Visiting Rights (Sean)

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

((Post-dated to January 13th))


It'd been so very many years since she'd seen this campus. The old stonework that looked so very much like home had a few new additions to it, though whomever designed it had tried to keep the old girl looking the same as she had forty years ago. The snowfall in particular gave the feeling of old memories, and it was with a warm smile that crossed her face as the lawyer pulled her car up the drive. More than anything, it simply felt like coming home in a way the going home never did.


The grounds were mostly empty as she pulled into the dark parking lot - not unusual, considering that school was a while yet from starting. She was still used to early mornings and even more accustomed to long nights since leaving Hammel, and the dark didn't bother her like normal people. It actually made her more comfortable than daylight. Stepping out of the vehicle, the short woman tugged her business wear into place until it was unwrinkled and as stern-looking as it was intended to, her flats only slightly slipping on the ice as she walked towards the main office. She wore no coat, which for anyone else would seem unusual given the time of day and the month, but she did not feel entirely cold despite her human form. She had work later on, and did not feel like dealing with body aches just before settling into her new office.


The room was warm and well-lit, and the older woman presented her guest badge to the sleepy-looking student at the front desk before signing her name into the register. Her handwriting was neat and crisp, and even as she put the pen down the sound of footsteps reached her ears along with the smell of coffee with cream and sugar. There was also something else in the air, a scent she couldn't forget even if she didn't have the perfect senses of her feline form. With a knowing smile, Amberlyn Rosalie Ivchenko-Lewis turned about with her eyes raised high and her chin up.


"Well, if it isn't Pat Neville. What a lovely surprise."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Classes were back in session after nearly five weeks of winter recess. Of course, Sean had needed to do some work during the recess period, but he’d still had more time off than he had spent at work. In that time, there had been parties, visits with loved ones, and plenty of time for relaxation with Josh.

All in all, he was in a pleasant mood.

He’d had breakfast with Josh before leaving for Hammel, but he still had time to prepare his morning coffee. As well as to drop off the muffins that Josh had given him to share with the rest of the staff. It was with coffee in hand that he walked the hallways to return to his office.

He shielded at work, as he did whenever he left the house, although that didn’t prevent him from recognizing the mental signals of those around him. Specifically, he felt the presence of someone he knew quite well, but with whom he hadn’t spoken in years. Just before he heard a nickname that nobody had used in decades, and an equally familiar voice, although one that had aged.

Just as he had.

“Rose,” he said, a smile melting across his lips, as he peered down at the woman. She had aged gracefully, which was more than could be said of him. Aside from his height and his eyes, he bore little resemblance to his student self. “What brings you back to Hammel?”

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

Both of them had aged considerably with the years that had passed, both from time slipping by and the stresses of their work. Her originally luxurious auburn hair had faded to silver-white in the years, cut shorter than she ever had in those years as well. Though still small and spy, her body had lost much of its athleticism and her face was perpetuated by lines of strain and emotion, both good and bad. As for Pat, he looked so very different and yet very much the same. He sounded so sure of himself now, and the confidence was a gentle reminder of how worried he'd always been.


"It was time to slow down a bit, I think," she answered wryly. "The younger souls are pushing forward into the world and it's time for me to step back a bit. What about you? I haven't seen you since..." The cattish woman pondered then answer for a while, then laughed. "Well, I don't even remember anymore. It's a sign that we should catch up a bit, hm?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had heard an increasing number of similar reasons from contemporaries. It made one wonder where the time had gone.

“I essentially live here,” the telepath answered with a chuckle. Fortunately, for the sake of his own sanity, that wasn’t quite true, even if he did spend a significant portion of his life at Hammel. Or involved in Hammel matters even if he wasn’t physically on campus. That was inevitable given his job title, his assigned tasks, and then the fact that so much of Pilot Ridge was plugged into Hammel in one way or another.

He offered her a smile, shifting his mug to one hand so that he could extend the other, offering her a handshake if she so chose to accept one. He then gestured with his shoulder towards the row of administrative offices in the next corridor.

“My office is down this way if you’d like to come with me? We can have a chat since I don’t actually get busy until this afternoon.”

None of the students wanted to have a session with him first thing in the morning right after winter recess had ended. Not that Sean could fault them for that, but it resulted in a bit of downtime.

All the better, since now he had a visitor.

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

"That must be awfully exciting," Lyn replied, quirking an eyebrow and pursing her lips in amusement. "I thought you couldn't wait to set up your own practice." Placing her small hand in his large one, she shook the appendage firmly but gently - it was a friendly greeting, not a power struggle in her courtroom, after all.


"Oh of course," she accepted, nodding her head. "If I may set for a moment with some tea, that'd be delightful. Do you still drink it as much as you used to?" Unlike the tall man before her and many of her compatriots, Lyn had never learned to fully appreciate coffee aside from its smell. For her, if the bitter liquid ever learned to taste like it smelled, she might consider trying it again. Until then, tea was her favorite (so long as it didn't contain mint).

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I couldn’t,” Sean conceded with a small, rueful smile. “And I did. It suited me fine for a few years, but all roads lead to Hammel, it seems.” He chuckled then, because this conversation was truly a blast from the past. He had been the psychiatrist at Hammel for so long that there were generations of students who couldn’t separate him from the school. However, Rose had none of those associations or memories.

Not given the last time they had seen one another.

“We can get tea,” the telepath said. They would need to stop back at the faculty lounge before proceeding to his office, as he didn’t have a tea kettle there. Still, the lounge wasn’t that far away. “We need to stop off in the staff lounge for that, but we have three or four flavors of tea there, in addition to the coffee.”

Sean made use of both beverage options when he was at work.

“I do still drink tea,” he confirmed, as he gestured in the direction of the lounge, before starting to walk in that direction. “Although I got addicted to coffee in college, and I admit that helps me get through most mornings. It can be a bit stressful here, as I’m sure you remember.”

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

Chuckling in amusement, the younger of the two nodded. "Yes, so it seems," she answered. "At least I don't have the gall to come back and teach - you were always much better suited for such things anyway." Lyn had never been a particularly good student even before she came to Hammel - petulant, aggressive, defensive about her physical appearance, opinionated... those sort of things had changed and refined in time, but they still weren't good traits for a teacher. Besides, she was terrible at passing on knowledge unless it was "showing how it was done".


A light of old mischief appeared in her eyes at the mention of the staff lounge - being that she'd left immediately after graduation, the catwoman had never been inside. It was a haven for teachers and administrators, and despite her abrasive attitude she'd never fiddled with it. "My goodness. Hopefully I won't get in trouble."


She followed him easily, her stature and strides something that she'd dealt with her entire life. She normally had to take two or even three steps to keep up with most people, so she tended to walk faster than others would without pause. "Oh of course," the prosecutor agreed. "Teenagers have such large problems and trying to get them to see solutions can be awfully tiring. Though, you're a much better fit for that, I think, considering you had Robert as a mentor." There was no deliberate jibe to the words, though it was stated somewhat delicately - she'd been in court the day of the trainer's eventual funeral and thus has not been able to attend, however she'd heard that quite the crowd attended. She'd made a point to come and lay a lily for him the day after she moved in, but it'd been quite a long time and she had never been as close to the man as Sean had. Whether that was for good or ill, time would tell, but it seemed that the psychic was well regardless.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean chuckled lightly at the remark. Several people had shared that sentiment with him over the years, but he never wholly agreed. He did fine with students, he thought he interacted with teenagers as well as an adult could, but he had never wanted to be a teacher. As for Rose, he had to agree to some extent; he still remembered clearly how she behaved in class and outside of it. “We have some students who would give you a run for your money,” the telepath informed her. But there would be time to discuss them in his office.

Sean’s first trip to the staff lounge had been forty-three years ago, with Robert providing him the permission and the cover. After a particularly bad training session, the elder telepath had thought it necessary for the then-twelve-year-old to drink some tea to calm his nerves and his mind. Decades later, Sean moved in and out of that lounge with impunity.

The walk was short; the lounge wasn’t located too far from the administrative offices, and Sean had a long stride. Although he slowed down while he walked with Rose, since it was rude to move ahead of those with shorter strides when one wasn’t in a race.

He smiled at the mention of his mentor. “I try to do him proud.”

Once they arrived, he held the door open for the younger woman, before stepping inside. “Behold the glory of the Oasis!” The nickname was a bit ironic, since the lounge was hardly befitting of a mirage. The furniture was comfortable, albeit well-worn, and very little was new. He smiled at her before making a Beeline for the tea kettle, setting his mug down on the nearby table. “What can I brew for you?”

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

The small woman gave a short bark of laughter. The idea of a child being worse than she had been was positively terrifying in its own right; she had been the most aggressively anti-social person as a young woman with powers and had the temperament of a feral cat. It was hard to believe (but not totally impossible) that someone else was as much of a terror as she had been. "You'll have to tell me some stories later, then," she replied with a shake of her head. "These I simply must hear."

There was nothing Lyn could say to affirm her belief that Sean was indeed living in Robert's memory, and it was clear that she didn't need to. So, she simply smiled warmly and nodded in agreement. She was certain that if the old trainer were here today, he'd approve. Not that he'd disapproved openly of much of anything - like her old friend, he was a calm soul.

A snort of laughter escaped her before the lawyer could cover up the sound. The lounge certainly didn't look like an "oasis", but she supposed that any teacher wishing to escape the prying eyes and ears of the students could come here to converse with an adult manner with other adults, and that alone made it a haven for the staff of the immense boarding school. "Matcha, if there is any laying about," she replied, standing nearby one of the worn plush chairs but not sitting. "If not, any green tea without mint in it. I'm sure you remember what that tends to do even after all these years."

A certain incident came to mind for the feline woman, but Lyn pushed the thoughts away easily with a bemused smile. She had to remind every new aid she had received in New York to never give her mint tea and to check before brewing it. All sorts of (relative) amusement tended to occur whenever the herb was in any sort of plenty in the air. Even outside her feline form, she could smell a whiff of it in the air as the psychiatrist opened the cupboard where the tea and coffee was stored, but it was easily covered up by the scent of coffee, honey, and sugar as well. Thank non-existent gods for small favors.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“Trust me, I have hundreds,” Sean assured her with a shake of his head. There would never be a shortage of discussion material involving the antics of some of the students, and that didn’t include the ones whose behavior involved confidential information. Vincent Verax would take a full week of daily meal meetings. Sam Rixon would take another four days.

Such was life on the other side of Hammel. The telepath remembered much of the ill-behavior that occurred when he had been a student, and still some of these stories made those students look like exemplars. The world had changed in some ways. In other ways, everything was exactly the same but he had the perspective of an adult and a trained professional guiding his perceptions.

Sean did, and to confirm that, he nodded, his expression turned momentarily serious. “I’ll be sure to avoid mint for you,” he promised, before he began to rummage through the cabinets. Unfortunately, the first two types of tea he found both boasted mint: spearmint for one and peppermint for the other. After a bit more digging, he found caffeinated green tea flavored with honey and ginseng.

“Here we go.” With a triumphant smile, he held it up, before pouring some of the boiling water into a fresh mug. In went the bag, and he picked up a spoon for her.

“Have you spoken to Maggie recently?” Maggie went by Margaret now, Donovan changed to Atkins with her marriage, but she would always be Maggie in his mind.

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

Lyn didn't doubt that there were a number of stories that might shock even her flitting about in the telepath's memory. Society had changed quite a bit since they were younglings, and not just in fashions or political climate. Simply the way people spoke to each other had changed drastically, and people of all kinds were slowly gaining equal ground in the workplace and culture. There was still progress to be made, but things were moving along to the point where becoming a rebellious youth was getting more and more... extravagant.

She'd even heard that a few months ago someone had removed his pants in a courtroom full of people. And that was apparently just the tip of the iceberg.

"Thank you kindly." The lawyer nodded approvingly at the box he presented and shook her head when he asked about her long-time friend. "Not as recently as I would like - I did give her a call over the holidays, and she seems to be well. Worried about her oldest and colleges and things. Those new 'e-reader' tablets are causing a bit of a financial hiccup with her work, but Maggie will always find some way to make it work out." She took the mug when it was proffered and smiled, inhaling the earthy and slightly spiced aroma of the tea happily without sipping. She was comfortable enough with the warmth until it was strong enough to drink.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Once he had handed her mug over, he crossed back to the counter to retrieve his coffee. It was a bit overdue for him to enjoy his morning pick-me-up, and he took an eager sip.

The telepath nodded his understanding. Having children in college was a constant source of concern, simply because one loved one’s children and they were out of sight. Worrying was a natural response; Sean knew that James Campbell worried about Ginny. Granted, James was a natural worrier and Ginny had a habit of creating mischief, but they remained fair examples of what was typical. Kathleen worried about Ryan. Sean had worried about Ryan, although his worry had taken a different form and was considered less valid, as Ryan was only his nephew instead of his son.

His expression turned sympathetic at the mention of the publishing industry. He knew that there were grave problems there, although he, too, was certain of Maggie’s job security. She was bright, talented, and had so many connections; everything would work out for her, even if some of the products changed. “I’m sure she will. I know they haven’t perfected the e-readers, and there are a lot of us who still prefer books.”

Sean was one of them, even if he had bought Josh a Nook for his birthday. Besides, there had to be ways to blend the two systems.

“Are you ready to see my office? If not, we can wait here for a bit; it doesn’t get too busy.”

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

"Absolutely," Lyn agreed, nodding. "Besides, there's certainly a bit of use in large, heavy legal texts - it's not quite as amusing having an intern email you a copy of the article you need as it is watching them climb the stairs with a book." Amusement danced in her green eyes; this was something she'd done before and would very likely do again. Possibly today, since she'd been reminded of it.

Shaking her head, the tiny lawyer straightened and motioned out the door. "By all means, lead the way. I've always wondered what kind of office you keep."

In truth, Sean likely kept the same type of space he always had; clean, organized, and comfortable, maybe with a little clutter that happened to slip his notice but always with more than enough places to sit and lean. He was a psychiatrist, after all. "And how are you doing these days?" she asked, simply to keep the conversation going. "I've heard that there has been some excitement here in the past few years."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean smiled at her remark. Although he had never experienced that himself, he knew that interns were worked quite hard – when they weren’t irredeemable like Vincent Verax; Josh had made that plain during his years as a student. “Such is the way of new technology. The entire landscape will soon be completely unrecognizable to people like us.” The older generations.

With her agreement that they should move forward, the telepath crossed the faculty lounge to the door. He switched the coffee to one hand and held the door open with the other. Once both he and Rose were safely out of the lounge, he led her back down through the corridors in the direction from which they had come, until they had passed the main desk and were in the administrative offices.

Upon reaching his door, he unlocked it, held it open for her to enter, and then gestured around in lieu of an introduction.

He found it comfortable enough. His desk at one end of the office near the windows, with two chairs in front of it for students. On the other end of the office were the more comfortable furniture: the cushioned chairs, the sofa, and the coffee table he used for more intimate discussions. That was the part of the office to which he crossed.

“It’s been so long, I don’t know where to begin,” he admitted. Although the issue of excitement at Hammel was another matter entirely.

[Lyn Ivchenko-Lewis]

"Ha!" Lyn was determined to keep up with the times as much as possible, even if the majority of technology nowadays tended to shock her in more ways than one. "The only way I'll let technology pass me by is if I'm buried under a freeway. Until then, I just like making people think I'm some techno-illiterate grandmother."

Neither of which she was, but that was not the subject.

Following Sean back through the corridors and into the office, Lyn had the sneaking suspicion that the psychic had his own haven closest to the trainer's offices for more reasons than one. She lifted an eyebrow inquisitively at him but said nothing; if he felt like acknowledging what was on her mind, Sean would do so. Instead, she chose a seat on the couch, curling her legs underneath her as she often did when presented with a place to perch. Now that her tea had cooled sufficiently, she sipped at it, resisting the urge to lap (as happened when she was in feline form, considering that her lips were not made for such things).

"Why not start with where you went after college?" she answered simply. "I heard you opened a practice, so I thought that was where you stayed. What happened?"