The Clinic

The Clinic: Part Sixteen

'We'll see you tomorrow, then, in doctor Imholz' office. Try and fill in as much of this paperwork already, and make sure to be on time.'

With that, a stack of files, and a handshake from each of the individuals present in the dusty but surprisingly spacious staff meeting room, Brian was given permission to leave the room, and he all but stumbled outside. When he closed the door behind him, he could not help but lean against it with his back, close his eyes, and take a deep breath - something he felt like he had been unable to do for the past two hours.

After having announced to Nolan and doctor Imholz the evening before that he intended to file for a reassessment to try and be dismissed from Queen Mary's for the sake of being able to support John when he was released, his mentor had called together what they had called a crisis meeting in which staff discussed the viability of Brian's wish to be released before. It had been a long and stressful meeting, one in which Brian had largely been left to sit back and let people he'd never been aware were responsible for his progress throw technical terms and mental jargon at each other. He had hardly been asked to explain his reasons for wanting to leave Queen Mary's so soon, but the overall consensus in the end was that they would grant his wish for a reassessment. That was - he had been at Queen Mary's for at least three months; had never perpetrated any acts of disobedience, vandalism, violence, and the like; had never skipped any meetings with his superiors; had always displayed what Nolan had called 'proper and respectable behaviour towards staff and patients', and, borderline or not, he was deemed capable enough to make his own decisions and understanding the consequences of them.

Thank God. At least they still treated him as human despite the label they had stuck on him.

'How'd it go?'

Brian recognised the voice of the speaker sooner than he saw him, even though he should have been able to see him from - as a matter of speaking - miles away. Being one of the few patients with long blond hair, Roger always stood out a bit; but now that he was the only one to be seen in the otherwise empty hallway, let alone that he was leaning against the wall right across from Brian, really made hi unmistakeable to Brian, even now that his mind was spinning like a whirlwind.

'Eh... I think it went alright?' Brian said somewhat hesitantly. 'They said I meet the, uh, qualifications to apply for a reassessment.'

'And?' Roger asked, eyes brightening with hope but still a bit cautious, as he, of course, had no idea what had been discussed in his absence.

'They said they'll make a phone call to the board right this afternoon to formally open the process of reassessment.'

'No way! That's great news! You'll get to leave!' Roger all but shouted across the hallway, and before Brian could prepare for it, he was tackled in a hug so sudden and so tight that he almost dropped the stack of papers he had been clutching against his chest. To be fair, he was still clutching them against his chest; now that Roger had enveloped him in a nearly reckless embrace, there was no other place for him to put his arms other than squeezing them tight against his body. It was uncomfortable for a bit, mainly because Brian wasn't so outgoing himself, and wasn't used to Roger behaving this way either. However, as Roger continued to hold him tight and seemed to try and rock him encouragingly by skipping from one leg to the other, all while unintelligible but nonetheless encouraging sounds escaped him, Brian could not help but smile. It was good to see Roger, who he had seen so down and helpless during multiple relapses into whatever drugs he could find himself, be in such a positive mindset again. Of course, nothing was set in stone yet, and Brian realised all too well that chances were that incriminating information against him could be found during his trial, that the psychiatrist who would be called in to examine him could vote against him leaving, and that the jury might deem him unable of returning to society as of yet. But if the official start of his procedure to try and be acquitted from Queen Mary's brought his friend so much hope and joy, then who was Brian to bring him down?