A/N: I have nothing to say... So, just read on!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names, places, characters, (except my OC's, of course) or anything else affiliated with Trauma Center, this was made strictly for entertainment purposes. All of the above belongs to its copyright owner, Atlus.

"Please!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Oh, please, please, please!"

"Ugh shut up already! Fine, fine!" Victor groaned, massaging his throbbing temples. "Anything to shut you up..."

"Oh, thank you Mr. Niguel!" the ecstatic Lucas Ray thanked him.

"Don't get used to it..." mumbled Victor, returning to his work.

Lucas was an unusual boy; instead of being at the movies on a wonderful Friday night such as tonight, he preferred to hang around at Caduceus where his mother was being treated. Lucas was 16 years old, a science geek, and he wore large-framed glasses to add to his already nerdy appearance. He also wore his long-sleeved, black shirt tucked into his black slacks. Though no one cared to notice, Lucas had beautiful, hazel eyes that shimmered like gold. They were magnificent, gorgeous eyes.

Lucas was a scrawny boy; not much could be said about his muscles, if there were any on his bony frame. He wore his hair short, though one particular brown strand liked to hang in front of his face and drive him crazy. He'd blow upward in order to get rid of it, though it didn't always keep it away for long. This habit annoyed Victor greatly. Of course, not as much as his habit of biting his fingernails when anxious. That bugged him more.

Lucas had come to Victor to take him as an apprentice; he wanted to learn more about researching and developing, for his future career was just that. He hoped he would be able to pull off high enough grades to succeed in pursuing such a difficult career, but if he got hands-on experience at the place where he intended to work when he graduated from college, it would help that much more.

"So what can I do, Mr. Niguel?" Lucas asked.

"You uh... You can go sort the files in the cabinet over there," Victor replied.

"Oh... Okay..." Lucas said, evidently crushed that his new mentor didn't believe he could do anything useful. He obeyed and began sorting the files alphabetically.

While he organized, Lucas hummed the theme song to Bill Nye the Science Guy, a show he had enjoyed as a child. This only drove Victor deeper into insanity.

"Lucas, shush!" the aggravated researcher barked. Lucas leapt out of his skin, apologizing repeatedly. "Just be quiet and let me do my work, if you want to act like an idiot, go hang out with Dr. Chase."

"Yes, sir..." Lucas replied meekly.

Two hours later Lucas had finished tidying up the lab, arranging everything in sight in alphabetical/numerical order, and he had finished all his homework.

"Anything else I can do?" Lucas asked, sure that Victor would give him a more exciting job now that all the organizing chores had been completed.

"Yeah, go give this to the Chief, would you?" he asked, thrusting a pile of forms into Lucas' arms. "Get him to sign them."

With a large sigh, Lucas obeyed and ascended the stairs to give the forms to the director of Caduceus, Sidney Kasal.

"Um, good evening, Mr. Director Kasal sir, Mr. Niguel wanted me to uh, give these to you," Lucas said sheepishly, shrinking under Sidney's calm stare. Lucas was a very shy boy.

"Who are you?" Sidney asked, looking the teen up and down.

"I'm Lucas Ray, Mr. Director Kasal sir," he answered, handing him the pile of forms. "He needs you to please sign these. He didn't say please, but I think he meant to say please."

"Heh, thanks, son." Sidney said with a chuckle, scanning the forms. "So what's the deal? Why are you working with Mr. Niguel down there?" The director signed all the forms after reading them carefully. He'd become quite skilled when it came to skimming through forms.

"He took me as an apprentice, Mr. Director Kasal--..."

"Please, call me Sidney."

"Oh, of course, Mr. Director K-- Sidney."

"An apprentice, huh? Doesn't a lad like you have better things to do on a Friday night?"

"No, sir, I don't have many friends. I tend to stay with my family, you see. My family, however, is all here this fine spring night. My mother was diagnosed with a... Well, they aren't quite sure what it is yet, but they'll figure it out."

"So, do you like science alright?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes sir, I love science. I actually hope to work here at Caduceus once I graduate from college. I want to be an R&D member just like Mr. Niguel!" the teen chimed.

"Well it's good to hear. We need more R&D members, after all. I'll be happy to welcome you aboard when the time comes," Sidney said. He pat the boy on the head, handing him the forms. "Just bring those down to the fax room and give them to Mrs. White, okay?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Lucas scurried off, taking care not to slip on the wet floor as the janitor mopped it.

"Mrs. White?" Lucas asked, stepping into the dark and cold fax room. No one appeared to be here. "Hello?"

The boy looked around, searching for any signs of life. The fax room looked abandoned.

"Well, these are important forms... I can't just leave them here." Lucas thought things through, then decided he'd bring them down to Victor.

"Did you get those forms signed?" Victor asked.

"Yes, Mr. Niguel, they're all signed. I went to the fax room to give them to Mrs. White just like Mr. Kasal told me to, but no one was there," the boy answered.

"You probably went to the wrong fax room, hmm? Did you go to room 003?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Then you went to the wrong room. That's the old fax room, the new one's on the top floor, third door to your right down the fourth hallway," he told him, waving him away with his hand. "Don't come back until the forms are sent where they need to go."

"Yes, sir," Lucas said, rushing off towards the current fax room.

"Oh, good evening young man," the kind-hearted Mrs. White greeted him. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, just some forms Mr. Niguel down in R&D needs sent off. He got the director's signatures, so he told me to come here and give them to you," Lucas answered. He handed the forms to the red-headed lady, smiling brightly at her winning grin.

"That was nice of you to do that for Mr. Niguel," Mrs. White said, impressed. She glanced down at the forms, only to set her eyes upon Lucas' exposed wrist instead. There appeared to be a fresh scar on the flesh.

Lucas immediately pulled down his sleeve, covering it. He acted as though nothing had happened, staring off at the wall.

"Um..." Mrs. White struggled to find the words to say.

"Thank you," he said coldly, storming off.

Lucas rushed into the bathroom, breathing heavily as he leaned over the sink. He quickly checked the room, making sure no one was present.

After feeling secure that he was alone, he pulled out a bent staple and lifted his sleeve up. He twisted and turned his arm, searching for a fresh patch of skin that had not yet been scarred. When he couldn't find one, he cringed and lifted the sleeve of his unscarred, left arm. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this...

"Ah..." he gasped, cutting deep into his arm with the sharp staple. Crimson blood bubbled up from the self-inflicted wound, dripping down his arm and down the drain of the sink.

"Won't... stop... won't stop, not until Mother's well... not until... Mother's well..."