Day 33: Doctor's Office 9 (Dr. Sohma)

[damned_doctors]

It was Thursday.

Dr. Hatori Sohma noted this, allowing himself a small, private smile as he pored through patient files. He'd arrived a little earlier than usual today, after all the patients had gone to breakfast but not much later, in an effort to get a little bit of chartreading done before his office was invaded by obnoxious (but occasionally

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[full_score]

Breakfast had been interesting, to say the least. Not that he hadn't really seen any of it coming as soon as soon as he found out the blue-haired captive was studying heraldry at Bachtein. It was just...after being on Expel for so long, he'd gotten used to people not knowing a thing about his background, so it was a little jarring when he finally stumbled across someone who did. But that was to be expected if he was looking for people who had the same memories of Earth that he had

[damned_doctors]

Rather ruffled from his experience just a moment ago - one would be, if a hysterical woman pushed her way into one's office and made false and rather alarming claims - Hatori had pulled his breakfast sandwich back out, ready to take a few more bites before the patient came in.

But he had scarce picked up the lukewarm meal before the door opened again, and a much more Thomas Appleby-looking person entered and stared at him for a moment. ...Which was an immense relief.

He put the sandwich back down and wrapped it back up, rather dejected about not being able to finish it quite yet.

"Good morning," Hatori said, trying his best to sound calm and professional as he stowed his breakfast back in his desk. "I'm Hatori Sohma, and I'll be your doctor here at Landel's." Then he took a deep breath. "What would you like me to call you?"

Of course he already knew what the patient called himself - everything was in the file. But he was trying these days to go the extra mile to make the patients seem comfortable.

[full_score]

His nurse hadn't been joking when she said Dr. Sohma was very professional. He was the very image of a medical expert -- he was calm and down to business, the office didn't have many unnecessary decorations, and the bookshelf was filled with what looked to be a ton of medical books. The only weird thing was the very distinct odor of cigarette smoke that clung to the air, but Claude supposed even doctors had their vices.

"Well, I'm supposed to say Thomas Appleby, aren't I?" Claude said after a moment. His eyebrows furrowed a little, and he paused, considering what to say. "I'd rather you call me Claude, though." There was probably some merit to the idea of just playing along, but he wasn't about to go asking people to call him by his assigned name. Besides, the worst that could happen was Dr. Sohma saying no, in which case he could just grin and bear it. That's what he did with the nurses, anyway.

Not to mention it was probably better to keep things light and friendly if he could.

[damned_doctors]

The doctor took a slow sip of his coffee, listening to the somewhat polite young man speak. So far, it seemed to be a breath of fresh air. No taunting. Yet.

"Claude, it's understandable if you don't yet feel comfortable with that name again. Names are a symbol of identity," he said quietly, trying his best to be friendly but realizing that this poor boy was likely just as mentally unstable as all of the others.

"And for someone like you," he continued, "whose father is ..who he is, it's more than understandable. Many people would have done the same thing in your situation." The doctor doubted he would have, but there was no escaping the Sohma name anyway.

"So, tell me, Claude. How are you feeling today?"

[full_score]

Well, of course names were a symbol of identity. A name was the word everyone knew you as, something that was exclusively your own. It was so ironic to hear a staff member say something like that, when they were the ones giving him a fake name. Then again, if they were trying to strip him of his identity and give him a new one, that was probably the point

[damned_doctors]

Now this was the point where Dr. Sohma and Claude happened to differ, and the doctor felt the need to call him out on it. His only visible eye quite cold, he said, "You're saying one thing, Claude, but what you chose was an entirely different matter. However much you want me to call you Claude, the fact remains that your name is Thomas Appleby. Taking another name doesn't change that."

He didn't mean to be cold. It just happened naturally.

Maybe it would be best to change the subject. He wanted to keep the patient comfortable, and he'd probably just fudged that a little. "I'm glad you slept well, though. I hear you've been making friends here?" He actually hadn't heard, but it was a good way to lead into the next topic.

[full_score]

Meeting such a block early in the conversation was pretty frustrating, and it was vaguely evident on Claude's face. His name wasn't Thomas Appleby, but he knew he could yell about it until he was blue in the face, and it wouldn't make a bit of difference with the staff here. Still, it was one thing to just passively let everyone call him what they wanted, but it was another thing to openly agree with what they were doing. Not to mention Claude didn't like being called a hypocrite, especially for something that didn't deserve it.

"Look, preferring to be called Claude has nothing to do with my 'feelings' about the name Thomas Appleby," the blond replied, his tone less confrontational and more matter of fact. "It's just what I like to be called." And now he was going to speak rhetorically for a moment. "People take stage and pen names all the time, but no one tries to lock them up in a mental institute for it

[damned_doctors]

"Which is why I'm calling you Claude," Hatori said in a monotone, preferring to at least give the appearance of giving the young blond the benefit of the doubt. "Because you'd prefer that. But the problems run deeper than just your choice of name, Claude. Of course you wouldn't have been checked in if it was just that."

...But arguing with the patient about whether or not he actually had a problem certainly wasn't the way to go - in fact, it could be detrimental to his situation.

"Is that so? Why don't you tell me more about some of your experiences here, then?" This would hopefully be good - hearing more about what was going on in the world of Thomas Appleby would shine some light on a few problems.

[full_score]

Dr. Sohma had a point there -- he had agreed to call him Claude after all, and he knew it wasn't worth arguing the hows and whys of it all. The blond doubted he believed him, but that was the way of things. They just needed to keep things light and friendly, right? He chose not to comment on the set of supposed "problems" he had. It'd probably come up on its own at some point

[damned_doctors]

Unfortunately, it looked like Thomas was still associating himself with much of the same crowd that he had before he'd arrived here. He made a decisive sort of note in the patient's file upon hearing this. Though he did remember most of what his patients said for hours after their visits, he did like to keep a barebones account of what each patient had admitted.

"I see," he said to the first part. There was the first admitted problem - the blond had a difficult time discerning between what would help others and harm them. "We'd prefer if you didn't think of Landel's as a place to be stuck, though. This is an institute of transition. Patients are released every day, and they become normal functioning members of society. You'll be released in due time, too, you know."

Listening to the second part of Thomas' speech, he said, "But it's also good that you're making friends here. Things like that can last a lifetime." For how cheerful his words should have sounded, the fact that a man with such cold, professional eyes was saying them

[full_score]

Claude stayed silent as Dr. Sohma made some kind of note on his file. It seemed he hadn't liked what he'd heard, although the doctor was so calm and professional, it was difficult to know for sure. Hopefully he hadn't accidentally gotten any of his friends in trouble. Maybe he needed to be more careful in the future.

He had to admit he was really curious about what was in that file of his, but he wasn't sure if Dr. Sohma would be willing to show it to him.

The bit about people being released everyday wasn't particularly comforting, although he suspected Dr. Sohma meant for it to make him have more peace about his captivity. But no matter how much the staff tried to act like he was here for his own good, Claude knew better. He thought of the visitors that came once a week, and wondered if they'd suffered a similar fate. He thought of his father.

Claude slightly averted his gaze, staying silent. No, these people wouldn't be releasing him anytime soon. He'd be finding his own way out

[damned_doctors]

So the patient was content to talk about science fiction? Hatori was a lover of books of all genres, being especially given to the classics. It seemed to be a hallmark of his past: reading, withdrawing, reading more. When he wasn't, of course, being bothered by certain relatives of his. Who would probably be sending obnoxious and embarrassing things in the mail sooner or later. He had not sent his new address, but he was sure they would find ways.

"The Time Machine," he said. "H. G. Wells." He eyed his bookshelf, noting it right next to War of the Worlds. "Dated, but the concept appeals to even modern readers." His stony, one-eyed gaze turned back to Thomas. "If you haven't read it, I suggest you do."

Whether this was an invitation to take the book from the shelf, a hint to something or other, or simply a recommendation, Dr. Sohma did not make clear.

[full_score]

"That's a good choice," Claude said, smiling a little. It seemed like ages ago, but he distinctly remembered it. "I've read it before, actually, and I really enjoyed it." He folded his arms, glancing over at the shelf. "I was actually looking for it in the library awhile back, but I couldn't find it." They must not have had it, which was surprising since they at least had a couple of other books by H.G. Wells.

He paused, as if considering something, before turning to Dr. Sohma. "Would it be too much trouble if I could, you know..?" he trailed off, not wanting to flat-out ask for the book, but heavily implying that he'd appreciate it if the other man let him borrow it.

[damned_doctors]

Oh, Hatori knew it was a good choice, but he nodded when the patient said he'd already read it. However hypocritical the patient might be, he was still, at least, tolerable. But they had drifted off the subject of Thomas, and onto this other one. Good for building rapport, but generally useless.

"Please do," Hatori said politely. He seemed to have a history of lending books to patients. At least this one did not believe he was a character in one of them. But he knew that doing so was rather healthy. The schedule here was a little off - dinner, and then sleep immediately following. That simply wasn't healthy.

Maybe a book would pass the time.

"Now, Claude, are there any questions you'd like to ask me, or anything else you'd like to talk about?" The doctor sometimes found that the most telling facts about his patients arose when they were given the illusion of controlling the conversation.

[full_score]

"Thank you very much," Claude said, politely bowing his head a little. "I really appreciate it." He'd take it before he left the office. Right now it seemed a bit rude to just get up and remove the book from the shelf, especially since they were still talking.

He wasn't sure how much time he'd have to just sit and read, but maybe if he made the time for it, it'd help him relax and take his mind off things, if only for a little bit. After all, it probably wasn't good to stay wound up all the time.

As far as questions he wanted to ask went, Claude actually did have a few. "Do you know what my father has been doing recently?" he asked. Maybe it was wrong to buy into the fake lives the institute presented them, even if it was just a little. But as long as Claude suspected the man who came to visit him really was Ronixis J. Kenni in some way, he couldn't just not think of him. "Also, I heard my mother was sick, but I don't know if she's doing any better or not. I haven't seen her in a long time, so I'm a bit worried..."

[damned_doctors]

"It's no problem," Hatori said, glad that the patient was actually going to be getting a mental workout with a classic novel sometime soon instead of being subjected to some ridiculous activity such as, well, potting plants.

The question about the patient's parents was not unexpected, seeing as how he'd recently been visited by one of them. "I assume he went back to work. Unfortunately, the military is rather closed with what sort of information they release to the public, so I can't provide further details." He eyed Thomas.

"And unfortunately, I have no information on how your mother is faring, but in the event that her condition improves or deterioratesHe and we hear about it, we will let you know." Hatori felt a certain degree of responsibility toward his patients. It was only right.

He eyed the file in front of him, recording yet another note. "Should she arrange to pay you a visit next visiting day, she will be informed that you miss her."

The doctor paused. "You do miss them, correct?"