Participants:
| Scene Title | Is You Is Or Is You Ain't |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Delilah takes Walter for a checkup and the test. Abby goes with her for moral support and has Natalie tested as well. |
| Date | February 16, 2019 |
R.Morton Medical Practice.
Do you remember going to the doctor when you were little? It was fun at first, and it progressed into utter horror once you would get into see the pediatrician. In the end, maybe it was always good again. A sticker, a sweetie, or something like this always awaited once the exam or shots were all done with. While the means of a visit change so much, what never changes is the waiting room. The same magazines you read six months ago are the same ones that you find in your lap for the current visit. Same old toys, chairs, couches- maybe the room will get lucky and have a new aquarium or some new fish- but otherwise it is all familiar.
Delilah was unsure from the start whether to ask for a particular brand of test for Walter on his next visit, but with Abby's help in both tagging along and some words of optimism, the appointment was made. A regular check-up, probably a shot of some kind, and last but not least, the blood test for Evolved status. Subjecting Walt to the same trauma she went through seemed too cruel, compared to knowing a yes-or-no and being prepared for something strange. Kids seem to be manifesting faster and faster even in those ten years. She was sixteen- now Delilah is not surprised to see preteens going to classes.
Inside the waiting room the group sits, Walter in front of the large aquarium with his nose almost nudged up to the wall of glass. He looks pink-skinned and extra-clean, and he is wearing nicer clothes than he might be on any other day. Delilah leans back in the chair beside the tank, her arms curled over the purse in her lap, and eyes on the wall opposite. Was this a good idea? What if they watch him? The redhead still has fear in her- it never goes away, once you know how it used to be firsthand.
They both use the same pediatrician. Abby does tend to fix her kids woes and ailments, but even some she can't fix, and children still have to have vaccinations. Beside Walter is Natalie, transfixed on the fish with her two year old fascination with everything. Abby's beside Delilah, looking over at the woman. "It's for the better. Given what you can do, if he takes after you, if he is like you, you'll know how to protect him, watch out for him"
Delilah tries to keep herself toned down. Walter doesn't know quite the extent of what his mom does, just that she's 'special'. "Yeah, I know. But some of them don't always do what their parents do, y'know? What if it's something worse? And what if they watch him or something?" Paranoia, rampant.
Walter is pointing out one of the algae-eaters at the bottom for Natalie, careful not to tap the glass(he's been yelled at several times already). A couple of the fish even follow the tiny fingers across the glass.
Abby glances over at Delilah, leaning close to murmur to her "You don't even know if he is" She points out. "Both my parents are not special, and they produced me. There's people who are both special and produce children who aren't. It's.. at the whims of fate" She'd say god but she tends to tone down the whole gods plan thing around others who aren't of her particular brand of theology. "If they do, they do, but who better to help him, in their eyes than those who are unique themselves and helped save the world. Besides, Cat will fight to keep him with you and minimal interference in his life. Maybe, if he is, he'll just… I don't know… Turn dog hair green?"
"Damn, hair powers. A Ginger Fabio." Delilah laughs, snorts, and covers her mouth with one hand. "I hope he just… doesn't. It'd be much easier for… everyone, that way." Her lips purse in thought, and she deliberately looks into the fish tank to look for a scaled target for both eyes. "I guess I just want a normal kid. No explosions, no flying, no x-ray vision-" Delilah sighs heavily and sinks into the chair, looking back over to Abby. "I can handle regular issues. But if he starts setting things on fire- jeez, I would have nothing."
"Normal is subjective. I want for Joseph to grow up with a father, like a normal child, but that's not going to happen. Normal will be how you make it Del. Besides. Since when have you been normal? Since when have any of us been normal?" Abby glances over to the two Natalie squealing and clapping her hands as the fish follow Walter's finger. "Make you better if I had Natalie tested as well?"
At the mention of fathers, Delilah clams up again. She sits there and watches the kids at the tank with Abigail, only looking over once she asks about Natalie. "You don't have to. I'm just- I'm worried. He's got people like us on both sides…" Lilah lifts the side of her palm to rub at the tired look on her face.
"IF he is, Del, then frankly, there's nothing you can do. IF he isn't, you can breath a sigh of relief. The test won't change him. If he is, it was decided the moment you and … " yup, not saying who the daddy is. "At least it's not a big needle? Just a prick of the finger. I'll do it with you, I've thought about it with Natalie, and at least too, you can take consolation in the fact that he's not going to go through it like you did and having to hide it. There's people who can help, there's classes to take and centers that can help him get a handle on whatever it is, if he is, that he can do"
Delilah covers her face with her fingers and rubs down at the corners of her eyes. Sigh. "Yeah, I know. They're all so lucky to have stuff like that. We had to learn by ourselves, eh?" She smiles out from behind her hands for a second before sitting straighter and putting both arms back down. "Boy, what a doozy."
"Not only that, we had to learn it, while trying to avoid the authorities, kidnappings, random eruptions in public, chased down by the company, and the Good Lord only remembers what else" Abby settles her hand over Delilah's, giving it a squeeze. "He'll have it easier and while that's usually a detriment and said with a scowl, this time, if he is, then… Then he'll have it easier and he won't have the stigma that we had"
The hand over hers is met with a smile and a nod. Delilah will probably never get over the whole 'I can kill you with my spit' thing, but other people help her to forget it. At the tank, Walter points at something and turns his head to the two mothers, looking Absolutely Dire. "MUM. MUM. MUM. There's a frog in this fish tank." Frogs are not fish that is silly. "Mum. Mum." Delilah finally peers over at him. "Yes, I heard you the first time-" The door across the room beside the check in desk opens, and the nurse sticks her torso out. "Trafford?" She peers up from a clipboard and eyes Abby after. "If you're together, there are chairs in the exam room too?" Lucky day.
Abigail looks to Delilah when the nurse rolls off her little spiel, waiting to see what Delilah wants. Does she want the pediatric nurse with her? not with her?
Delilah grabs Abby's wrist that is on the hand closest to hers and tugs at the blonde to follow. Come on. Not going in alone. You came this far, you're still going. "Walter- come on. The sooner we're done, the sooner we can leeeaave." Oh, Zazu.
With it seems, as Abigail is tugged upwards and forward. She pulls her hand away once she's up, enough so that she can scoop her daughter up, purse swinging as she goes and follow the other two into the nurses office. For better or worse, Delilah will know and Abigail's going to support her either way.
"We'll get height and weight first-" The nurse that brought them from the waiting room leads the mothers to an empty exam room, one side having a colorful, kid-sized scale with a ruler on the trunk. Walter is already on the floor with his hand in Delilah's, but he slips away from her to hop on the square with a jump-stomp.
"Mum says I'm gonna be tall. How tall am I? It could be any day now." The little boy stops squirming enough so that he can be measured- and too bad for him, he's regular kid size. The nurse can't help but comment, laughing when Walt scrunches up his nose in defiance. "You don't eat your vegetables, do you?"
Natalie's up in Abigails arms, standing out of the way from the other pair. The small blonde's thumb is in her mouth, watching, head laid on her mothers shoudler. Every child dreads the doctor's. The older blonde just watches impassivly to Walter's antics and his mother.
"He doesn't." Delilah keeps her bag over one shoulder as she picks up Walter and deposits his behind on top of the paper-covered seat. He just scowls his defiant little scowl. Drat! "I eat potatoes!"
"That's one vegetable. French fries don't really count, darling." Delilah keeps her arm around her son, as he is still fidgeting on the bench. The nurse switches clipboards from the counter and beckons Abby to set Natalie down on the primary-colored scale. Walter, however, has better ideas. "Don't do it, Natalie! It burns girls' feets off!" Will she understand that? Who knows. Walt seems to think so.
Thank you Walter. As Abby plops down natalie, the little blonde starts screaming about it being hot, hot, don't put her down, hot! Delilah is given a pointed look - Abby doesn't often give them ot other parents - before she puts her daughter down on the ground. A few minutes is spent convincing the young girl that it's safe, and eventually she does, thanks to Abbyt aking off her own shoes and standing on the scale to prove first that it's not hot.
Facepalming isn't out of style, yet. But Delilah refrains and instead pinches at Walter's ear(thanks to Teo, there is a lot more to grab). He knows that the ear means it was srs bzns. "Ow!"
"What have I told you about that? You know she always listens to you." Poor Natalie. Abby gets an apologetic look right back, and Dee spins Walter to look at her. "Don't be a liar, or I'll tell Flint to search your room for contraband." Walter gasps, which means he does have something he's not supposed to. Probably just sweets, but to him that is a Big Deal.
Eventually, they're all squared away, shoes back on, off to the room, Natalie's still sucking on her thumba nd lookign warily at everything now thanks to Walter. Everythign here is suddenly deathly for the two year old. "I'm so having him search your room, and whatever he finds goest o Walter" Even worse than it being confiscated to never be seen again. Confiscated and given to your frenemy. Harsh man.
Walt has ruined doctors for Natalie forever. Whooooops. When the four are closed off in the exam room to wait for the doctor, Delilah has another chance to glare down at her son. "You should apologize for scaring Natalie. Are you going to?" Giving him his own choice. But judging by how he looks up at Abigail, he has already made up his mind.
"I'm sorry." His lips flatten and his browline lowers. It is not the usual apologetic face, but a familiar one. The more he grows, the more cluepons for anyone else that need clipping. Then, he whispers up to Delilah. "Are we getting shots?" She doesn't answer him, but did hear him.
"You're forgiven. I'm sure that natalie will get over it once she's away from here" Natalie's not getting over it anytime soon,d espite Abigails soothing, though the healer takes a moment to ruffle the ginger's hair. "Some days you are too much alike" for his own good. it's like wathcing a younger version of the damned sicilian. "If you do, I promise i'll make it all go away after okay? I'll do my special trick and you won't even see that you had one, deal?" Her hand is offered out to Walter.
Mini-me plays the part of oblivious. Whether or not Walt understood goes unsaid. Most people would assume that she's talking about Dee, so maybe everyone thinks that Walter does the same. He might. Or, he might be smart enough to know better about this too. His hand darts out to meet Abby's. "Deal!"
A knock at the door breaks the conversation, and a second later, the pediatrician enters. Time for shots! Uh-oh.
There's a little more to it than shots. There's the poking, there's the prodding, using special lights to look in orfices that noramlly don't see the light, possibly a pea or two. THrough the usual rigamarole they go, till charts are consulted, the children plotted on said charts - look, Walt's in his 75 percentl while Natalie is in her high 40's, no surprise - And those dreaded needles. There's crying all around, how can there not be. Both getting them in their thighs though Abby soon wicks it all away with just a touch.
But now it's time for that other test. The Evolved test. ABigail looks to delilah as the nurse comes back with the doctor, the injector unit primed and ready. "Who's first? See if the paper turns red or blue hmm?" Abby offers.
Delilah swallows visibly when Abby looks at her, and even to the two giving the test- she looks harried. Meanwhile, red-eyed and disgruntled, Walter is significantly Less Excited than he was when this all began. He looks at the two strangers in pediatric uniform, then over to Natalie. Then Abby. Then Natalie again. Does he know what this one is? Hard to tell again. "Rock paper scissors?" Walt holds up a ready fist for Natalie to match. Does she know this game? Or is he just stalling? Tricky little bastard.
"Tell you what Walter, I'll let them do it on me. Then natalie will go, but you have to promise to go okay? You'll see what it's like, Natalie can see what it's like too hmm?" Abby smiles to the the workers shifting Natalie a little more securely before offering up her hand. Like they'd done for others before them, the little autoinjector darts down, a prick of the skin. The nurse squeezes Abby's ring finger to produce the little drop of blood and presses it into the strip. Wait for it, wait for it. No surprise. red. Though Abby's unregistered, and it doesn't mean she will be registered.
Natalie's next, Abby holding out her little girls hand, the nurse and doctor working in concert. There's okay a grunt where her finger is priced, though her eyes still red from her ordeal with the shots. Same process, squeeze, touch, wait.
Red.
Abby looks over to Delilah. Red.
Delilah wasn't expecting that part. Sure, Abby is, but from what Dee knows, there weren't others like her in the family. The redheaded woman's fingers clutch at the hem of her blouse. She looks down at Natalie after her mother looks at her. The little girl has no idea of the importance.
Walter does not seem to share his mother's caution. When the little girl is finished and there is another needle and strip produced, the boy sucks in a lungful of air and holds out his hand for the prick.
Prick, squeeze, touch- it seems like forever for Delilah.
Red.
'Well" Comes Abby's voice, utterly small. "we're.. both… in for some surprises" That's an understatement. Abigail looks to Walter and then to natalie, plastering a msile on her face. 'Well! Isn't that exiciting hmm? I think, and I think your mom and the doctors would agree with me, that we all deserve ice cream hmm?"
The doctors know enough by the look on Dee's face to not stay much longer, tucking away the strips and scribbling on clipboards as they go back out of the exam room with a departing word or three. "Ice cream! I want chocolate!" Walter is distracted easily by the mention of ice cream, so he is not looking when his mother crosses her arms and lifts a hand to rub at her eyes. So much for a normal little boy.
"We'll figure things out Delilah." Abby answers. "I promise." One hand reaches out to smooth along the redhead's back.
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