11/5 Issue: Post-Traumatic Stress Demolition

[Esynthia]

Timeline: Around Sept. 6 or 7

Jean: Jean was still fairly convinced this floor was haunted. The hanging curtains of plastic sheeting to keep dust down during renovations did nothing to dispel the idea. The plastic crinkled and moved as she walked, turning in a circle and taking in the old scroungy furniture and boxes. "And you're doing this where?"

Jamie: "In this corner over here," he headed to the left of the entrance where there used to be a room, judging by the different peeling wallpaper and paint on opposite sides of each other. "Gonna wall this back in and use the existing electrical and plumbing. Which is why the water and electricity are shut off to this floor."

Jean: "As they should be. I wouldn't trust this floor with nice things like power and water." Jean rubbed her upper arm, trying to ignore the pinching ache from her brand new birth control implant.

Jamie: Jamie laughed, "Well not yet, anyway." He looked over his shoulder at his fiancee and gave her a smile. "It's all gonna be fine, Jeannie. Promise." He walked heel-toe where the walls were going to go to show her. "It'll be great. And then I'll have a dedicated workspace for when I feel science-y!"

Jean: She watched him pace off the space and returned the smile. "Can you be science-y shirtless? Like when you feel all DIY-y?"

Jamie: "Only if it's safe. But it likely won't be." He did give her a heated look. "Could you be shirtless while I'm being science-y?"

Jean: "Dammit," she said, clucking her tongue and skipping over to him to fling her arms around his neck. "I could be shirtless right now, but Benjie might come back with Breathless, sooooo...."

Jamie: Jamie happily slipped his arms around her waist, clucking his tongue in equal disapproval. "This is one of the reasons I didn't want to have employees. I could get you naked whenever I wanted."

Jean: "Awww, but he's self cleaning! And he can file! When he's not walking the dog, which totally isn't probably in the job description." She pressed herself against Jamie and gave a full body wriggle. "Now we just have to be more creative about getting naked."

Jamie: "It's not. But it got both of them out from underfoot and since I sent him to find food, too, maybe he'll get distracted." Jamie grinned and his hands slid lower to cup her ass and hold her close, leaning down to whisper against her mouth, "Creative, huh? What ideas do you have in that mischievous brain of yours?"

Jean: "I have ideas for later, unless we want to do some strip cleaning right now." Jean licked his upper lip, then giggled, adding another wriggle for good measure.

Jamie: He groaned for her and moved to take a playful bite of her neck. "It wouldn't do to get our clothes dirty, would it?"

Jean: "Right? We're saving time later! No laundry!" She laughed at his noms and freed a hand to give his ass a pinch.

Jamie: He jerked against her and laughed, then straightened to look down at her. "But it also wouldn't be good if we got tetanus from a rusty nail."

Jean: Jean's nose wrinkled as she looked up at him. "Well, way to kill the mood," she laughed, but stood on tiptoe and gave him a loud kiss.

Jamie: Jamie made a face until she kissed him, then he caught her to make the kiss longer, and more obnoxiously loud. He made a horrendous smack noise when he pulled away, grinning. "I'm good at everything, even killing moods."

Jean: "That you are," she agreed, still laughing and shaking her head. Jean patted his ass and looked at the mess around them. "Okay, so what do we need to do?"

Jamie: He turned to survey the room, keeping her tucked against him under one arm. "Well, I've already gotten rid of a lot of the big pieces over the last month that would need to be moved. But we need to clean the area and the area around the area. If you build on top of something that's already dirty, it's just asking for problems down the line."

Jamie: "Also, we probably should make the holes around the wiring and pipes more secure. Some of the dry wall and plaster is flaking and needs to be shored up."

Jean: "The area and the area around the area," she nodded, sounding super enthused. "I guess I could move things from the area.... aaaaand hopefully into the dumpster?" She gave him a hopeful look.

Jamie: "Depends on what it is," he gave Jeannie a skeptical look. "You know I like to use everything I can." Jamie kissed the top of her head and looked around again. "If it's what I would call trash, just put it in a pile near the door and we can take it out later. That work for you, your highness," he asked with a grin.

Jean: "Fiiiiine. I suppose I can sort to your standard," she laughed, leaning her head against him and looking around the immediate area. "I'm glad I never saw this place the day you bought it. I can't imagine all the junk you inherited."

Jamie: "Ha! You would've told me to walk away before we even made it up the first set of stairs. The entire building was like this for the most part." Jamie smirked at the memory. "I love it, though. I saw the building and knew I had to have it. Kind of like you."

Jean: "Well I'm glad it worked out for both of us," she said with a nod, gesturing at the room, then twisted to look up at him and poke a finger in his chest. "But if you're implying I'm a fixer upper I'm totes going to protest."

Jamie: Jamie made a noise of protest at her poking and promise of her own protest. "Of course not! Just that it was love at first sight, was all." He arched an eyebrow and started looking her over, mockingly inspecting. "Although, if you're asking for advice? ...I really have none and if you change a thing, I might cry," he grinned.

Jean: "Good answer," she giggled, giving his ass another pinch before she stepped away and looked at a dusty old table covered in boxes. "I guess we better get started if we're going to get anything done before Benjie gets back with baby Breathless."

Jamie: Jamie reached out at the pinch, snagging her back to him for a quick dip kiss, giving her a brilliant smile when he stood her back up. "Having either of them up here while we do this would be pretty disastrous, that's for sure. Or at least annoying." He looked around and made a noise of disgust, then nodded and squared his shoulders. "Let's do this thing."

Jean: Jean squeaked at the sudden movement and swish of the dip kiss. It took her a moment to find her feet despite her teke and then she laughed. "Very annoying, for sure." Jean started for the table, flipping open a box to look inside. Old magazines. Mmmboy. "Trash!"

Jamie: "Wait!" He looked inside and dug through until he found the 1986 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. "I have some photo session ideas that came from this one. The rest is trash, though." Jamie waggled his eyebrows at Jean, set the magazine aside, and moved to grab the tape measure.

Jean: Jean laughed and shook her head, picking up the magazine to flip through it. Oh look, scantily clad babes of the day frolicking in the ocean! She turned it and cocked her head. "Okay, she's hot," she observed.

Jamie: "No, babe," he corrected over his shoulder, "you're hot." Jamie squatted down where he intended to build the wall out and started measuring. "Put yourself in those pictures instead of them. Think what that would do for me when you're away."

Jean: She agreed with his assessment of her hotness, then laughed again, imagining herself in the photo and projecting it to Jamie. "Well then, I think we can indulge you, if you're a very good boy."

Jamie: Jamie turned to look at her, the thought of what he wanted to do because of that projected image clear in his eyes. "I'll be as good as you want me to be. Or as bad." He paused, then looked down to get the number from the tape measure. "After we finish this."

Jean: "I know you will," she smirked, meeting his eyes, her own reflecting his desire. Jean watched him for a long moment, then flipped open another box to look inside. Boring!

Jamie: Focus. Write the number down. Good. Measure again and focus. Not on that! On the numbers. Jamie took a deep breath and tried. "Babe, can you come help me with this? Get on the far end of the tape and make sure it's against the wall for me?"

Jean: He couldn't concentrate now and it made her want to laugh. It also made her want to jump him right there on the dirty floor. "Sure," she said, tone entirely too chipper, and went to take the end of the measuring tape. She made sure to put a little extra sway in her step.

Jamie: Jamie watched her and licked his lips. "Babe," he pleaded. "Not helping." He had to adjust the way he was squatting because his jeans were pressing a little too tight against him now.

Jean: "I'm totes helping," she protested, tone innocent, and found the end of the measuring tape. It was already pretty close to the filthy wall, and also to a cluster of wires bristling from an uneven hole in the plastered wall.

Jean: Jean crouched to take the end of the metal tape, brushing against what she assumed were dead wires. The jolt took her off guard and she yelped, knocked on her ass.

Jean: In that moment, she was there, gasping for air amid a slithering mass. Nononononono! Jean lashed out, the phoenix coming at her call, and all she could hear was her own scream.

Jamie: Jamie fell backwards at the fireball that came from his fiancee, throwing his hands over his head while his chest went tight. FIREBADFIREBAD. And then she screamed and he fought every muscle in his body to put his arms down to look for her. "JEAN?!" He couldn't see past the flames and he squinted in the face of the giant bird taking up the room. "JEEEAAAN!"

Jamie: Not good! He scrambled to his feet and threw himself through the bird, trying not to think about what his skin was touching, just so he could get to her. "Jeannie!"

Jean: Can'tbreathecan'tmovecan'tgetout! Jean gasped and choked, unaware she was choking on the air and not slimy, electrified water. She heard a voice and tried to pull back the fire, redoubling her effort when she recognized the voice. Jamie! She bubbled him, a pink oasis in the fiery storm.

Jamie: Jamie startled at the pink bubble but didn't stop moving. JEAN. Jean, listen to me. "Jeannie, I'm here. You're safe." He gripped her arms and pulled her up into his, holding her loosely. "You can breathe. He's dead, Jeannie! He's gone. You're home."

Jean: She coughed, trying to curl into as small of a ball as she could, but the hands on her arms wouldn't let her. Nonononono! She twisted in his grip, but couldn't break free, not sure she really wanted to. This was Jamie, not Arcade. He's dead. Gone. Home. She heard the words but fought to process them, trying to look up at him and realizing she was aflame.

Jamie: Her eyes were pure fire and he fought everything in him to keep looking into them, because his panic would only feed hers. "Baby... Jeannie... Can you hear me? It's Jamie. I love you. You're safe." He scooped her up and held her to his chest as he sank to his knees. "Shh. I'm here."

Jean: Jamie? This was Jamie, not Arcade, so why couldn't she calm down? Jean sucked in air and choked on it, hyperventilating. "J-j-j-jamie," she wailed, feeling his suppressed panic and her own as she fought to breathe.

Jamie: Jamie, he repeated and kissed her forehead. "Jamie. James Arthur Madrox, fiance of Jean Anne Grey." He tried to smile. "The most beautiful woman I know who has the power of alien tomatoes at her beck and call." Jamie's hand at hair was twirling a curl around the fingers in a soothing and nervous tick. "It's me, babe. You're home. We're just on the floor that you think is haunted."

Jean: She forced herself to uncurl enough to cling to Jamie instead of herself, though she knew she had to still be burning with power. Sorry, was all she could manage as she tried to breathe without gagging herself. Her skin still felt as if it was crawling with slimy eels, but she knew it was anything but.

Jamie: "Shh," he softly murmured and rocked her as she held to him. Jamie closed his eyes, pressing his cheek to her head, letting the rocking soothe him just as much as he hoped it was doing for her. He wasn't burning. The fire wasn't hot. She wasn't really on fire and neither was he. "You're safe. I've got you."

Jean: She worked on pulling the fire back, hoping she wasn't just imagining the progress. She opened her eyes and it looked like they were both still on fire. Shit. Get it under control! Her pink teke signature started to flicker up, drowning the orange flames. I'm trying! I'm sorry!

Jamie: Don't. Jean, stop, it's alright. He forced himself to open his eyes and lifted his head to look down at her. "Jeannie, just breathe. Focus on me. Relax." The fire was flickering in her eyes, the beautiful green nowhere to be found, but he stared into them as if there was no fire. Jamie would have to get used to this part of her or what good would he be to her when this happened again.

Jean: She could feel his suppressed panic and could see herself through his eyes, even as she looked into them. Unlike her own, his were their usual cool pale green, like the ocean - eels! Nope! She clamped down on that line of thought and blanked her mind, synching her breathing with his and holding his gaze. Fuck the analogies!

Jamie: Jamie gave her a smile and stroked her cheek. "I'm here. You're home." We're safe. He slowly lowered his face to hers and gently kissed her. Promise.

Jean: I know, thank you. She felt herself calming and returned the kiss, closing her eyes and letting the flames recede.

Jamie: He held her close, rocking her, stroking her hair, and kissing her, all gently and softly. I love you.

Jean: I love you, she responded, then remembered what started this whole mess, sucking in a breath and looking over his shoulder toward the wall. Watch out for those wires! They're not dead!

Jamie: Jamie frowned and looked away from her to the wall. "What the fuck? The electricity is shut off to this floor! Where did that get routed from?" He shook his head. Later. Jean first. Jamie looked back at her, concern on his features. "What happened, babe?"

Jean: "I don't know, but it shocked me!" She met his eyes, then averted them, since she had a feeling they were still flamey. "It shocked me, and I was... there. The, um, eels. That tank..." She shivered, scratching at the bare skin of her arm.

Jamie: "It shocked me, too!" Then he realized what she meant and his face softened. "Have you called Jess, yet?"

Jean: His response startled a half laugh from her and she looked up at him, then closed her eyes with a wince. "No, I haven't called her yet..."

Jamie: Jamie smiled tightly and pulled her against his chest, holding her loosely still in case she needed to not feel trapped. "I'm sorry that happened, babe. I should've thought about the fact that people probably routed wires from other floors."

Jean: Jean was more than okay with Jamie holding her and moved in close to him. "It's not your fault," she sniffed, opening her eyes to look down at her hand. No flames, she sighed in relief.

Jamie: He held her a little tighter when she adjusted herself and smiled. "Are you burned from it?" Probably should check. No. Holding is more important. "Do we need to take you to get checked out?"

Jean: "No, it just... it startled me. I'm okay," she assured him, blinking a few times to clear the flames from her eyes. Jean looked up at him, then past him to the nearest window. It was shattered outward. "Oh... shit..." She looked around the room at the mess she'd made, the table overturned, the boxes scattered, that copy of Sports Illustrated open on the floor. "Shiiiiit."

Jamie: "Shh." He pressed her head against his shoulder. "It's fine, babe. I'm just glad you're okay. How's your head?"

Jean: "It's not fine! I tore everything up!" She let him move her though and closed her eyes again. "Floaty. I just feel... not real."

Jamie: "If you were going to tear everything up, this is the right floor to do it on. I promise, it's fine." Jamie kissed her temple and pressed his cheek to her head again. "Do you wanna go lie down? Take a nap? I can clean this up and then come lie down with you if you want."

Jean: "I'd rather not be alone. I'm okay." She nodded against him, leaning her head into his again. She opened her eyes and again saw the busted window, trying to look with her eyes alone to see what other damage she'd done.

Jamie: Jamie nodded with her, then stood, still cradling her in his arms. "Then you won't be." For the first time, he took a look around the room, pausing to take it all in, making mental notes of how many tarps he would need for the windows until he could get new ones in. "We should probably get in the shower, if you can handle being in water... Just to make sure we get any glass shards off."

Jean: She shifted as he moved, looping her arms around his neck and looking around at the room. "Oh shit, I really made a mess. Like a Beth level mess..."

Jamie: "I needed to replace mostly everything up here, anyway. You just saved me demo time," he grinned as he carefully picked his way to the main hallway of this floor. "The only bad thing is that you didn't get to enjoy the explosion. Damn post-trauma panic," Jamie tsked in a joking manner and smiled down at her.

Jean: "Damn PTSD? I do love a good explosion." Jean looked up at him with a smile, grateful he wasn't truly upset with her.

Jamie: Jamie's smile was still tight when he looked at her, unable to fully relax until all the fire was gone, but he was glad she was seeming to be better. She was here at least. "So... The fire eyes. That's new." Way to be subtle. Yeah, well. Not many other options. Mmhmm. Sure, Madrox.

Jean: Jean slammed her eyes closed with an eep. "Sorry!" She scrunched her face and buried it in his neck, then thought better of bringing the fire closer to him and squirmed in his arms, trying to get down.

Jamie: "Stop, Jean!" He laughed at her trying to help and held her tighter. "You could get hurt in this mess. We're almost at the stairs." Jamie gave her a little brain caress. "It's part of you. I'll be fine. I just... Need a little bit of time to adjust. I know that it's not going to burn you or me alive, I just have to fight my own PTSD. I'm further past mine, though. Let me see you. All of you, babe. Don't hide."

Jean: She stopped wriggling and looked back up at him, smiling at the caress. Jean returned it and sighed. "It's not new new, I just... never let you see it before. It'll go away." She frowned and concentrated on making it do that. She couldn't really feel anything any different.

Jamie: Jamie started down the stairs once she was still again and he rubbed her thigh with his thumb, but he let her know he would kiss her if it was safe to do so while walking down stairs. "I trust you." He smiled once he got to the landing of the third floor, pausing to give her that kiss. "You okay with a shower or no? If not, we're not going to lay down in our bed. We'll find somewhere else."

Jean: Jean's smile softened at his thoughts and she craned her neck to kiss his cheek. "I love you," she replied, responding to his kiss. "We can shower... at least I can get you naked there."

Jamie: "I love you, too," he replied softly. "All of you. Even the firebird." Jamie waggled his eyebrows and started down the next set of stairs at a trot. "Naked with you is my favorite hobby!"

Jean: "She loves you, too," she giggled, squeaking at the sudden movement and holding on tighter. "Mine too, so I'm glad that works out." After a moment, she bit her lip. "I am sorry I broke everything and freaked you out."

Jamie: "Babe, I promise you, you have nothing to apologize for." He slowed down so he could look her in the eyes. "PTSD isn't something you can control. Especially not this soon."

Jean: She gave him a more secure smile. "I guess I sort of know that, but like I said, I feel like I should be... more okay, I guess?"

Jamie: "Because you've had psychos try to kill you before? This one broke you in more ways than that, Jeannie..." Jamie got to the second floor and headed for the bathroom. "He broke your heart, then your mind, then and only then, did he try to kill you."

Jean: Jean made a face at the way he put it, not that he was wrong. They arrived at the bathroom and she tapped his arm to get him to let her down. "Yeah, it pretty much sucked."

Jamie: He bent down to set her down, making sure her feet were solid on the floor before straightening again. Jamie turned her to face him and took her face in both of his hands. "And it's okay that you're not okay still. There's no time limit on healing, babe. Why do you think I'm still having problems with fire?"

Jean: "I know, that's why I don't like losing control like that. You shouldn't have to suffer because I'm having a crazy." She met his eyes and looked away, unsure if her eyes were still glowing. "You said it's okay, and I appreciate that, but I still feel bad about it."

Jamie: Jamie squeezed her face a little, wanting to shake her. "Listen to me, dammit. You're not hearing me. I'm not saying that about my issue with fire because I had a problem with what just happened." He took a breath and relaxed his shoulders and his grip, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm saying it because that was seven years and four months ago as of a couple of days ago."

Jamie: "It. Takes. Time. It's okay that you're not normal after only three months."

Jean: Jean bit down on her lip and searched his eyes and their link, feeling his frustration. "Okay," she said. "I remember how you were," her voice was quiet. "I barely got to know you before they took you and when you came back I was so scared you'd never be okay." She took a deep breath. "And, honest truth? I wasn't okay. When we met, even. The brainwashing was... a lot. They only rescued me because they thought I was Cess."

Jamie: "I know, babe," he said at almost a whisper. "I know." Jamie gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead. "I'm still not okay. But I'm better and I know how to deal with it. And you know how to deal with your past trauma before Arcade now. But it's going to take time to get to where you're able to deal with that stuff. Please call Jess."

Jean: "I'll call Jess." She closed her eyes and rested her hands on his. "She helped me with Trask, and she tried to help me get over you." Jean opened her eyes again with a smile. "I'm so glad she failed miserably on that count."

Jamie: His smile brightened and he leaned down to kiss her, then rested his forehead on hers. "Me, too."