The Home (Sequel to The Duns)

Chapter 29: Hair, Scans, and the Smell of Hospitals

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A/N: WE'RE ON CHAPTER 29 OF A 33 CHAPTER STORY BTW :))

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Chapter Twenty-nine

Catherine

The doctors refuse to show us the scans without interpreting their own ideas and hypothesis'. Peter's amazing hair has been shaved off because of the operation- but so has Sean's, and I would be lying if I said I hated that they spent so much time together.

Max seems to be a little more quite now, though every time I see him and Peter together, they're laughing and playing just like they always did.

Peter and I? Nothing, it's the same- but I don't want it to change.

Aunt Marge is ageing too quickly and so, just in case, I make sure to spend my nights in her room with her and from the silence that hangs, I am sure she is no more facing any nightmares, sure that she is no more having any visions though I wonder what caused them to suddenly stop.

Does this mean her powers are gone now? Where they ever really powers to start with though?

Too many questions lay unanswered in my head and too many people have suddenly reappeared in my life and too many hours pass by with me tormenting myself on what I forgot.

But forgotten things are forgotten for a reason-right?

Sean refuses to tell us anything about the 'place' that we went too...? He wants us to figure it out on our own.

-

I slide onto the table and stare at Peter's shaved head, my head hanging on the right.

"Not that pretty, is it?" He asks.

"Well," I say, loving that I'm finally able to admit this in front of everyone, "it's not the hair I fell in love with so." I shrug carelessly and turn back to the table, acting as if not every single person sitting around me is staring intently on my face. I turn pink. "What?"

Peter snakes an arm around my back. "So you agree then? That you do love me?" He tries acting confident, but I can feel the truth and nervousness in the question, edging its way outside.

"That's not the kind of question you should be asking me anymore." I say, frowning, putting on an act of my own.

I grab a chip of my plate and dunk it into my mouth. Yum. And then I grab a handful of them and fill my mouth. Yum. And right there in front of me, I finally realize that Sean is frozen solid, frowning at Peter and me, and Lucas? I turn my eyes to Lucas but he's smiling and dumping his fries in a big bowl full of mayo-chup.*

And so I ignore Sean and continue my meal.

-

The scans are out and so we settle down once more in the meeting room- the same one we had used on our first day here- and wait patiently for the doctors to arrive and for the first time, I change my position and sit away from that special chair.

Chuck and his superior, whose name tag reads Marcel, walk in grandly with a large white folder in their hands. They nod at us and march up to the top of the room and then slowly- ever so slowly- remove the contents and scans from the folder and place them on the table. None of us say anything to this entire royal gesture and wait patiently for the results.

Finally, Marcel speaks up, holding the scan above his shoulders to us all, "This is an image of Peter's brain taken during the surgery." He puts it down and then motions for Chuck to give him the next one who does so obligingly. "And this is a picture of Sean's brain during the surgery." He then gives them both back to Chuck to hold up together.

"Now as expected, at the beginning of the surgery, there was nothing different between both their hippocampus." He looks around, "the hippocampus, according to studies ranging over the decades, is where memories cells are formed and kept. Anyways, then when we went closer to the center of the hippocampus, this is what we found in Sean's head."

Using the print out as a screen, he switches the pictures so that they move like a gallery- but on the image. "Now, we've learned that the emotion 'fear' originally deprives from the amygdala." He clicks on a specific part of the hippocampus and then zooms in. Satisfied, he turns to Peter's and does the same. "Now, compare these two images by yourself and tell me what you think. We believe that Catherine's hippocampus looks just like Peter's- except for the obvious differences."

Chuck passes both the scans down and when it reaches me, I see what he's talking about. There's a slight difference in the number of groups of neurons- which is how memories are stored- as Marcel explains us.

I swipe right and move to the next image- which is really an essay on both of them and the comparison despite Marcel's arguments.

I nod to him and pass it on, waiting for the discussion to begin.

"Anyone any questions?" Marcel asks after everyone is done comparing the images.

I raise my hand. "Yes, Catherine."

I get straight to the point. "I believe that using the same machine that we used on Aunt Marge to see her dreams, we can see these memories."

Marcel nods. "Don't think we didn't think of that too, but there are quite a few backlashes to keep in mind during all this. Instead, we'd have to make an exact replica of each and every neuron in a pack to replicate the memory and then scan that- in the best of words and utmost respect- it's ridiculous."

"Or just a lot of work." I say unnecessarily. "What if you scan it during the surgery?"

"I don't think you know what you're talking about."

"Well I probably don't, but by the looks of things, you do."

He doesn't answer at first, but then nods, keeps nodding, and says, "It'll take time to reduce the risks, but we should be able to do it."

"Good." I say, and then we all rise and exit the room.

I don't look back to see Peter or Sean's reaction to this, seeing that they will be the ones this is conducted on.

*Mayo-chup: A combination of mayonnaise and ketchup- and though it sounds bad, it tastes amazing.

A/N: 

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