Wong appeared in the doorway, knocking once before entering. Doctor Strange uttered a mumbled objection, but Wong continued in, his only concession being to stand silently by the desk instead of talking.
Placing a ribbon amongst the pages to mark his place, Strange carefully closed the book and looked up at the other sorcerer. There was a strange look on his face, a mix of confusion, annoyance and curiosity. If Doctor Strange was honest, the look was unnerving on the usually stoic man.
"Wong. Is something the matter?" he asked cautiously.
"Possibly," Wong replied. "I've just had a confusing conversation with the one of the trainers from Kamar Taj."
He seemed to debate with himself before continuing.
"A new student joined them a few months ago. It seemed like she was running from something, but any checks came back clean, and all she would say is she is she needed a change in her life. So far she'd proved to be a good student."
Doctor Strange tipped his head to the side with a look of confusion.
"Then why suddenly come to you? Are they sending her here as an apprentice?"
Wong shook his head. "No. She had a complete break down yesterday, she won't speak to anyone. No one there was able to find any information on family or friends, but they did find someone she knew in the past. You."
"Me?" Doctor Strange asked in shock. "How does she know me?"
"She interned with you for a year when you were a surgeon. Her name's Meegan Meyers."
Stephen Strange went totally still. It wasn't the he didn't remember her, in fact quite the opposite. Meegan Meyers was the best intern he had ever had, and he thought she would be leading her own unit now, three years after her graduation. To hear that she was training in the mystic arts was a shock.
"Strange?" Wong's voice pulled him back to the present.
"You couldn't find any family or friends?" he asked quietly.
"None, the only person they found from her past is you."
Honestly, that worried Strange. Though he hadn't been close to her, he did have a recollection of Meegan talking of a group of friends, and often meeting them for coffee after her shift. She may have even invited him once, but he wasn't sure.
What happened to cause her to leave all of that behind?
He stood, the cape immediately settling on his shoulders.
"Let's go," he said simply.
Wong opened a portal and they both stepped through to Kamar Taj.
The place was the usual calm buzz of activity that Strange remembered. Classes were being held outside and students were sitting around talking or practising. What was different to usual was the subdued atmosphere that hung heavy in the air. It was in the tight set of the shoulders of some, the pursed lips and grim expression on others. Whatever had happened, it was worrying everyone.
Together he and Wong approached one of the masters. Before either could say a word, the master addressed them.
"Wong, I'm glad you got our message. Doctor Strange, I'm pleased you were able to come. We couldn't find anyone else to ask."
Strange nodded, his voice caught in his throat.
"How can I help?" he managed to ask.
The master turned, beckoning them to follow. They stopped outside a nondescript door, not a sound coming from inside.
"She hasn't spoken since she went to bed the night before last. The other trainees said she seemed tired but otherwise well. The next morning someone came to get her when she didn't come to breakfast. They found her how she is now. She hasn't eaten in over 36 hours." The master ran a hand through his hair. "I believe she drank a cup of tea at midday yesterday."
Mentally Doctor Strange started cataloguing illnesses that could result in these symptoms, as well as any possible curses.
"How was she, physically, before she went to bed?" He demanded, increasingly worse scenarios coming to mind.
The master smiled sadly. "Physically, she's perfectly fine Doctor Strange. We've had people check her. But when, in desperation, someone tried to mind contact her, it was bad. They said it was like static. Too much noise, but nothing actually happening."
Wong looked alarmed and Strange sighed.
"Alright, can I go in and see her?" he asked after a moment.
With a nod, the master opened the door. Both Wong and Strange took a step forward , but the master held out a hand to stop Wong.
"It might be best if he goes in alone?" the master said quietly. Wong stayed back and watched as Doctor Strange stepped in to see his former mentee.
What he saw caused a wave of sadness to wash over him. Meegan's tall frame was folded into the corner of the room, knees to her chest on her bed. Her normally slight build looked fragile and her pale skin only served to highlight the dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes themselves seemed flat, devoid of any spark of recognition and staring blandly ahead.
Doctor Strange had a sudden memory of Meegan in a meeting, laughing at something that had been said, her eyes shining cheekily. The contrast made his chest ache momentarily.
She made no indication of even realising there was someone in the room. Cautiously he approached her. He debated sitting on the bed versus sitting on the floor. In the end he decided to hover above the floor in front of Meegan, where it was easier to gauge her responses.
"Ms Meyers?"
No response.
"Meegan?" he tried again. There was still no response. He took a deep breath and continued.
"Hello Meegan. I don't know if you remember me, I look very different last time we met. I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. You interned with me for a year."
Still nothing be he pressed on.
"I'm surprised to find you here, though you're probably just as surprised to see me. You would have graduated three years ago. You were the best intern I've had. I'm surprised you aren't the head of your own unit by now."
He stopped. Strange could have sworn her breathing had faltered, and her fingers had twitched. It was barely perceptible, but he'd been waiting for it. Something about surgery and work had got through to her. He just wasn't sure if it was a good reaction, so he kept talking.
"I remember you helped with the experimental heart surgery. The outcome for that was better than we could have hoped. Really, it was lucky that you were the intern. I wouldn't have trusted many other people assisting, you were truly gifted."
Meegan turned her head ever so slightly to stare at him, her eyes cold. Well, that was definitely a reaction, but not a good one. He risked trying to reach her mind and was met with a wall of fire. She was angry. The thought of being a doctor, of surgery, of praise, it all made her angry. Not angry in general, angry at herself. He withdrew and looked at her. Meegan dropped her gaze, staring blankly at the floor.
"Alright, work's not a good topic. What about your friends? I remember you used to meet them for coffee after shifts. You always smiled when you checked your phone in the break room. It was a group of you, right?"
Again, a little hitch in her breathing, and a movement of her hands. Shaking this time.
"Aren't they worried about you?" he asked. He knew he'd hit a chord, but there was a part of him that was genuinely worried.
"You were always checking up on them. Running off at the end of the shift to see them, or sacrificing your days off to help them with things."
He was surprised at his how much he remembered about Meegan now that he started thinking.
"You were selfless for your friends. There was a part of me that was jealous at how willing you were, how much you loved them. And how everyone loved you…"
He trailed off when a tear slid down Meegan's cheek. It was followed by a small sound, and then she collapsed.
In an instant Doctor Strange was seated beside her, hand on her wrist feeling for a pulse. He let out a breath when he felt a steady thump under his fingers. Her whole body was shaking and he realised she was sobbing. Quiet sounds with tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry," he ventured. "I didn't mean to make you this upset." Strange was at a total loss for what to do.
Meegan continued to cry for a while. On the other side of the doorway, Wong caught his eye. He made a hand gesture, and Strange nodded. Swiftly, Wong departed and Doctor Strange conjured a box of tissues as Meegan's sobs decreased. When she sat up and sniffled, he passed them to her wordlessly.
"Hello," Strange smiled softly. "I hope you remember me."
Meegan looked at him properly for the first time.
"Hello Doctor," she replied softly.
"Before we get to anything else, how are you feeling?"
She closed her eyes tiredly. "Hungry, and really thirsty. And, sad."
"There's tea coming," he promised, knowing Wong wouldn't be too far off. "And I'm sure we can organise some food. As for the sad, I've been told talking helps." He shrugged.
Before Meegan could say anything, Wong knocked lightly on the door frame. Two sets of eyes flickered to him and Strange beckoned him in.
"Meegan, this is my friend Wong. Wong, this is Meegan, and if she's as good at this as she was at surgery, then she may even be a better sorcerer than me."
Wong placed the tray of tea down by the bed.
"High praise, coming from you," he commented.
"Wong, would it be possible to get something for Meegan to eat?"
The other man nodded and retreated from the room. He'd bring food back, but not stay. Whatever had happened to the girl, it was obvious that she would prefer to talk to Strange about it alone.
Meegan was silent until food arrived, sipping on her tea but letting Doctor Strange talk.
Finally he asked, for the third time, "What happened?"
She smiled wryly, "Just now, or how I ended up here?"
"Whichever," was the calm reply.
Slowly Meegan set her cup down.
"To explain one, I needed to explain the other. So I may as well start at the start."
She took a moment, pulling on her own inner strength before starting.
"I graduated basically top of my class, every hospital offering me positions. I took an offer in New York. It was great. I could still go to things with my friends, stay in the place I'd been renting, the lot. Life was good. And I messed a few catch ups with my friends here and there. The only time they were all free, I was working. That was fine, there would be other times. Only, it started happening more often. And then they each got partners, but I didn't. So they'd go on double dates, or they were too busy doing something as a couple when I was free. Suddenly it had been three months and I hadn't heard from any of them. Other things happened at the hospital and I realised I had no one on my life, not even my work, that appreciated me. I got low, but I'd been following what you had been doing. The final straw came when one of the girls got engaged and I heard about it from someone else. They wanted nothing to do with me anymore, so I looked this place up. Then I quit the hospital and flew out here. I trained hard, and I didn't think about any of that. It was good. I'm even better at this that I was at surgery."
She trailed off, reaching a shaking hand for her cup of tea. Instinctively, Doctor Strange cast a very familiar spell to ensure that she spill any tea.
"So what changed just over 36 hours ago?" He asked gently.
"Pictures. Someone had posted pictures of them all together and how they were all they each needed. They have totally forgotten me. And it hurt, so much. I went to meditate but I just, shut down. And it was nice. I just locked myself out and, then I forgot how to get back in."
Strange nodded thoughtfully. "So it wasn't that you wouldn't respond, but that you also couldn't."
Meegan nodded a little sheepishly.
"I think. You gave me someone I knew to focus on. Someone who hadn't screwed me over. It was years ago that I interned with you, but you still remembered me. My friends forgot me, but for some reason, you didn't. "
"You are memorable," was all Doctor Strange could think of to stay.
"Thank you, Doctor Strange," Meegan replied.
"No, not Doctor Strange. Meegan, we are equals now. Call me Stephen."
A ghost of a true smile flickered across her lips.
Both Doctor Strange and Wong stayed at Kamar Taj for the rest of the day. There were things to keep each of them occupied and they weren't desperately needed in New York. Strange was pleased they could stay. Though Meegan seemed to be better, he knew that the emotional wounds ran deep and he was relieved to at least keep an eye on her for a little bit longer.
Night had fallen when Wong and Strange were about to leave. They had just opened a portal when Meegan came running up to them.
"I just wanted to say thank you," she told him earnestly. "I didn't mean to worry anyone and I certainly didn't intend for them to send for the Sorcerer Supreme. YOU didn't have to come, but you did and I'm glad."
"I didn't come here because I'm the Sorcerer Supreme," Doctor Strange told her. "I came because I wanted to help you."
She nodded.
"Train hard," he instructed with a smirk.
"Believe me, I will," she replied.
"And if you ever want to spend some time in New York, you're welcome at the Sanctum."
With those words, both Wong and Strange stepped through the portal and it closed behind them.
"She would make a good apprentice, Strange," Wong said a few days later.
The Sorcerer Supreme hummed in agreement. "She would, but not yet."
He knew that Meegan needed time before returning to New York, but he had no doubt that she would. And he would be more than happy to train her once more.