Barnaby had spent the day doing his regular routine, he had chosen not to phone Bison yet, he would deal with his colleague's (ex-colleague? friend?) issues once he had a better grip on his own. His therapy session was set for tomorrow and he wanted to be prepared. He had taken out his journals and began re-reading what he wrote, ensuring he knew the details of his own life, as well as the details of his fake life, inside and out. He didn't want to sound like he wasn't confident in what he knew.

As he got ready for bed he hoped beyond all hope to just have a peaceful rest, to have a chance to recover before he met with the therapist tomorrow. However, he had a feeling in his gut he wouldn't be so lucky. He slid his feet under the covers and lay his head down, golden curls spreading like wings on his pillow. He let out a sigh and set his glasses down on the bedside table. Closing his eyes he tried to relax. He tried to think of peaceful things, but all that came to mind was Kotetsu smiling at him, the other Heroes pretending to be robbers on his birthday, Kaede holding desperately onto her father after the fighting was all over and telling him he looked cool. He missed his friends… he missed being a Hero.

It was with those thoughts in his mind that he drifted off to sleep. The dreams washing over him like a tide.

Barnaby was sitting in class, there was a guest speaker talking. A man from the university that was there to talk to them about opportunities outside of the Hero Academy. While Barnaby was glad to be attending the Hero academy, they offered full diploma and degrees for high school and university students, their range of courses were limited, as most of the people attending the school were also attending to become Heroes. The university director speaking to them was offering courses that were well beyond those offered at Hero Academy. Full degrees in computer sciences and mechanical engineering, drama programs, liberal arts programs, the list went on and on. Barnaby was looking through pamphlets. Engineering and computer science, both fields his parents worked in, excelled in, fields he had always had an interest in, and found not only compelling but easy. He loved the science and math behind those topics, loved to inquire further into a topic. He turned his attention back to the presenter.

"At Sternbild University you can not only achieve your goals of higher education but you can become a productive member of society. Almost no one from Hero Academy ever actually becomes a Hero. It is documented evidence that the majority of students who attend are not cut out to be Heroes, not because they aren't talented or have the heart, but because the corporations cannot market unattractive NEXT abilities," the man spoke with conviction. While it wasn't wholly untrue, it did stretch the truth a bit. The corporations couldn't hire someone with the ability to stretch their skin, not because it was unsightly (which it was) but because it was useless for helping save people and protecting the city.

"At Sternbild U. we offer programs that can help you get jobs that actually provide assistance for people in the city, diploma programs to get you into a trade, degrees to get you into businesses and government positions. You can become something so much more than a person in a costume," as he spoke he paced the room, looking into the eyes of the students, Barnaby felt his eyes linger on him.

"If you truly believe you can be a Hero, then stay here, but if you hunger for something more in your life, then take the time to read through the list of classes offered, see if anything piques your interest," he smiled at them all. "However, if you do stay here I wish you luck!" he looked intently at Barnaby once more before turning to the teacher in charge. "Thank you for your time."

She smiled back at him "thank you for coming, I agree with some of your statements, if any of you are interested in taking courses that are more in your interests I think it would be pertinent of you to do so sooner rather than later."

Barnaby woke the next morning, the only dream he had was of a university recruiter, Maverick couldn't even let him remember any interest in any other school. He let out a sigh as he lay in bed, the sun laying across his room in a soft orange haze, defused by the curtains across his window. He lay there thinking of what his life could have been, had Maverick never interfered. Would he have gone into robotics? If he had, would he have ever met the other Heroes? Met Kotetsu? The implications troubled him. He wouldn't want to have never met Kotetsu, but at the same time would he perhaps have met others, had others care for him, if it weren't for Maverick?

He rolled onto his side, looking at his alarm clock, his arm pillowed under his head as he thought. 8:23am, he still had hours to kill before his first therapy session. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, a bit more sleep might not hurt, he didn't feel rested at all. He should have gone to the lab and slept in the chamber as Dr Saito recommended. As he lay there contemplating his options for the day, he did drift back to sleep. Instead of the invasive memories, he dreamt pleasant dreams of his time with Kotetsu and the other Heroes. He dreamt of those six precious months after Jake Martinez died, where his teamwork with Kotetsu was unrivalled, and his friendship with the other Heroes, while it couldn't be described as close, was blossoming somewhat.

When he next awoke the sun was slanting through his window at an odd angle, he sat up and stretched turning to look at the clock. His vision was too blurred to make it out correctly. There was no way that was the time. He picked up his glasses and looked back to the clock; his veins ran cold at the sight. 1:48 pm, he had 12 minutes to get to his appointment on time. He launched out of bed, his foot caught up in his sheets, tripping him and causing him to crash shoulder first onto the ground.

He groaned and shoved himself off the ground, untangling his foot from the sheets and rushing into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had two weeks' worth of scruff, his hair was a ball of fluff and sweat instead of his immaculate curls, his eyes still a little puffy from sleep. He splashed water onto his face, ran damp fingers through his curls trying to tame them a bit before giving up and grabbing a hair tie. He rushed out of the bathroom and back into his room grabbing a pair of jeans his standard black t-shirt and a maroon hoodie. Stumbling around trying to put his pants on while also heading into the living room — he grabbed his mobile off of his computer desk dialling his therapist's number. He would have to inform them he was running late. He held the phone in one hand listening to the ringing as he pulled his shirt on, switching hands so he could get the other arm through. As he was pulling the same manoeuvre with his hoodie the phone picked up. He held it to his left ear as he pulled his right arm through the sleeve.

"Good afternoon, Apollon medical centre, how may I help you?" The crisp well enunciated voice of the receptionist answered.

"Yes, hello… this is Barnaby Brooks Jr. I have an appointment there in a few minutes?" He said and then switched the phone quickly to his right ear, struggling to get the hoodie up onto his left side and his arm through the hole as he listened to the response.

"Yes Mr. Brooks I have you here for 2pm, is there a problem with the appointment?" The receptionist asked, his voice the steady tone of a practiced speaker to those in a panic.

"No, the appointment is still good, I'm just running a little late," as Barnaby spoke he went to put his shoes on, realised he had no socks on, causing him to dash back into his room to get some.

"Is everything alright Mr. Brooks, there's a lot of noise on your end," the slight hint of concern on his voice troubled Barnaby, how much noise was he making?

Grabbing his socks and holding the phone to his ear as he hopped around putting them on, (god if Kotetsu saw him he would never live it down, keep on hoppin' lil Bunny!) He answered the receptionist's question. "Yes, everything is fine, sorry. I might be a few minutes late, is that going to be a problem? I can reschedule if it is," he had finished bouncing around the room, socks securely in place, he sat down shoving his feet into his custom red boots.

"If it is only a few minutes it should be fine, but do not endanger yourself to get here…" the receptionist sounded a bit wary.

"I won't, I'm almost there, let Dr Hajran known this won't happen again," Barnaby was locking his front door as he said this, making his way to the elevator.

"See you soon," the reception said before hanging up. Barnaby looked at the clock on his phone. He had 8 minutes to get there, not enough time to drive. He was more than 10 minutes from the Apollon Media building by car. He turned on his heel heading back the direction he had come. Opening the door to the emergency exit stairs he made his way to the roof.

I'm not a Hero anymore; I'm not a Hero anymore. He kept chanting this to himself as he rushed up the stairs. He didn't have to feel guilty using his powers for a selfish reason, he didn't have to worry about the hour long recharge, he wasn't going to be called out to do any hero work. Glancing at his phone to check the time as he pushed open the door to the roof of his building, he had 7 minutes to get to Apollon Media. He tucked his phone into his pants pocket. Marching across the roof he looked towards where he could see the top of Apollon Media. He could get there; he just had to cheat this one time.

Taking a few steps back from the roof's edge he powered up, the blue glow engulfing his whole body, his emerald eyes shifting to an aqua blue. He took three lunging steps forward before pressing off with a powerful leap, launching himself upward and forward, onto the roof of the building next to his, heading in the direction of Apollon Media. The jump was well over 11 meters between the buildings, as well as a height difference. The building Barnaby was jumping to was at least 2 storeys taller than his own building. The jump was easy, he landed with barely an audible thump, his feet already dashing across the rooftop at lighting fast speed, launching him up and forward towards the next building. He cleared six building this way, always moving upward and forward, as the buildings grew taller towards the centre of Gold Stage. It had been less than two minutes and he was already more than halfway to Apollon Media.

He loved this feeling: being charged up every little ache and pain was gone, his shoulder that had been throbbing from his fall this morning no longer hurt, his head felt clear, even his vision was perfect when he was like this. He felt so free whenever he used his powers. He couldn't imagine how terrifying it must be for Kotetsu to know that one day he may never feel this way again, to never be this free.

He launched upwards and forwards, the last final leap before Apollon itself. He landed and pulled out his phone checking the time. He still had almost four minutes to get there, and just under two minutes of super speed. He looked over at Apollon Media. The building was well over 15 storeys higher than the building he was on, and over 15 meters away. There was no way he could make that jump without his suit. He looked down at the alley below; there was no one down there. He jumped off the roof onto the street below. He would have to cross the street, get to the building, wait for the elevator, and check in all in the next three and a half minutes. He would have to chance people noticing his glow and speed. He couldn't wait for his powers to time out. Taking a deep breath Barnaby dashed out from the alleyway, sprinting at full speed across the street and into the building. Most people barely had time to notice the blue blur before he was gone. He skid to a stop in front of the elevator banks, hoping the security guards wouldn't notice he had just come in with NEXT abilities active.

The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside just as his glow was fading. No one stopped him as the doors came to a close and he let out the breath he had been holding. He did it, he got here in time. He hit the button for floor 15 and watched as the elevator numbers began ticking up to 15. He looked at his phone again, a minute to spare. He couldn't believe he made it. How had he overslept like that? He was so embarrassed.

The elevator doors dinged open and he stepped out; trying to smooth back his hair into his ponytail so he looked somewhat presentable. The receptionist he had spoken to was seated behind a large Mahogany desk, a nameplate that read Stephen Chiasson sat neatly in front of him.

"Sorry I'm late, I got here as fast as I could," Barnaby knew he wasn't truly late, but arriving anytime less than 15 minutes prior to an appointment was late to him.

"Not at all, you are right on time Mr. Brooks, I'll have you fill these forms out while I let Dr. Hajran know you are here," Stephen pulled out a clipboard with the correct forms already attached as well as a new pen with the medical clinic's name embossed on the side.

Barnaby walked over and took the board and pen, Stephen stood and moved through a set of double doors that were behind his desk, letting him into the hallway where the doctors' offices all were. As the double doors came to a close Barnaby sat down on one of the overstuffed lilac coloured couches off to the side. He looked around briefly before turning his attention to the forms in his hands. The room was modern, chrome accents on white pillars, the floor a dark blue with white accents. The desk, while wooden, was sleek and modern style, minimalistic and simple, yet elegant. The overstuffed lilac couches on either side of the room were homey, yet classy. Apollon Media was ever aware of setting a good first impression.

He looked to the forms, filling them out with practiced ease, the paperwork he filled out for his job as a Hero had been set up in a similar fashion. He read over the confidentiality form, ensuring that it was as air tight as Agnes had said. He could see no flaws. He signed the bottom of the page, clipping the pen to the side of the board. Stephen had come back in while he was reading through the form. Barnaby stood and walked over to the desk setting the clipboard down.

Stephen flipped through the paperwork quickly ensuring no information was missing before smiling up at Barnaby. "Well Mr. Brooks it looks like everything is in order. If you will follow me, I will show you to Dr Hajran's office," he stood and walked to the double doors once more, pushing the right one open and holding it for Barnaby to walk through before taking the lead down the hall, walking past several doors stopping in front of the third door on the right. Dr. Hajran's nameplate sat in the middle of the door. Stephen knocked and then pulled the door open. "Have a nice session Mr. Brooks," he said as he held the door for Barnaby once more.

Barnaby smiled and nodded before walking through the door. A woman in her late fifties with elegantly curled shoulder length dark brown hair, streaks of grey shining through it, sat behind a desk very different than the one in the waiting room. This one was cluttered with picture frames, papers, two different coffee mugs sitting on top of teetering paper piles, and a collection of bits and bobs and knit knacks. Dr Hajran stood from behind her desk and walked around it, hand outstretched. "Ah, welcome Mr. Brooks; it's a pleasure to meet you."

Her voice was deep, deeper than Barnaby had expected, thick like she had smoked her whole life, but warm like a mother, a slight accent enhancing the deepness of her voice. She was dressed rather casually. She had dark blue jeans on, they flared ever so slightly at the ankle, and her feet were in comfortable looking loafers not really meant for leaving the house in. Her top was a cosy motley coloured sweater over a light blue T-shirt. Her fingernails were a bright shade of purple with silver accents, long and square, probably three or more centimetres out from the tips of her fingers. She was nothing like Barnaby had imagined. Barnaby reached forward and took her hand in a friendly handshake; her grip was firm yet gentle, allowing him to lead the shake.

"The pleasure is mine Dr, thank you for seeing me on such short notice, and I apologize again for being late, there is no excuse for my tardiness," Barnaby took his hand back, smoothing it against his hair; forgetting for a split second that it was tied back. He let his hand fall back to his side looking Dr Hajran in her hazel eyes. She smiled at him, light wrinkles evident on her dark olive skin, mostly smile lines that creased further with her smile. She nodded her angular chin towards a set of armchairs.

The two moved over and took seats facing each other, a small coffee table between them. "Don't worry about being late, you made it clear when you made the appointment that getting places has been a bit of a struggle, and you aren't alone, several of the others I have seen with the dreams had similar problems."

Barnaby visibly relaxed at hearing this, as much as he hated being late at least she was understanding of the situation. "Thank you doctor, yes the dreams are the reason I'm here actually."

She nodded at this before speaking. "Before we get into the dreams, is it ok if we get to know each other a bit? All I know about you is what I saw on TV, and to be honest I have a feeling that isn't the real you."

She had a smile on her face as she said this and Barnaby felt put at ease, her voice like dark chocolate, rich and full, lulling him slightly.

"Ah, I'm not that interesting I assure you, with all the cameras and constant publicity work most of my private life was aired on TV, I'm sure you know me better than you think," he said with his charming interview smile in place, the anxiety of having rushed here settling in as he finally had a chance to sit down, to relax slightly. He felt nervous, this woman was studying him, he could tell.

"If you say so, but I'm hoping I get to see a bit of the real you, not just the one the cameras showed us. Do you prefer to be addressed as Mr. Brooks or as Barnaby, or perhaps a nickname?" She asked, shifting her legs so they were crossed in front of her.

"Barnaby would be best, thank you," he said with a smile once again, he didn't know how to act in this setting, he had never been to a therapist before.

"Excellent, you can call me Doctor, doc, Dr Hajran, or Kamal; whichever you find most relaxing," she picked a mug up off the table and took a sip, the contents probably cold as it had already been sitting there before Barnaby entered.

"Let's start with some basic questions. You know, like an ice breaking session," she reached up to a bookshelf and pulled down a pad of paper and 2 pens and an odd pile of cut yarn pieces.

"Most of the activities I do are for group sessions, but I think we can make do with just the two of us. This is a chance for you to get to know me as well," she set the yarn pile down in front of Barnaby.

"This is a pretty simple game, I'll give us a topic from this list and whoever's turn it is will take a piece of yarn and twine it around their finger until it runs out. While they are twining the yarn they must speak continuously on the topic given. When the yarn runs out so does your time to chat. Sound good?" She had demonstrated the winding of the yarn while speaking to show him how it was done.

"I suppose that is fine," he wasn't sure why they needed to make a game of it, but supposed it might make it easier to talk if his hands had something to do.

"Great! Our first topic will be…" she rolled a die she had pulled out of her sweater pocket. It landed on 5. "What was the worst fashion trend you use to rock, and do you wish it would come back?" She laughed "what a great question I hope you roll five for me next!" She had her hands clasped in her lap as she looked at him expectantly.

"Terrible fashion trend I use to wear? What kind of…" his face had been creased into a frown before he forced a smile onto it and laughed a bit "you're right, what a fun question… so I just take a yarn as I talk and finish once it's wound?" His smile from Hero TV was firmly in place as he pointed at the yarn pile.

"Exactly, go ahead," she motioned for him to start.

He took hold of one of the pieces of yarn and started winding it around his left pointer finger. "when in junior high I used to wear wire frame glasses, circular ones. There was a popular character from a book series that everyone loved. I wore the same glasses he did," Barnaby finished winding the yarn before he had to answer the rest of the question on if he would wear them again. The answer was practiced; he had given similar answers to these types of questions during interviews. It was both settling for his nerves and annoying, he hated these useless questions and felt it was a waste of time right now.

"Ahhhhh, I remember when all the kids used to wear round glasses, what a fun trend," she reached forward and took a sip of her cold coffee again.

"What do I do with this now?" He asked pointing at his yarn wrapped finger.

"Oh just unwind that and set it aside," she grabbed the die and handed it to him, "go ahead and roll that to see what I will answer."

Barnaby stared at the die for a moment before rolling it on the table. "two," he called out leaning forward to try and see her list of questions.

"Ah! What another great question, you know I have Stephen make up new ones for me all the time, what a pleasant man," she said this while turning the page for Barnaby to see. It read: 2) if you could instantly become an expert at something, what would it be?

She took hold a piece of yarn and started winding as she spoke, her fingers moving slowly. "If I could become the expert at something instantly it would be to ride the unicycle. I have always thought that it would be amazing to have that kind of balance, you know? Also I could probably make a killing at street performances," she said with a wink and a laugh, her yarn ran out.

Barnaby kept his prince smile in place at her story, he hated this more than anything and would most likely have words with Agnes when he left this appointment. This was a waste of his time. He had hoped to get some relief over his memory alterations, not be sucked into idle chit chat.

"What an interesting choice," he said instead of the indignant remark that was burning on the tip of his tongue. "Though I doubt many people would have chosen it, other than maybe my old partner, he lived for stuff like that," because most people wouldn't care about something so trivial as that. He wasn't sure why he had brought Kotetsu into this, but the older woman's antics reminded Barnaby of him, the way she joked around the important issues was identical, and just as annoying, to how Kotetsu avoided his problems.

She smiled at him and pick up the die "lets go again shall we?" she tossed it on the table in front of them, it landed on four. Barnaby felt a nerve twitch behind his eye as he looked down at the page, turning the paper for her as he read: 4) what is the best gift anyone has given you? He didn't want to answer this, it was either going to be a terribly dismal story about his toy robot from his parents, the pink rabbit from the other heroes, or the points Kotetsu had given him by handing over the diamond thief on his birthday. He had received so few gifts in his life, real gifts, that to talk about any of them felt like an invasion of privacy, but worst of all, highlighted his total lack of relatives or friends, the gift he had received from Maverick he supposed.

She read the question after he turned the page for her and smiled, "what is the best gift anyone has given you," she said, before drinking from her cup, the last dregs of whatever coffee had been in there now gone as she set the cup down, looking at Barnaby waiting expectantly once more.

"Hm… the best gift, that is a tough one as I receive so many wonderful things from fans all the time," he began winding the yarn, his fingers moving with haste trying to get it over with, unfortunately he seemed to have grabbed one of the longer ones, it wasn't running out as fast as his first. "There was this one year where a group of fans dressed up in costumes and made a little skit, they sent me the video link in a birthday card, it was a valiant effort, though perhaps a bit of editing would have helped," it was true, a group of kids had sent him a 45 minute video of them pretending to be super heroes for his birthday, he had suffered through most of it before hitting fast forward to get to the end. Kotetsu had gotten mad at him for not paying attention to their efforts. It had by far not been the best gift he ever received, but it was a safe answer.

She clapped her hands and laughed at that, "Oh! I would love to see that video, it must have been something to be the best gift you ever received," the way she said best left no question in Barnaby over whether or not she had picked up on him skirting the issue, he didn't care. He would leave this appointment and never see this woman again; he would treat this like any interview he had given over the last three years.

She shifted again reaching for her mug. "Ah, my coffee from earlier is gone… would you like a coffee? I'm going to make some," she stood up, walking over to her coffee maker pouring a fresh cup into the mug she held.

"Um, sure," Barnaby said making to stand up.

"No no, don't get up; I'll get it for you. Do you take milk and sugar?" she asked as she spooned two teaspoons of sugar into her own cup and pulled a milk container from a mini fridge, dumping in at least half a cup of milk — could it really still be called coffee?

"Sure, just half a teaspoon of sugar, a bit of milk," He sighed inwardly waiting for her to make the coffees, glancing at the clock on the wall with just his eyes, not daring to offend her by openly checking how much longer he had to suffer through this. Another forty minutes? He might have to feign sickness and leave at this rate.

She made his coffee and brought both cups over, setting his down on the table and rotating the handle so it faced him. The mug was bright yellow and had a sun with sunglasses on it that read "Stay lit" under it. He stared at the mug for a moment before finally opening his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by her.

"You want to get started, I can tell. But let's think of this first session as a get to know you rather than a get to know all your problems. I want to know who you are, how you are feeling about your life right now, and then we can talk about the dreams, they aren't going anywhere, she said all this and then took a great big gulp of coffee.

Barnaby bristled at her words, she knew he was uncomfortable, knew he wanted to get going on a subject he was more content to talk about, and yet she was dancing around it wanting to get to know him? He felt his temper flair, a terrible flaw that he hated but couldn't control, especially since the dreams had come.

"You want to get to know me? Well join the club! That's the problem, I don't know who I am, how am I supposed to tell you who I am? Maverick stripped away so much of me that there isn't any me left," Barnaby felt his voice rising as he spoke, he felt so out of place, so uncomfortable. This woman was so relaxed and peaceful, but the anxiety of getting here on time, the anxiety of not revealing just how dismal his life is, the anxiety of her wanting to just get to know him rather than jump directly into how to help him, were all grating on him.

"Ah ha! There we go, that's got you out of your head," she smiled and took another sip of coffee. "Have some coffee Barnaby, take a breath and let's start over."

He wasn't sure why she was smiling so wide, why he felt like he had just handed her the key to the city rather than the outburst he had felt it to be. He automatically picked up the mug and took a sip, the coffee was bold and rich in flavour had a hint of macadamia nuts to it.

"You looked like a kid on the first day of school when you walked in here, shy and unsure and putting on fake smiles, like the ones you used on TV. The only time you haven't been fake since you walked in this office is when you talked about Tiger and when you got angry just now," she explained when Barnaby continued to stare at her unsurely.

"So you baited me into getting angry," he said with a slight sneer, he was really starting to question this appointment.

"Heavens no, you baited yourself. You've set impossible standards for yourself as evident by your absolute need to be here on time, you want to control the topic of conversation, your anxiety over idle chit chat. I think you know yourself better than you think Barnaby," as she spoke she set her coffee cup down, it was already half empty.

He took a deep breath and folded his hands in his lap looking down between his knees. "I don't know if those are qualities of my own personality or figments put into my head by Maverick, do I actually care about being on time, or has he created that in me? My entire life plays out differently than I remember every time I go to sleep, and every night I learn who I am now is not who I am supposed to be."

She leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee, just the tips of her fingers, but it was enough to draw his attention from the floor and look up at her. "Even if that is the case, is who you are now such a bad thing?" she asked staring directly into his eyes. "I know Maverick changed your life, but he is gone now and you are getting your memories back. Until you get them back now is the time to start forming new memories. Even if you get the old memories back do you think your personality is going to change? Has it changed so far?" she hadn't stopped looking him in the eye as she spoke, and he felt compelled to look back, almost like she was challenging him to look away first.

"No, I don't think I have," he finally said after thinking about it. While it was true that some of his more anal retentive qualities had loosened up a bit, such as his table manners, none of his other personality traits had changed. He still loved to research, hated to be late, didn't like talking about himself, and hated idle chit chat with strangers. He could talk for hours with Kotetsu about the stupidest things back a year ago, even Blue Rose, Origami Cyclone, and Dragon Kid had started to be on his "able to converse with" list. Since the dreams started he hadn't seen any evidence that his personality had ever been any different, even his friendship with Inola had been slow at first, and even their friendship had not lead to him making any others. He was reserved by nature? Or perhaps over years of Maverick altering his friendships he had learned to be reserved, closed off, in order to protect himself from losing them.

"And if the dreams reveal that at some point in your life you were different than now, do you think that would change you?" She asked her eyes still boring into him.

"I'm not sure…" his eyes drifted back towards the floor.

"I can guarantee that if I could watch my memories of things I did as a kid I would be a very different person from then. People change and grow Barnaby. If the memories are different than you are now, and you like what you see, then work towards being that person again," she pulled her hand away as she spoke nudging his coffee towards him to remind him it was there.

"What if I don't know how to become the person in my dreams?" he almost whispered, picking up the coffee and holding it, the warmth in his hands felt nice, but his stomach hurt too much to even think about drinking. He looked down at the ground staring at the space between his shoes.

"That is what I am here for, and don't worry, no more games. Unless you want to play some," she said with a chuckle leaning back and crossing her legs once more, relaxing into her chair. "We can meet as often or as little as you like, we can talk about the dreams, or we can just shoot the shit, whatever you need. However, if possible I would like to know more about the dreams, at your own pace of course,"

He looked up at her then back down thinking. "I write them down," he finally said after a long pause. "The dreams, that is, I write down the dream version and then in a separate book what Maverick made me remember," he looked up at her again. "I… there are some I would be willing to bring in," he relented after some hesitation, "to give you some context on what kinds of changes he has made. Others are… I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing," he admitted. Now that they were speaking more candidly, now that they weren't playing games and talking in circles, he felt at ease, at least a bit.

"Wonderful! Whenever you want to bring them in, and any amount you want to share is fine. And don't feel pressured to do anything, honestly, you can come here and we can just have coffee, talk about the weather, Agnes mentioned she didn't think you were getting out much, have you been getting out much?" she asked him with a raised brow.

"Well… not really, it's hard to go out without people recognizing me, if it gets out I'm back in town I'm sure there will be a media frenzy. I've been trying to avoid it," he said with a deep sigh.

"I think it would be good for you to maybe make an effort to go see your friends, have people over, maybe have someone come stay with you for a while. Talk through the dreams with someone, it doesn't have to be me, maybe your old partner Tiger?" she asked, he could feel her eyes on him as he tried not to react to his name. He didn't want to admit to her that they hadn't spoken since their retirement and that that had been harder than the dreams.

"Perhaps" he said forcing the smile back onto his face and looking up at her, he didn't care if she could see through his prince charming act, he had nothing else to hide behind and he refused to talk about his deeper feelings for Kotetsu.

Barnaby glanced at the time, he technically still had another fifteen minutes with Dr Hajran, he tried not to show his displeasure at this notion.

"Like I said before Barnaby, you can come as often or as little as you like, if you have had enough in a session, there is no need for you to stay," she smiled at him as she spoke, he wasn't sure he liked how observant she was.

"Dr Hajran I appreciate your time today, but I think you are right, I don't really have any more I want to talk about, and honestly I wasn't really… I didn't have time to prepare for our meeting this morning like I had hoped to," he was loath to admit he had woken up twelve minutes before their appointment and still felt foggy because of it.

"I understand. If you wish to see me again you can make another appointment with Stephen, but also know that if you have an emergency, I am only a phone call away," she had pulled out a business card from her sweater pocket as she spoke, her personal cell number scrawled in messy handwriting on the back. She held it out to him with both hands, waiting for him to take it.

He felt weird, he didn't know why but he reached forward with both hands and accepted the card, sliding it into his wallet. "Thank you Dr Hajran," he stood as he spoke, extending his hand out automatically to her.

She stood and took hold of his hand, this time she gripped a little firmer and initiated the shake enthusiastically before letting him go, taking all of the control out of the shake from him. He retracted his own hand and moved towards the door.

"Try not to cause any damage to the buildings if you decide to run home," she called after him as his hand touched the knob. He stopped and turned around.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly.

"Agnes called before you got here, said she caught you on one of the traffic helicopter cameras jumping across rooftops at full speed to get here. Try not to cause any property damage on the way home, Tiger would feel like a bad influence if you started doing that," she had a playful glint in her eyes as she said this.

She had known, the whole time, that he had rushed here, that he had been frazzled, that he had done everything in order to be on time. She had toyed with him from the start. He felt completely embarrassed and yet intrigued by her, she was an anomaly. He had flinched slightly at the mention of Kotetsu again and hated the effect the name had on him. "Thank you Dr. Harjan, I'll keep that in mind…" he said trying to keep the glare from his eyes and the snarl from his voice. He hated being caught in a mistake, hated even more his feelings for Kotetsu had show, however briefly.

She simply laughed as he opened the door and walked out, his face red in embarrassment, Agnes was going to pay for this.

He walked home, his hood pulled up covering his hair and most of his face from the public, though he doubted anyone would recognize him, not with the horrendous facial hair he had grown out finally.