.

With Quinn spending time with his had, Luxanna didn't have anyone else in terms of family. Once her mom was gone, she'd be all alone with this. Sure, she had friends, but that wasn't the same thing. She was seventeen years old. She was far too young to be left without any family.

When she heard her name being called, Luxanna jumped up from her seat and turned a flustered expression towards the doctor. "Here," she spoke, her voice barely audible. Her gaze dropped to the floor as she made her way towards the doctor.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason had seen patients scared out of their wits, even over something that was, in the end, relatively minor. He also saw some who happened to be resigned to die, even though there could be something to save them. It was like they didn’t want to get their hopes up about their own life. Luxanna was probably more in the middle, in his opinion. She was resigned to die but also feared it. The problem with those was that they didn’t necessarily try everything to prevent the tragic outcome.

When he found out she was coming to the clinic, he assumed it was just for a checkup, perhaps to hear about new symptoms showing up and find ways to treat them the best he could. He knew he could heal part of her problems but the root of it was her ability and he could not cure her from that. He watched his father become and empty shell of himself trying to do that with his mother, he was being careful here.

He let the girl come in. “You know I can go to the school right, if it’s more convenient for you?” It seemed that most of the students still preferred to come here. It was true that it was more private like this. After all, if he went to the school, everyone would notice and they knew why he was here. “Sit,” he told her, as politely as possible as he showed her the chair in front of his desk. He then walk across it and sat in his chair, opening her medical file and reading what information he had in it. No need to say this one also gave him information about her ability. It was very nice of the school to allow him some access to the files. It was limited of course, and he understood it, but it was still a great help. “What can I do for you today?”

[Luxanna Viera]

Luxanna's hand moved to cup her elbow and she nodded slowly at the words the doctor offered her. "Uhm, yeah," she began, shifting uncomfortably. "I mean, I do know, but it's... Nice to get away from the school." It was a purely selfish reason, really, but the reason was also partly because she didn't wish to bother the poor guy more than what she had to. It wasn't as if coming down here was a lot of trouble for her. Then there was something that felt like an order, and Luxanna scrambled over to the empty chair and sat down. Her legs crossed over one another and she interlocked her fingers.

Taking a deep breath, Luxanna's eyes traveled over the room, absentmindedly taking in the various details. "Well...Uhm." She shifted uncomfortably before pursing her lips. "I was wondering, well, hoping rather, that you could, if you have the time, help me... Understand my power." She finally looked at the doctor then, offering him something of a small smile. "I mean, I know that it does, and..." Trailing off, Luxanna's head shook. 

She didn't want to be in this situation. But she didn't see any other solution.

"I guess what I mean is that I want to know... Where I stand." Did that make sense? She wasn't sure. It was hard to talk about and it was unfamiliar territory. For so long, Luxanna had kept it to herself - or rather, only a select few people had really known. The doctor probably did - he would from simply looking at her file, but still.

[Jason Campbell]

He smiled to her as she said why she chose to come to the clinic rather than have him visit her at school. “I understand,” he said. It might not be the real reason and he didn’t really care, to be honest. If she wanted to get out of the school, it was her right. He merely pointed out that it was possible for him to come to school should they ever see each other again for another checkup.

He was rather surprised at her request. Understanding one’s power was not exactly what he was doing and she had experts at this at Bellefonte. “Um...” he let out as he looked into her file again to check what her power was. Reactive Adaptation. He had but a brief explanation of it, yet a long list of side-effects. Weak immune system, fainting, physical pain, the general headaches, nausea... The list went on and on, even detailing some of the effects it had on her as she used it in the past. It seemed all drawn here, so he was not certain what she wanted him to help her understand.

“I always have the time to help but I’m not quite sure what you want exactly,” he admitted. He checked her file again, moved through some of the pages. He wanted to help her but he was not certain how. Or, to be precise, what she wanted him to help her with. Did she want to know the cause of all those symptoms or ways to reduce them?

[Luxanna Viera]

Looking down at her hands, Lux's brows furrowed as she gave herself the time to come up with a proper explanation. She wasn't always the best when it came to formulating herself, and it seemed as if her request had gotten lost completely on the man. "What I mean is that, uhm..." She paused as a hand came up to brush her hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. Swallowing, she lifted her green eyes to look at the man. "You know what my power does... to my body and immune system." She swallowed again; she didn't like discussing her power. It felt so... Alien.

"I mean, what I want is... I wanna know if there's any signs of...of.. Any illnesses I guess." She shrugged. Her mother had been diagnosed with cancer because of the same ability. And if it wasn't cancer, then there could be numerous other things, right? With such a weak immune system, and a power that actively put strain on her body in such a way, she was susceptible to just about anything.

Sighing, Luxanna averted her gaze. "I want to be prepared. Just in case. I'd rather know early on, than finding out when... When..." When it was too late. Her mother was already too far gone for there to be anything anyone could so. She didn't have more than a few months left, and she'd found out way late. Luxanna didn't know if there was anything anyone could do to cure it, but at least she'd know.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason waited for her to explain herself. He was not trying to put words in her mouth or guess what she wanted to say. He just waited for her to come up with it on her own. It was not like he cared, he was still paid while waiting. His other patients might not like it but he would see them too in due time so they really were not his priority right now.

He nodded as she started to talk, mentioning the effects her power had on her body. “You want a full checkup? Or are you actually thinking of something in particular?” Experience had shown him that people coming here for ‘any illness’ most of the time had one in mind. It wasn’t long as they started doing scans and blood test that you find out they had an uncle with cancer or their grandfather just died of a heart defect and feared this might happen to them too. He’d rather know already what he was supposed to look for. The hospital and whatever insurance this girl may have would also like that.

He felt sorry for her, really. She could catch so many things. She was one of those for whom a simple cold could turn into pneumonia. It was saddening, really. He heard her talk but he chose to gently close her file before looking at her instead of really taking in what she just said. “Have you ever tried to see if there was any way to lessen the effects of your power on your health or strengthen your immune system?” Jason thought he maybe should not have told her that. He was no expert, he would need to consult books, perhaps even discuss with specialists both on the immune system and mutations. In the end, it might just be vain hope. But he couldn’t just leave her like this. She was too young to be resigned to die.