Marie Summers sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall for what seemed like the hundredth time. Why did it always take so long in the doctor’s office? You’d think if you made an appointment it would at least account for something. She glanced out the fifth story window at the afternoon Denver traffic zipping by below and idly flipped through the magazine she held for the third time. It had been a relief when she moved to Denver to find a mutant friendly doctor that she liked so well. With her deadly skin, it had often been difficult to do. Thank goodness for people like Dr. Mason.
Marie idly fiddled with the cuff of her glove and picked at a loose thread. She had recently gained partial control of her mutation and was finding it difficult to get used to not having them on. Even with her mutation turned off she still wore them; mostly out of habit but also because she felt more relaxed with them on. She glanced up as the hallway door that led to the exam rooms opened.
“Ms. Summers, if you’ll follow me the doctor will be right with you.”
Marie smiled at the nurse and followed her back to the exam room. Marie couldn’t help but notice the modern design and furnishings of the doctor’s office. It looked more like an office suite than it did a waiting room. This was probably some over-paid decorators idea of what a relaxing atmosphere must look like. It definitely didn’t look like the office where Dr. Herman had stitched Marie’s arm up when she was in the 4th grade. That office in the little town of Centennial, Wyoming was a world away from big city Denver, Colorado.
Marie took a seat and prepared herself for another long wait. To her surprise, the door opened with a knock, just moments after the nurse left. “Marie Summers? I’m Dr. Warren Worthington.”
Marie was thoroughly flustered by the good-looking man who came through the door. She reached out to shake the hand he offered and said with a frown, “I’m sorry, Dr. Worthington. I was expecting Dr. Mason. She’s my regular doctor.”
“Sorry about that. She got called away on a family emergency. I owed her one, so I’m filling in for her for a while.” He flashed Marie a dazzling smile and leaned a hip against the counter. “So what can I do for you, Ms. Summers?”
“Please call me Marie,” she said with a smile. “It’s not a big deal really, I’ve just been feeling a little run-down lately. I exercise several times a week and try to eat healthy but I still feel tired and out of sorts.”
“Have you been getting plenty of rest?”
“I sleep about seven or eight hours a night,” Marie said, stifling a yawn.
“And do you have trouble going to sleep; any headaches, stomach aches, nausea, or dizziness?”
“I do have an occasional headache and a lot of the time it takes me a while to fall asleep.” When Dr. Worthington looked down to flip through Marie’s file, she took the opportunity to check out his left hand and noted that he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. Interesting. She also couldn’t help but notice the little frown line that appeared to mar the perfection of his forehead.
The doctor was an extremely attractive man. He was tall with slightly curly dark blond hair and blue eyes. Marie couldn’t remember seeing anyone look sexier in a pair of glasses than he did. Who would believe a man who looked like that and was a doctor on top of it would be single?
“I see here that you’re a mutant.”
Marie straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. She was used to the prejudice that sometimes still surrounded being a mutant. Even though the Mutant Tolerance Act had been passed when she was a child there were still some doctors who had issues with treating them. Her tone was frosty when she responded. “Is that a problem, Doctor?”
Warren glanced up at Marie’s tone and smiled. “No, no. I’m sorry if that came out wrong. I know Dr. Herman treats quite a few mutants. I just wondered if it might have anything to do with why you’ve been feeling out of sorts.” He gave her a more conspiratorial smile. “Besides, being a mutant myself it would be kind of hypocritical of me, wouldn’t it?”
Marie felt herself gaping at him and snapped her mouth shut. “You’re a mutant?”
Without saying a word, Warren lifted the edge of his lab coat and edged it off his rather broad shoulders. Strapped to his back in some kind of harness was a rather impressive looking set of wings.
“Wow,” Marie breathed, her eyes going wide.
“If you think that’s impressive, you should see them when they’re not tied down,” Warren said with a grin.
“So you can fly?”
“Of course. They’re not just a fashion statement, they’re quite functional.”
Marie laughed and relaxed on the exam table.
Dr. Worthington’s next question hit Marie squarely out of left field.
“Is there any chance you could be pregnant, Marie?” At the incredulous look on her face, Warren chuckled. “Okay. So either that’s not an option or it never occurred to you.”
“Hardly,” Marie said dryly. She tried to be nonchalant about staring at the incredible dimples his smile produced but didn’t think for a minute he didn’t notice. “Did you miss the whole part about my mutation? It should say something in that chart about deadly skin. Believe me, it would have to be a miracle if that was the case.”
Warren nodded. “Ah. So that would explain the gloves.”
Marie wiggled her gloved fingers in front of her. “Not only functional but fashionable as well,” she said with a cheeky grin using a play on his own words.
“So just how many hours have you been working lately?” Dr. Worthington asked with a frown.
“Most days I go in to the office at about 7:30. That can vary depending on what time I get to the gym in the morning. I usually leave work about 6:00 or 7:00, sometimes 8:00 or 9:00 but that’s not all that frequently.”
“What do you do for a living, Marie?”
“I work for the marketing firm of Hill and Madison.”
Dr. Worthington looked at her speculatively, “How much work do you take home with you on a typical night?”
“Not a lot, just a few things that I don’t seem to have time for during the day. Mostly I just sketch down some ideas and get my thoughts together for the next day. Once in a while I have a presentation to tweak or a campaign to finish.” Damn, she sounded guilty trying to justify what she did.
“It’s not that I don’t try to get things done at work, but it just seems like there’s never enough time. I have to do something to try and stay ahead of the game.” Great, Marie, she thought, now you sound defensive. “It’s a very competitive workplace,” she finished lamely and closed her eyes with a sigh.
“So you’re trying to tell me that you sleep eight hours a night?” Dr. Worthington looked at her over the tops of his sexy gold wire rims. “Am I correct in guessing it’s probably more like four or five hours?”
“Well, I suppose sometimes I don’t sleep that much, but most of the time I try and get about eight hours.” Marie was starting to feel like she was being interrogated.
“And there’s been no change in your mutation or anything that you’re concerned about?”
Marie perked up. “Actually, I’ve been working with a telepath, Professor Charles Xavier, to try and get control over my skin.”
“How’s that going?”
“Pretty good. I’ve just recently gotten some control. My skin’s not always off but I can keep it that way for a couple hours at a time.” Marie couldn’t stop her smile. “Professor Xavier thinks that within a few weeks I’ll be able to turn it off and on at will. Like a switch in my head or something.”
Warren couldn’t help his answering smile. “That’s wonderful! I know how difficult it can be to live with such an obvious mutation. Not that you can tell by looking at you but it must get tiresome having to be so careful all the time.”
“Exactly,” Marie’s smile seemed to dim, “and you can’t imagine what it’s like to be denied the most basic physical contact.”
Warren heard the trace of bitterness in her tone and scanned his notes once more before turning his bright blue gaze on Marie. “I don’t think there’s anything physically wrong with you, Marie. I believe what we have here is a clear case of an up and coming young executive pushing herself way beyond her physical limits.” He leaned back against the counter and watched Marie for her reaction. “It wouldn’t be unusual for you to exhibit signs of exhaustion with your busy work schedule plus the added pressure of learning to control your mutation. I actually see a lot of cases like yours these days. Many mutants think they have to work harder and longer to prove themselves early in their career and push themselves beyond their physical limits.” He paused and scratched some notes in Marie’s patient file. “I think you need to slow down a little before you push yourself too far. The cause of your headaches and insomnia isn’t from lack of exercise or a poor diet. I think it’s probably caused more by stress than anything.”
“Well, I guess that could be part of it. Maybe I just need to take some vitamins or something like that,” Marie said with a hopeful smile.
“I don’t suppose that would hurt, but you need to take a break for a little while. Get away for a few days, maybe even a few weeks and try and forget about work. It will take care of itself. I’m sure there are other people who could cover for you if you’re gone.”
“But I have a presentation to give,” Marie said with a frown. “And...”
“No,” Dr. Worthington interrupted, “you need to take a break. That’s not a suggestion. It’s an order. If you don’t take care of yourself now you won’t have to worry about your job because you’ll end up in the hospital or worse. Have you ever heard the words burn out?” Marie nodded and took a deep breath. “Now, do you want me to call your boss and tell him you’ll be needing a vacation or are you going to do it yourself? I can always write you a note to take to your boss if you need one.”
“That’s all I need. A note from the doctor saying, ‘Marie’s too sick to come to work’. That would really put me on the fast track to a promotion.” Marie sighed and glanced out the window at the afternoon sun glinting off the glass and steel buildings across the street. “Will it be all right if I wait until the weekend? I can take an extra long break for Thanksgiving.”
“That will be just fine. In the meantime, I want you to start taking some vitamins that I’ll prescribe and then, after your vacation, I want to see you again. You’ve got to slow down and start taking care of yourself, Marie. If you don’t, you’re going to give yourself an ulcer. And that’s just for starters.”
“Thank you, Dr. Worthington. I’ll try and do my best,” Marie said as she shook Dr. Worthington’s hand. “I’ll see you in a week or so.”
“Have a happy Thanksgiving, Marie. Please try and take care of yourself and good luck with your control.”
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The brisk breeze from the window she had cracked open blew strands of white and auburn hair across Marie’s cheek. She couldn’t believe she was leaving all of her work behind...or almost all of it. She did bring along that presentation to work on just in case she had a little spare time. Marie had to admit, even to herself, that she must have been in serious need of a break. Once the idea had taken root, she had packed her bags and had everything ready to go so that she hadn’t even had to go home after work. Part of her wished she had taken the time to change out of her work clothes. At least she had enough sense to wear slacks today instead of a skirt. Driving for 3 1/2 hours in heels and a skirt would have been too much, even for her.
Now that she was on her way she realized it had been too long since she had made this trip. Her job at Hill and Madison took so much of her time that it was no wonder she hadn’t had a vacation since she had started there over three years ago. She sighed and brushed the wind blown strands of hair back from her face. Marie knew she should have taken a break before she ended up pushing herself too far but it had seemed so important to become a successful marketing executive as fast as possible that she hadn’t thought about what was happening to her health and her personal life, only her career. She had a few friends, but no one as close as the friends she and her cousin Jubilee had in college. She missed hanging out with all of their friends but she also knew they all had their own lives and things wouldn’t be the same again.
She herself hadn’t even had time to date since she got out of college - not that she didn’t want to, it just hadn’t seemed that important. Then once she started working on controlling her mutation, it had been even lower on her list of priorities. She shook her head and gave a rueful smile, “Try not to worry about anything, Marie. Take a vacation, you need it,” she said, mimicking Dr. Worthington’s words. Well maybe it wasn’t officially a vacation with Thanksgiving being this weekend, but it was a start. And what better place for a vacation than her grandparent’s ranch? Going home was just what she needed. After a few days of Grandma’s pampering, she’d feel much better and be ready to get back to work and earn the promotion she so badly wanted.
Maybe when she got back to Denver she would go back in for her follow-up with Dr. Worthington and get up the nerve to ask him out. He probably already had a girlfriend but it couldn’t hurt to find out. It’s not like he was her regular doctor so it wouldn’t really be a breach of ethics for him. He just had the greatest smile. How could anybody resist that?
Marie reached down and put in her favorite Nickelback CD and relaxed back into her seat. She let her mind wander and consider the possibility of a date with the gorgeous doctor. With her control getting better she couldn’t wait to try it out. A lot could happen with a couple hours of safe skin.
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Story Notes:
Here we find out a little about Marie and what her normal life is like. Surely finding love in a mutant friendly world shouldn't be too difficult, right?