Who We Are (14/35)
Title: Who We Are (14/35)
Author: ladygray99
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Charlie/David
Word count: 1,436
Warnings/Spoilers: Attempted Suicide and the after effects there of. See Part 1 for Spoilers.
Summary: Sometimes life makes you look in the mirror and if you don’t like what you see there are only a couple of options. - David picks up Charlie.
Previous Chapters: 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Notes:Written for choc_fic 's 100 Days of Color. Today is a short chapter but tomorrow is a long one. And I would like to apologize to anyone reading this who might be named Minerva.
Beta: swingandswirl and riverotter1951
Chapter 14
David looked around his apartment. All his laundry was picked up, the rug had been vacuumed, there was fresh toilet paper in the bathroom, lemon sorbet in the freezer, all case files were neatly hidden away, and even though it didn’t really need to be done and David told himself he would in no way, shape, or form make a pass at Charlie, there were clean sheets on his neatly made bed.
David checked his watch. It was quarter to three. He grabbed his keys and ran.
~
David signed his name to the St. Clare’s visitors’ log, hopefully for the last time.
“Here to see Charlie?" The girl behind the desk asked.
“Here to pick up Charlie. He’s getting out.”
The girl smiled. “That’s always good to hear from people. Go on in.”
David pushed through the doors and his eyes sought out Charlie but didn’t find him. He tapped on the window of the Nurses Station. The weekend nurse pushed the window open.
“Good afternoon Agent Sinclair. I think Charlie’s packing but Dr. Flores wanted to talk to you.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Come on in.” The door to the Nurses Station clicked open and David let himself in and grabbed a seat. A couple of minutes later Dr. Flores joined him.
“David.”
“Dr. Flores.”
They shook hands. “So today’s the big day?”
“Finally.”
“Charlie informed me that he hasn’t yet told his family?”
David wasn’t quite sure what to say. He didn’t want to say anything that could result in a last second repeal of Charlie’s release orders. “He just wants an afternoon to chill before heading home, facing the music.”
“And do you have plans for the afternoon?”
David could smell an interrogation a mile off. “Watch a movie. Order Chinese take out. If he’s in a good mood I might disregard your advice and let him have a beer.”
Dr. Flores smiled a little. “You are aware that he is attracted to you?”
David had hoped but that was his first real conformation. Internally he crowed while keeping his face neutral. “I got that impression.”
“He may attempt to act on that attraction.”
“I’ll brace myself.”
Dr. Flores just nodded a little squinting at David. “Normally I have this talk with a family member but you are the one who is here so here goes. Charlie is not better. Not by a long shot but he has done as much healing as he can here. If he stays here too much longer he will simply stagnate.”
“Time for him to face the world.”
“Exactly and I will warn you right now and I have warned him it is not going to be easy. There will be bad days. There will be back sliding. There will be fear, anger, frustration. All the things that brought him here to begin with will still be waiting. There will be times when he will cling desperately looking for someone else to fight the fight for him and there will be times when he will push everyone else away, even you, while trying to reassert his independence. There are going to be moments that are just weird. He’s building a new identity, discovering a new sense of self and there might be some false starts there. You and everyone else are going to have to brace for all this.”
“I’ll spread the word.”
“And I still want to see him at least three times a week for the next few weeks and I will readmit him if I feel he is becoming a risk to himself again. I’d rather see him alive and cranky in here than dead out there.”
David felt his stomach tighten at the thought of Charlie trying anything again. He reminded himself that Charlie had promised. “You don’t think he’d try again.”
“You’ve known him for six years, did you ever believe he’d try in the first place?”
“No.”
“I’d like to believe that Dr. Eppes has passed the initial crisis point but a path that has been walked once can be walked again.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“I know you will.” Dr. Flores gave David one more long look then slapped his thighs. “Well, let’s go get Dr. Eppes.” David let Dr. Flores lead the way. They found Charlie shoving the last of his laundry into his bag. “Everything packed Dr. Eppes?”
“Yep. And if it’s not I don’t care, get me out of here.” David was a little surprised. Charlie had seemed quite reluctant to leave just the day before. Maybe the threat of another week of tapioca was enough motivation.
Dr. Flores handed Charlie a clipboard. “Just sign on the dotted line and promise to come see me on Wednesday.”
Charlie scribbled his name and handed the paperwork back.
David picked up Charlie’s bag. “Ready?”
“Yes. No! Wait!” Charlie went over to an obsessively neatly ordered shelf full of books and pushed a random half dozen of the books just a little farther in than the rest. Then he took the pillow off a neatly made bed and flipped it over. Then he pulled out one hair from his head and let it fall to the floor.
Dr. Flores just shook his head. “You are a cruel man Dr. Eppes.”
Charlie grinned an evil grin. “I just don’t want him to miss me.”
“There is a very slim chance of that.”
Charlie led the way out of his room grabbing his name tag off the door as he went. They were halfway across the main floor when the young woman with the bandaged wrists who had been the sun in Charlie’s little dance of the plants came running up. “Charlie?” She looked on the verge of panic.
“Hey, Sunny.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I made parole.” The young woman, and up close she looked more like a child, threw her arms around Charlie’s neck. “Hey there. It’s okay. It’s okay.” He rubbed her back a little before peeling her arms off him. She looked close to tears. Charlie poked her in the side. “Come on, Sunny, no crying. What does the sun do?”
“The sun shines,” the girl whispered.
“Are you gonna shine?” Charlie asked poking her in the side some more. Slowly, with what appeared to be great effort the girl smiled. “That’s right, Sunny shines.” Charlie rubbed her head. “Go on, tell everyone bye for me and no not shining.” The girl blushed a little and went off to join a group of other patients.
“You know Dr. Eppes I was tempted to extend your visit with us just for the amount of good you’ve done Minerva in the last week.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“She’s been a guest here on and off for five years. You are the first person to ever get her to smile.”
“I just gave her a name other than Minerva and didn’t treat her like an idiot.”
“Well, she is going to miss you.”
“I’ll write.”
Charlie moved towards the main doors with greater speed. He paused briefly by the large orderlies that were guarding the door. He held out his hand. “Jim, Frank, it’s been nice knowing you and I hope I never see you two again.”
The orderlies smiled and each shook Charlie’s hand. “The feeling is mutual, Professor.”
With that the doors buzzed open. Charlie rushed through them. David could feel his own heart pounding with excitement. Charlie was nearly at a run as he went past the check in desk, down the hall, through the main doors, across the lobby and out the front. He stopped at the bottom of the steps and closed his eyes just pulling in deep breaths. David watched from the top step with Dr. Flores by his side. Charlie turned to face the afternoon sun, smiling.
“I’m not sure what the procedure is on your end.” Dr. Flores kept his voice low. “But I told Charlie he is cleared to return to consulting work whenever he wishes. He has a lot of his self worth and self esteem tied up in his solve rate right now and he’ll need something positive to hold on to while everything else shakes out.”
“I’ll keep that in mind but right now I just want to get him home.”
“Well then that exactly is what you should do.”
Charlie opened his eyes as David got to the bottom step.
“Ready to get out of here?” David asked.
Charlie just smiled. “What do you think?”
“Come on.”
David loaded Charlie’s stuff into his car then struggled to actually drive the speed limit all the way home.
Previous Next
Author: ladygray99
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Charlie/David
Word count: 1,436
Warnings/Spoilers: Attempted Suicide and the after effects there of. See Part 1 for Spoilers.
Summary: Sometimes life makes you look in the mirror and if you don’t like what you see there are only a couple of options. - David picks up Charlie.
Previous Chapters: 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Notes:Written for choc_fic 's 100 Days of Color. Today is a short chapter but tomorrow is a long one. And I would like to apologize to anyone reading this who might be named Minerva.
Beta: swingandswirl and riverotter1951
Chapter 14
David looked around his apartment. All his laundry was picked up, the rug had been vacuumed, there was fresh toilet paper in the bathroom, lemon sorbet in the freezer, all case files were neatly hidden away, and even though it didn’t really need to be done and David told himself he would in no way, shape, or form make a pass at Charlie, there were clean sheets on his neatly made bed.
David checked his watch. It was quarter to three. He grabbed his keys and ran.
~
David signed his name to the St. Clare’s visitors’ log, hopefully for the last time.
“Here to see Charlie?" The girl behind the desk asked.
“Here to pick up Charlie. He’s getting out.”
The girl smiled. “That’s always good to hear from people. Go on in.”
David pushed through the doors and his eyes sought out Charlie but didn’t find him. He tapped on the window of the Nurses Station. The weekend nurse pushed the window open.
“Good afternoon Agent Sinclair. I think Charlie’s packing but Dr. Flores wanted to talk to you.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Come on in.” The door to the Nurses Station clicked open and David let himself in and grabbed a seat. A couple of minutes later Dr. Flores joined him.
“David.”
“Dr. Flores.”
They shook hands. “So today’s the big day?”
“Finally.”
“Charlie informed me that he hasn’t yet told his family?”
David wasn’t quite sure what to say. He didn’t want to say anything that could result in a last second repeal of Charlie’s release orders. “He just wants an afternoon to chill before heading home, facing the music.”
“And do you have plans for the afternoon?”
David could smell an interrogation a mile off. “Watch a movie. Order Chinese take out. If he’s in a good mood I might disregard your advice and let him have a beer.”
Dr. Flores smiled a little. “You are aware that he is attracted to you?”
David had hoped but that was his first real conformation. Internally he crowed while keeping his face neutral. “I got that impression.”
“He may attempt to act on that attraction.”
“I’ll brace myself.”
Dr. Flores just nodded a little squinting at David. “Normally I have this talk with a family member but you are the one who is here so here goes. Charlie is not better. Not by a long shot but he has done as much healing as he can here. If he stays here too much longer he will simply stagnate.”
“Time for him to face the world.”
“Exactly and I will warn you right now and I have warned him it is not going to be easy. There will be bad days. There will be back sliding. There will be fear, anger, frustration. All the things that brought him here to begin with will still be waiting. There will be times when he will cling desperately looking for someone else to fight the fight for him and there will be times when he will push everyone else away, even you, while trying to reassert his independence. There are going to be moments that are just weird. He’s building a new identity, discovering a new sense of self and there might be some false starts there. You and everyone else are going to have to brace for all this.”
“I’ll spread the word.”
“And I still want to see him at least three times a week for the next few weeks and I will readmit him if I feel he is becoming a risk to himself again. I’d rather see him alive and cranky in here than dead out there.”
David felt his stomach tighten at the thought of Charlie trying anything again. He reminded himself that Charlie had promised. “You don’t think he’d try again.”
“You’ve known him for six years, did you ever believe he’d try in the first place?”
“No.”
“I’d like to believe that Dr. Eppes has passed the initial crisis point but a path that has been walked once can be walked again.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“I know you will.” Dr. Flores gave David one more long look then slapped his thighs. “Well, let’s go get Dr. Eppes.” David let Dr. Flores lead the way. They found Charlie shoving the last of his laundry into his bag. “Everything packed Dr. Eppes?”
“Yep. And if it’s not I don’t care, get me out of here.” David was a little surprised. Charlie had seemed quite reluctant to leave just the day before. Maybe the threat of another week of tapioca was enough motivation.
Dr. Flores handed Charlie a clipboard. “Just sign on the dotted line and promise to come see me on Wednesday.”
Charlie scribbled his name and handed the paperwork back.
David picked up Charlie’s bag. “Ready?”
“Yes. No! Wait!” Charlie went over to an obsessively neatly ordered shelf full of books and pushed a random half dozen of the books just a little farther in than the rest. Then he took the pillow off a neatly made bed and flipped it over. Then he pulled out one hair from his head and let it fall to the floor.
Dr. Flores just shook his head. “You are a cruel man Dr. Eppes.”
Charlie grinned an evil grin. “I just don’t want him to miss me.”
“There is a very slim chance of that.”
Charlie led the way out of his room grabbing his name tag off the door as he went. They were halfway across the main floor when the young woman with the bandaged wrists who had been the sun in Charlie’s little dance of the plants came running up. “Charlie?” She looked on the verge of panic.
“Hey, Sunny.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I made parole.” The young woman, and up close she looked more like a child, threw her arms around Charlie’s neck. “Hey there. It’s okay. It’s okay.” He rubbed her back a little before peeling her arms off him. She looked close to tears. Charlie poked her in the side. “Come on, Sunny, no crying. What does the sun do?”
“The sun shines,” the girl whispered.
“Are you gonna shine?” Charlie asked poking her in the side some more. Slowly, with what appeared to be great effort the girl smiled. “That’s right, Sunny shines.” Charlie rubbed her head. “Go on, tell everyone bye for me and no not shining.” The girl blushed a little and went off to join a group of other patients.
“You know Dr. Eppes I was tempted to extend your visit with us just for the amount of good you’ve done Minerva in the last week.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“She’s been a guest here on and off for five years. You are the first person to ever get her to smile.”
“I just gave her a name other than Minerva and didn’t treat her like an idiot.”
“Well, she is going to miss you.”
“I’ll write.”
Charlie moved towards the main doors with greater speed. He paused briefly by the large orderlies that were guarding the door. He held out his hand. “Jim, Frank, it’s been nice knowing you and I hope I never see you two again.”
The orderlies smiled and each shook Charlie’s hand. “The feeling is mutual, Professor.”
With that the doors buzzed open. Charlie rushed through them. David could feel his own heart pounding with excitement. Charlie was nearly at a run as he went past the check in desk, down the hall, through the main doors, across the lobby and out the front. He stopped at the bottom of the steps and closed his eyes just pulling in deep breaths. David watched from the top step with Dr. Flores by his side. Charlie turned to face the afternoon sun, smiling.
“I’m not sure what the procedure is on your end.” Dr. Flores kept his voice low. “But I told Charlie he is cleared to return to consulting work whenever he wishes. He has a lot of his self worth and self esteem tied up in his solve rate right now and he’ll need something positive to hold on to while everything else shakes out.”
“I’ll keep that in mind but right now I just want to get him home.”
“Well then that exactly is what you should do.”
Charlie opened his eyes as David got to the bottom step.
“Ready to get out of here?” David asked.
Charlie just smiled. “What do you think?”
“Come on.”
David loaded Charlie’s stuff into his car then struggled to actually drive the speed limit all the way home.
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