Hey there, Ladies and Gents!

Today, I bring you chapter 14! And, in an hour or so, chapter 15! Woo! Then, I shall sleep.. And ice my leg.. (I pulled my hamstring a few days ago.. Feels freaking awesome. -.-)

Thank you, Moonlight Calls, for reviewing! :D I'm sorry it was so grim.. It needed to happen, though. D: Eheh..

Thank you all for reading, whether you have an account or not! :) I appreciate it.

On with the show!

Chapter 14: Tell Your Truth, Even if Your Voice Shakes

Diana and Greg Johnson sat across from us, their faces twisted into expressions of shock, horror, and contempt. Jack and McCoy had just finished explaining to them what had happened. I sat quietly on the sidelines, watching them with guarded eyes as their reactions played out, affecting me as they usually did. I had prepared beforehand, knowing that their emotions would hit me hard. They were parents who had lost their child, after all. I'd expected that from them.

"S-so, what you're telling us is.." Mr. Johnson licked his lips, swallowing hard as his eyes bore into Jack's. ".. Is that our daughter died because of the procedure you told us she needed?"

I winced inwardly, not allowing my outward expression to change, other than lowering my eyes. Jack slowly mulled his words over, before replying:

"Your daughter was very sick, Mr. Johnson.." He said carefully. "I still firmly believe that what we did was the right thing to do. However, with her mutation manifesting so soon after surgery, her body could not recover."

"The surgery killed her?"

"The surgery saved her." Henry cut in. "Her mutation played an important role in her decease.." I shot him a glare. He could've worded that better.

Mrs. Johnson choked back a sob, hiding the lower half of her face with a tissue. Her husband wrapped an arm around her, and she buried her face into his chest.

"Explain to me how this happened, now." He demanded, ignoring the wetness rising in his bloodshot eyes. Both Jack and McCoy glanced at one another, mouths opened slightly as they rapidly tried to figure out a way to word it.

I decided then that silence was no longer an option for me.

"Allow me.." I said softly, leaning forward and sitting up straighter. His eyes darted to mine, softening a miniscule amount. I took a shallow, but soothing, breath, and spoke.

"What we figured out was that her mutation manifested itself a short while after surgery. Maybe even towards the end of surgery. A procedure like that would have sent her body into a panic. Her cells then went into a kind of 'over-drive' mode. Regeneration occurred." I paused, searching his eyes for a moment, before continuing. "A nurse came in to check on her incision site about fifteen hours after surgery. She'd been working a double shift that night, so she'd thought she had hallucinated when she pulled the bandages away to find Olivia's superficial wound healed. Meaning, her skull had already knitted together." A small gasp of surprise escaped both Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, both pairs of eyes firmly on me. I swallowed back the lump of emotion growing in my throat. "Olivia's body, after healing her skull, began re-growing her brain. These.." I slowly pulled out the MRI scans, setting them gently out in front of them. "Are proof of that.."

Diana sat up, eyes wide as she examined the images.

"Oh.. Oh, my God.. Is that..?" She pointed to the small patch of tissue in the right side of her skull, which was otherwise empty.

"Her brain re-growing. Yes." I said as softly as I could, clasping my hands in front of me. I could feel both Jack and McCoy's questioning gazes on my face, but chose to ignore them.

"If my daughter was a mutant with regenerative powers, why the fuck did she die?" Greg spat, venom lacing every syllable. I resisted the urge to purse or nibble on my lower lip with some difficulty.

"Olivia had not yet recovered from the trauma of such a serious surgery.." I informed them cautiously.

"... Meaning?" Diana asked, wiping her nose with a tissue while her wide bloodshot eyes peered into mine.

".. Her body shut down.. Simply, it worked too hard.. Pushed itself past its limit.. It began.. Destroying itself.."

Mrs. Johnson gasped, fresh tears trailing down her flushed chocolate cheeks. Her husband rubbed her arm.

"Destroyed itself? You expect me to believe that bull-shit?"

I leaned forward, pointing out the weak-looking section on the upper part of her spinal cord.

"This, right here.. That's the body turning on itself.."

His brown eyes scanned the image. He still refused to believe. He was stubborn, blinded by grief.

"This is a cover up." He spat. "y'all fucked something up, that's what it was."

"This is not a cover up, I assure you." I said sternly. "Listen.. Your daughter.. She was a kind, intelligent little girl who.." I paused, finding the right words. ".. She was unique. Beautifully unique. I.. I understand.."

"Understand what?" He hissed. "We lost our baby girl because of you. 'Cause you didn't catch this shit on time."

"We had no reason to believe anything was wrong, until everything happened." Jack spoke up,

"Accidents happen.." Henry murmured. I sent him a death glare. Luckily, Greg nor Diana had heard him. I swear, McCoy had no sense of grace with things like this..

Diana cleared her throat.

"S-so.. Why didn't you see this before?" She inquired, sniffling a bit as she leaned forward, one long, lithe finger touching the MRI image of re-growth.

"We had yet to run tests again.." Jack said plainly. I could see him trying to conjure up the right words. "These were taken.. After Olivia passed."

Greg's eyes narrowed.

"We didn't authorize that."

Jack's eyes locked with his.

"We took an MRI. We did not perform an autopsy."

"It is a damn good thing." He spat.

"What happens now..?" Diana asked gently. "We need to make funeral arrangements.. May we do that?"

I sighed quietly.

"Of course. There is some paperwork you need to fill out first.." I opened a file, flipping through the papers until I found the ones I needed. "Here.. Just sign."

"What are they?" Greg asked.

"Discharge of the Deceased." Henry answered before I could. I felt Diana's chest clench, tears again welling in her eyes. She grabbed a pen and shakily signed.

"Greg.. You need to sign here.." Her voice cracked and shook. He nodded curtly, taking the pen from her and signing.

"Where do we get her..?" She questioned.

"It depends. You can wait until the funeral.. We would provide a casket. It would be nothing ornate, but.." I swallowed back another lump as I trailed off. ".. Or, you could call a funeral home. They would do the work for you."

"All.. All right.." She rose, pushing the papers over to me. Greg wrapped an arm around her waist after they rose, heading for the door. Jack, McCoy, and I stood. Before exiting, Greg turned and eyed McCoy and Jack.

"They will be contacting you soon. The funeral home." He sounded so defeated.. I wrung my hands, biting down hard on my lower lip.

"We are so sorry for your loss." My voice hitched only slightly. His dark amber eyes softened when they connected with mine.

"We know." He said quietly, before slipping out of the door with his wife.

We stood in silence, watching as they turned down the hall and disappeared from our sight.

".. That could've gone a lot better." McCoy hissed, plopping down in his chair. I raised an eyebrow.

"I think it went pretty well.. I was prepared for him to throw things and scream." Jack sighed, sitting down to examine the paperwork. I stared at both of them. They both reminded me of teenagers who had just talked their way out of being grounded. Their emotions wavered between relieved and mentally exhausted from having to talk their way out of trouble. McCoy was the worst of the two. Angry, again. Why the heck was he always mad?

"What were you expecting, McCoy?" I inquired, collecting the pictures and shoving them in a paper folder. "Their daughter just died."

"I just don't like being blamed for a death that wasn't my fault." He shot back, before standing. "I need to go. Trish is waiting for me outside, and has been for the past fifteen minutes. That took longer than I originally thought it would."

"We still have paperwork we need to finish.." I clenched my fists behind my back, watching as he threw his jacket on.

"You're more than capable of finishing it on your own. This is important."

"What, and Olivia isn't?" I stood there, gawking at him as he turned and faced me.

"Not at the moment." He said firmly. "Separate a pile for me. I'll finish it tonight, once I've eaten something."

"'Not at the moment'?" I put my hands on my hips, eyes narrowing.

"Not now, Sinclair." He pinched the bridge of his nose, picking up his briefcase. "I'll be back later."

"Have a good night, Hank.." Jack said before I could speak. He nodded once, then left the room.

It took me a minute or two to register that the deep voice speaking was Jack, and he was talking to me.

"Jillian, what on Earth is the matter with you? You're crying.."

"I am not."

"Then what is that rolling down your cheek?"

I brought my hand up. After pulling it away, I discovered that the back of my hand was wet.

".. Oh."

"Jillian, when was the last time you got some sleep?"

I tore my eyes away from him, in thought. Jesus...When was the last time I got some decent sleep? I bit my lower lip.

".. I don't know.."

Jack slowly put an arm around me.

"Come on, Love.. I'm taking you home. It's been a long day."

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