Visions of Bad Weather (Declan)

[Kateri Rivera]

Kateri had a headache. This was normal. She always had a headache for some reason or another. Sometimes (especially lately, when she seemed to be using her powers almost daily and far more frequently than she had in the months before) it was just because she’d moved one too many clouds around. Sometimes—okay, most of the time—it was because of the students. Then there were her noisy neighbors (she really needed to move out), those tests she had to grade, the taxes she needed to fill out… These days it seemed everything gave her headaches.

And that was why she was here. At the on-call doctor’s office on campus, because Kateri never really planned well enough to make an appointment to see her own doctor, or indeed, even to find one. Besides, she figured it was probably a simple problem to solve. Maybe she’d built up immunity to painkillers or something, or another issue altogether. But she had heard that the doctor—whose name escaped her—was pretty capable. She had her break now in between classes, and so had taken her typical wee handful of pills and had headed over to the office, settling down in a chair outside of the office and leaning her head back against the wall, absently shutting her eyes. Mm. Just hopefully this wouldn’t take too long. She didn’t know how long she could escape before students started filing in to bother her. 

Or...get help. Oops.

((Sorry this took so long!))

[Dr. Declan Marst]

Dr. Marst was a man of many words, and almost all of them were condescending. Right now he was seeing to one of the younger students who had what looked like a pretty simple sinus infection. Declan could see the congestion. Well that was easily cleared with a decongestant and a round of penicillin. The little one looked somewhat miserable and even a little teary, so he tried to get her through with an answer as quickly as possible. He certainly wasn’t going to be surrogate mommy dealing out hugs if you felt bad. He was not that person, he would never be that person, god help him if he ever was that person.

Soon enough the little one was all settled and how of his sight. He had sent her back to her room for some rest and whatever else she needed to do to make her feel better. He put away that file, washed his hands, and changed his gloves before opening up the door to call in the next person waiting in the lobby. He looked at the file he was holding. “Kateri… Ms. Rivera?” It was a teacher, had to be based on the age his eyes caught on. Then his eyes set on the redhead and he beckoned her inside, motioning to the table as well as a permission to be seated. He glanced over the records though there was not all that much there. “So tell me Ms. Rivera, what seems to be the problem?” He pulled up his rolling stool and sat down on it, the usual doctor position. He clicked his pen, ready to take what notes were needed for him to take. He started scanning without all that much persuasion, trying to see any immediate problems in case it was major. Oh X-ray vision, how he loved it.

[Kateri Rivera]

He certainly wasn’t the most welcoming of doctors that she had ever met. Not that she spent a lot of time hanging out with doctors. She knew a couple of nurses, but doctors were a little intimidating. She could do any flavor of math and thought she wasn’t a bad teacher, but give her an x-ray or a diagram of all the bones in the human body, and some switch inside just flicked off. She could do CPR and first aid, and really, that was all she cared to know. Still, it didn’t matter. She didn’t plan to be here long, so it didn’t matter if he was polite, friendly, or curt. At least he wasn’t hard on the eyes.

Focus, Kat, she chided herself. Focus.

“Kateri is fine,” she told him, rising from her seat and walking into the room. She eyed the bench that patients usually sat on and sighed. Why did it have to be so blasted high? Oh well. Carefully, she pushed herself onto it, then turned back to him. Yes, her records were short. She couldn’t honestly remember the last time she’d had a full physical. Time, it always had to do with time…but up until now, she hadn’t ever felt that bad, so perhaps it was understandable.

“Headaches,” she said with a shrug. “I have constant headaches. Which is normal for my power, I know, but I get them even when I haven’t used them. And it’s not the students because I get them even on my days off, and it’s not a very pleasant experience, I can tell you.” She rubbed the back of her neck absently, then eyed him. “I know that’s not a lot of information, but it’s all I can give you. My eyesight’s fine, and my family doesn’t have a history of migraines.” That was important, right? She wished she’d paid more attention to her mother’s practice. Oh well. “Need to know anything else, Doctor…?” Sweet Jesus, she’d forgotten his name. Maybe the headaches were just a sign of going senile.

[Dr. Declan Marst]

Declan listened to her as he started to scan, thoug he focused in as she continued to speak. He wasn’t looking all too hard, but it was clear that she wasn’t here due to a break. Then again he could have just listened to her to figure that out. Then again, he didn’t listen more than he needed, and since this was hardly some mystery diagnosis he didn’t figure that it would be a huge deal. His eyes drifted from her bones back to her face, and he took note that she wasn’t a bad looking young woman. Then again he didn’t pay all that much attention to his, well, sort of co workers. He spent most of the day cooped up in this office or at his private practice in town. He had to keep himself busy after all. It wasn’t like he had a side life at the moment after all, something that, given what he knew of the population, he didn’t as yet regret.

“Mhmm,” he said slowly as he rechecked again with the Xray vision. Well lets see what the cause of this was. He stood and half circled her, thinking that he saw something in her neck and, oh yes, there it was. It was a bit of a calcium deposit and some stress there which was causing a nerve pinch. It all looked a little wrenched, but he could easily solve that. Then he did a second check and saw the half digested bunch of painkillers in her stomach. That almost made him roll his eyes, why should he be surprised?

“Well if you don’t mind Kateri, this seems to be more of a chiropractic issue than anything else. I can fix this right away actually.” He gently put his hands on her neck, not in a threatening way though. He waited for a moment to make sure that she wasn’t about to bolt or tense and then started moving his fingers. “Keep everything loose and this should be fixed very quickly.” He gently grasped her jaw and moved it up and down and from side to side, hearing a little click and a pop here or there. That deposit broke down and with a little bit of nimble fingerwork those muscles relaxed. He could see the nerve decompress.

“Now that should be all set. If the headaches happen again then come back to see me.” Then he decided to take a little dig at her. “Instead of swallowing a handful of pills.” He smirked and made a mark in the file he had out on her.

[Kateri Rivera]

It occurred to Kateri as she spoke that Declan didn’t seem to be listening to her at all. Or, he was sort of. Kateri was kind of used to that when it came to men, but he wasn’t giving her that kind of look. Instead, he seemed to be…scanning her, kind of like he was looking for an injury of some sort. Was that it? It definitely seemed like it was. Or…she hoped that it was. Maybe he had some kind of power where he could just tell. She wasn’t going to think about it too much. Instead, she just crossed one leg over another, folded her hands in her lap, and waited for the verdict. But he didn’t give one at first. Instead, he just started to…walk around her?

“Okay,” she said, a little unnerved. “That’s really creepy.” She spun her head to look at him as he came to stand behind her, eyes narrowed and lips twisted down into a frown. “What are you—what?”

Chiropractic issue? What, she was having back problems? But she didn’t get much of a chance to comment, because then his hands were on her neck, and she was hard-pressed not to yelp or zap him with a lightning bolt. All right, so maybe she was a little hair-triggered these days. It seemed to have started with that whole…mess trying to retrieve James. She hadn’t even done that much and she was still twitchy. And then with Mia’s disaster and everything…yeah, perhaps it wasn’t a surprise. Still, she couldn’t –quite—stop the static electricity that jumped from his skin to hers. Well, that’s what you got when you startled someone with ties to the weather.

“Mind warning a girl next time?” she asked, managing to tone it down from a snap so it just came out as sour. Because, to be fair to him, it did feel better. A lot better. She rubbed her neck and eyed him, suspicious of this doctor who made the fix seem so…easy. She stiffened a bit as he mentioned the pills, then outright scowled. “Look, doc, you try handling a bunch of students with the hangover that never ends and no pain pills. I dare you.” Then she softened, but only a little. “What the hell did you do, anyways?”

[Dr. Declan Marst]

Declan felt the little shock from her skin to his, though it didn’t bother him all that much. Her ability had been listed so he knew that she could have gone worse. At the same time he also knew that she probably was not on edge enough to actually cause any damage to him, even if his action was a little sudden. He was a good judge of people that way, and maybe just a touch impulsive. He was a doctor, and despite seeing the opposite every day he could not help but feel like he was invincible. Perhaps that was the nature of being able to get anything, being able to see anything, the second that he wanted to. However this had also jaded him, because when had he last really worked for anything? He couldn’t remember. It all felt old.

Right now he felt a little irritated because this woman would not stop talking. It was one thing to tell him her symptoms and allergies and the like, but it was a whole other to just comment on everything. Then when she snapped at him a little over giving her a warning he simply shrugged and looked over his paperwork.

“Did you really want to talk more or did you want a solution to your problem. Since I am well aware that you aren’t allergic to a quick neck adjustment I took the initiative.” He rested his elbows on his counter and looked over at her. “Care to explain the perpetual hangover part?” He figured that it was just the headache, but he was annoyed with her snappiness to cause an issue. “I do have to inquire if there are any longstanding medical issues with you or, drinking problems? And by the way, I do deal with these students all day.” He was not a huge fan of her attitude towards him right now.

“And if you lie I’ll know.” He let that hang out there for a moment before continuing. “I’ll be able to see it. I, naturally, have my own tricks up my sleeve. Xray vision and whatnot, so, what will the answer there be?” Then he marked down a few things before finally answering her question. “You had a minor unhardened calcium deposit putting pressure on your nerve. That was causing your pain and discomfort. I simply broke it down with a technique I learned at a seminar. Completely harmless and as you can see , very effective.” He sounded almost bored.

[Kateri Rivera]

It was a good thing Kateri didn’t know that Declan thought he was invincible. Her irritation with him would have probably guaranteed something a little stronger than a static shock to prove that he was, in fact, mortal. Yes, he was easy on the eyes, but Kateri would be the first to say that it was no excuse for being a pain, and it especially wasn’t an excuse to be arrogant. She appreciated the help, but she thought it was only fair to warn her. What was wrong with that? Honestly!

It didn’t help when he didn’t even apologize or offer some sort of reasonable answer, like, “It worked, didn’t it?” That probably would have sent Kateri away irritated, but probably grateful in the long run. As it was, she didn’t like his attitude whatsoever. “It would have taken five seconds,” she pointed out, positively icy now as she hopped down from the bench. It did feel weird not to have the perpetual pain, though. A little unsettling. “Not exactly a lot of talking, doctor. It just requires a little patience. And excuse me?” She couldn’t help gaping at him. Had he just hinted that she was an alcoholic? Of all the--!

Temper, temper, she chided herself. She couldn’t exactly send in a lightning bolt or a tornado to attack him, now could she? No matter HOW tempting it was. And he was being logical.

“I’m Irish,” was what she said instead, in a slightly more even tone. “Yes, I drink often. But not a lot and not enough to get drunk. So no, sir, no longstanding medical issues other than consistent headaches, and thank you for your kind concern.”

M’kay, maybe not THAT even. She was still working on it. The students comment she ignored. He hardly seemed to deal with them at all in her opinion.

“And see if I’m lying there,” she added, sarcastically. X-ray vision, huh? Lovely. “In all honesty, I doubt you have the sense to notice, no matter what you say. What the hell is a calcium deposit anyways?” she’d never heard of it before, which was the only thing that stopped her from storming out the door. She really didn’t want it to come back, after all.

[Dr. Declan Marst]

Declan was not about to argue about warnings and apologies. That was the one bad thing about private practice, in a sense. Apparently they all thought he was at their beck and call, and to a point he definitely was. Still he didn’t like these silly little spats about things that barely even half mattered…. Except for the part where he did. Declan tried to control this little personality fluke, but there was nothing he liked better that a good fight. By good fight be meant conflict of what he saw as egos, because he’d never actually raise a fist.

“And now you are making it take altogether much longer,” he said pointedly as he continued with the necessary paperwork. It was a little jab compared to the one he had offered before, and he sat calmly back as this all registered with her. Yes, he had questioned her sobriety mainly to frustrate her. He could tell she wasn’t an alcoholic by looking at her, her liver didn’t show the signs of it. Still, she didn’t know that and he let her bluster out what sounded like a barely controlled response. He nodded and made a note, trying not to take any more bait for his own sake. He didn’t want to cause too much trouble.

He knew the consequences of pushing too far, though he had never actually been punished for it. He nearly rolled his eyes at her doubt. That was generally how he reacted when encountering doubt. “I am a trained medical professional, or course I would notice.” He wasn’t new to any of this after all. Despite his frustration he could not help proving this point further to the woman who was sitting in front of him.

“Calcium is nutritionally a mineral when it comes to the body. However if a person has too much this can build deposits which develop on the bone. However since this is generally soft it can be dislodged and reabsorbed by the body. That is what I did. The deposit was putting pressure, albeit slight pressure, on your spine. You were in no medical danger, it was just inconvenient. It caused some pain and nothing else.” He had calmed by this point. He made a few more notes on the papers before handing them over to her.

“Please sign these.”

[Kateri Rivera]

Kateri was also the type who didn’t mind a good challenge of tempers. Or, usually didn’t. She didn’t mind mild clashes. She didn’t even mind shouting matches so long as they could be solved with a beer and a nice sing-song (and don’t dismiss the power of sing-songs. Bar songs can make people get along amazingly well, believe it or not). She had no desire to go out to drinks with Declan. If she never saw him again, ever ever ever, she would consider herself well and truly blessed and would never ask for another thing ever again.

Well, maybe one or two.

Her eyes narrowed at his statement, and for a moment she really did consider zapping him. There was a window behind him—but no. She was going to behave herself. No zapping. Behaving. Right. “Fine, then,” she said, in a tone that was almost pleasant, but in a menacing tone that would bode ill for him if she ever encountered her again. “Medical professional my ass,” was what she did add, but quietly, and in Spanish. He probably would recognize it by the tone, but she wasn’t so dumb as to call him that in front of his face. She folded her arms over her chest as he explained it, processing it calmly although her eyes still flashed. Fine. She could handle it. The next time, she’d just splurge and get a massage.

“See?” she asked once he’d finished. She took the paper and marked her usual flourishing signatures, then pushed them back to him. “Explanations. So difficult. Will you be needing anything else, doctor?”

Time for her to leave and regain her temper, as best as she could.