Chapter 8
Broken Motif
As hours passed idly by, House's team took turns sitting in Aiden's observation room, watching the proceedings inside the room. This time around it happened to be Dr. Chase's turn. It was seven in the evening, and although it wasn't clear to the doctor what the real cause was, Aiden was clearly agitated. The pair of psychiatrists in the room with him were attempting to confirm he had DID, but it wasn't going well for them.
Chase watched on silently as they went about their futile business. They obviously wouldn't get the diagnosis they needed because the kid was too smart, and it's nearly impossible to diagnose a condition that a patient doesn't even have. At least, that was what Chase thought. From House's attitude (and the mother's consent), it was apparent that other people truly believed the kid had multiple personalities.
On the other side of the wall, Aiden glanced at the face of his broken watch for the umpteenth time during the psychiatrists' session. The voice of one of the psychiatrists edged in through the speaker, cutting into Chase's attention. "Why are you checking your watch, Aiden? There's a clock on the wall."
"You want me to tell you that the one on the wall is wrong or something?" Aiden asked, stinging sarcasm staining his words.
"Well, the one you're wearing is broken, isn't it?"
Aiden stared for a moment. "Yes."
Chase watched carefully. The psychiatrist continued. "Then why look at it? Why wear it?"
A smile curved Aiden's lips. "Why not? Doesn't hurt anybody, does it?"
The other came in. "Just seems pointless, doesn't it?"
Aiden leaned closer. "What's pointless here is whatever you're trying to accomplish."
Chase muttered a quick "Amen" to that under his breath. This kid was good at knowing himself, but he still had a really creepy feeling about him. No…it wasn't about him;it was something about him.
The psychiatrists glanced at each other, then in Chase's direction. They couldn't see him through the panel, but Chase gave a shrug anyway. They turned away from his direction, and they mumbled to each other, Aiden watching them as intently as predator watches prey.
At this moment, House entered the observation room. He glanced silently between Chase, the psychiatrists, and Aiden. His eyes paused the longest on the latter.
"This is pointless," Chase said. "The kid's nothing more than riled up at this point. There's no other personality in him than that."
"You have no idea," House replied. He looked at his underling. "Nothing else explains all his symptoms."
"DID explains chest pain?"
House shrugged. "It could be a memory he can't shake that a certain personality recalls."
Chase smirked. "Even you don't believe that." They both gazed silently at the group in the room. Aiden glanced at his watch again.
"So, what are they doing now?" House asked.
"Figuring out a new plan, I guess," Chase answered.
House nodded then picked up the microphone. "If you've run out of options, gents, might I suggest Plan D?"
The two glanced up at the new voice, gazing at the panel. They refocused on each other for a moment. One nodded in agreement with the other, and they turned back to Aiden.
Confused, Chase gaped. "What's Plan D?"
"Ask him about what he's most afraid of," House answered.
"Aiden," the bravest psychiatrist ventured. "What's the Darkness?"
Aiden's head snapped up from his watch, his eyes glaring menacingly at the pair. "Who told you about that?"
"What is it, Aiden?" the other pressed.
"Who told you?" The blue eyes peering from beneath strands of nearly white hair narrowed dangerously with each syllable. As they made no move to answer, Aiden's face relaxed. "Oh I get it…this is another game for you, isn't it, Dr. House?" He rose, and, taking deliberate steps, approached the wall directly in front of where House stood on the other side. "If you want to know, you should ask him. He already knows that secret of mine."
"But we want to hear it from you," the first said.
Silent, and intent on remaining so, Aiden did not remove his eyes from the wall.
The psychiatrists exchanged glances. The other took up the torch. "What does the Darkness symbolize, Aiden? What is it? It's important that you tell us."
He cast a glance at his watch, gazing at it longingly. Then, he rose his eyes back up till they reached those of the man on the other side. Now, they were sad eyes. While he stared, he removed the watch and held it up to the wall. "Your time is running out," he said solemnly. He lowered the watch, and he put it back on his wrist. Lowering his gaze, he turned and sat on the bed, drawing his knees close.
One of the psychiatrists moved to speak to him, but House came in over the intercom, "We're done."
They glanced over, then left the room. They entered the observation room, the first speaker in the forefront. "I'm surprised you had us chase this tail so long," he said.
"He doesn't have DID," the second said blandly.
"I never suspected he did," House replied.
They gazed emptily at him. The second scoffed, then turned hotly on his heels and stormed angrily away. The first glanced down, and he shook his head for a moment. "We spent all day doing this, and you never suspected he even had the condition?"
House shrugged. "You spent all day questioning him, and he never so much as shouted at you. Now we know he doesn't have it."
The psychiatrist shook his head. "You're a piece of work, Dr. House," he muttered, then he too fled through the door.
Chase stared blankly at their patient. "So what did this all really accomplish?"
"We know more about his behavior, and, specifically, why he's wearing that watch."
"We do?" Chase asked incredulously.
"Yup. It's not there to tell him what time it is."
"Uh, yeah. We kinda knew that since we saw it was broken when we removed it for his tests."
House paused a moment. "Yeah, I know. I was getting to a bigger point."
"Which is?"
Here, House shifted his gaze. Chase followed it over to Aiden, who was gazing forlornly at his broken watch. "As I said, it's not there to tell him what time it is. It's there to tell him how much time he has left."
Chase's gaze moved back to House. "How much time he has left? Till what? And how could a watch know that?"
House shrugged. "I don't know. But the time on it was 2:23:04 pm with a date of 10/17...which gives us approximately two days and nineteen hours to figure out what's wrong with him."
