Dr. Galen sighed and leaned back in his office chair. He had just finished the virtual meeting with Barnacles. While he was glad the Captain eventually became honest with him, he knew that this was going to be tough.
It was clear from his admission that he was suicidal. Even if he continued to lie, Dr. Galen had a feeling he would have figured it out pretty quickly. Galen couldn't diagnose it in one sitting, but it definitely looked like he had some form of PTSD and either anxiety or depression. They all could be linked anyway, but more tests would be needed. More questions needed to be answered for him to pinpoint the symptoms.
But the most pressing thing was that he was suicidal, not just with passing thoughts, but with an actual plan. The dog's, Dashi's, comment about locking up the knives was concerning. Could it be that he was trying to stop himself? But Barnacles admitted he was at the end of his rope, and he didn't know what to do anymore. That he felt like dying all the time.
Dr. Galen sighed again.
What to do? What to do?
This was a big decision, capable of changing the polar bear's life; and Galen had to take it with great consideration.
If he just hurt himself, then he didn't need to be taken away. Self harm did not automatically make someone susceptible to being hospitalized. But it was his other behavior. The polar bear tried to hide it, but it was clear that he had a plan to conduct his suicide. And true, he himself was taking steps to stop it, but with his recent lack of impulse control, that could very quickly backfire. In fact, it was like he was a ticking bomb, ready to go off at any moment. It could be a week, years, months, or tomorrow. But with what Galen could see, it would probably happen very soon.
This was a dangerous situation. He frankly didn't know how Captain Barnacles would react. He definitely needed psychiatric care; he was a danger to himself, but thankfully not to anyone else. It may not be long before the polar bear did something drastic.
Captain Barnacles needed to go to the hospital.
The Octopod was thousands of miles away. They couldn't come to Galen in time.
But they had to do something.
Dr. Galen had an idea.
"Barnacles, thank you for attending this meeting," Dr. Galen said through the screen later that day.
"Thank you for having us," Barnacles said. He kept a smile on his face, his paws tight around each other on the table. Peso sat nearby the polar bear. He was there because he was the medic. Kwazii was there because Barnacles had asked him to; he felt safer with him there, even though he would never admit it. As for everyone else, Barnacles wanted them to be as far away as possible. He couldn't handle them listening in.
Barnacles couldn't put his finger on it, but something was off. And that kept him even more on guard.
"I'll go straight to the point," Dr. Galen said. "After the intake and much consideration, it is clear that Captain Barnacles will need immediate psychiatric care. He should go to the nearest hospital and be put in a 72-hour emergency hold."
It's actually happening. Barnacles smiled thinly, because that was the only thing he could do in this horror. Because he knew this was a possibility, that something terrible would happen as an inevitable result of him losing control. If only he stayed quiet.
"Is that really needed?" Kwazii asked.
"I told you the truth. Why are you punishing me for that?" Barnacles said, his voice steely.
"This isn't punishment. This is the necessary steps for you to feel better," Dr. Galen said.
"You can't make me," Barnacles stated. He was going on autopilot again, his head full, everything hypersensitive, to the point of his surroundings ironically becoming hazy. It was almost like a dream.
"You're closest to California," Dr. Galen said. "I can contact a hospital near the closest port, and they can take him in."
"I'm still right here!" Barnacles slammed a paw on the table, making it shake with a loud bam. "Don't talk like I don't exist!"
"My apologies," Dr. Galen said calmly.
Barnacles was breathing heavily.
"I know that this sounds like bad news, but this is for the best," the doctor continued in that same, calm voice. "You will feel better."
No I won't. Being gone will make me feel better. There's nothing else here for me, now.
If he could just breathe, maybe he could talk his way out of this.
But he couldn't even do that.
He didn't deserve to live anymore.
But now they're going to deprive him of that.
"You can't make me," he said again, standing up. The chair scooted loudly behind him.
"At this point, you have two choices," Dr. Galen said calmly. "You can either go willingly or unwillingly. There is no other solution."
Barnacles finally realized what had been bothering him this whole time.
The Octopod had stopped moving.
"I'm sorry, Captain," Peso said quietly.
The doors opened, and a couple of EMTs entered.
Barnacles looked at them, then back at the two Octonauts. "We told Dashi to drive us to California already," Peso explained quietly.
Barnacles should've been angry, but he just felt betrayed.
"Kwazii?" Barnacles asked. His voice was pleading. "You can't seriously side with them. I thought you were on my side."
Kwazii looked pained, yet determined. "I am," he said. He stood up too, went a couple of steps towards him. They were a few inches apart. Kwazii looked up at him. "I will fight them off for you; I'll help you stay out of the hospital, put all this under the rug as if nothing ever happened. But only if you can look me in the eye and say no to this one question. Do you want to kill yourself?"
All he had to do was lie, say one word. It bubbled up, but choked in his throat. He couldn't bring himself to say it, even after all this time.
Kwazii got his answer.
He went away with them quietly.
