Disclamer: In this story I just own this idea. Nothing more. Okay?
AN: A huge thanks to all of you who reads this story. I love you all so much.
And thank you all who reviews. Your thoughts means so much to me.
And thanks to all of you silent salkers that has this one on alert. I write this story for all of you
And thanks to TheWeddingFairy for her beta
It was Monday morning. Jane sat outside her boss's office and waited to be called inside. She had much to talk to him about. She scanneed through her notebook to make sure she wouldn't forget anything.
"Doctor Brody?"
Jane looked up and saw the secretary standing there. She smiled at her.
"You may go in now. Doctor Smith is expecting you."
"Thank you, Deb," Jane said, and got up.
She entered Doctor Smith's office that was much bigger than hers. On the wall behind his desk all his diplomas hung, almost too many for the wall to handle. Doctor Smith sat behind his desk and looked up when Jane entered.
"You wanted to see me?" he asked, looking at her from behind his thick glasses.
Jane cleared her throat and sat down opposite him on a chair.
"Yes. I want to talk to you about Mr Harkness."
"I see."
He leaned back in his arm-chair and crossed his arms.
"I don't think he should be kept in a straightjacket. He's not a dangerous man."
"May I remind you that he attacked another patient."
"I know. But that was a one time thing. He was upset. You see, during the night he'd suffered a breakdown and deterioration. It was like nothing in the past ten months ever happened. He was scared and confused. It was a natural response."
"And now?"
"He's still confused. But not dangerous. And I believe that keeping him tied up will be bad for him."
"And what about the patient he attacked?"
Jane suppressed a sigh. She hated to deal with her boss. She couldn't stand the man. But she had to, and she just had to act like she liked him.
"I've gotten reports about the two of them talking like civilised people during the weekend. And I will talk to Mr Harkness about it today."
Doctor Smith sat, quiet for a while. He looked down on the papers lying in front of him. It was a copy of every paper that Jane had about Jack. He knew that Jack wasn't violent, but he had to keep every patients best interest at heart. Then he made a decision.
"I agree with you that he's not dangerous. But considering he did attack Mr Hart, we have to take certain precautions."
"Then just give him some mild sedatives and keep him out of the jacket. He doesn't need both."
"You talk to him today about the attack. Make an assessment about his violent outburst and come back to me. If I find it adequate I will let him out of the jacket and just keep him on the sedatives. If not, he stays on both."
Jane knew that she wouldn't win if she continued to argue. So she bit her lip and nodded, knowing she did what was best for Jack.
"Good. Now leave. I have other meetings to tend to."
"Thank you Doctor Smith. I'll give you the report after the session."
She left the room and sighed. She really wanted to help Jack out of the jacket, but she knew that Doctor Smith was right. They had to think about all of the patients, not just about Jack. But she would sit down with him in a few hours and talk him through the little fight and hopefully find that he doesn't need to hit the other man again.
All morning Jack sat in the common room trying his best to get his head clear again. He didn't want to be fuzzy in the head and he wanted to be able to focus on what he was doing. He had to keep his head clear so that he could find this Adam that John told him about. But nowhere could he see the ginger man. Although that could be because he still had a hard time focusing his gaze on anything.
He knew that John was lurking somewhere in the corners of the room. He snorted at the thought of John. He still couldn't believe that he actually trusted him. But Jack knew that he had too as John believed in him.
Jack could feel every though he had become easier to reach. He could almost grab hold of them now. As he lifted his head he could almost use his eyes like he used too. His environment was still a bit blurry, but not as much as a few minutes ago.
Suddenly he felt someone blow cool air at his neck. He quickly turned around; causing the world to madly spin around him. He closed his eyes and breathed hard to slow it down. The cold laugh that followed told him that it was John standing by him.
As he opened his eyes again he shot John an evil glare. John just rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Over there," John said, pointing towards one of the corridors.
Jack looked over there and saw a ginger man standing there by a trolley filled with cleaning supplies.
"Adam?" Jack asked, and John nodded.
Jack knew that he had to make his move now. If he didn't do it now, he might back out, or try to think of something else to do instead. But he still wasn't entirely sure about bringing another person into his plans. One look at John told him to get moving, or else it will be too late.
So Jack tried to get up from the couch where he sat, but found it hard as he still had his arms in restraint. John seemed to notice his dilemma as he walked around the couch so that he was standing in front of Jack. Then he gave him a wicked smile before taking hold of Jack's shoulders and yanking him to his feet.
The sudden movement made Jack almost lose his balance and left him swaying for a few seconds, much to John's amusement.
"Shut up," Jack hissed as he regained his balance, and made his way over to the janitor.
Jack tried to look casual as he strode through the common room all the way over to the far end of it where one of the corridors took off. As he went he tried to think of the best approach; should he take it easy and try small talk first, or should he get right down to business? Should he be laid back or forward? Should he act like the Captain or just like Jack? And since he couldn't choose, he decided to take it like it came, not thinking too much about it.
When Jack finally came up to Adam, he stopped, not knowing what to do. He stood there for a few seconds just looking down at Adam's neck before the other man turned around.
"Yes?" Adam said, with a small smirk.
"Adam?" Jack said, and felt quite stupid.
"Yes."
"I'm Jack. John told me you could help me."
Adam looked at him for a moment and smiled.
"You want to get out of that jacket?"
"What?" Jack looked confused before he understood what Adam meant. "No. Not that. I'll take care of that myself. No. I need your help with something else."
Adam crossed his arms and judgingly looked at Jack for a moment.
"Spill."
"I need to get hold of my file."
"You want to read your file?" Adam snorted.
"Yes. I have to know what's in it."
Adam bit his lip, and thought about it for a second.
"Sure. I'll get it. Who's your Doctor?"
Jack couldn't believe it. Was it this easy to get something he wanted? Then why hadn't he tried before?
"Doctor Brody."
"It's your lucky day man, I'm gonna clean her office later tonight."
"So you'll get the file tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Great."
Then Jack could hear a small voice in the back of his head telling him to be careful. If something seemed too good to be true, it usually was. He took a small step backwards and looked at Adam again, more suspicious this time.
"What's it gonna cost me?"
Adam gave him a wide grin.
"First favour's for free. Then you can pay me for the others."
"I only want one favour."
"That's what they all say," Adam sneered. "But they always come back for more."
"Yeah, well. Not me. I just want you to get the file."
"Sure thing."
Jack wanted to say something more. He wanted to ask about the favour, and ask what others wanted from him. But before he had found the right words Adam turned to his trolley again and began to walk off.
"I need to work. I'll get the file later."
And before Jack had the time to answer, Adam took off into some room and disappeared.
Jack looked after him for a moment before heading back to the couch where John was lying down. He'd gotten what he wanted. Adam would take the file and bring it to him. And it was for free, because it was only one favour. Everything would work out fine. Then why did he have that feeling in his stomach, that he was going to regret it all?
Once again Jack sat opposite Jane in her office and tried to decide what he should tell her today. She looked at him with a reassuring smile.
"I talked to my boss about letting you out of the jacket," she said and Jack hoped that she had good answers. He didn't like that jacket one bit. He felt trapped. And if he felt trapped he was quick to panic, and he was already in a foul mood.
"And?"
"You should be getting out of it by tomorrow."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
But the look in her eyes told him otherwise. She wasn't sure. And he could see it so clearly. But he hoped that she was right.
"Now I want to continue where we left off last time," she said and leaned back in her chair.
Jack suppressed a sigh. He didn't want to continue to talk about John. Still, he had the feeling that that subject was the root of him getting out of the jacket.
"What do you want to know?" he said with what he hoped was an easy tone.
"You said that you and John were friends and lovers when you were young…"
"So?"
"Tell me about it."
"What is there to tell?" Jack laughed. "We were the same age, had the same charming appearance. Though he's more shabby. To put it this way, we were young and horny. That's why we became 'lovers' as you like to call it. But friends? No. Never."
"Why did you attack him when you saw him?"
"I told you. He said he knew about Gray."
Jane sat, silent for a moment, looking at him. And it was a look that made Jack squirm in his seat. He felt like she was looking straight through him, searching for the truth. Because he knew himself that he didn't tell her the truth.
"Tell me about the last time you met. Before him turning up in your life again."
"You mean the last time before we lost contact?"
"Yes."
Jack sighed. It was so long ago. He'd been a different man back then. It was a life he didn't want to think about. Nothing good had come from it. He could tell her the truth about it. But how could he when he didn't want to acknowledge it himself?
"It's complicated," he began, still searching for the right words. "It was a few weeks after a huge fight. We'd accused each other for almost everything. And we ended it by beating the shit out of each other. So when we met it was in a pub. We sat down, talked about nothing. Just like we always did. And before we left we decided to meet the next day again. But the 'next day' never came. We just didn't meet again."
"So you left with unresolved issues?"
"You could say that."
"What led up to the huge fight?"
Jack smirked. He knew what had led up to it. It was everything; all the scams, all the shagging, all the cheating, all the lying, all the travelling. It was everything. But how could he tell Jane that? Because if he told her how he remembered everything, she would just tell him that he was wrong. But the look in her eyes the other day when he told her that he knew John told Jack that she didn't know, that it had all come as a surprise to her. Maybe they didn't know each other in this life. But if they didn't know each other, then how come John knew who Jack was that day? To that Jack had no answers.
He saw the look Jane gave him and he knew that he had to come up with something to tell her.
"It was a stupid fight really. I think it was because we'd been too close for too long. And that everything the other did was annoying. I began to hate him, and I guess that he hated me too. So when we met in the pub it was just empty talk. Nothing personal, just…I don't know…superficial conversation without meaning."
"And how does that make you feel?"
"About what?"
"It seems that you two had a very deep and emotional relationship even if you don't think about it like that. But just the fact that it was the little things that made you have a row like that tells me that you meant more for each other than you want to let show."
Jack looked at her. He didn't know what to say, because he knew that she was right. One time, long ago, he had actually loved John. But that was in the past. He had been young and stupid. And he had been a conman. Perhaps he'd conned his own heart? But he didn't know in what way. Was it in to loving John or in to hating him?
"I was told that you and John have been talking this weekend," Doctor Jane continued.
Jack nodded and wondered where she was going with this.
"Would you mind telling me what about?"
Jack gulped. Did she know about the plan? Did she know that he wanted to steal the files? The soft smile on her lips and the hopeful look in her eyes told him no, but he didn't know for sure.
"I apologised for hitting him and we just continued to talk."
"That's good. And do you still want to hurt him?"
Yes, he wanted to say. He wanted to scream it. He still dreamed about destroying that handsome face; ripping that mocking smile from him; tearing out those lusting eyes from their sockets. He wanted to make sure that John never recovered again.
"No," he smiled, hoping that it looked innocent and honest.
Jane smiled at him and he knew that he'd succeeded. He leaned back into the couch and relaxed, this was going great.
After their session Jane sat behind her desk writing down everything Jack had told her. She also put in her own reflections on the conversation. She had to finish this quickly if she was to get to Doctor Smith before he left for the day. If she missed him, Jack would be stuck in the jacket for another day. And Jane knew that the sooner Jack got out of that jacket, the sooner he could feel comfortable and safe again. Besides, she had told him that she would make sure that he got out of it before long.
She finished her writing and printed out two copies of the document; on for Doctor Smith and one for her own file. But before getting ready to leave it to her boss, she read through it once more. She'd written everything she'd heard and thought about during their meeting; all the details about Jack and John. She knew that she'd gotten it all in there, but she still had the feeling that there was something that she had missed. Something significant. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that Jack knew more about the matter than he wanted to tell her. But that suspicion she kept to herself because she knew that if Doctor Smith found out about it, he would not changes his orders.
She put one of the papers in her file and walked over to the filing cabinet she had next to the door. She put the file down in it's spot and went back to get the other paper. She folded it neatly before leaving the room. At, the door she almost ran into the janitor.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, as she smiled apologetically at him.
"No worries, Doctor," Adam smiled back. "Leaving for the day?"
"Almost. I just have to get this paper to Doctor Smith first."
"Then you should hurry. I think he was about to leave."
Jane looked down on her watch. He was right. It was almost five, and Doctor Smith always left at five.
"Thank you. Have a great evening."
"You too," he said after her as she rushed down the corridor.
Adam smirked before entering her office to start the cleaning. Just to make sure that he wouldn't be surprised by her coming back when he copied her file he started to dust the shelves in her bookcase.
Twenty minutes later he was sure that she had left for the day. He made his way to the filing cabinet and smiled to himself as he found it unlocked. This was easier than he thought.
It didn't take him long to find the file he was looking for. He took it out and sat down to read a bit from it, wanting to know more about the man.
"This is gonna be fun," he said to himself later when he was done with the reading.
He went over to the copy machine and began printing out is own copy of the file. He now had all the information he needed.
As he turned the machine off he hid the file under his shirt and put the original back into the cabinet. He made sure that he had cleaned everything and made his way back to the door. And as he locked the door behind him he couldn't help but to look forward to they payment he was going to get.
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