[For Emma]

[leftwithmybones]

This ranks right up there with things he doesn't want to ever have to do in his entire life. Still, it's for Rogue and he'll do a lot for that girl. If it means dealing with a woman that he knows Jean isn't so well-off with, he'll muster through. He puts together a whole stack of research, brings his med-kit, and shows up at her door, muttering to himself when he's had to climb up half the goddamn island to get there.

"Hey," he practically bellows to get her attention. "Anyone home?"

Comments

[leftwithmybones]

"You have a timeline on them?" McCoy asks as he flips through the notes, already trying to process through the various delivery systems he can try. "Not that I'll know if it's useful or anything, but I've got some samples to look over first. Need a control from your group with the DNA and someone a little more normal. I'd use myself, but god knows traveling in space puts me far away from normal."

[neveraskedtwice.livejournal.com]

Emma arches an eyebrow at him. "There are differences even between us," she says, "and I'm not altogether certain it still shows in the analysis, given our abilities are gone now. However, it helps, you can use mine." Whatever he has to do to take it doesn't bother, blood or skin or whatnot — it's simple and Rogue is one of theirs, whether or not Emma likes being part and parcel of the mutants here. "And yes, I've done my best to cobble together a timeline, but it's admittedly patchy."

[leftwithmybones]

"I'll take a sample from you. I'll get a sample from someone from roughly the same time period who doesn't have any mutations," he says, already focused on the research and giving a pleased nod. "This is good," he says, glancing up past the page. "This is real good. It's a start."

He has to hesitate, here, because this next part is a bit hard. "You have any suggestions once the other personalities manifest for dealing? I already got beat up one night and I don't wanna sedate her all the time."

[neveraskedtwice.livejournal.com]

"Simplistic as it sounds," Emma says, "talk to them. I'm sure you've tried that already, but... don't ask for Rogue. Some of them are more stubborn than others, but they all cede to her in time. They're cooped up inside her head, they have no outlet, no one to talk to. It can be... frustrating." That she knows so many of them, perhaps, makes this more difficult for her, but there's a degree to which that sense of recognition helps her cut to the chase. What they'll do with a stranger — he can't have met all of them, there are so many — she isn't sure. Some of them are capable of terrible things, though. "Keep your distance. Some of them are very dangerous people — as you found the hard way. The vast majority of them are, in fact."

[leftwithmybones]

"I ain't breathing so right, that's for sure," he agrees, and there's a wry grin on his face like they've just discovered their own little joke. How about that? He clasps the information in hand tightly, like it's gonna make a run for it. "She's sleeping around mine if you need her. I'll try out the talking thing, brush off the dust on the psychiatrist in me."

[neveraskedtwice.livejournal.com]

Emma nods. "Pay close attention," she says. She's not given to being helpful, but it's not as if she'd deliberately lead him astray. She has no reason to, so it's not worth the fuss. "With time and care, you may learn to tell some of them apart. Some are more... present than others. Some of these are safe and may help you; others will very much not."

[leftwithmybones]

"Right. You want to be contacted through any of this?" McCoy asks, taking mental notes on the whole thing. "There any personalities that oughta be flagged and I should alert you the minute they turn up?"

[neveraskedtwice.livejournal.com]

"Mystique." That, at least, requires no thought at all. Emma may not be familiar with Mystique herself directly, but she knows of the woman, her relationship to Rogue, the dangers she could hold, not least because she's best suited to seem like Rogue herself if it helps her. She shakes her head, fingers drumming on the table. "Also known as Raven Darkholme. She's very dangerous and highly manipulative." It takes one to know one. "Though if you've any particular difficulty with the others, I'm acquainted with many of them in one way or another."

[leftwithmybones]

"I'll light a torch to signal the distress," he says, mostly a dig at where she's decided to put down her feet. Not because he thinks it's opulent and extravagant because hell, to each their own. He's more irritated with the idea of coming all the way up here in case of trouble. "I'll tweak a communicator and leave it with you," he says, thinking through ways around another big hike. "Make sure I can send you a call if someone's going down."

[neveraskedtwice.livejournal.com]

"I appreciate that," Emma says, and in spite of herself, it's entirely genuine. She's far from where they're likely to be, but she's fast. While she generally opts to take her time, in a case like this, she'll be down there as fast as humanly possible (god, humanly). "You may need the assistance and I'm willing to give it, as necessary. She's a very difficult case."

[leftwithmybones]

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that," he says as he sucks in a breath and thinks about the problem at hand. "Nothing a little hard work won't fix," he mutters, like a mantra to convince himself. "Thanks, again, for the help."

[neveraskedtwice.livejournal.com]

Hard work barely cuts it. Emma rolls her eyes at the notion (she's had months with little progress and this is one of her specialties), but lets it go with a wave of her hand. "I just hope it proves useful in your hands," she says dryly. "Is there a time I should find you for that sample?"

[leftwithmybones]

"Come by the house anytime. I'm in the lab or the clinic or my place. I've been retrofitting it so I can work from home and not have to deal with as many inane interruptions," he snarls, because sometimes the Compound is just goddamn ridiculous.

[neveraskedtwice.livejournal.com]

It's a concern Emma understands. She sighs and nods, waving a hand. "I'll try to find you after one of my classes, then," she says. She wouldn't ordinarily put too much effort into it, but given who this is for, she must. It's not as if she has any particular love for Rogue, but she looks out for her own kind.