doctorprescott

There were many times Michael knew he'd chosen the right path for himself. He loved medicine, he loved working with kids - both in treating their illnesses and tracking their progress to make sure they were thriving.

Then there were times like the last week where it did nothing but exhaust him and keep him from the one thing that meant the most to him: Eli.

He knew that Eli didn't mind, that their mutual love of children made him a little more easy going about his frequent absences and the middle of the night phone calls. And normally, he'd just accept it and push through until things settled down. But it was different this time.

He'd missed the dinner he wanted to make for Eli on the anniversary of the day they met.

Tonight, though, he was going to make it up to him. The other pediatrician at the hospital was back from vacation and on call, his cell phone was turned off, and he was by God getting this dinner made.

The box in his pocket was for later. Maybe.

Michael wasn't nervous, not really. Okay, maybe he was a little nervous.

He was also cooking dinner. Not a gourmet meal - it was spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic bread, but he'd made the sauce from a recipe from one of the pediatric nurses and it tasted pretty good.

He'd never been allowed in the kitchen while he was growing up - part of his mother's irrational fears, he was sure. No doubt she'd been positive that simply by being around food, he'd get his unnaturalness into the food and somehow poison his sisters into being like him.

Michael was coming to realize that his mother needed help, and a lot of it, but he wasn't in the position to suggest it. He could just hope that one day she'd get it for whatever plagued her mind and realize what she'd lost. Him.

If she didn't? He could be content with it. He was happier here in Siren Cove than he'd ever imagined being and he had someone who liked him for who, and what, he was.

And he had a damned fine dinner cooking on the stove, fresh garlic bread just out of the oven, and a great guy coming over to eat, probably grade papers, and hopefully stay for breakfast.

Yeah, he could live with that just fine.

Michael woke to an empty apartment. An empty apartment that wasn't his, and a headache that was. Headache, back ache...Christ, his whole body ached. It wasn't until he inhaled through his nose, and almost immediately retched, that he remembered what had happened at the beach, and where he was.

"Eli?" he called out, then waited. There was no answer so he assumed he was alone. Noticing the clothes the other man had left for him, and that he'd intended to change into before he passed out, Michael eased himself off the couch and started hunting for the bathroom. Getting a shower was the last thing Eli had said he was going to do before Michael lost consciousness and that sounded like an excellent idea to him.

Twenty minutes later, he emerged cursing himself for forgetting to take the clothes in with him. The towel was staying put on his hips and since there was no way in hell he was putting the shorts and t-shirt from last night back on, he padded back out to the living area to dress.

CHARACTER NAME: Michael Prescott
CHARACTER AGE: 28
Physical: Brown hair, brown eyes, medium build, about 6' tall


BACKGROUND & HISTORY: Michael Prescott was born the third child (two older sisters), of Mary and Daniel Prescott. Daniel was a general contractor, building houses to support his family. They'd lived in Portland for years but when crime edged into their neighborhood, Mary insisted they move to a small town, safer for their children. Unfortunately for Mary, they landed in Siren Cove. It didn't take long for the magical aspects to the town to become known to them, but by then, Daniel's business was on solid ground and the kids were settled in their new schools. Mary didn't want to uproot them all again, so they took a grin and bear it attitude towards the "others" in town and just tried to live their lives. This changed when Michael started moving things around at the age of two. He'd be put into his crib, but when the family awoke in the morning, all of his toys would be in there with him. Mary stayed in denial for years, rationalizing everything that happened, that the girls were doing it, she'd been mistaken and left toys with him, etc. All that changed when Michael was about five and had a nightmare. He cried out in the night, but when Mary made to get out of bed to go to him, he was already sitting at the end of it.

Mary, frightened of the unknown, decided that it was the town that had caused her baby to "be like this," that something in the water messed with his genes or something. No amount of discussion on Daniel's part would change her mind and she insisted they leave at once. They did. Daniel sold the house and his business and packed the whole family back to Portland without a word.

As Michael grew up, he wasn't so much neglected as he was frowned on. When he pulled a pencil to his hand from across the room, he'd be treated to disapproving stares, sent to his room, or his mother would dissolve into tears. He learned rapidly to repress his magic to keep the peace in the house. Before long, it became habit to deny the impulses he felt to use his gifts, letting them go dormant. He became the son Mary wanted - perfectly normal, straight-A student, but it wasn't enough. She still looked at him like she was waiting for him to sprout horns or turn and kill them all. Since he'd heard his parents arguing as a child, heard his mother mention genes, Michael became very interested in the human body and anatomy, and trying to figure out how it all worked. Through high school and college, this interest only grew and culminated in the only logical step - Michael decided to go to medical school. Though he was sure that he wanted to be a geneticist, it turned out that that held no interest for him aside from the academic. Torn between what he'd been sure he'd always wanted to do and what his gut was telling him, he listened to his advisor and looked back over every rotation he'd had, noting the good and bad from each. The list of likes under Pediatrics was nearly two pages long and he knew he'd found his answer.

With his residency finished, Michael applied to hospitals all over the country and, due to his impressive academic record, was accepted at many of them. When the offer came from Siren Cove Memorial, however, he took it without hesitation. He still had his abilities, and he still hid them away from the world, but he wanted to see if there was a way he could fill that one thing that kept him from feeling like a whole person. Returning to Siren Cove, he hoped, would accomplish that.
PERSONALITY: Michael is dedicated and very good at compartmentalizing. He was able to shut his magic away when it was clear it caused his mother distress. In the same vein, he was able to shut his sexuality away when it became painfully clear to him that he was probably destined to be alone. It was a little disappointing, but since it was more upsetting to keep failing at anything resembling romance and sex, he settled into the decision to be alone with a lighter heart. He's devoted to his patients and the parents that love them enough to worry about every little burp and poop and he's always available to them. Even if he doesn't acknowledge it out loud, that devotion in for the children in his care comes from his own mother's horror at what he was.

What down time he allows himself, Michael enjoys going to the movies and reading, as well as just sitting on the beach and watching the waves roll in, especially when there are storms off the coast churning up the sea to foam and whitewater. Whenever he's overcome by life or a difficult diagnosis, he'll got to the beach to sit and think, letting his mind go blank as the waves crash until a solution presents itself.

The only thing that riles Michael to anger is any sign of child abuse. He's not quick to judge the occasional hand or butt tap, but if he comes to suspect, or has proof, that a child is being abused, he'll do everything in his power to help the child. He's also always on guard for the sort of abuse he'd faced - a magical child in the care of a family unable to cope. Other than that, his feathers don't ruffle often. He has a great capacity for love, he just hasn't had any chance to really explore it.
OPINION OF THE RIVALRY: Since Michael left Siren Cove when he was young and his mother kept them pretty insular from the town, he doesn't really know much about it. And, really, he's got his own life to live. If two families want to go all Hatfield and McCoy with each other, live and let live. So long as it doesn't spill out onto him.
LIFESTYLE:Michael is a pediatrician at Siren Cove memorial. He doesn't work the crazy hours of ER rotation, but pediatricians are never off duty. Not with nervous parents positive that every cry is a sign of impending doom, and he takes the after hours calls in stride. He doesn't advertise that he'll do house calls, but he's been known to show up at the house of a frightened parent at two in the morning if he can help parent or child settle. He loves kids, but has never really thought of having his own. He tells himself it's because he's not that great at dating and has no chance of having them because he rarely progresses past the first five dates with a woman.

He lives modestly in a two bedroom apartment near the hospital, but he's completely crap at decorating so it's all neutral colors with no real personality to it. He has a few framed pictures, some prints the lady at the furniture store, but not much more than that. He eats more takeout than he knows is healthy, but cooking doesn't hold a lot of interest for him (not to mention the level of suckage cooking for one can bring.)

Because he doesn't have much of a social life, Michael takes weeknight ER shifts when they're short-handed or to cover for vacationing staff and he's also on call if he needs to consult. He's all about his work but not because he's driven or Type A, he just doesn't have anything else in his life to fill the hours.
POWERS &ABILITIES: Michael is primarily telekinetic. He can call items within his line of sight to him, but only those of a size he could pick up with his physical body. Meaning he can pull a coffee cup from the counter to where he's sitting at a table, but he can't pick up a car and throw it. As a corollary to the mind over matter nature of his gift, Michael can also move himself. This is the least trained of his ability because it was the reason his mother distanced herself from him and the family was uprooted. He knows he can cross a room by willing it, but he's never gone further than that outside of his first teleportation at the age of five.

You will know Michael if:

* You went to school with him and remember a quiet kid who's family left suddenly when he was in second grade.

* You have a child - he's a pediatrician at Siren Cove Memorial. He doesn't advertise that he makes house calls, but he totally does. He also consults on child cases in the ER and even pulls a few ER shifts during the week to help cover if needed.

* You frequent the beach because he hangs out there a lot when he needs to think - he'd be known for just sitting and watching the waves.

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