All usual disclaimers apply.

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Cheery music that was being played in the halls could be heard from inside the room; even if the door was closed. Everything else was silent. The silence that he had once preferred so much was slowly starting to get to him. It seemed deafening at some points, even. Sighing, he shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts before looking away from the door.

"So how does it feel to be out of the infirmary, Dwayne?"

Dwayne turned to Lisa before walking to a single couch and sitting. The doctors, after making sure that he was sane enough, had let him go back to his room. He was being watched on constantly, however, and they didn't let him have any visitors yet. Besides from recovering from the blood loss, he was fine, so the doctors had let him out. Also, Lisa had been talking to him; which let the doctors think that he was making improvement. With a sigh, Dwayne turned to her again and shrugged.

Lisa watched him, silent. He had improved physically, but mentally he was exactly the same. Except for the fact that he barely talked anymore. It was as if he was getting worse. As she watched him see the scars that were on his wrists, she still noticed the confusion that still lingered in his mind. As if everything that happened wasn't even in his mind.

"Why are they putting music on? They never did before."

Surprised at his voice, Lisa looked up at him. Smiling, she nodded towards the door. "The holidays are coming up. You haven't been downstairs, but it's filled with decorations. The nurses, the doctor, and the director of the hospital think that it helps the patients."

"No offense, but that's a load of bull. It does the exact opposite." He stayed silent again for a few moments. "Do people stay here for the holidays.? The patients, I mean."

"Some do, yes. The ones that are stable enough and can be taken care of at home by someone responsible can go home for five days."

Turning to her, Dwayne sighed under his breath. "I don't want to.go anywhere or anything like that, but.what category would I fit in?"

Lisa couldn't help but smile slightly at the question; but it was mainly nervousness. She didn't know what to say at first, but after a short while she decided to tell him the truth. "To be honest, after what.happened, I'm not sure. But.I doubt that you'll go out during these holidays."

Shrugging in apathy, Dwayne sighed and sank slightly in his couch. It was comfortable enough for him to stay there. In fact, that was what he did every day during therapy since he had been let out. He'd come to the office, sit down, listen to Lisa ask questions and shrug, shake his head, or nod for answers. As he sat there, he let his eyes wander around the office for the first time since he got there. Unlike the shrink from the hospital, Lisa's office was plain; just with the necessities. There was a bookshelf, a small living room where they were now and where the therapies took place, and, of course, her desk. Her desk had a few stacks of papers and, for the first time he realized that there was a picture frame; with a picture of a little girl there. Her hair was like Lisa's, except it wasn't as curly as hers. The little girl's eyes were a dark blue, but filled with innocence and happiness. She had a big grin as she looked at the camera, holding a white bunny. As he looked at the picture, he stayed there; watching it for a short while.

"That's my daughter," He heard Lisa say.

"How old is she.?"

Lisa stayed silent for a short while, knowing that it was bringing him memories to just look at a picture. "She's six. That was taken last year, during Easter. Her name's Emily."

Dwayne stood up and went to the desk, looking at the picture. He stayed silent for a while, staring at it. "You're here a lot, though. How do you find time to be with her?"

"To be honest, it's really hard." Smiling, Lisa went to him and took the picture from him. "But my husband does all he can to help. He's a lawyer, but he loves spending time with her."

Nodding slightly, Dwayne stared at it before going to the window. "I used to hate going to work sometimes."

Lisa put the picture frame back down on her desk and turned to him, leaning against the desk. "Because of your family?"

Dwayne stayed silent for a while, looking out at the white fields. In fact, about five minutes passed by before he started talking in a low voice. "I almost never took vacations. I was a workaholic, and I only spent little time at home. Sometimes I wouldn't see my son or my wife until the weekend or something like that. It was really hard. Heh, I saw Alex growing up through pictures and the phone."

"How did they take it?"

"Dani would understand, but we missed each other a lot. A marriage is hard enough, but living practically a world away from her.that was harder than anything." Smiling slightly, Dwayne looked down at his hand and to where his wedding band would be. "Then we both wanted a baby, and Alex was born." Chuckling sadly, he shook his head slightly before looking out the window. "In fact, he set up his own schedule for coming. We hadn't planned to have him when he came, but we were thrilled anyway. He was very loved. We loved him so much."

As Lisa watched Dwayne's tears starting to trail down his cheeks, she wanted to offer him a tissue, but she knew that he'd stop talking and that, probably, he wouldn't talk anymore. Instead, she stayed silent and kept listening.

Dwayne closed his eyes when he felt the knot in his throat choke him. Nevertheless, he did his best to swallow it before he opened his eyes again and kept looking out the window. "If Alex would have been the only one to have died in that crash. . .Dani would have died a few days later anyway from the heartbreak. Every time I went home, she'd say how Alex looked out for her, and helped her in everything he could." Smiling sadly, he shook his head. "That was my boy. He was a little kid-our baby-and he already knew how to act like if he was a grown-up. He couldn't wait to grow up. Be in the 'business', like his father."

"Did you let him watch the shows?"

Shaking his head, Dwayne turned to her. "No, Dani and I were pretty much set on that. We did our best to explain to him what I did, and he loved it." Dwayne closed his eyes and swallowed the thick knot in his throat that seemed to be choking him. It was so hard to just.talk anymore. He couldn't go on anymore. He couldn't keep bringing the memories back. He couldn't because he knew that it would choke him and.

Lisa saw that he couldn't go on anymore, and she didn't want to push him. Taking a tissue, she went to him and handed it to him. Just how she had been fearing earlier, the second he turned to her it was obvious he didn't want to keep going.

When Dwayne saw the tissue, he realized that he had been crying. He hadn't wanted to cry so, furiously, he wiped the tears away. "I'm sorry."

Lisa frowned in confusion. "Sorry for what?"

"It's stupid to cry. It doesn't do anything."

Smiling sympathetically, Lisa shook her head. "It does a lot, Mr. Johnson. It helps with the.grieving process."

Dwayne shook his head and started walking towards the door. "Maybe, but it doesn't bring them back." Before she could say anything, he walked out of the room and went back to his own. Crying wouldn't solve anything.

It wouldn't rewind time.