A/N: This is part 2 of my Group Therapy series, and like the others, it is indicative of what I was working on at the time I wrote it. This was written in 2013.
Disclaimer: I still don't think that there's much reason to have a disclaimer on these, but it's here, just in case.
Group Therapy, Part 2
by Enthusiastic Fish
"She's forgotten all about me. I know she has. I should just give up coming here because I'm going to be a WIP forever!" Tim, SitL declared.
"She hasn't forgotten you," Tim, WM said. "She never forgets her stories...not when they're unfinished."
"She hasn't even opened the file in months!"
"She let herself get overwhelmed with WIPs. It happens sometimes. Come on in."
Tim, SitL grumbled.
The woman at the desk gave him a sympathetic smile.
"I'm sorry that you're having a rough time," she said.
"It's not the rough time," Tim, WM said. "It's the length of time with nothing. It's hard to feel ignored."
"I'm sure it is. I think everyone's in there."
Tim, WM gestured and Tim, SitL reluctantly followed him and walked over to the WIP section. There was a new Tim there. Tim, TRCW, from the supernatural series. Tim, WM smiled at him and nodded before he got the meeting going.
"Everyone, welcome to tonight's meeting of TOE-FU. You can see that our numbers have increased somewhat but that we're having some trouble with the WIPs."
Tim, SitL grumbled again.
"There are a couple of short stories that were written and finished quickly, but she's had some problems with keeping the longer ones going. In fact, I was just speaking with Tim, SitL. His story hasn't been updated in about six months and he feels that she's forgotten all about him."
Tim, HTSMS stood.
"She hasn't forgotten. There are a lot of reasons why the stories sometimes fall by the wayside. Sometimes, other stories take precedence, the challenge stories, for example. Sometimes, the story itself is too hard. That happened to me. She had to stop after one of the chapters and it was months before she could work on it again."
Tim, T2 stood as well.
"She left me aside for a full year before getting back to me again. But she always finishes. She'll get your story finished."
"But when? She has time now and she keeps working on other WIPs, instead!" Tim SitL said. "It's not that I expect her to work only on Stay inside the Lines, but would it kill her to get some progress made? It's almost like she doesn't even know what to do with it! I could understand it when she was working on Truly Great Madness. That was an important story for her to write, but now? Can't I get a new chapter?"
Tim, TPotOS stood. He was also a long-standing WIP.
"She left me aside for months, too. I just barely got a new chapter for the first time since February. It was more like eight months for me. Who knows how much longer it'll take before she finishes, but she will. There's a story in her head that wants to be told and she'll do it."
Tim, WBA stood up. He and another Tim had been rather short-lived WIPs.
"I'm sorry that we took her attention away from the other WIPs. It seems like we were hardly there at all."
"It's not your fault. You don't control it. Neither does she, really," Tim, WM said.
Tim, SitL sighed. "She started off well, but..."
"But she slowed down. We all know why," Tim, WM said. "We thought she might stop altogether. We should be glad that she's still getting ideas."
He gestured to the undefined shapes up around the ceiling.
"Yeah...great. More ideas," Tim, SitL grumbled, but there was almost a smile on his face.
The others laughed.
"She hasn't forgotten us. She loves us. We give her an escape that she often needs. She won't forget you, either."
"Yeah...I know."
Tim, WM went around the room and let some of the others talk. A oneshot was surprised to suddenly surge to the forefront. Tim, HTETtPWDHaC wasn't even sure what he was, but the rediscovery had made him smile at the renewed appreciation. Tim, TRCW felt the pressure of being the final story in a series. Tim, ALitD was more than willing to comfort him in that respect. He was also the end of a series that had taken many years to complete. Things rarely turned out how they seemed in the beginning.
"Okay, thanks for coming, everyone. Refreshments!"
Everyone surged out of the room. The refreshments were excellent, as always. Only the best for TOE-FU.
Then, it was only Tim, WM and the woman at the desk.
"Why are you here?" he asked. "I never really thought about it, but you're not Tim."
She smiled. "Of course, I'm not."
Tim, WM looked at her.
"It's been more than six years, and you've always been here."
"So have you."
"That's because I was first."
"Exactly."
"But you were here before I came in here."
She smiled. "Yes, I was."
Tim, WM's eyes widened.
"Are you–? You must be."
"Must I?"
"Yes. The only one who could be here before me. That would only be possible if you existed before me...and..."
"She wrote a couple of stories before Where's McGee? you know. Granted, they're not very good and definitely not for anyone to read, but you're not the first thing she's written."
"You're not a character."
"It's getting late."
Tim, WM looked down at his watch. When he looked back up, she was gone. The lights started going out, and he could see that he wasn't going to get an answer. He left.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
She peered out. He was gone. She turned on the computer.
"I saw that!"
She jumped and looked back. Then, she just smiled. They were hers. Of course, she'd be here. Where else would she be?
She started resumed typing.
FINIS!