Distant Days All Flashing By

[Jason Campbell]

Jason sat down at the table and straightened up on his chair before he took the time to look at the person in front of him. He knew what Reid Chase looked like of course and it was not like she was changing much between the times they met but it was not her overall look that he was studying here. It was the little details. Did she look happier, more or less stressed out, did she have signs that would suggest she’d need his medical care? The last one was highly unlikely, otherwise she would have requested an appointment at the clinic or called him personally to come over. They wouldn’t be in a coffee shop with two steaming hot cups resting in front of them on the table. “You’ve got to admit, after what we’re used to at the precinct and the hospital, having actually good coffee almost tastes weird.” He didn’t bother to smile at this. He knew it was not that funny.

So Jason looked down at the aforementioned cup, using his hand to feel the temperature through it. It was still quite hot, he would not risk bringing it to his lips just yet. It was best to have a conversation while waiting for it to be at a more drinkable temperature. “How are your new recruits?” he asked, remembering she talked of those on a previous time they met. “And, uh, Corey, was it? Or Spencer?” Jason thought that it was Spencer. He was certain it was the man’s first name. Then he was pretty sure he heard someone call him Corey so now he just didn’t know. It was not like the two men were so well acquainted that Jason knew everything of him. He felt though that he should remember as much. Maybe he had not seen him a lot but certainly it was enough times to recall his name.

He remained silent for a moment. His power had slowly been taking its toll on him and he was tiring faster. He knew he needed to exercise and eat healthy more to better counter it. If resolutions were easy to make however, keeping them was a whole other story. “I was curious when you called to see me,” he admitted. “Everything’s alright, is it?”

[Reid Chase]

What Jason could read was that Reid looked a lot more tired than she used to. There were dark circles under her eyes and the mischievous glint in her eyes had dimmed slightly. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, due to the 'ongoing' investigation for Alex's case. She was glad for the coffee in front of her. Tonight was going to be another long night.

She took a sip, despite the temperature and gave Jason a low raspy chuckle at his attempt at joking. "At this point, I could just eat the coffee beans and it would still be ineffective." She smirked.

The idle chitchat Jason had pulled her in made her smirk deepen. She should have just told him straight on the phone why they were meeting. But she found that she had actually missed Jason's company. He may call himself boring but Reid couldn't find anything about him a bore.

"I lost one to Helios. I guess she decided she didn't want to settle for minimum wage." Reid shrugged and sipped her coffee once more. When Corey was mentioned, the smirk softened and an inaudible sigh escaped her lips. "Corey Spencer." She responded with a chuckle. "We're...okay."

Things were going more than okay. They were due for their first weekend trip away in a few weeks. She was going to try not to let anything stop them from going, even though she was scared shitless of the context of the weekend getaway for them.

"Everything's...not that alright to be perfectly honest. I'm sorry we couldn't meet under more pleasant circumstances but I need to ask you about Alex Lawson, the girl you helped heal a few weeks back."

[Jason Campbell]

Poor Reid looked like she could sue a week of sleep and relaxation but Jason did not say this out loud. Reid didn’t strike him much as the kind of person who’d calm down no matter how much you say she might need it. Or maybe he just figured she was not the kind to listen to everything the doctor told her. That meant pretty much the same in these circumstances. He was not sure that caffeine was the best in her state but Jason himself was not exactly good at putting things on hold while he recuperated. Life was not taking a break just because you needed one.

“Maybe you should ease off a little then. Got a lot of work?” Jason was not blind nor deaf. He too heard about the AMA. No need to say he was entirely against them and not only because he was a mutant himself. He considered himself a scientist and as such, he could not condemn someone for being different. Their DNA was the same with only one small alteration. What caused it? Hard to tell, but to him condemning mutants because they were different was like refusing to sell oranges because they didn’t look like apples. It made no sense at all. While he understood some of the concerns the AMA could have, he didn’t think they had the right approach about it.

She explained how one of hers left for Helios. “Ah, yes. I might do that too. Argos Wren has been contacting me to join his hospital and research center. Gotta say it’s tempting, and not just because of the paycheck,” he told her with a little smile. If this was to become the facility where mutants could be treated without being judged for what they were, he wanted in for sure. And he could bring in all of his patients, or at least most of them since most of them were mutants.

“Oh. Well, that explains why he responds to both,” he replied as she told him he was both Corey and Spencer since his name was Corey Spencer. He took the last name for his first one. Easy mistake, really. “Just okay?” He was not hitting on her or anything. When a woman chose a guy like Corey Spencer, someone like Jason had little chances. Come to think of it, he never thought he had any with her. He knew they were friends above anything and if they slept together, it was more to fulfill a need than because of anything deeper between them.

After all this, she went to the reason why she invited him. He nodded as she mentioned the girl. The name might not ring a bell but he was pretty sure he knew which one she was referring to. He might heal a lot of people, but if she chose that term, it was because she referred to his power. And there weren’t that many of his patients she’d bother asking questions about. “The one with the head injury, right? She’s fine, is she?” He knew his power healed her but ever since SPRITE hit him, controlling it had been difficult and he was afraid it might have other effects. He didn’t want to hear he might have only partially healed her and her brain still got some damage. As far as he knew, it was not the case. Didn’t mean he was not interested in knowing how she was doing.

[Reid Chase]

Ever since the AMAs made their appearance and her being bumped up to lieutenant, Reid's sleeping schedule was back to being shit. She was almost matched with Corey when it came to their timing. Rare were the times she would sleep for a full eight hours anymore. Work didn't finish when she left the precinct anymore.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to and yeah. That's an understatement if I ever heard one." She sighed. She didn't like that she was burdening a friend, even if they had spent a few years working together on a few related cases and she knew Jason was more than willing to listen. She had gotten so used to having Corey as her personal place to vent, she didn't really see the use in doing it to others.

Reid had heard of Argos Wren. He was new but he was already making waves. She put it upon herself to learn about newcomers, especially ones that owned public buildings. "Well, you'd be far more valued there, I'd imagine." Reid gave her two cents worth before chuckling when Jason tried to dig about Corey. "Yeah. He's a good guy." Reid offered, finally. Even if she was completely sure she was in love with Corey, she could barely admit it to anyone, least of all the people she worked with. Jason was a friend, for sure, but Reid was just supremely closed off. Hell, even Corey didn't know how she felt about him.

When Jason responded regarding Alex, Reid nodded with a grim smile. "She's recovering. I was just wondering whether any police officers followed up on the investigation."