It only takes approximately 13 minutes to get bored in the confines of ones
patient room.
Mort knows this for he timed it on his watch.
"I could take a nap..." He questioned out loud and looked at the bed on which he was lounging. Quickly he decided he couldn't do that such thing because it was all too unfamiliar. At home he could conk out in a second on his well-indented couch.
But here it was different.
Mort tried to imagine all the schitzo's and lunatics that had once occupied his bed. Wrinkling his nose at the thought, he settled for sitting in the desk chair and pulled out his trusty laptop instead.
As he eased the laptop from its case, he felt the handle of the screwdriver with his knuckle and shuddered.
It only took that one trigger to awaken the killer within him, only this time it wasn't an echo in his brain.
Mort didn't hear the squeak of the spring bed, but he knew who was there. He knew Shooter was sitting there with his humble yet holier then though grin, staring a hole into his shoulder.
"Well now, look what you've gotten yourself into now, boy." Shooter whispered sadistically.
Mort dared not look behind him nor allow himself to be frightened by a figment of his own imagination.
"What I've gotten me into, and hopefully you out of is my life. Fuck off. Things are better when you're not around." Standing up swiftly, Mort caused his chair to screech and fall with a clatter to the ground.
He was now face to face with the man who ruined his life. Nose to nose with the part of himself he loathed more then anyone could comprehend.
"Your story has been revised, published, and shelved, you ignorant shithead. Yet your still here, riding my ass. I don't get it. Amy's gone. People are dead and your still here."
"And I will be until I am satisfied with another story. Courtesy of you, Mr. Rainey."
"Whoa, whoa, wait. There is no other story, Shoo-"Mort refused to use that name.
(This is too fucked up. I will not carry out a conversation with myself.) "Not yet there ain't. But your going to write it, your going to write it real nice and then you know what you're going to do? You're going to put both our names on it. Tis about time I got some credit acknowledged on my time I've clocked in on your life, Mr. Rainey."
BUZZ.
The large mahogany door swung open and in popped Penny's head, beaming a large smile. The alarm on Mort's face didn't faze her much, and she entered the room fully, her brunette curls bouncing along as she did.
"Mort? Hey, the doc's in. Are you-"Pausing, she brought a hand up to her mouth and wrinkled her forehead in worry as she saw Morton's fast breathing and fear stricken features.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" She inquired as she walked up to him and put a slender hand on his shoulder.
It took a second for Mort to process who the female standing in close proximity was, but he could care less for Shooter was gone the second she had walked in.
"Sorry. I'm just a little jumpy. The buzz, it er.." Uttering a laugh, Mort felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment. "It scared me."
All expressions in the room softened and the due breathed a deep sigh, a sort of silent understanding between the two.
Running her hand up and down Mort's arm in comfort, she smirked.
"No biggie. It's an awful cacophony, but it keeps us on our toes. Hopefully you won't be here long enough to get used to it."
Taken aback by the comment and sudden touching, Mort just opened his mouth but settled on nodding so not to cause another verbal fuck up on his part.
"Riight. Anyhoo, its this way. The doctor will see you now."
And they set off. With another buzz of the door, Mort's room was locked and following close beside his nurse, he set off down the corridor with Penny, hoping that Shooter wouldn't have any other cameos that day.
"How long have you worked here?" Mort finally broke the timed 7-minute silence, curiously eyeing another patient walking by with an IV.
"I live here. " The comment caught him by surprise and Mort's eyes darted around the hallway tensely, not wanting to come across as excited in anyway.
(Who the hell gets giddy over seeing a psychiatrist?..Or possibly it's the company of my nurse?)
The notion made him smile. "Really?" He asked. "What's that like?"
"Well, its interesting slash scary. You see Pops, Dr. Reid, he is on the board here at the hospital meaning he would have basically lived here anyway if he expected to keep this place up and running."
Penny and Mort shared a smile, and turned another corner.
They both averted their gaze from a woman on the floor whispering into a corner and being jabbed in the arm with a sedative.
Not the best place to hold a conversation, but neither of the duo was complaining.
"Anyway." She continued. "After my sister was born, they made a decision to move the family here to raise us. That's all seven of us. Lets just say, since I was old enough to know my colors I've been dishing out the pills around here."
( ...Wow. A woman raised in a mental hospital as a non-patient. That would make a great character..)
Some where in the depths of Mort's demented brain, Shooter was laughing again in triumph.
"That makes you the single most fascinating person I've ever met." Mort said half in jest half in complete seriousness.
"You must not know that many people." She leaned in and whispered.
Mort had followed Penny as if in some intricate dance number and it never occurred to him that they had stopped in front of the same door he had walked through only two days previous.
"Um. Mort?" She said, a high innocent ring to her voice.
"Yes?" Fumbling with his hands, Mort purposely wanted to prolong entering Dr. Reid's office to continue this new intriguing conversation and keep his mind off of more pressing matters.
She motioned with her finger, enticing him to lean in closer, which he gladly obliged with a sinful grin.
"This is the part when you open the door and walk in, Mort." She arched her eyebrow in suspicion of his inappropriate gaze and possible motives.
"Right." He mumbled turning the knob of the door and stepping through the threshold.
"Good luck." Penny mumbled, mostly to herself. A part of her wished Mort would have to stay longer. Another praying for him to check out with a clean mental bill of health so her hopes of him being single would seem less sick then finding a patient attractive.
*************
Not the best chapter, I know. But I wanted to establish Penny finally!!
So. Do you guys think I'm going along too slow? Or should I sped things up and not draw it out?
I need help folks, this is when that little button comes in handy.
So review and give me some help!
Mort knows this for he timed it on his watch.
"I could take a nap..." He questioned out loud and looked at the bed on which he was lounging. Quickly he decided he couldn't do that such thing because it was all too unfamiliar. At home he could conk out in a second on his well-indented couch.
But here it was different.
Mort tried to imagine all the schitzo's and lunatics that had once occupied his bed. Wrinkling his nose at the thought, he settled for sitting in the desk chair and pulled out his trusty laptop instead.
As he eased the laptop from its case, he felt the handle of the screwdriver with his knuckle and shuddered.
It only took that one trigger to awaken the killer within him, only this time it wasn't an echo in his brain.
Mort didn't hear the squeak of the spring bed, but he knew who was there. He knew Shooter was sitting there with his humble yet holier then though grin, staring a hole into his shoulder.
"Well now, look what you've gotten yourself into now, boy." Shooter whispered sadistically.
Mort dared not look behind him nor allow himself to be frightened by a figment of his own imagination.
"What I've gotten me into, and hopefully you out of is my life. Fuck off. Things are better when you're not around." Standing up swiftly, Mort caused his chair to screech and fall with a clatter to the ground.
He was now face to face with the man who ruined his life. Nose to nose with the part of himself he loathed more then anyone could comprehend.
"Your story has been revised, published, and shelved, you ignorant shithead. Yet your still here, riding my ass. I don't get it. Amy's gone. People are dead and your still here."
"And I will be until I am satisfied with another story. Courtesy of you, Mr. Rainey."
"Whoa, whoa, wait. There is no other story, Shoo-"Mort refused to use that name.
(This is too fucked up. I will not carry out a conversation with myself.) "Not yet there ain't. But your going to write it, your going to write it real nice and then you know what you're going to do? You're going to put both our names on it. Tis about time I got some credit acknowledged on my time I've clocked in on your life, Mr. Rainey."
BUZZ.
The large mahogany door swung open and in popped Penny's head, beaming a large smile. The alarm on Mort's face didn't faze her much, and she entered the room fully, her brunette curls bouncing along as she did.
"Mort? Hey, the doc's in. Are you-"Pausing, she brought a hand up to her mouth and wrinkled her forehead in worry as she saw Morton's fast breathing and fear stricken features.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" She inquired as she walked up to him and put a slender hand on his shoulder.
It took a second for Mort to process who the female standing in close proximity was, but he could care less for Shooter was gone the second she had walked in.
"Sorry. I'm just a little jumpy. The buzz, it er.." Uttering a laugh, Mort felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment. "It scared me."
All expressions in the room softened and the due breathed a deep sigh, a sort of silent understanding between the two.
Running her hand up and down Mort's arm in comfort, she smirked.
"No biggie. It's an awful cacophony, but it keeps us on our toes. Hopefully you won't be here long enough to get used to it."
Taken aback by the comment and sudden touching, Mort just opened his mouth but settled on nodding so not to cause another verbal fuck up on his part.
"Riight. Anyhoo, its this way. The doctor will see you now."
And they set off. With another buzz of the door, Mort's room was locked and following close beside his nurse, he set off down the corridor with Penny, hoping that Shooter wouldn't have any other cameos that day.
"How long have you worked here?" Mort finally broke the timed 7-minute silence, curiously eyeing another patient walking by with an IV.
"I live here. " The comment caught him by surprise and Mort's eyes darted around the hallway tensely, not wanting to come across as excited in anyway.
(Who the hell gets giddy over seeing a psychiatrist?..Or possibly it's the company of my nurse?)
The notion made him smile. "Really?" He asked. "What's that like?"
"Well, its interesting slash scary. You see Pops, Dr. Reid, he is on the board here at the hospital meaning he would have basically lived here anyway if he expected to keep this place up and running."
Penny and Mort shared a smile, and turned another corner.
They both averted their gaze from a woman on the floor whispering into a corner and being jabbed in the arm with a sedative.
Not the best place to hold a conversation, but neither of the duo was complaining.
"Anyway." She continued. "After my sister was born, they made a decision to move the family here to raise us. That's all seven of us. Lets just say, since I was old enough to know my colors I've been dishing out the pills around here."
( ...Wow. A woman raised in a mental hospital as a non-patient. That would make a great character..)
Some where in the depths of Mort's demented brain, Shooter was laughing again in triumph.
"That makes you the single most fascinating person I've ever met." Mort said half in jest half in complete seriousness.
"You must not know that many people." She leaned in and whispered.
Mort had followed Penny as if in some intricate dance number and it never occurred to him that they had stopped in front of the same door he had walked through only two days previous.
"Um. Mort?" She said, a high innocent ring to her voice.
"Yes?" Fumbling with his hands, Mort purposely wanted to prolong entering Dr. Reid's office to continue this new intriguing conversation and keep his mind off of more pressing matters.
She motioned with her finger, enticing him to lean in closer, which he gladly obliged with a sinful grin.
"This is the part when you open the door and walk in, Mort." She arched her eyebrow in suspicion of his inappropriate gaze and possible motives.
"Right." He mumbled turning the knob of the door and stepping through the threshold.
"Good luck." Penny mumbled, mostly to herself. A part of her wished Mort would have to stay longer. Another praying for him to check out with a clean mental bill of health so her hopes of him being single would seem less sick then finding a patient attractive.
*************
Not the best chapter, I know. But I wanted to establish Penny finally!!
So. Do you guys think I'm going along too slow? Or should I sped things up and not draw it out?
I need help folks, this is when that little button comes in handy.
So review and give me some help!