Chapter 10: Don't leave, Don't Stay
Feliciano was sitting on his bed staring out the window. He wanted a nice view of some scenery, like maybe grass and a few trees. Something pretty and something not the hospital. His window revealed what was in between the buildings, which wasn't very exciting. Dirty walls and litter flew around, sometimes a bird flew in and hopped around to find something and when it was disappointed, took flight again. Feliciano watched through his window and sighed. He was wearing white yet again although he should be wearing black because of the funeral that was to take place today.
A funeral.
Feliciano sighed, his shoulders drooping and looking at the floor with a dismal look. His doctor had personally came in and told him what had happened. Francis had passed away, although no details of how were released. Since Feliciano was in his baking class he was somewhat close to the French man, the doctors didn't realize how close. Francis was a big flirt, everyone knew that, but to Feliciano he knew him on a deeper level and because of that Francis had become more like a big brother more than anything, protecting him and informing him when he was ignorant.
There was a knock at the door and Feliciano looked up to see Dr. Port, a weary smile on his face.
"Good morning, Feliciano." He greeted. His patient smiled mournfully.
"Good morning, Doctor." He responded quietly, his usual pep and hyperness drained from him.
"It's time to go. Doctor Edelstein will meet us down there with Ludwig and you two can attend together. We will not be joining you today because we have a meeting to discuss about you two." Dr. Port said. Feliciano nodded.
"Okay." He responded.
The doctor escorted Feliciano out of his room and down the hall outside of the patient area and into the guest area. There was a well sized room that was usually home to a pastor who helped pray and preached to family members who were religious. There were padded, wooden pews and a pulpit at the front of the room. A stained glass window was behind the pulpit and illuminated the room with beautiful hues. Feliciano remembered going to church with his family. They were catholic and often went to church. In fact when Feliciano and Lovino were little they sang in the choir. The room, like the cafeteria, also brought back nostalgic memories. He sighed and glanced around the room to find his friend. There were other patients here he recognized from the baking class, and some he's never seen before. A few of them were accompanied by their doctors while some were freely wandering around.
There was a picture of Francis on a table with vases of beautiful flowers surrounding it. They were Irises, Francis's favorite flower. The picture of him was from baking class, a smudge of flour on his forehead with his blonde hair pulled back into a loose and low ponytail. Feliciano smiled. He remembered when the picture was taken. It was when a group of volunteers came to provide some new faces and therefore new company. One of the girls had a camera in her hands and constantly brought it up to her face to take picture after picture. The one displayed was the very one she took. It made Feliciano smile a bit. He turned around and scanned the crowd looking for his tall German friend and brightened up considerably when he found the uncomfortable looking blonde enter the room.
"Ludwig!" He called and bounced over. He turned towards his name and smiled gently.
"Feliciano." He said and opened his arms for a hug. Feliciano happily jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. "You were very close to Francis weren't you?" he leaned back and looked down at the now somber Italian.
"Si but . . ." Feliciano sighed, "he's in a better place now. Heaven must suit him well." He smiled sadly up at Ludwig. "He always loved beautiful places." Ludwig nodded.
At that moment the reverend from the church Francis frequented appeared at the small wooden podium. The guests moved to the pews, Feliciano tugging Ludwig to one of the back rows, leaning on his larger frame as they sat down. The elderly man cleared his throat and opened a bible, taking a deep breath and exhaling before looking up.
"Today is a sad yet tragically beautiful day." he began in a soft voice. "Francis Bonnefoy has passed at the young age of 26. I remember as a child Francis wished to have a beautiful wife and a son by the time he turned 30. Unfortunately he will not be able to fulfill his wish, but one wish has been fulfilled. Francis has always wanted to see the beauties of heaven. Today and for the rest of eternity Francis shall enjoy the luxuries of-"
"THE HERO IS COMING!" A loud rambunctious voice echoed down the hallways along with the loud pattering of feet quickly getting closer.
"Alfred Jones stop running!" A woman called after the man. "This is a funeral not a party! Have some respect!"
A blond head appeared before being yanked back. The entire room turned to look at the now empty doorway, quiet and listening to the angry whispers of a woman scolding a child. A minute later a blonde man with glasses and bright blue eyes appeared, a stray hair standing straight up. He wore a bashful smile.
"Sorry." He apologized, his doctor nodding and nudging him. They sat down next to Feliciano and Ludwig. The reverend cleared his throat.
"As I was saying, Francis is surely enjoying heaven as we speak. He looks down at us with the smile he has and always will wear." The man continued to speak highly of the blonde Frenchman, recalling a few childhood memories to lighten the mood. There was a slideshow of a few pictures of Francis to one of his favorite songs and afterwards there was time to approach the closed coffin for final goodbyes. Ludwig glanced down at Feliciano and noticed the tears silently running down the mans face.
"Feliciano?" he said quietly. Feliciano sniffed and wiped the tears away.
"I'm okay. It's just going to be different without him." He said glumly. Ludwig analyzed him, not sure how to cheer him up. He saw one of the patients rubbing another's back and decided this was an appropriate way to console his friend. His large hand covered almost all of the Italian's back but he rubbed it in (hopefully) gentle circles. Feliciano relaxed under his touch, smiling to his knees.
"Grazie." He said quietly. Ludwig nodded. Feliciano stood up and the blonde mimicked his movements, approaching the coffin slowly. When they got up to the mahogany casket, Feliciano got on his knees and clasped his hands in prayer. Ludwig watched him, not one for religion. Feliciano's lips moved and after a few minutes he stood up with a smile on his face. Considering Ludwig didn't know the Frenchman much, he said a brief goodbye to the man before turning away.
The noisy blonde from earlier was talking to another patient.
"Hm, that's Alfred." Feliciano said, a spark in his eyes. His voice dropped low. "I've heard of him. I wonder if what they say is true." Before Ludwig could reply Feliciano skipped ahead and eagerly introduced himself to the man. Ludwig sighed and approached the two.
He inspected the man. His choice of clothes were a bit odd. Alfred wore a leather bomber jacket and a pair of average jeans, but beneath the jacket he wore another one. A red hoodie with a white maple leaf on the front. Maybe he was Canadian? No, his accent was clearly American. There had to be some reason for the Canadian logo though. Ludwig glanced at Feliciano, who looked like he also had the same question.
"Ve~ why do you have-"
"such amazing blue eyes?" Elizaveta, Alfred's doctor, interrupted with a smile, looking at Alfred. He laughed and put his hands on his hips.
"Because all heroes have amazing good looks like me!" he said enthusiastically. Elizaveta looked back at the confused duo and gave a subtle shake of her head.
Don't ask. She mouthed. Ludwig shared a look of understanding with Feliciano. The Italian smiled back at the American.
"You look like Captain America!" he said. Alfred chuckled proudly.
"Well I don't wanna give anything away buuuut," he flipped a necklace out of the red jacket, showing the Captain America shield and winked. "All heroes have secret identities." He said in a hushed tone.
Feliciano nodded understandingly, a serious look on his face.
"I understand!" he said with a salute. Ludwig rolled his eyes, not entirely sure if Feliciano was just humoring him or really believed he was Captain America.
"Let's go, Feli." He said, gently nudging his arm. Feliciano nodded and waved good bye to Alfred and Elizaveta. When they were a good distance away from them Feliciano's smile wilted a bit.
"I wonder what his condition is." He said quietly, brow furrowing. "I heard about his condition but apparently we can't ask. That's not exciting at all." He frowned.
"I wonder as well." Ludwig said, glancing back at Alfred, who was now talking to Elizaveta about something. "But I think it's good that we didn't know up front. It's a good sign treatment is working."
Feliciano nodded and looked up at him.
"Is your treatment working?" he asked, genuinely curious. Ludwig was surprised. Was it working? He didn't get angry at small issues anymore, and when he did he was in more control of his anger.
"Ja." He said. "It's working. Is yours?" he looked down at him. Feliciano looked down at the ground with a smile.
They think it is.
"Si of course!" he said looking back up happily. "I think when I'm out I'm going to paint with actual paints and try to become a painter." He said. All lies. What were the need to buy paints when he could have so much fun attaining his precious crimson shade?
Meanwhile Dr. Edelstein and Dr. Port were sitting in a private meeting room with Dr. Carr. The three were reviewing the backgrounds of their patients, trying to understand what Arthur's warning had meant. They began first by listing and looking at true statements about each patient. First about why they were admitted to the hospital.
Feliciano had committed murder, painting with blood on several occasions. He had been diagnosed with Anti-Social Personality Disorder, his main problem being not knowing the difference between right and wrong. Feliciano also didn't understand sarcasm and didn't get anything unless it was directly said, almost childlike. Dr. Port decided to run extra tests on Feliciano to check his dosage and see if schizophrenia medication would help him.
Ludwig had also committed murder, but unlike Feliciano he did so out of anger and not curiosity. He let his anger get the better side of him, resulting in him taking his girlfriends life. He had been diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Dr. Edelstein reported that he his medication was working and since the baking class and use of journal, Ludwig has been improving.
Both doctors agreed that their patients benefitted from meeting and becoming friends.
"What if we monitored their meetings in a room?" Dr. Edelstein proposed. "We can record their discussion and interactions and analyze them, see if there is something going on that we can't see."
"I agree. I feel like it would be a wise decision. Arthur would not have warned me if he didn't know something was already wrong." Dr. Port said as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "You see, Arthur's schizophrenia is special. The information he warns me about he already knows. His subconscious hides it away and turns it into one of his hallucinations and 'informs' him." He explained. "Arthur somehow came across that Ludwig and Feliciano should not interact and waited until later to act upon it."
"The papers he gathered that night are Feliciano's and Ludwig's profile. If he already knew-" Dr. Port began.
"He knew the basics that they should be separated. The information he holds inside him at the current moment is being repressed by the negative emotions. This 'Voice' he tells me of is repressing vital information and emotions."
"If we can help Arthur with this negative blockage . . ." Dr. Edelstein said.
"Then we can get the information from him!" Dr. Carr said, slamming a hand on the table. "But for the current moment I think separating your patients will help Arthur get some peace of mind. It's better to be safe than sorry."
"But what role did Francis play in this?" Dr. Port asked with an outstretched hand. Dr. Edelstein faced the elder.
"Francis Bonnefoy was an expert when it came to computers. The security team have already established that he was the hacker that got past our passwords. He also evaded cameras. I'm guessing Arthur asked him for a favor and with Francis he will do anything for something sexual in return." Dr. Edelstein pulled out Francis' patient profile. "The man had satyriasis."
Dr. Port nodded, sighing softly.
"I see." He said quietly. "I can only imagine what Arthur promised him."
"Arthur is not the type to offer his body so willingly." Dr. Carr said defensively. "He is a gentleman and would not have made the first offer. Arthur most likely asked Francis for assistance but Francis asked for a favor in return and since Arthur wanted the information he agreed."
"Could . . . could it be possible," Dr. Edelstein began again, "that the Voice was trying to protect Arthur?" he looked up at the other two with wide eyes. He smiled and leaned forward. "The video clearly revealed Francis pulling Arthur close and when he got too close Arthur pushed him away."
"The audio even let us hear Arthur saying 'I made a deal', a deal he planned on fulfilling until the Voice-"
"Arthur not only has schizophrenia!" Dr. Carr said excitedly standing up. "Arthur has multiple personality disorder! His condition has worsened, resulting in this alter ego!"
"This Voice is protecting Arthur." Dr. Port stated. "It probably doesn't mean any harm but to keep Arthur safe by whatever means necessary."
"This . . ." Dr. Carr sat down with a wide smile on his face, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is brilliant! I mean . . . I'm said to hear he has not been getting better but with this we can treat him for Multiple Personality Disorder and thus help him. Once he gets better we can request information from him, but for now I treat him.
"And we keep Feliciano and Ludwig separated or have them meet in one of the safe rooms." Dr. Edelstein said with a nod. Dr. Port smiled at Edelstein.
"I'm glad we had this discussion." Carr said, writing down their findings in Arthurs folder, where he would type it into the Patient Profile System later. The other two nodded respectively.
"I think we shall inform our patients that they will be meeting in a safe room." Port added as he also began packing up his folders. He wrote down the new information before packing it away.
The doctors said their goodbyes and left to their patients. Finally, they were making progress.
Looks like the doctors are making progress! What about you guys? Were you right?Were you close? Let me know in the comments! Also know that I am getting into the rhythm of school I will be updating/writing more often!
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