Day 57: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

Varying opinions aside about the new caretakers, the efficiency of the military was worthy of some admiration. The Great Escape ended with minutes to spare, and the staff wasted no time in dismantling the equipment in the Sun Room. Visitors were kindly informed that visiting hours were over while patients were ushered to their rooms

Comments

Re: M41

[corvus_veritas]

Oh, it was so, so tempting to just spill everything now. About Kay, about the Yatagarasu, about how he was supposed to be dead...just everything.

But Byrne, thankfully, still had restraint. (And pride.) The letter was causing him to have a moment of weakness, true, but he was not at the point where he could shamelessly trouble a stranger with his problems. He had Badd for emotional comfort. Besides, Badd was the only one who could say whether the letter was really written by Kay or not. There was no doubt that he knew what her present-day handwriting and general writing style looked like. No need to bother McCoy with any of it. Byrne should just fake a smile now and tell the doctor that nothing was wrong, try and drop the whole subject. The shock was making him look ridiculous enough.

...Still...

"...They gave me a letter," he explained after a small pause, "apparently written by my daughter. But I...I'm not sure if it's legitimate or not. She doesn't use her real name or my real name, and that's what's throwing me off."

How long had Dr. McCoy been here, again? Were the letters a common occurrence? Byrne was simply going to ask for an opinion instead of begging for support. It would be a total waste of time to lie and say nothing was wrong, anyway. Who would believe that after seeing the face he was just making at that letter?

Re: M41

[hes_deadjim]

Byrne waffled on whether to take him up on the offer for awhile. McCoy waited. What he said next surprised him and for a second, he stilled.

Byrne had a daughter too, and he'd gotten a letter from her? Of course, the institute could always fake a letter, but after what he'd seen of Joanna earlier, somehow he got the impression it might not be a fake. Obviously it had shaken Byrne, and it was possible that the content sounded like his daughter, minus the other details. Was it hand written? Maybe Byrne could recognize the writing.

As if that couldn't be forged too. It was like the institute had seen the weak spots, for Byrne, his daughter, and gone for the jugular.

"Can't say for sure," he had to admit. "Did you get a visitor yet? Because my kid showed up and she claimed she had a different name too. Different history. But it was definitely her."

Re: M41

[corvus_veritas]

"What?" Byrne was wide-eyed with surprise. He'd heard something about visitors over the intercom earlier in the day, but he had never imagined they would be people the patients actually knew. So that meant McCoy had seen his daughter in person without her being a patient. Had she been a really good actor, or had they gone so far as to brainwash her? The doctor said he was sure she was his daughter, just as Byrne was sure this letter was written by Kay. And yet, she had given her father the same treatment that Kay was giving hers from the sound of it. It didn't make any sense.

"...No, I haven't. I've only gotten this letter, and it's just like what happened with your daughter. Different name and history. The strange thing is, Kay - my daughter - she was here before I was, and that was only a few days ago." And then she'd escaped, but he was hesitating to tell McCoy that much. He also hesitated to explain the awkward seven year time gap between him and his daughter for obvious reasons.

Instead, there was something else he needed to say. He lowered his gaze and added in a softer tone, "I'm sorry about your daughter." How had McCoy handled it? Even without the letter, Byrne could easily imagine how tough that visit must have been for him. How could any good father not be alarmed by seeing their child in a place like this, much less being told they were crazy by them?