Template:Featured Articles/43-2018
"I'm fine," Topaz insisted weakly. "Besides, I'm going mad in here." That part wasn't entirely untrue. She was shaking and bouncing on her heel, eyes flitting around. "I wasn't going to leave the med lab or anything. Just go for a walk in the hall." "Mmhmm." Cecilia's skepticism was all too clear. But she could tell Topaz was going a little stir crazy, and knowing what she knew, it was less trouble to occasionally indulge the rebellious tendencies of the mansion's magic users than it would be to try and restrict them. And at the very least, if she was wrong, and Topaz was an expert in malingering, she figured it wouldn't hurt to call the young woman's bluff. "Well, okay," the doctor said, looking a little bit smug. "Let's go for a walk." Topaz immediately relaxed, not even bothering to hide the relief in her expression. "Really?" She asked tentatively. She'd been prepared for Cecilia to put her right back in bed. "Yeah," Cecilia nodded, "sure. We'll take a short walk down the hall and back. We'll go slow, and if you weak, I'll get you in a wheelchair faster than you can protest. One of my many skills." She shrugged. "I don't think there's any reason to be bedridden, and as long as you're accompanied, I don't see a problem." Cecilia considered that. "And if Dr. Grey were to take issue with it, she can be reminded who's in charge here." A beat. "Or maybe we won't tell her." Topaz smiled a bit. "I'm happy not to tell her and do whatever you say. Thank you." She was a little shaky as she stepped out of her room, looking up and down the hall. One deep breath, then another. She hadn't seen the outside of a room for what felt like months. At least she was seeing it. "If only all patients were so easy," Cecilia said wryly, because nothing about this situation was easy. She stood quietly for a second, watching Topaz. "Are you — I mean, how are you, honestly?" "I do my best to make things easy on you lot." Of course, there was that question again. Topaz looked up and down the hall, anywhere but at Cecilia. "I... don't know," she admitted, rubbing her bandaged arm. "Weird. Still having trouble believing..." she waved her hand, "this." "Yeah." The doctor just nodded, unsure exactly what to say. "A lot of this situation is... unbelievable." She stepped down the hall with Topaz, ready to offer her arm or shoulder or whatever was needed. "It's things like these that make me glad to have Jean around. I'm a great surgeon," she said, with no pretense at humility, "but magic and the mind? Beyond my level." "I think magic is beyond everyone's level." Topaz kept her eyes on the floor, shuffling along slowly. "Let's be real, the actual magic users barely understand it sometimes. We were researching for days and couldn't figure out how to reverse that curse." Cecilia made a vague noise of assent. She wasn't entirely sure what to say; it wasn't like she and Topaz had the warmest relationship. They'd never really been close. "Did Amanda tell you I almost had to handcuff her to the bed?" She smiled a little. "I sort of regret not taking the chance when I had it. How many opportunities do you get, really?" Topaz coughed, trying to hide a laugh. "Sounds about right," she murmured. "What was she so desperate to do that would have warranted handcuffs?" "Oh please," Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "What do you think? She was just gonna sit idle under the care of me — a person for whom I am pretty sure she has no great respect — while you were in trouble?" |
