Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction, not for profit, purely for fun, story. I do not own these characters, just borrowing them from Lewis.
A/N: This story might make a bit more sense if you read A Gambit for James first. Some may say it doesn't make any sense at all, including my former English teacher who said my writing 'lacked imagination'.
"Hello Doctor."
She stared at the man. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm not here to see the bouncy castle."
"Obviously not, Chief Inspector Mouse!" Laura giggled.
"Now let's not get off on the wrong foot again."
"Sorry, Morse. Why are you here?"
"I still owe you a drink."
"You mean you still need to allow me to buy you a drink."
Morse sighed. "Let's not play the semantics game."
"There's no use sighing about it. Let's have that drink."
While Laura continued to dream about having a drink with Morse, James went out in the hall intending to hand over the reins to Robbie.
"She fell asleep before we finished our second game." James noticed Robbie glaring at someone walking toward them. It was the same man he saw Bradley Hobson talking to earlier. James positioned himself in front of Laura's door to bar the intruder from entering.
Dr. Alex Gansa walked confidently down the hall, checking the name on the file in his hand trying to match it to the name on the door of Laura's room.
"Excuse me; I need to see a patient."
Robbie moved up behind Gansa so that the quack was sandwiched between himself and James, then roared, "What the hell are you doing here Gansa?"
Laura was lying in bed trying to orient herself to her situation. Time seemed to be playing tricks on her. One minute she was listening to Jean Innocent lecture her on the benefits of hormone replacement therapy, then all of sudden she was playing chess with James. And now she was having a drink with Morse.
It sounded like some sort of commotion was going on behind the closed door to her room. She strained her ears to hear until she was reminded that she was neglecting her visitor. She turned her attention back to Morse and their shared pints.
"You were saying Doctor that this man, James Hathaway, is your son. Why should that cause you so much anxiety you needed to see me?"
"It's what he said about me. I need you to explain it."
Morse looked at her kindly, the way she always imagined he would one day. "What did he say?"
"I overheard him talking to Robbie and he said that my maternal instincts were 'just this side of Medea'. She's the one that did her kids in."
Morse took a sip of his pint in order to think.
"Did he go to Cambridge?"
"Yes."
"That explains it. They insist on using the Euripides version of Medea. His story offers a rather distorted view of events."
"It does?"
Morse sighed.
"Medea had magical powers that could restore youth. More importantly, she defended the rights of women and deplored their treatment by men. Throughout history there have been men who felt threatened by powerful women. Euripides, like many writers of Greek tragedies was subject to censorship and editing. The real reason she killed her children was never fully revealed in his writing."
"What was it?"
Morse shook his head.
"When you discover that Doctor, you'll get your memory back."
"Can't you be less precise, Morse? And why don't you ever call me Laura?"
Morse finished his drink.
"Then I'd have to let you call me…well never mind."
"Anyway, you're too old for me to use your first name."
Morse raised an eyebrow. "Says who?"
"Your doctor." Laura laughed.
"I have to go now. Goodnight Doctor."
"Thanks for the drink Morse. Let's do this again sometime."
Morse's image faded away from Laura's dream and was replaced by a body being dissected by a group of medical students.
Laura screamed.
James, Robbie, and the nearly crushed Dr. Gansa heard Laura scream. Robbie grabbed Gansa and pulled him away from Laura's door to allow James to go back inside alone.
Gansa spoke to Robbie in his annoyingly exasperated voice, "Let go of me. I'm here to help."
"Oh no, you are not. I don't want you anywhere near her."
"She's been diagnosed with situational specific retrograde amnesia. It's one of my specialist subjects. I wrote a book about it."
"You can take your book and-"
"Robbie, calm down! What's going on?"
Jean Innocent had returned to the hospital hoping to find a way to visit Fiona after checking on Laura. She recognized Dr. Gansa and remembered Robbie's disdain for him.
"I am not going to have this man seeing Laura, ma'am."
"I am a highly qualified psychiatrist," Gansa bragged. He only recently was allowed to see patients again after having his license suspended a few years ago.
A nurse and two security guards were approaching them.
"Gentlemen, let's find somewhere to sit down and discuss this." Jean displayed her badge to the security guards. "Please, let me handle them. I'm sure there won't be any more outbursts, will there?"
"No ma'am." Robbie let go of Gansa but continued to glare at him.
James had rushed into Laura's room to find her hugging herself and screaming. He leapt toward the bed and wrapped his arms around her and tried to sound reassuring when he said, "I'm here!"
Laura immediately calmed down. "Morse?"
"No, it's James. Is that okay?"
"Yes, of course." It seemed so familiar. "Why do I have the feeling we've done this before?"
This time was easier. "Because I have the same feeling."
They held on to each other for a few minutes until Laura fell peacefully back asleep and a nurse entered the room, planning to stay for awhile.
James went back out in the hall and joined the others as they found an empty room to discuss Dr. Gansa's involvement.
Gansa told them that he was asked to consult on Laura's case. The treatment plan was explained to her brother and he approved it. Gansa's pager went off.
"I have to go. I'll consult with Mr. Hobson to see if he still requires my services."
As Gansa was leaving the room, Robbie quietly asked, "How's your wife?"
"There's been no change." Gansa sighed and looked almost human. "And I go on reading."
"Sorry." Robbie was sorry about the fate of Claire Gansa.
James was not happy about Gansa being Laura's doctor either. He waited for Gansa to shut the door on his way out.
"We need to demand a different psychiatrist."
Jean quietly replied. "You don't have the authority to do that."
"But I'm her son!"
"Biologically yes, legally no, James."
"I'll request it then."
"Robbie, you're not…anything legal either. It would be different if you were her husband."
Robbie winced. "I've asked her to marry me. She's only agreed that we should buy a house together, that it's the same level of commitment."
James stared at Robbie. He had not known about that.
"Interesting, but not particularly useful in this case. That still leaves you out until more forms are signed other than just an emergency contact designation. Her brother has legal decision making power. She put that in place years ago and it hasn't changed."
James and Robbie slumped in their chairs. Jean sighed and outlined a plan.
"You need to convince Mr. Hobson that while he may have heard that Dr. Gansa is supposed to be brilliant, he is not the right doctor to help Laura regain her memory and deal with the fallout. Now, what do you know about Laura's proclivity to disclose her deepest fears and feelings."
Robbie knew all about that. "She keeps things to herself and tries to deny any weakness. It took years for me to gain her trust."
Jean nodded. "So it would make sense for her to work with someone she's known for a long time."
James thought he knew where she was going with this. You're not going to suggest her friend, Dr. Ellen Jacoby?"
"No. She's too close to the Ligeia Willard case and I always felt she was withholding information."
After that case was over, Robbie had suspected Ellen knew that Ligeia gave birth to twins using Laura's name. He didn't have much good to say about mental health professionals as a group and couldn't come up with anyone he wanted to help Laura. "Who then?"
"Someone she's worked with a long time who started his career as a psychiatrist before he retrained to become a pathologist."
James was aghast. "Aberdeen Angus?"
"Yes James, Dr. Angus Rawbone. They have been trusted colleagues for years."
"But he has a terrible bedside manner." James never cared for the man.
"Robbie has that covered, don't you?" She shot him a slightly bemused look and Robbie blushed. "Laura doesn't need that from Dr. Rawbone. She needs someone competent to help her deal with her past, a medical professional, someone she trusts who is not a relative" she nodded at James, "or future joint home owner", she gave Robbie an exasperated look.
Robbie was ready to endorse anyone other than Gansa. "Is Rawbone still qualified in psychiatry?"
"Oh yes. He volunteers to work with veterans suffering from PTSD."
"Will Rawbone do it?" James was slowly warming to the idea, logic trumping his emotions.
"I'll take care of that. For her brother's benefit we can stipulate that Rawbone collaborate with Gansa. And we know he can handle him."
"Handle him; Rawbone might just eat Gansa for lunch." Robbie smiled at the image of Rawbone and Gansa going head to head.
Robbie called Bradley Hobson and asked him to join them to talk about Gansa. After a bit of hesitation, he agreed to consult with his wife about their proposal to ask Dr. Angus Rawbone, the psychiatric pathologist to work with Laura in place of the supposedly brilliant and morally questionable Dr. Alex Gansa.
Brad called his wife, Carole, and she urged him to agree to Jean's plan. Carole had seen the news stories about Dr. Gansa a few years ago when his license was suspended. She worked for a company that published medical journals and had read Gansa's book. While she agreed he was an expert on situational specific retrograde amnesia, she knew Laura would not trust him enough to share any feelings with him, let alone her deepest darkest fears.
That settled, Jean went in search of Fiona. For once, her parents were absent from the room. After scanning up and down the hall and seeing no one, Jean entered and stood at the foot of the bed. Fiona opened her eyes and spoke.
"I know who you are."
Happy American Thanksgiving this Thursday to all who will be celebrating.