ArchivedLogs:Dismissed

Dismissed
Dramatis Personae Jackson, Jane
In Absentia	2014-03-28 '
Location <NYC> The Mendel Clinic - Lower East Side
With its sharp crystalline edges and sleek lines knifing up into the sky, this building is one of the most /distinctive/ new additions to the neighborhood. An angular structure in glass and steel, the tall tower has a deceptively slender look to it that is belied by the heavy security as soon as you enter the doors. The front doors are frosted with the Clinic's logo -- a rising sun over a rod of Asclepius -- a motif echoed in many places throughout the building. Visitors to the clinic must first pass through a small mantrap, guarded by some of the Clinic's security guards; once they make it through the metal detector and airlock's double doors they emerge into the much more hospitable lobby. With dark wood floors underneath and comfortable black and red couches at its edges, the high windows give the room an airy feel. A bank of elevators to one side carry visitors to the many destination floors, while the wide welcome desk at the other side is manned by a security guard ready to help point visitors in the right direction. Jackson has not actually been on-duty since his apartment blew up and he nearly died. He is not, actually, scheduled for duty today -- he's not scheduled for shifts again until the weekend. But he is here on a Friday for a /therapy/ appointment with a provider in Behavioral Health. He comes out of it looking a little wan and /exhausted/, a little droopy, a little frazzled. He also looks -- /extremely/ unlike his usual self, skin pale and oddly /unblemished/ for a man of his age (all his tattoos and scars just /gone/), piercings missing, no makeup, shaved-bald head instead of his usual shaggy colourful mop of hair. His clothes are bland, too, plain jeans and a black canvas jacket over a Cooper Union tee. It's only after his appointment has finished that he seeks out Jane, heading first up to Control with a quiet knock on the door. He doesn't wait for answer, just badges himself in to the guard station to peek inside and ask the guard on duty: "-- s'Jane around here somewhere?" The guard looks up with surprise as she flicks her eyes over Jax. "How did-- oh. Jax." Doris gives him a curious look and then chuckles. "Didn't recognize you right away without the..." she trails off, gesturing to the other man's - face, body, everything. "Good to see you, though. Glad you're alright." A pause as she glances over at one of the cameras, then turns back to Jax. "No, sorry, Jane's not here. Just finished up her shift and headed out. I can page her, if you'd like?" she offers with a smile. "Though I'd hate to see you in the hospital again so soon." Doris winks at Jax, playfully. "Oh -- oh." Jackson looks disappointed. "It's -- I mean, I guess I can come back." His shoulders droop, though, and he doesn't sound particularly /sure/ about this. "Do you think she's still close by?" The quip about being in the hospital again soon puts a very small smile on his face, a quick chuckle. "Oh, I usually have at /least/ two weeks in between ER trips," he answers lightly. "Yeah, well, I'd try for breaking your longevity record if I were you." Doris shrugs her shoulders, briefly spreading her hands. "Probably just at the subway. Here, I can check for you. Hang on." Doris turns towards the computer, fingers tapping at the screen. Windows shuffle around on the monitors in front of her, and a few moments later, a map of the City pops up on the screen. It slowly zooms in towards the clinic, covering a few blocks in either direction. After about ten seconds, a green dot appears a few blocks down, path jittering along the street as it heads down the block. "Not too far. Should I page her back?" Doris asks, as she turns towards Jackson. "Please?" Jackson gives Doris a small hopeful smile. "I've got almond pound cake, you want some? Baked it this morning." His eye flicks towards the screen, watching the green dot with a dig of teeth against lip. Doris taps on the keyboard for several moments, then hits the enter key with a flourish. A little splash of yellow fades in around the green dot which quickly flips to yellow. The dot pauses in place, still jittering from side to side, but not advancing anymore. It turns green once more a moment later, and starts heading back towards the clinic. Doris sees none of this, looking hungrily at Jax. "Yes, of course. Turn down your baking, what am I crazy? If I'm full, I'll just get a bucket and then I'll be hungry again in a few minutes if that's what needs doing." Her grin is wide as she turns to glance back at the monitors. "She's on her way." Jackson's smile brightens, warm and pleased. He opens up the messenger bag at his side, pulling out a foil-wrapped bundle and opening it to offer the slices of cake inside out to Doris on a palm. "Take a couple," he urges. "And get a bucket if you need room later," is a teasing addendum. And then, "-- 'kay, thanks." He gives Doris a nod, waiting for her to get her cake before wrapping it and putting it back away. With a small wave to the other guard, he turns to head back to the lobby to wait. Doris takes two slices of cake and beams at Jackson. "Thanks. You're an angel, you know that, right?" she says, as she sets one slice down on the countertop. The second one she sets about tearing small pieces off with her fingers and eating, turning back to face the array of monitors in front of her. Jackson doesn't have long to wait before Jane steps through the security man trap and out into the lobby. Her eyes fix on Jackson as soon as she enters the room, studying him for several moments as she approaches. "Mister Holland-Zedner. I understand you needed to see me?" Despite the tone of her voice, it is clearly not a question. "My office." she says, turning sharply on one foot and heading to the elevators. "Yessir." Jackson tends to have rather impeccable dancer-trained posture by default but Jane's arrival straightens his spine /just/ a tiny hair more. His hand drops to rest on the bag at his side as he turns after Jane, following her quietly towards her office. Once at her office, Jane sits down in her chair and studies the other man for several seconds. Her expression softens from its hardened professionalism and she gestures to the chair across from her. "I'm glad to see you're looking better, Mister Holland-Zedner. I visited you when you were still unconscious, and you didn't look nearly this healthy." Her lips quirk into a slight smile, one eyebrow raising slightly on her face. "Though, I admit, you did look quite a bit /different/. You're fresh enough to enlist, now." Jane pauses and rests her hands primly in her lap. "What can I do for you, Mister Holland-Zedner?" A flush of colour darkens Jax's pale cheeks, and he settles down into the chair with a nod of thanks. "Oh, gosh, sir, can you imagine /me/ in the army?" There's a touch of amusement in his voice, his freshly unscarred hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "It's been strange to --" He cuts himself off with a deep breath, an apologetic circling of one fist over his heart. "I -- actually needed to talk to you about what the policy is on takin' leave," he explains, the same tone of apology lingering in his voice. "My life's been -- a little bit shook up by all this. And unfortunately the fire took half my graduation project with it, and if I don't finish it in on time I'm not just going to not graduate this term, they're actually going to kick me outta school. Except -- that was six months of work I gotta finish before June now." Jane's expression doesn't change. "Clinic policy around leave is fairly flexible. You have some vacation time saved up that you can use, certainly, and you can talk to Maribeth to get permission to use future vacation days that you would use through the rest of the year." The ex-Sergeant drums her fingers on the table, eyes flicking over the other man's face. "Beyond that, you can request extended leave. That would maintain your benefits as long as you agreed to work at least the amount of time you were on leave after you return. It is normally unpaid, but..." Jane's lips purse and she glances to the blank computer monitor next to her desk. "Considering the circumstances, I believe we may be able to get you qualified for the short-term disability policy. That pays a reduced wage for up to twenty six weeks." "I would need leave from now until June -- until I graduate," Jackson explains, with a very small furrow of brow. "And I --" He trails off, eye opening just a little bit wider at Jane's words. His mouth closes, then opens again. Then closes. "The -- circumstances?" He sounds puzzled here. A little bewildered. "I mean -- really? You could really -- I mean that would -- that would be -- with everything /blown up/ it's been hard to -- but /really/? Why would you --" His fingers clench harder against his knees, his wide-eyed look fixed on Jane. "Then the disability should carry you through without any trouble," Jane says, shrugging her shoulders once. "The circumstances? Your house being blown up by anti-mutant terrorists?" She looks a little bit puzzled as well, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your benefits should continue to cover your children's education - and your own, for that matter, if you needed it. I know going on the reduced payout won't be easy, but it should help you through, with your husband's support. I believe it's either 70 or 75 percent of your salary; I will have to check with Maribeth." A wince briefly shows on her face. There's a sudden glistening wetness bright in Jax's eyes as Jane explains this, and he's quiet. Hands fidgeting in his lap, his breathing shaky. "I -- I think that would help, yes, I --" Rather /abruptly/, he pushes out of his seat, leaning over the desk to throw his arms around Jane in a sudden fierce-tight hug made only more fierce by the intense radiant /heat/ he tends to carry with him at all times. His cheeks are furious red when he pulls back, dabbing at his eye with the sleeve of his jacket. "I -- just. Thank you. Thank -- you." Jane's initial reaction when Jax leaps up is to bring up her hands into a defensive posture, one hand reaching out to grab for Jax's throat. She does manage, however, to not strangle the other guard reflexively, and settles for clapping Jax several times on the back with a displeased expression on her face. Pat, pat. No homo. When Jax has returned to the proper side of the table, she clears her throat. "You are a valued member of the guard staff here, Mister Holland-Zedner, and you have been through more trouble than the rest of us put together, I think. I know I speak for not just the guard team but the entire Mendel staff when I say, we are behind you." She pauses, frowning. "And when you move, /I/ will personally supervise the installation of the security system." Jackson looks /startled/ at being told he is a valued member of the staff, a bewildered-surprised look given to Jane. "I --" Blink, blink. "Thank you, sir," he offers, softer and cautious and still a /little/ teary-eyed. The assertion about the security system draws a quick laugh out of him. "Oh. Oh, I'll -- I'll let Hive know m'sure the Commons could use a good one when we're up. I just -- I -- really. Thank you. I'll stay in touch an' I'll -- I'll be back soon as I'm. Actually got a degree." "I'm glad to hear it." Jane says, looking over the man across from her with an almost parental look of pride. "And I expect you to graduate with honors, Mister Holland-Zedner. Apply yourself just as you would to this job, and I am confident you will succeed." Her smile is a brief thing, flitting on her lips for only a few moments. "I will coordinate with Maribeth and Doctor Saavedro to make sure that all the paperwork is in order. I'm sure she will be in touch with you to check in on some of the details. You will continue to get all the security staff emails and updates. If you need anything, reach out to either her or myself." Jackson's shoulders straighten a hair more with that look of pride. He gives Jane a firm nod, and a small smile. He does not attempt more hugs, though. But he does stand, reaching one hand across the desk in outstretched offering. "I really appreciate it, sir. It's good to know I got folks here who -- thank you." Jane takes Jax's hand in a firm grip, shaking it up and down once. "You earn that respect with your actions, Mister Holland-Zedner. I will see you when you are ready to return, if not before." She nods at him once, sharply. "Dismissed." Jackson just gives a quick nod in answer to this, firm again. He pushes his chair neatly back in against the desk before he turns to head out, steps a little /lighter/ than they had been on the way in.