Arthur woke up, sweat dampening his face as he gasped roughly for air. There it was again; those nightmares. They haunted him every night, nonstop till the break of dawn. Of course, it was just a normal routine now, he thought. He had been stuck in this godforsaken hospital for almost 3 years now, his uncle being the one to pay for all his needs. This is where he lived since his parents had died.

He was only 12 that time, and they were headed to Glasgow to meet with his eldest brother when it happened. They were riding a train and he was simply looking out the window when suddenly the lights flickered on and off, the familiar shrieking of the train's breaks piercing the boy's ears as he covered them while his mother wrapped her hand around her child, hugging him tightly. Then..everything just passed by a blur. He was torn off the grasp of his mother as he yelled at the top of his voice while everything around him just spun. He didn't know what happened, but he felt something hard – probably metal, hit his head before knocking him out. He only regained consciousness when everything was done. And when he had opened his eyes, he was greeted with passengers, people he did not know. They were practically strangers; his parents nowhere to be seen. So he did the thing any lost child would do. He cried. And as he looked around, he saw all kinds of things. Broken lights, broken glass, torn cushions from the seats, broken poles, and people.. People both dead and alive. Some clutched the bodies of their parents, relatives, friends while crying. Some were lying on the ground, still breathing, but were horribly hurt. Poles were stuck in parts of their bodies, some even large shards of broken glass and Arthur could only sit tight and hug his knees as he heard the people cry and sob for their lost ones.

It was not until the day after the incident that the remaining survivors were rescued and later taken to the hospital. Soon, Arthur lay on the hospital bed, the pitter patter of the rain was giving less of a comforting tone as it gave a background hum when he finally found out that his parents had died in the train and that his brothers refused to take him in saying that they had not finished with their education yet. Moreover his uncle also refused, but, said that he would be willing enough to pay for Arthur's expenses while he resided in the hospital, thus leading on to our events now.

Arthur lay in bed, his eyes wide as cold sweat dropped from his skin and onto the cloth that was his pillow.

Was it finally morning? Impossible. It was 12 o'clock just a second ago. Nonetheless it is better this way. I don't seem I can take any more of this…

Although Arthur found the warmth of the sun to be rather comforting to his skin, he still dreaded for the day to come since it would mean another day of being stuck in this room. He was not allowed to exit it, only if he was asked for a checkup or to his therapist. Basically he needed one again these days since his dreams started to worsen a bit more compared to the past. Maybe it was because of the last few rainy days that reminded him of that moment where his life had changed forever.

But, his thoughts were interrupted when a light sound of a knock resounded through the empty, dead walls that enclosed his room. He did not answer of course. He was still so tired. He never did get any real sleep. But who was it? He was not expecting anyone and he did not know anyone who would care enough to visit him. But then he remembered. Of course. It was the new doctor that would be assigned to him today.

Over the span of 3 consecutive years of spending life here in the hospital, Arthur had an often change of doctors. They could not anymore take the constant screaming that Arthur would do in the middle of the night. Sometimes they would just simply leave him be and not even care about it, the next morning, a new doctor would be assigned to him. He could not help it. His dreams were nightmares. Sometimes he would even wake up with rage that ended up for him to have to be sedated to calm down. He never liked needles, so when he sensed that they were taking it out, it would only be two things. One, he would squirm and fight even more from the nurse's hold and he would have to be forcefully sedated. Second, he would calm himself down and just shut up, but he would still be sedated. It was much less painful this way, though. That's what he thought.

And he had simply longed for a more patient and caring doctor someday, but, his thoughts were again interrupted by the opening of his door as he quickly sat up to see a man with sandy blonde hair, close the door and smile up at him. Was this his new doctor?

The said man moved to walk up the Brit and stood a few feet away from the bed, as warned by the previous doctors, and nodded, "Good morning!" he chimed in a hearty, almost too cheerful tone. "I'm Alfred F. Jones, fresh from America and I'm going to be in charge of you from now on. So I hope we get along just fine."

Arthur could simply nod while pushing himself to lean back on the metal headboard of his bed and grip his blanket tightly. He did not want to talk and he seriously doubted that the two of them would actually 'get along'. It was like Alfred had sensed the uneasy feeling that made his smile soften into a more of a sympathetic smile. He walked slowly forward and sat on a chair that was just beside Arthur's bed and continued on to shower Arthur with that smile of his.

"May I ask your name?"

"Arthur Kirkland, Trauma in early age, arrived at 13 and currently 16 years old. " Arthur spoke rather hesitantly and only spoke the words he was taught to say in front of a new doctor. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yet he heard a light chuckle coming from the man beside him as Arthur slowly looked up, feeling the tension in the room begin to fade and the atmosphere started to lighten up a bit, "Don't be so formal, Arthur." Alfred said as he smiled, "Now I'll be asking you a few questions if you don't mind, okay?"

"Okay."

"How are you?"

Arthur looked at the other man, confused. He had never been asked that question by any doctor he had come across, and they were a lot! But Arthur shrugged lightly, looking away, his eyes drifting onto his lap where his hands lay. "I'm fine."

Lies.

Alfred grinned, "Well, that's nice!" Arthur found his new doctor to be quite dense, but, given his personality, he supposed it was to be overlooked. "Are you eating well?"

"Yes."

Another lie.

Arthur was so thin now, not that he was malnourished or anything. Only that his limbs have weakened due to no actual use, and that he refused to eat that was served to him from the hospital. It was actual scum, he thought. Never again would be eat it.

"Do you feel comfortable in your room?"

"Yes."

"Do you like to look out your window when you're lonely?"

"Most likely, yes."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Red."

"Are you being honest with me?"

A pause. Hesitancy. Doubt. Uneasiness. Lies.

"Yes."

"I see." A light shift, "Are you being honest with yourself?"

Another pause. It was not like Arthur was uncomfortable or anything. Just..a bit doubtful of himself. Although he knew clearly what the answer was behind all the lies he had always made, did and acted.

A nod, "Yes."

Alfred let out a sigh as he wrote something on the clipboard he held that Arthur didn't really realize that he held until now. "Do you sleep well?"

Arthur shrugged again. Certainly this man had read his records of what happens to him at some nights, why would he have to ask again? "Sometimes, yes."

"What about other times?" Alfred asked, quite determined to push it more a bit.

"I..I don't..I don't know.." Arthur said, shaking his head, biting his lip as he refused to meet Alfred's sympathetic gaze. "Please stop.." his voice cracked at the end as the Brit held on to his tears to refuse them from falling.

Alfred sensed the rising, uncomfortable atmosphere in the room and decided to stop. He leaned forward a bit to try and see Arthur's face, but failed to do so when the Brit turned his head away. "Alright, I'm sorry about that. It's my job."

To interrogate people?

And as if the doctor could read his mind, immediately he answered while standing up. "No, Arthur. To see if you're okay." A hand went to pet the blonde locks that somehow curled from his sleep before Arthur lifted his gaze up again to meet bright, baby blue orbs that smile at him. "I'll be back tonight to check on you, yeah?" Alfred said and before Arthur could even reply, he was already by the door and already walking out, leaving Arthur to his thoughts.

Alfred was different. But is he really?