Shampoo147: I'm ALIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVEEEE!
Ayame: Now that she's passed out, i'll do the disclaimer. We do not own the song or the series Bones and affiliated characters. Thank you.
The song used is "All the Madmen" by David Bowie.
All the Madmen
Zack stared at the corner of his room. His room was exactly 11 feet by 9 feet and white. He had long since counted the grains on the wall. He had long ago calculated the angle of the sunlight that filtered in through the bars outside of his window and the flimsy curtains was always still; there was no wind to disturb it. Zack had no desire to open his window; he knew the temperature would be more comfortable inside and that his supply of air was never in danger of going low.
His room was nice enough; at least he didn't have to pay rent on it. His bed frame was simple ironwork; his mattress used to be a spring mattress, but Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, and Dr. Sweets had managed to pull enough leverage over the hospital that he had a comfortable foam mattress to sleep on. He had a desk that had his belongings on it; a kama sutra that Hodgins had given him, his acceptance letter, and all of the other things his friends had given him. On top of the desk, with the most care and placed so that they were first and foremost that people saw, were two picture frames and a makeshift trophy proclaiming him "King of the Lab".
Day after day
They tell me I can go
They tell me I can blow
To the far side of town
Where it's pointless to be high
'Cause it's such a long way down
Dr. Sweets came every month to give him some patient therapy. He tried to convince Zack to confess that he had committed no murder, but Zack was firm in his decision and Sweets stopped mentioning it.
He had counted the days carefully and knew that he had been in the hospital for 4 years, 3 months, 2 days, and 7 hours now. He remembered Dr. Sweets telling him that Dr. Brennan was going to have a baby with Booth and Angela had a baby with Hodgins. Zack had replied that Naomi from Paleontology had mentioned having a baby from time to time; but she never had anything good to say about carrying his child. It sounds, Zack continued, like Dr. Brennan and Booth were going to be happy. Hodgins, of course, had already told him about his baby.
Zack hadn't mentioned that one of the girl-patients here thought she was pregnant. She had a miscarriage two weeks after he first got to the asylum and refused to acknowledge that she lost her baby. He sat with her a lot and liked listening to how she was going to love the baby and how she couldn't wait to give birth and she wondered what the baby was going to be and how she had always wanted a little girl.
Angela used to feel sorry for the some of the murderers they encountered; the ones who genuinely felt sorry for what they did or hadn't meant to hurt anybody. Zack had always pitied their faulty logic that led to their imprisonment. He knew that faulty and inconsistent reasoning was one of the main reasons people murdered, or at least got caught for it. It had been the reason that man had died and the reason that he and
(Master)
had been caught.
So I tell them that
I can fly
I will scream
I will break my arm.
I will do me harm.
Here I stand
Foot in hand
Talking to my wall
I'm not quite right at all, am I?
The people he spoke to here had their own logic to live by. He asked questions and they always answered him; most of them were very sure in their reasoning and were very clever. He liked talking to them; they never questioned his own logic and didn't look at him funny when he displayed his extensive knowledge and photographic memory.
He had explained what Gormogon and he had done; being sure to explain the reasoning behind their actions as clearly as he could. Some of them had understood, but others had pointed out that his reasoning had been wrong; there were a few who remarked that he had been a demon, but he was okay now and he wasn't evil anymore, right? He conceded that he had been wrong in his logic and many of them had been happy with him.
And I'd rather play here
With all the madmen
For I'm quite content
They're all the same as me
He played games with them from time to time; they had board games like Clue and Monopoly. He always won at Clue, but he could never win at Monopoly. Scrabble was something he excelled in as well, but he often tied with or lost to Richard, the word person. Richard liked words and was always reading a dictionary.
He couldn't play card games, but playing poker wasn't as bad as it used to be. A lot of his new friends couldn't control their faces; just like he couldn't. He couldn't read their faces very well, but they couldn't read his very well, either.
Don't set me free
I'm as helpless as can be
My libido's split on me
Gimme some gold ol' lobotomy
There was one patient whom he liked very much. He was big and strong like Booth, but he had red hair and a lot of scars. His name was Willard and he always let Zack sit beside him. He liked to eat sugar cubes and often stole the sugar packets from the cafeteria; the staff knew and always tried to stop him, but he was sneakier than they were alert. Apparently one of his friends from the outside brought him sugar cubes when he visited; Willard got visited every week by his very good friend.
He had listened to Zack's story and later told him that Jacob was very upset with what he did, but he, Willard, forgave him as long as he knew that he was being punished for being stupid. Zack had agreed that he understood and asked who Jacob was. Willard said it was the blonde who had been sitting next to them before leaving. Zack knew that no one was there, but he had smiled anyway.
'Cause I'd rather stay here
With all the madmen
Than perish with all the sad men
Roaming free
He told Sweets that he didn't feel bad for making a mistake in his logic anymore. He had been wrong, but he had learned from it. He then asked if Dr. Brennan was happy with Booth and Sweets said that they finally admitted that they loved each other and were getting married. He said that Zack could go, if Sweets was with him. Zack asked him if Willard and Willard's friend could come too. Sweets replied that he had to ask the hospital.
In the end, Zack didn't go to the wedding, but he got to see a video that his friends had put together for him on their wedding day. He didn't say anything when he saw Wendell.
'Cause I'd rather stay here
With all the madmen
For I'm quite content they're all the same as me
Hodgins asked if he was okay with his situation and Zack replied that he wanted to be "King of the Looney Bin," but he had a lot of competition. Zack answered his mathematical puzzles and listened to Hodgins gush about Angela and their baby.