Taylor
Taylor held Mouse's hand as he opened the glass door and entered the main area.
He gulped. He hadn't done anything like this for years.
He squeezed his girlfriend's hand, then went over to the counter.
"Can I help you?" the lady smiled up at them.
"Ah... we have an appointment... Jane Hall and Taylor Hanson?"
She looked over a time sheet.
"Oh yes. Just take a seat, she'll be out to see you in a moment."
"Thanks."
Taylor glanced at Mouse, then led her over to some nearby chairs.
Mouse
They sat down, Mouse holding Taylor's hand tightly. "God, I'm scared. DO they know about...stuff? As in the weirder things in life that the general public is unaware of? Cos a lot of this isn't going to make sense otherwise."
Taylor
"Dad organized it, so... yeah," Taylor whispered.
They were the only ones in the waiting room, but the air was tense.
"I think there's two here that are specifically for us... the rest for humans."
He looked up as a tall, thin, blonde woman of about 40 came through a door.
"Mr. Hanson and Miss Hall?" she smiled.
Taylor gave her hand another squeeze and stood.
"Who should I see first?"
"We want to go together," Taylor informed her.
She nodded.
"Very well, follow me."
And she disappeared down a hallway tot he last door.
Mouse
They followed the woman and went in the door she had. "Please, take a seat," she said pleasantly. They did so, Mouse staring at her with wide frightened eyes. "Now, I can promise you that I don't bite, and anything you say to me, stays *here*. It doesn't move past these four walls of this room."
"Good to know," Mouse said softly.
"Now, where do you want to start?"
Taylor
Taylor sat leaning forward, holding Mouse's hands in his own.
He gazed into her eyes.
"Do you want to go first?"
Mouse
"When I was five my parents were killed," Mouse said, figuring she might as well get it out. The woman nodded. "I was made to watch."
"Does the attacker have a name?"
"The Spider." The woman gave Mouse a considering stare. "After that, I went to a lot of foster homes. Mostly bad. When I was eleven, I ran and took to the streets."
Taylor
Taylor squeezed her hand reassuringly, just watching her.
He didn't want to interrupt. This was her time now.
Mouse
Mouse took a breath, feeling his protective reassurance. "Different things happened. I roamed all over America. When I was...thirteen, I think, I wound up in New Orleans. A woman there took me in and looked after me for a bit when I tried to slash my wrists."
"Just a question, what is your power?"
"I'm empathic, but more with animals."
"That is probably linked to a lot of your problems. I imagine that you feel what everyone around you is feeling, and you wonder where exactly you are in all of this." Mouse nodded. "Sometimes you wonder where you begin and everyone else ends..."
"That's exactly it. Anyway. I wandered a bit more, and picked up a few friensd. A rat called Nevyn, a sparrow called Sparra and a wolf called Fafnir. Then I broke into the Hanson's house to steal some food. Possibly the smartest thing I've ever done, though I didn't think that when I got caught." Mouse squeezed Taylor's hand and looked at him with adoring eyes.
Taylor
"I wasn't too happy at the time when I was woken up," Taylor admitted softly, his eyes not leaving Mouse.
"I'd had a rough day and it was practically the middle of the night. I wasn't in the mood for animals, because I hadn't been getting on with a few."
Mouse
"And here's this strange girl freaking out all over the place...with a wolf threatening to kill them all if they laid a finger on me. Diana...managed to get me calmed down. And then Avery went in my head...kinda unlocked something so I relived the deaths of my parents again." Mouse twitched. "It was of the bad."
"You know, you need to deal with emotions in order to heal."
"I don't want to remember, and you can't make me." Mouse looked stubborn.
"I can't make you, no, that's true. But I would advise you do."
Taylor
"It's more of a vendetta, and I'd thank you not to bring that up. We had enough trouble with it when I was kidnapped but... we'll get to that later," Taylor insisted, glancing at the woman.
"Very well. What happened then?" she asked Mouse.
Mouse
"The tournament." Mouse smiled fondly. "Tay and I kinda got together. And then...you heard about Sunnydale?"
"Yes...it was in the news. An explosion of the gas pipes running under the town and then there was no more town." Mouse and Taylor shared an amused glance.
"Try the thwarting of an apopcalypse. So, all these people from Sunnydale turned up. I was Claimed by the goddess Bastet." Mouse rolled up the sleeve of her top to show the woman the gleaming Eye of Horus on her arm. "I was adopted by Nyx, Priss and Sabre, her children. I tried to heal a souled vampire of all his pain. I blacked out, then Nyx healed me. What happened next?" She looked at Taylor.
Taylor
"I think we can skip forward a bit," Taylor suggested, wanting to leave out his experience for the moment.
"What about when I found you at the apartment... blade and bullet."
Mouse
"Blade and bullet?" The woman leaned forward slightly.
"It's a game. You take a pistol and only load it with one bullet. And then you take a knife. You play with death, just to see how close you can come." Mouse's eyes glittered with tears. "I did it because...an alien hunter came after me, shot my wolf on two seperate occasions and killed my kitten, Sidhe. She also stabbed a knife into Ike's leg. And it was all my fault."
Taylor
"It had nothing to do with you," Taylor insisted shaking his head, "the woman did what she saw fit. Not that it can be justified."
He looked to the floor.
"When I came looking for her... it was the first time I'd left the house in over a month. She was so out of it... There was blood everywhere, and she didn't believe I was there. I had to put her in the shower and turned the cold water on just to get her back to her senses."
He gulped.
Mouse
"What you need to realise is that it was not your fault," the counsellor said calmly. "You can not be held responsible for the actions of others."
"It was my fault Sidhe was there." Mouse wiped her eyes. "If I hadn't stopped in Tulsa, she never would have come here."
"But you wouldn't have the support of Taylor and his family, either," she pointed out.
Taylor
"True," Taylor nodded, then turned to Mouse.
"I... never told you this, but... I found Sidhe's, well, part of Sidhe's family. A sister. She believed it was her time to go."
He bit his lip, holding back the tears, remembering the emotional conversation.
Mouse
"How could it have been time for someone that young to die? Sidhe was just a baby!" Mouse dashed tears from her eyes with an angry gesture.
"Sometimes thing just happen. If Sidhe's death is on anyone's hands, it is the alien hunter's."
"Anyway. Next. I moved out of the apartment. And then I went to New York to visit some friends. There was a few things...I lost control once and went feral. Sometimes...I go deep, deep into the Pack. Sometimes I feel more like a wolf then a person. My bond with Fafnir is very strong."
"Why?"
"I don't know...because sometimes it's safer to be an animal."
Taylor
Taylor couldn't help but smile a little. The woman caught it.
"Taylor does understand this, I'm sure," she raised her eyebrows when he looked to her.
"Uh, yeah," he rubbed his nose.
"Do you mind if I...?"
"No, no... go ahead."
She smiled a little.
"Taylor came to me a few times when he was younger. His main concern was his bond with the animals, and how felt more animal than Dathrian."
Taylor just stared at his and Mouse's intertwined hands.
Mouse
"Guess that's why we get on so well then." Mouse rubbed her thumb along the back of Taylor's hand. "And yeah. Then she came back." Mouse shivered. "She kidnapped me. I...I..." Mouse took a breath. "She injected me full of drugs so I couldn't concentrate, put an electric shock collar around my neck and zapped me whenever she felt she had to. She kept me in a basement in the dark, chained to a bed."
"And as an empath, the lack of emotional stimulus would be particularily terrifying."
"Exactly. Even if I don't always like it...it was like being blind in a much worse way. And then she sold me to the US government. I was used as an experimental animal." Mouse couldn't look her in the eye.
"Compounding the problem, because they wouldn't be offering any emotions that would make you feel like a person again."
"Yeah, that's it."
Taylor
Taylor gulped, shivering a little.
"I felt it when she was taken. I know you didn't know that either," Taylor looked up at her for a split second, then down again.
"I fainted in the middle of the floor, and I didn't know why until days later when Fafnir turned up. Then I just kinda lost it, but... I'll leave my side of the story for later."
"Go on," the woman insisted to Mouse.
Mouse
"It was pretty bad. You know, physically. But no one touched me in a way that wasn't...nessacary. So, no rape. They burnt me and froze my hands but nothing like that..."
"Which does not mean what you went through was any less traumatic."
"Yeah. There was one doctor who helped. Lance. He...shot himself once me and Vulpe were out. He couldn't handle what had happened to me and her."
"Vulpe?"
"She's a mutant, from Italy. She's a friend now. She helped me get out and talked me through some stuff." Mouse smiled slightly. "When Lance died, we had to take Bets, his dog. She's a malamute. She adn Faf have a thing...it's nice to see someone happy. They're quite besotted with each other."
"So, what happened to Nevyn?"
"We don't know. He disappeared after I was kidnapped." Mouse sighed, a broken type of sound. "New York is a very big city, and he was old for a rat."
Taylor
Taylor squeezed her hands again, shifting a little.
"I sent the word out a while ago, but... either he doesn't want to be found, or... no one's actually heard from him. As said, it is a big city. I'm sure not all the rats have heard so far."
He lifted her hands and kissed the back of her right.
"We'll find out what happened to him, if anything."
"Go on," the counsellor nodded.
Mouse
"So. Home again. Scared of the dark and I really hate leaving the house for any reason. Bets and Fafnir are hyperly aware of where I am. Then, and then..."
"Yes?"
"I found out I'm pregnant. And I hadn't actually had sex."
^Motherlovemotherlovelove^
The counsellor blinked.
"We think the scientests there did something...well, obviosly. But we're not sure exactly what the babies are going to be. There's three of them, and they're already very powerful. They made me sleepwalk to a park the other night. And me and Tay...we can hear them."
"So are you keeping them?"
"Yes. They're mine. I don't care how I got them because they're mine now."
Taylor
"We don't know why we can hear them... we just can," Taylor shrugged.
"Is there anything you'd like to add before I move to Taylor?" the woman asked softly.
Taylor looked to Mouse.
Mouse
"I think that's it." Mouse looked at Taylor. "Is that it?"
Taylor
"It's up to you how much you say, but I think so," Taylor considered.
"Taylor? Would you like to start?"
He hesitated.
"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked Mouse.
Mouse
"'M fine. Your turn," Mouse said, glad the focus wouldn't be on her for a bit.
Taylor
"Where would you like to start?" the woman asked as he looke dup, hesitantly.
"Um... when Avie and I were taken?"
"Sure. Have you recently told Mouse any-"
"No. I haven't told anyone," he gulped, "only... The whole story's only, basically between myself, my sister Avery, Christian and the Spider. Or the Eye."
The woman nodded, a look of interest on her face. He sighed.
"Well... it started when I was taking Avie to her camp. The ah, the telepath camp in early March. I think it was the third."
His right hand let go of Mouse's as he scratched his head.
"We were driving down the highway, talking, when suddenly I realize we're not getting anywhere. The car was like... three feet off the ground."
He shivered.
"So I told Avie to stay in the car, and... I saw a guy standing about, I don't know, thirty feet in front of us. So, obviously he had something to do with it. So I told Avie to stay in the car while I went to see what he wanted. I got out, and called out to the guy, and he said he was expecting us. And that he wanted my sister."
Mouse
"You know, the fact he just won't die is really starting to vex me." Mouse's eyes gleamed with anger. "I set the building on fire, and he still just won't damn die."
"Why did he want Avery?" The counsellor asked, overlooking for the moment the reactions the memory of the even brought up in Mouse.
Taylor
"Well we didn't know at the time, obviously, but... this guy worked for the Spider who at the time needed a telepath to help him get this collar off that Leroy Brown had fitted him with," Taylor explained.
"Go on."
"Well, before I could do anything the... the car had lifted like, a few metres above the ground. With Avie inside. And I realized I couldn't do anything, so that's when I called to the animals. But the guy realized what I was doing, picked me up - he was telekinetic - and floated me over to him. Then he took off his sunglasses..."
He hesitated, shaking his head.
"And after I saw his face I was knocked out."
"Was there something about his face you'd like to talk about?"
"Not yet."
She nodded.
"And then..." he began again, "when I awoke, I was locked in the trunk of a car with my wrists and ankles tied together, and I could hear he and Avie in the front, talking."
Mouse
Mouse took his hand back in hers and just held it, showing wordless support.
"What were they talking about?" The woman asked.
Taylor
"They were talking about the Spider," Taylor squinted, "how he needed Vaery to help him. The guy didn't actually know much himself. He didn't know I was awake either. I couldn't call out cos he'd tied rope around my mouth."
He gulped, remembering.
"Ah... we pulled into a gas station, or a motel, I don't know. He... Every second day, because were travelling alot, he opened the trunk while Avie was still in the car. He wouldn't let me see her."
He closed his eyes, willing the tears away.
"He gave me water and some food he'd bought, you know, just to keep me alive. He thought Craig might have wanted me for something, just because I was Avie's brother. And he just kept knocking me out and leaving me there."
"And you were scared?" the woman frowned a little.
"I was terrified," Taylor looked up, his eyes welling up as much as he tried to stop them, "I, I didn't know what would happen. I was thinking that maybe... I don't know. I thoguth about a lot of things. I was mainly scared that something would happen to Avie, and I couldn't..."
Mouse
Mouse sent him reassuring emotions. "But you got out, and you're here and Avery's fine. You both survived."
"Is that what's important? Surviving?"
"Yes." Mouse looked slightly taken aback that someone would ask such a stupid question.
"What about living?"
"Living can come after. Surviving is the basic. Living is harder."
Taylor
"But at the time we didn't know we'd make it out," Taylor looked to Mouse, then to the woman again.
"We um... Suddenly, on time I woke up, I wasn't in the car anymore. I was... in like, the cargo area of a small plane. My wrists and ankles were still tied with the rope, but I wasn't... nothing wa son my mouth. By now, my wrists were like, red raw."
He gulped.
"Avie was actually there. They let us see each other for once. I guess she woke me up. There wa sonly like, a little light in the area, so we could only just see. She untied my wrists, and I got the rope off my ankles. It was about then that I started feeling sick."
"Air sickness?" the woman offered.
Taylor shook his head.
"No, I didn't know what it was. I guessed it was just that I hadn't eaten, and I was just shaking all the time."
Mouse
Mouse leant her head against his shoulder in sympathy. "That's one of the worst things. You know. Being in a bad sitch, and then also feeling sick to your stomach. It just compounds the helpless feeling."
Taylor
Taylor ran his fingers through her hair in thanks.
"We landed at a small airport after quite a few hours. Someone came and opened the door. I had hold of Avery, but... I couldn't hold her."
The tears were building up.
"He pulled her from me, and when I went out after her, some guy grabbed me and held me back. They shone a light in my eyes... talked about me. Then the guy held me with his telekinesis while this other guy went to... get some more rope. They tied me up again, knocked me out, then the next I awoke I was in a pitch black room."
Mouse
Mouse shivered. She'd had that happen. Dark dark rooms and the dizzy sick feeling when you woke up. "You get the feeling that you don't exist cos, when you wake up, you open your eyes. And to see nothing makes the feelings worse."
"What happened after that?" The counsellor asked.
Taylor
"I didn't know what to think," Taylor shook his head, "but Avery was with me again, and all I knew was that I had to be there for her. I... I thought I might have been concussed, so I had her keep me awake. She untied my wrists again - tripped over and hurt her knee."
He sighed.
"But we weren't there for long before they took her from me again. But this time... Craig Morrison himself came in. Shone a torch in our eyes again. Christian - the guy who'd picked us up..." he shuddered, "took her from me again, and they left. I was just left alone again. I could hear Avery crying out in my head, and I just had this huge headache for no apparent reason. Well, apart from being knocked out, but you know..."
"How long were you left alone?"
"I wasn't actually alone for very long, but I didn't see Avery again until... I don't know. I lost track of time. It might have been the next day, or a couple of days later."
"Who came to see you?"
Taylor ground his teeth for a moment.
"Christian came. He'd heard people comparing him to me before, so he came to check me out for himself," he squeezed Mouse's hands tighter - careful not to get too tight, "he just came and knelt down in front of me. Just like... moved my head around to get a look. I couldn't really tell, I was too out of it at the time. I was still sick, and I think I had a fever, and I was shaking."
Mouse
"Je vais le donner à Fafnir. Vous n'avez pas des objections vous faites, mon cher?" Mouse asked Taylor. The counsellor coughed politely.
"Please, speak in English."
"Death threats aren't usually for public consumption. I told you about the wolf thing, right?"
"Quite. Taylor, please continue."
Taylor
"No," Taylor shook his head at Mouse, "you won't. I'd like him in one piece. There's a lot I need from him at the moment."
He sighed.
"Taylor?"
"He left soon after," he finally went on, "but when he was there, I remember he said that I wasn't looking too good, and that that was probably a good thing... or something like that. He said if I started to get better he'd have to keep me sick somehow, because Spider was threatening Avie with my health."
He closed his eyes, shivering.
"And I still didn't... sorry," he apologized when his voice croaked, "I still didn't know what was happening to her. I didn't know if she was ok or not. She spoke to me a few times using her telepathy, but it just made my headache worse. I sorta guessed it was something telepathic."
"So Christian left?"
"Yeah," Taylor wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, "I was left alone again, until Spider himself came a few hours later. Or it might have been the next day."
Mouse
^Whowhowho?^ ^Welovefathermother.SYMPATHYLOVEWARMTH.^ Mouse started slightly. She noticed the counsellor's concerned expression.
"Babies. Talking loudly," Mouse explained briefly.
Taylor
Taylor smiled.
"From what I can make out, they're being sympathetic," he said.
"Cute," the woman smiled.
"Yeah."
"Go on Taylor."
He hesitated, his lips pursed. He didn't know if he could say the next part in front of Mouse...
Mouse
"I can leave," Mouse said softly, looking at his eyes. She was terrified out of her mind, but if he needed her to go, she'd do it.
^^^NO!^^^
"Geez, calm down you three," Mouse said, wincing as she put a hand to her stomach.
Taylor
Taylor stopped, worriedly.
"Can we skip that part Taylor?" the woman asked.
He bit his lip.
"She... she needs to know, but I don't think this is the right time," he looked between the two women.
He shook his head.
"I am so sorry to be keeping this from you," he gazed into Mouse's eyes, his own glistening with tears, "but I can't hurt you. You understand, right?"
Mouse
"I understand perfectly," Mouse said softly. "You can tell me when you want. I don't mind if you never tell me."
Taylor
Taylor hesitated, then ran his fingers through his hair.
"Taylor?"
"Ok, ok... Um, apart from that, he was just... marvelling I guess at how much I looked like Christian. It's a long story," he shook his head, "then he left after quite a while. Some guy was bringing food in every now and then - I never saw him apart from then, and I never spoke to him. The next person I saw apart from that was Avie again, and..."
He hesitated, closing his eyes.
"By then she'd gotten his collar off. But we were only together for an hour or so, then she was taken away again. The next thing I see - well, hear - is Mouse's wolf Fafnir coming down the corridor. I didn't believe it was him at first, because how... how could they have found us? Last I heard we were in Toronto, Canada."
Mouse
"I'd got word through some rats...long complicated chain of animals until one of them told Fafnir. That was it. I went. Hopped on a plane, left a note and ran for where I knew you were." Mouse touched his cheek. "It was bad."
"You didn't tell me about this before..."
"It's one of those things you block out."
"Please continue, Taylor."
Taylor
"Well... Fafnir broke the lock on the door. I was too sick to move, so... and I knew Mouse was off somewhere looking for Craig."
His voice cracked again.
"And I couldn't... I didn't want her to..." he shook his head, trying to get his bearings, "I told Fafnir to find her, bring her back. So he did, and I was so grateful for that."
He bit his lip.
Mouse
"And then I kinda flipped out after Avery contacted me telepathically and did a lot of very stupid life endangering things." Mouse closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure. "It's...oh god, how do I explain this? I *was* the wolf at points. That helped push me over the edge."
Taylor
"Mouse left, and Fafnir went after her... they just went on this kind of hunting game," Taylor shuddered involuntarily, "I called and called for Fafnir to bring her back, because I knew she wouldn't listen if I tried... but he didn't. Once again I was terrified for her... and I couldn't do anything."
He rubbed his face.
"So what happened to you then?" the woman pressed.
"I was just... I'm not sure. Not even a couple of minutes later Christian turned up and knocked me out. The next time I wake up I..." he shook his head again, trying to use his hand to express himself, "I'm wearing his clothes, and I'm tied to a chair in a different room."
"Was anyone there?"
"No," Taylor looked up, "no one was there. I was just... alone... again. Wearing Christian's clothes, tied by the wrists to the arms of this old chair, and I was gagged with cloth from the shirt itself. Then... when I was awake enough, I heard the fire alarms going off, and saw smoke coming under the door. But, after that I guess I fainted or something."
Mouse
"It wasn't a game. Hunting is *never* a game," Mouse said softly. "The fire was me being stupid, again..."
"So, what happened next?" Mouse shrugged slightly.
"We cleaned the place out, and took Christian home, le connard." She gritted her teeth. "He pretended to be Tay, and we fell for it."
Taylor
"I'm not sure what happened after I blacked out, but... when I woke up again it was daytime and I was in an apartment."
He turned to Mouse again.
"I didn't know what you and Fafnir were doing, all I knew was that you left me and I couldn't stop you. I... I know you don't understand, but if you ever... I know you think he's easy game, but if you ever met Craig, he'd have such an upperhand," he was shaking his head again, "I did tell him about you, but that's what I'm not going to go into. He's actually looking forward to facing you. He's the one that considers it a game, not me."
"Taylor?"
Taylor hesitated, then wiped his eyes.
"I'm ok, I just..."
Mouse
"If he thinks it a game, he'll lose. I'm not going to lose my head like that again. And I have even more reasons to fight now." Mouse thought about the children inside her. "You *never* threaten a pregnant female. It's just plain suicidal."
"What happened after you woke up?"
Taylor
"Then let's just agree to disagree," Taylor went on, ignoring the woman, "because there is no way I'll support... you know I'm there for you, whatever you do, but it just comes down to..."
He stopped himself.
"Taylor?"
Taylor clenched his free fist, trying to calm himself down. This would have to be brought up another time.
"After I woke up... I was in an apartment. No idea where. I was across from a window that was always closed. You know... I could see the animals and not be able to talk to them."
He smiled sadly at the memory.
"At first I thought it was another guy, but... it wa shim again. The Spider. Calling himself the Eye instead, now that his face had changed. It was probably burnt or something, so... I guess he had surgery. It kinda made me wonder how long I'd been out, but you know... I had a lot of time to think from then on."
Mouse
"Never let a snake keep its head, amour. We've already seen how well the YIRAAS dealt with him." Mouse's eyes were steady. "If he comes after me, well. It becomes a new ballgame."
"We'll talk about hostility issues, next session, maybe?" The counsellor suggested delicately. Mouse just raised an eyebrow. "Taylor, would you continue please?"
Taylor
Taylor hesitated again, feeling uneasy about the way Mouse was talking.
"Umm..." he paused to get his bearings again.
"That was um... a couple of days before he told me about Christian. I kinda lost it when I realized what he could be doing, and also... who'd he'd be doing it with," he quickly skipped over, "and yeah. I was shouting and stuff, so... kinda got punished. That basically rendered me mute for a long time after that. Kind of... speak only when you're spoken to."
He stretched his back a little, finally letting go of Mouse's hands altogether as he sat back and stared at the carpet, just remembering.
"From then on he just kinda left me in that main room. I was chained by the wrists to the actual wall," he rubbed his wrists absently, "I still had burns on my wrists at the time from the ropes and stuff... so yeah, it hurt. But I had to get used to it. I was like that for, I don't know, maybe a week or more. I lost track of time."
He glanced up at the woman for a moment.
"It was pretty weird. He was always threatening, well, he was always talking to me anyway. It was like the guy never shut up," he chuckled a little, watching as he fiddled with his hands, "I always felt like a prisoner, but... I don't know. He pretty much looked after me I guess. I wasn't overly hungry or anything until after we fought the second time..."
Mouse
He is so very dead, Mouse thought to herself. But she didn't say anything. She just held Taylor's hand and sent him soothing emotions so he could keep talking.
Taylor
"And what started this fight?" the woman asked softly.
"He wanted me to translate something for him. I was just... in one of those weird moods at the time I guess. He gave me this piece of paper and told me to translate it. I get about halfway down before I realize that it's instructions on how to set and detinate a bomb that could blow up, half the world just about."
He felt his hands shaking.
"I dropped the paper and backed off. He started yelling. I tripped over and kinda cornered myself against the wall. Then he... he wouldn't leave it. He kept yelling. He just, he grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me, still yelling. He started reading my mind again, but he said he couldn't go too far. I didn't understand at the time. I mean, why he couldn't just read it from my mind. I found out later it was because my mind was damaged. Abused. I kinda had repercussions later..."
"But that's another story?"
"Yeah. So... he realized I wasn't going to tell him anything, so he threw me into this bedroom and locked me in. Said I couldn't eat or drink anything until I gave in and told him."
He couldn't hold the tears back any longer.
Mouse
Mouse ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly. "Spook wasn't big on giving food at the best of time, but I was used to it." She noticed the counsellor's inquiring look. "I was a streetkid, remember? Food was always an issue."
"Here." The counsellor reached around on her desk and found a box of tissues, handing them to Taylor.
Taylor
"I tried to think of how long I could last," Taylor shook his head, stubbornly wiping the tears away with the back of his hand, "I guessed maybe five days. I was in there for two days before I got into the 'nothing matters anymore' mode. I went around the room looking for a way to get out..."
"You still don't use your atom manipulation?" the counsellor frowned, concerned.
Taylor shook his head, looking her in the eyes.
"Taylor..."
"I know. I know I should be over it."
The woman sighed and leant forward.
"Maybe you should come back sometime then... on your own. I think you still have a few things to sort out..."
"No," Taylor shook his head, squeezing Mouse's hand again, "I just... I'm not gonna let Mouse out of my sight. Whenever I do it seems something bad happens, and I'm not risking that again."
Mouse
"Not every time," Mouse pointed out. "I was in the room with you, and I still went sleepwalking."
"You've sleptwalk?"
"Babies. Very strong, very determinded even now when they're only like a month along." Mouse grimaced. "Oh, they're going to be fun to raise," she said wryly.
Taylor
"Yeah. They haven't even properly formed and they're already talking to us," Taylor smiled slightly.
"Taylor?"
He looked up.
"Can you go on? Or do you want to stop?"
Taylor ground his teeth, considering.
"Go on," the lady insisted.
"Where was I?"
"Trying to find a way out of the room."
"Yeah, ummm..." he ran his fingers through his hair, "I broke something off the bed and used it to unscrew the hinges. I'd kinda decided that if I didn't make it out I was going to kill myself. This was like... way before. But I got the hinges off and took the door off, and he was there, waiting for me again. Asked if I was ready to tell him, I said no, so he told me to get back in the room. I refused, saying either he let me talk to someone or he might as well kill me. Then he threatened to go after Sheldon. You remember him, right?"
"Yes," the lady nodded with a smile, "how is he?"
"He's fine. I saw him at the ball. Anyway... then I kinda broke down, so he told me to get something to eat. I wanted to get to the window and try and call out to a bird or something, so I thought this might be a chance. I went into the kitchen, had a rendezvous with some knives..."
"You cut?" the lady looked concerned.
"Almost," Taylor looked up, then rolled up his sleeve, showing a small scar, "I started to, but he stopped me. That was after. I made myself a couple of sandwiches, and as I was he came in after me. He threatened Mouse."
He gulped.
"And I kind of went off at him again because of that. Then he asked if I was suicidal," he smiled slightly, "I lied, but he picked it up. Then he started threatening my family and that's when I started to cut... I figured if I couldn't tell him anything he wouldn't have to go after them. But he said he would anyway."
Taylor stopped, and put his head in his hand.
"Taylor?"
No answer.
Mouse
"He hasn't," Mouse reminded him softly. "He hasn't come, and if he does...we'll just win again. You'd think he'd get sick of losing all the time." She made a sound that was half sigh, half whimper and rested her head against his shoulder. "Je t'aime, mon couer. We'll survive. We have so far."
Taylor
"But he's not losing," Taylor said softly, "he's not losing at all. He's always so... He's so underestimated. He always has a backup plan, he's always ready for anything. He made that clear. And there's only a few people that could even possibly understand that."
He put his head up again, resting his chin on his hand as he looked to the side.
"Tay? Can you go on?"
Taylor looked to her, then away again.
"I broke down," he almost whispered, "I cried. I yelled at him asking why... He made it clear he was desperate. So in the end, I translated it for him. And I still don't know whatever became of that."
"He said he'd let you go, didn't he?" the woman sat forward a little as Taylor nodded, "did he?"
Taylor shook his head.
"I guess he either... I mean, we didn't know what Christian's status was at the time, so he either wanted to keep me for him, or keep me from telling people, or just... I don't know. Unless he wanted something else translated. But after that he started to trust me more, I guess. He let me free around the apartment again."
Mouse
Mouse rubbed his back in comforting circles.
^LOVECOMFORT!^ ^Fathersadhelpweyes?^ ^SYMPATHYWARMTHLOVE!^ Mouse smiled slightly.
Taylor
Taylor chuckled a little and wiped his eyes again.
"The babies," he explained to the confused look on the woman's face.
She nodded.
"So one day he was puzzling over what I'd given him... I hadn't actually translated it right, and I'm not sure why he didn't pick it up. He was a telepath after all. He was sitting with his back to me, and he'd left the keys on a table behind him, so I crept up and grabbed them."
He took a deep breath.
"That... apart from when he was yelling was probably the worst time. I got the keys, and managed to unlock the door while he was concentrating so hard. So I got out, closed the door and headed for the stairs. Then I bolted down to the lobby, found a phone box and called Ike."
MOuse
"At least you managed to escape by yourself. Mostly. I was a useless mess when you came." Mouse smiled. "Mon chevalier blanc..."
Taylor
"And I was too much of a mess to go in and get you," he kissed the back of her hand apologetically, "but I trusted the people I was with. You learn a lot about each other from days on the road together."
Then he hesitated.
"Taylor? Would you like to stop for today? You've said a lot," the woman offered.
He nodded.
"Ok."
"Book another session. I'd suggest coming by yourself, but..."
He was shaking his head already.
"Ok. Find a time that suits you. I hear you're going on tour?"
"Yeah," he smiled for the first time, "starts on August 9th."
"Well I'll be sure to come to a show. Is there anything you'd like to add?" she turned to Mouse.
Mouse
"God, no. I just want to get out of the building." Mouse smiled apologetically at the woman. "It's not you. It's the I don't like buildings very much. I always seem to get trapped in them thing."
"Well, that can be covered in another day. I would like to extend the same offer to you as I did to Taylor. Would you like a private session sometime?"
"Maybe. Not now." Mouse looked edgy. The woman seemed to take the hint and stood.
"I'll see you two again sometime." She opened the door.
Taylor
Taylor looked to Mouse, then pulled her up after him.
He led the way back through to the counter.
"Want to book now?" the woman asked, following.
"Dad will organize it. It depends on what's happening..."
"No problem. I'll see you again soon," she smiled.
"Thanks," he calle don their behalf, waving as he pulled Mouse through the door.
Once outside, he stopped and hugged her.
"So, how do you feel?" he asked, before planting a kiss on her lips.
Mouse
"Sorta better, but sorta not." Mouse nibbled on her bottom lip. "Does that make sense?" Fafnir and Bets came racing up.
You're out again.
"Well, yeah, Faf." Mouse ruffled his ears, and then patted Bets's head.
Taylor
Taylor greeted the two wolves, then led the way to his bike.
"Want a ride Fafnir?" he grinned cheekily, getting on and starting it.
MOuse
You have got to be bloody kidding me. Get on that stinking deathtrap if I don't have to? Fafnir gave Taylor a disdainful glare. Bets giggled, and nipped his hindquarters.
C'mon, let's run home. We'll meet you two there.
Yes. Run. Fafnir shook himself. Let's go then.
"You two be good. No eating anything with a collar or in a cage." Mouse smiled as she hopped on behind Taylor.
Taylor
Taylor grinned as she put her hands around his waist, and revved the engine.
Getting out onto the main street, he finally picked his feet from the ground and let rip back towards home.