• Listen to These Words, ISO: Jamie Madrox

[Jamie Madrox]

It wasn’t just her voice that gave her away, it was everything from her posture to the way that she tried to keep her eyes fixed on her hands. But, then again, he didn’t even need any of that, he already knew how she had felt about Jake, it was obvious; she loved him and it didn’t seem to be a simple case of childish infatuation. For some unknown reason he couldn’t help but wonder if anyone would ever feel that way about him... If Eeva could ever... No wait. That had to stop. Why was his mind even going in that direction? Here she was finally starting to open up, after all the months she had been coming to see him. It was major progress and he should be thinking of it as such... But he couldn’t help but feel something else along with it. He was, what, unhappy? No, that couldn’t be right, what possible reason did he have to feel unhappy about Eeva finally starting to come to terms with her loss? Surely that just meant a job well done... Though, admittedly, he would miss her when their sessions together finally stopped, but that was just a professional thing, right? He’d just miss her because he’d grown accustom to seeing her.

You’re such a tool. For the briefest of moments, he allowed his eyes to close, silencing all of the strange and inexplicable thoughts running through his head, resolving to listen to the Finn and, above all, try to remain professional. Of course he put everything down to the fact that he was stress and had had a particularly bad week; it was the only way to explain the way he had been feeling lately. It was also easier than actually analysing anything, after all he was supposed to be the counsellor, the one with degrees in psychology ergo it stood to reason that he shouldn’t be such a mental case and stress explained everything perfectly. Closing his eyes again he tried again, this time in a stricter tone of mental voice. He could analyse himself all he wanted later, but right now he was supposed to be listening to Eeva.

As she mentioned what she called ‘the Prayden incident’ he found himself feeling inexplicably angry, though he didn’t allow it to show on his face. Of course he knew what had happened; a government agent had used Eeva to try to get information on the school and had then been part of her kidnapping and forced curing. Admittedly he didn’t know what made him more angry, the fact that he had helped attack the academy, or the fact that he had hurt Eeva... Again, something that was probably best left till later to analyse. As she finished speaking her eyes finally moved back to his before dropping once more, a single trail of water running down her cheek. Part of him expected her to start to cry, to completely break down, but perhaps that was judging her by his own standards. If nothing else she had already shown herself to be a strong young woman.

“It’s good that you can remember him that way.” Jamie finally spoke in a calm tone. “When people die it’s better to remember the good things rather than the bad.” Speaking from experience he trailed off, not knowing what else he could say, or even if he needed to say anything else…

[Eeva Muotiala]

She nodded her head slowly; lips no longer in a smile as it had been when she walked into Jamie’s office. The Finn wished they hadn’t come across this topic, that they could remain talking about mindless things that didn’t force such emotion out of her. Then again, it’s what she needed. An empath could take all the emotion in the world with enough practice, but at the same time she would be suppressing her own emotion just to cope with the stress of life. It’s not like she took moments out of her day to reflect on what she felt – even with vitakinesis she was still tired by nightfall, either because of Gavriil or teaching. Sometimes she wanted to just up and leave, but there was no option for that. No, not at all.

”… remember the good things rather than the bad.”

Now her thoughts ran quicker than her words, or even before her mind could process the raw emotions inside of her. ”I just wish I had more memories with him… better ones than the ones that lead up to… that lead up to his death,” she said, controlling her body to keep from looking like she was sobbing her eyes out. ”I.. loved him. He was the first person I knew wouldn’t end up like the rest of the douchebags I’ve been with. He was even a good father figure for Gavriil… maybe not cookie-cutter, but I don’t want a cookie cutter for a lover. I just want someone real.. and that’s what he was…” She exhaled heavily, her spine relaxing and her shoulders slumping. ”He was taken from me before I could even tell him that I loved him.” She brought her hands to her face, her elbows on her crossed thighs as she leaned forward. The wetness from her eyes spilled, some even falling to her wrists.

Jake was the person she wanted to be with, and for once someone she trusted with her life. There had been no secrets with him, right from the start. If something happened, she had a friend to talk to. If she wanted company, she knew she could rely on Jake, at least when neither of them was working. Jake had been her rock, and she didn’t even realize how much he meant to her until he was on his death bed. She was such a coward that, despite her powers, she had to wait for a letter and a ring to believe that he loved her. That was how damaged she’d been in the past – the empath couldn’t even trust her own powers to trust that someone else would be good to her, that loved her.

There was a hand on her shoulder, a connection of support and sympathy from her counselor. Jamie was there, but in this situation there was no way to act on it. Hell, it wasn’t even the right moment to consider pursuing a relationship. Maybe she could have a new friend. Maybe it wasn’t Jamie’s thing. She was, after all, his patient. She just couldn’t ignore her want for genuine comfort. Then her attention was taken away minutes later, feeling a small hand on her forearm, and a familiar voice spoke, ”It’s okay Eeva, don’t cry. You know I miss Uncle Jake, too. We’ll miss him together.” Eeva moved her hands away, unable to hide the slight smile on her lips. Childern were smart, smarter than she originally thought. This entire time she didn’t want Gavriil to see her cry, but it seemed it didn’t matter as much as she thought it would.

”Thank you, baby,” she said putting an arm around her brother, stroking his blonde locks. She planted a kiss on his forehead, then looked up at Jamie, ”Uh, you don’t suppose we can end early, do you?” Eeva took some tissues from the man’s desk, drying her hands and face.

”Of course, by all means,” Jamie replied.

Eeva nodded her head. ”Gavriil, go get your things,” she told the boy. The Finn stood, taking hold of her purse and putting it on her shoulder. As she waited for Gavriil, she looked back at Jamie. Before she thought about it, she stepped in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck. ”Thank you, Jamie.” When she pulled away she smiled at him, finding that even now she had a weight off her shoulders. She left with Gavriil afterward, already knowing she was going to treat Gavriil to a cinnamon roll on the way home by stopping off at a local bakery. Maybe she’d even get one for herself.

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