Author's Note

.｡｡*ﾟi hope you're staying safe and being kind to yourself! .｡｡*ﾟ

Love youuu 💗

Chapter Text

HOUSE OF REFUGE, 1897

In the warden's office the following morning, Whalen stood across from Snyder, who sat behind his desk, discussing undertaker arrangements for Calico's body when the door was thrown open.

Dr. Fuller stormed in, slamming it closed behind him, and leaned on Snyder's desk. "What kind of institution are you running, Warden Snyder?" He snarled impatiently.

"What is it this time?" Snyder asked, barely looking up from his notes.

"You tell me the truth this instant. No more lies," Fuller demanded with a side glance at Whalen. "Stand and deliver!"

"Excuse me," Snyder slowly rose from his seat. "Listen here, doctor—"

"No, you listen here!" Fuller interjected, slamming his fist on the desk. "I'm in the city for only two nights, and I come back to find two unconscious boys in solitary, another in my infirmary with an almost-fractured jaw, a third boy lying dead in the prison's morgue from an act of suicide, and a dormitory full of frightened children unable to tell me what happened! I want the truth!"

"Dr. Fuller," Snyder sighed, shaking his head as if it were all just a big misunderstanding. "I can assure you. Everything is quite under control. That boy was sick – an inherently disturbed young man. There was nothing we could do to stop him."

Fuller's face reddened as he pursed his lips in thought. "And what evidence, pray tell, do you have to back up such a theory? Are you qualified to make such conclusions? Because as it happens, Warden, a close Harvard associate of mine is a well-qualified alienist in this city, and I will gladly send for him to investigate the psychological damage you've inflicted upon your charges."

Snyder neatly stacked the papers against his desk. "I will not answer to unsubstantiated allegations," he replied calmly.

"Well, you'll answer to mine," Fuller insisted. "Because when I send my report to the board, the commissioner will hear about this, and you're going to find yourself with no backing, no job, and no future at this institution!"

Without another word, Fuller left the office with another slam of the door.

Snyder exhaled the smoke from his cigar, eyes still fixed on the spot where Fuller stood. "Dr. Fuller is one nosy son of a bitch," he muttered to Whalen. "I want him removed from my Refuge immediately. In the meantime, send in Dr. Sayers. He's come here at my request. We have important business to discuss."

Later that afternoon, Dr. Fuller walked through the infirmary, down the rows of empty cots to the one Jack was resting on. He changed the dressing on Jack's wounds, looking up and smiling at the boy.

Jack, now dressed in his underclothes, looked sheepishly dazed, as if he were in a trance. Fuller pressed a cold compress to a bruise on Jack's head, settling into the chair beside the cot.

"Doctor Fuller," Jack rasped, gripping Fuller's arm pointedly. "You can't ever quit this job."

Fuller looked rattled.

"I was wrong before," Jack continued with a cough, drenched in sweat. "You have to do something. Calico… Hans is dead."

Fuller nodded, looking down at him nervously. "I know, son."

"There will be others," Jack replied. "If nothing happens, then…"

"Oh, Jack," Fuller sighed, ruffling his hair out of his face. "I don't know what I can do at this point. It seems whatever I do backfires or it's ignored."

Jack squinted at him through puffy, bloodshot eyes. "No," he managed through the lump in his throat. "No, you can't leave us. You were right. I should've listened to you. I want to help."

"To help you, I need you to help me. You must talk to the board. Tell them everything," Fuller said quietly.

"Fine," Jack replied, his voice cracking. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand, sniffling. "I'll do it."

"You and the other boys," Fuller went on. "All of you must speak up. I won't lie to you – it will be difficult. The staff will call you liars. But I'll protect you. I will speak with the commissioner and the press. If I have to move Heaven and Earth, we will win. But I need you to fight."

Just then the infirmary door opened, and a guard stepped in.

"Pardon me, Dr. Fuller," the guard apologized with a wave of his hand. "You're wanted in the nursery."

Fuller begrudgingly nodded. He gave Jack's hand a reassuring squeeze before following the guard out.

"We'll fight," Jack echoed in little more than a whisper as the door closed behind them.