Jean stood outside Halden's flat again. A little nervous, she knocked on the door. She'd felt nervous about coming ever since Faith had come back. What if she interrupted something important? She was about to knock on the door when she heard shouting. It sounded like Halden, and he sounded somewhat angry. Then there was another voice, a rather nice sound, though if one was on the receiving end of the taunting... well, she didn't want to be that person. "Get out of my home!" Halden finally said, loudly and firmly.
Jean backed away from the door for a moment, slightly uneasy, but then got up the courage to come up and knock.
"Come in," Halden called. She was confused. He sounded a little gruff, but otherwise fine. She tried the door.
"I can't. It's locked," she called in. She heard something of an exasperated groan from inside, and Halden opened the door. He was alone in the room. She looked around curiously.
"Where's that other man?" Halden looked surprised.
"Pardon?"
"I heard two voices here," she said. She looked around, positive that there would be someone. Halden stayed where he was, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
"Two voices?" he repeated. "No... you're mistaken on that."
"No, I'm not," she said, rolling her eyes. "Now, why are you so paranoid, and who were you yelling at?"
"Oh, he was yelling at me," Cheshire said, coming out of the kitchen. Jean jumped, not expecting this new stranger. He'd helped himself to Dr. Halden's milk, judging by the near-full glass in his hand. She glanced at it, just a bit amused.
Cheshire saw her smirk and ignored it. "Now, as I was saying, before you tried to throw me out and we were interrupted..." here he cast a sidelong look at Jean, "...has Faith called on you yet?"
Halden shook his head, and said in a defeated sort of voice, "the hypnosis is still on. I haven't figured out how to counter the drugs yet - they're pretty strong." The glass slammed onto a side table. Cheshire looked rather disgusted.
"Leave that to me... I will take care of the hypnosis, and Reynald."
Halden was about to answer, but the doorbell rang. Jean perked up, thinking that maybe it was Faith. Cheshire's eyes narrowed slightly; he apparently knew this was not the case. Halden cleared his throat slightly and said, "Come in."
"It's locked," a frustrated voice on the other side said.
"It shouldn't be," Jean called.
"Well, it is!"
Halden sighed and opened the door, wondering who it would be this time. As it turned out, someone completely new. An albino stood there, and some measure of shock was on his face. "Cheshire?"
"Rabbit," Cheshire inclined his head, with more than a hint of surprise in his voice.
"What on Earth are you doing here?" the strangely named man asked. He fidgeted with a white pair of gloves, and walked around a bit. Jean stared at him, then shook herself - staring was a bit rude, especially if they caught you.
"I would ask the same of you," Cheshire replied. He was still, and his posture was relaxed. "Have you made contact with her?"
"Yes, actually," he sounded rather pleased with himself. "At some store at the shopping centre. She was... rather perturbed at the end," he said, sounding rather cheerful.
"How long ago?"
"Just a bit less than a week." The man sat down. The navy blue and forest green of Halden's furniture looked especially dark behind him. "Then we were interrupted by a summons by the Caterpillar, of course," he said, rolling his eyes. Jean wondered if they were involved in some sort of crime ring... Cheshire, Rabbit... Caterpillar? They were the oddest names she'd ever heard. Rabbit got up and started pacing. "Have you?"
"No, disgustingly enough. Not besides the cemetery, or that disaster last night. If you'll remember, my activities here are somewhat more restricted than yours. There are only a few places that I can see her."
"Pay her a house call. You can go there. Whatever you do though, you really don't have much time to do it in," Rabbit pointed out. Cheshire nodded.
"When I 'paid her a house call', as you say, I terrified her."
"I rather meant as you are now, my friend."
"I've been planning that."
"How are you restricted?" Halden asked suddenly. Both men stared at him, indignant of the interruption.
"I suppose the dull ones do need an explanation," Rabbit sighed. "I'm just concerned with how much time it will take."
"You give it to them. I have no patience for it," Cheshire said distastefully. Jean glared at them.
"I don't give a damn about restrictions, I just want to know what the hell you guys are up to with my friend!" Rabbit stopped and stared. Cheshire looked up, surprise evident on his normally collected face. Twice in one day, she thought wryly. Not bad.
"Very well," he said coldly. "Rabbit, you can explain it to the good doctor, and I'll take care of this one."
"I don't want you to tell me," she snapped. "I've no patience for those who don't respect me." Cheshire looked her stonily in the face.
"Very well. I'm not going to bother then."
"Cheshire," Halden said. "What exactly are you planning to do to get the hypnosis off?"
"Probably he's going to insult her until he thinks her mind's cleared. It's what he's fond of doing to everyone else," Jean muttered. Cheshire ignored her.
"Enough!" Rabbit finally shouted. "There's no time for all this bickering!"
"And you and your time!" Jean yelled at him. "Thrice in five minutes you've piped up about it!"
"That's because there is none!"
("They're rather amusing..." -Cheshire.)
"By whose clock!? The goddamn White Rabbit's!?"
"Exactly!!"
("No, not terribly," -Halden.)
"You're out of your mind!" Jean yelled.
("Rather like him and Faith before they had a heart-to-heart." -Cheshire.)
"At least I have one!" he bellowed back.
("I'm not sure I want to know." -Halden.)
"You think you're a fucking FAIRY TALE!"
("I'm not sure you're ready to." -Cheshire.)
"And you have NO idea as to what's going on!"
("Now I think I want to know." -Halden.)
"So?"
("So American of you. Not yet." -Cheshire.)
"So keep quiet about things you DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
"Will the two of you please demonstrate some maturity?" Halden finally snapped. Everyone was shouting; it was coming to be like an asylum in there!
Then another knock was heard on the door, and all went silent. "Come in," Halden called. His voice cracked.
"I can't," a frustrated female voice said. "It's locked!"
Cheshire grimaced and walked over, unlocking the door and opening it. Jessica stood there, arms full of groceries. "Oh, it's you again," she muttered. He closed the door.
"Saleswoman," he said calmly. Rabbit sniggered behind his hand.
"Open it," Halden said crossly. Cheshire scowled and complied. Jessica, looking decidedly put out, stormed past him and dumped the groceries on the kitchen counter.
"What are all of these people doing in my house?" she demanded. She smiled at Jean, but looked at the two men - one with distrust, the other with disgust.
"If you can call this a house," Cheshire drawled. Jessica's fists clenched.
"Shut up, you," she warned.
"This must be your wife..." Rabbit said, breaking off from a heated conversation with Jean. "I've only had one source, but I hear she's quite crazy."
"She is," Cheshire assured him. Jessica's eyes bugged in her anger, and she said something rather rude to Cheshire.
"As you like it," he scoffed, dismissing her entirely. She paled, and Halden winced. If she was so angry that she lost her colouring... he shuddered. "You are SUCH a bastard!" she snarled. He smiled, with barely contained malice, but said nothing.
"All this crap about what we're doing to Faith!" Rabbit growled at Jean, "and you have NO idea what she's been through! What we've helped her through!"
"And I think I've helped her through more here, than you have in your own little world!"
"Little twit!" he howled at her. "It's not MY world, it's HERS!"
"You're mad! Crazy! Totally insane!"
"Well I hate to break it to you, but so is she!" Rabbit yelled.
"Believe me, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew for a fact that you were not someone that would be of any use whatsoever," Cheshire told Jessica.
"Well, good for me," she snapped.
"Oh yes. Quite pleasant, being a useless piece of luggage."
"I really hate you!"
"Oh, I've received a promotion," he said dryly.
"What in hell are you going on about?"
"Ordinarily you only hate me."
"I don't have time for this!" Rabbit shouted
"Why the obsession with time?!" Jean shouted back. "I'm sick of time! Just kill the damn thing!"
"And I'm sick of you!"
"Well that makes us even!" she shouted back.
"And I'm sorry I can't kill you right now!" Jessica yelled at Cheshire.
"Believe me, the pleasure you would derive from it would be nothing compared to what I would feel doing the same to you," he snapped back.
"Get out of here!" she pointed toward the door.
"Make me," he said smugly.
"You want me to?"
"Is that a challenge?"
"No, it's a threat, dork."
"Can everyone PLEASE just SHUT UP??" Halden said loudly, above the noise.
"NO!" they yelled back at him. He glared at them disgustedly and stormed to the door, and yanked it open.
Faith stood there, poised to knock, looking rather startled. "Doctor Halden?" she looked startled at the scene behind him... not something that she would expect to see in a psychologist's home. Jessica and Cheshire were about four feet apart, looking ready to kill. Jean and Rabbit were standing two feet apart, yelling in each other's faces. Rabbit and Cheshire stopped when they heard her, though, and Cheshire immediately started over, leaving Jessica standing there, confused.
Jean backed away from the door for a moment, slightly uneasy, but then got up the courage to come up and knock.
"Come in," Halden called. She was confused. He sounded a little gruff, but otherwise fine. She tried the door.
"I can't. It's locked," she called in. She heard something of an exasperated groan from inside, and Halden opened the door. He was alone in the room. She looked around curiously.
"Where's that other man?" Halden looked surprised.
"Pardon?"
"I heard two voices here," she said. She looked around, positive that there would be someone. Halden stayed where he was, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
"Two voices?" he repeated. "No... you're mistaken on that."
"No, I'm not," she said, rolling her eyes. "Now, why are you so paranoid, and who were you yelling at?"
"Oh, he was yelling at me," Cheshire said, coming out of the kitchen. Jean jumped, not expecting this new stranger. He'd helped himself to Dr. Halden's milk, judging by the near-full glass in his hand. She glanced at it, just a bit amused.
Cheshire saw her smirk and ignored it. "Now, as I was saying, before you tried to throw me out and we were interrupted..." here he cast a sidelong look at Jean, "...has Faith called on you yet?"
Halden shook his head, and said in a defeated sort of voice, "the hypnosis is still on. I haven't figured out how to counter the drugs yet - they're pretty strong." The glass slammed onto a side table. Cheshire looked rather disgusted.
"Leave that to me... I will take care of the hypnosis, and Reynald."
Halden was about to answer, but the doorbell rang. Jean perked up, thinking that maybe it was Faith. Cheshire's eyes narrowed slightly; he apparently knew this was not the case. Halden cleared his throat slightly and said, "Come in."
"It's locked," a frustrated voice on the other side said.
"It shouldn't be," Jean called.
"Well, it is!"
Halden sighed and opened the door, wondering who it would be this time. As it turned out, someone completely new. An albino stood there, and some measure of shock was on his face. "Cheshire?"
"Rabbit," Cheshire inclined his head, with more than a hint of surprise in his voice.
"What on Earth are you doing here?" the strangely named man asked. He fidgeted with a white pair of gloves, and walked around a bit. Jean stared at him, then shook herself - staring was a bit rude, especially if they caught you.
"I would ask the same of you," Cheshire replied. He was still, and his posture was relaxed. "Have you made contact with her?"
"Yes, actually," he sounded rather pleased with himself. "At some store at the shopping centre. She was... rather perturbed at the end," he said, sounding rather cheerful.
"How long ago?"
"Just a bit less than a week." The man sat down. The navy blue and forest green of Halden's furniture looked especially dark behind him. "Then we were interrupted by a summons by the Caterpillar, of course," he said, rolling his eyes. Jean wondered if they were involved in some sort of crime ring... Cheshire, Rabbit... Caterpillar? They were the oddest names she'd ever heard. Rabbit got up and started pacing. "Have you?"
"No, disgustingly enough. Not besides the cemetery, or that disaster last night. If you'll remember, my activities here are somewhat more restricted than yours. There are only a few places that I can see her."
"Pay her a house call. You can go there. Whatever you do though, you really don't have much time to do it in," Rabbit pointed out. Cheshire nodded.
"When I 'paid her a house call', as you say, I terrified her."
"I rather meant as you are now, my friend."
"I've been planning that."
"How are you restricted?" Halden asked suddenly. Both men stared at him, indignant of the interruption.
"I suppose the dull ones do need an explanation," Rabbit sighed. "I'm just concerned with how much time it will take."
"You give it to them. I have no patience for it," Cheshire said distastefully. Jean glared at them.
"I don't give a damn about restrictions, I just want to know what the hell you guys are up to with my friend!" Rabbit stopped and stared. Cheshire looked up, surprise evident on his normally collected face. Twice in one day, she thought wryly. Not bad.
"Very well," he said coldly. "Rabbit, you can explain it to the good doctor, and I'll take care of this one."
"I don't want you to tell me," she snapped. "I've no patience for those who don't respect me." Cheshire looked her stonily in the face.
"Very well. I'm not going to bother then."
"Cheshire," Halden said. "What exactly are you planning to do to get the hypnosis off?"
"Probably he's going to insult her until he thinks her mind's cleared. It's what he's fond of doing to everyone else," Jean muttered. Cheshire ignored her.
"Enough!" Rabbit finally shouted. "There's no time for all this bickering!"
"And you and your time!" Jean yelled at him. "Thrice in five minutes you've piped up about it!"
"That's because there is none!"
("They're rather amusing..." -Cheshire.)
"By whose clock!? The goddamn White Rabbit's!?"
"Exactly!!"
("No, not terribly," -Halden.)
"You're out of your mind!" Jean yelled.
("Rather like him and Faith before they had a heart-to-heart." -Cheshire.)
"At least I have one!" he bellowed back.
("I'm not sure I want to know." -Halden.)
"You think you're a fucking FAIRY TALE!"
("I'm not sure you're ready to." -Cheshire.)
"And you have NO idea as to what's going on!"
("Now I think I want to know." -Halden.)
"So?"
("So American of you. Not yet." -Cheshire.)
"So keep quiet about things you DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
"Will the two of you please demonstrate some maturity?" Halden finally snapped. Everyone was shouting; it was coming to be like an asylum in there!
Then another knock was heard on the door, and all went silent. "Come in," Halden called. His voice cracked.
"I can't," a frustrated female voice said. "It's locked!"
Cheshire grimaced and walked over, unlocking the door and opening it. Jessica stood there, arms full of groceries. "Oh, it's you again," she muttered. He closed the door.
"Saleswoman," he said calmly. Rabbit sniggered behind his hand.
"Open it," Halden said crossly. Cheshire scowled and complied. Jessica, looking decidedly put out, stormed past him and dumped the groceries on the kitchen counter.
"What are all of these people doing in my house?" she demanded. She smiled at Jean, but looked at the two men - one with distrust, the other with disgust.
"If you can call this a house," Cheshire drawled. Jessica's fists clenched.
"Shut up, you," she warned.
"This must be your wife..." Rabbit said, breaking off from a heated conversation with Jean. "I've only had one source, but I hear she's quite crazy."
"She is," Cheshire assured him. Jessica's eyes bugged in her anger, and she said something rather rude to Cheshire.
"As you like it," he scoffed, dismissing her entirely. She paled, and Halden winced. If she was so angry that she lost her colouring... he shuddered. "You are SUCH a bastard!" she snarled. He smiled, with barely contained malice, but said nothing.
"All this crap about what we're doing to Faith!" Rabbit growled at Jean, "and you have NO idea what she's been through! What we've helped her through!"
"And I think I've helped her through more here, than you have in your own little world!"
"Little twit!" he howled at her. "It's not MY world, it's HERS!"
"You're mad! Crazy! Totally insane!"
"Well I hate to break it to you, but so is she!" Rabbit yelled.
"Believe me, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew for a fact that you were not someone that would be of any use whatsoever," Cheshire told Jessica.
"Well, good for me," she snapped.
"Oh yes. Quite pleasant, being a useless piece of luggage."
"I really hate you!"
"Oh, I've received a promotion," he said dryly.
"What in hell are you going on about?"
"Ordinarily you only hate me."
"I don't have time for this!" Rabbit shouted
"Why the obsession with time?!" Jean shouted back. "I'm sick of time! Just kill the damn thing!"
"And I'm sick of you!"
"Well that makes us even!" she shouted back.
"And I'm sorry I can't kill you right now!" Jessica yelled at Cheshire.
"Believe me, the pleasure you would derive from it would be nothing compared to what I would feel doing the same to you," he snapped back.
"Get out of here!" she pointed toward the door.
"Make me," he said smugly.
"You want me to?"
"Is that a challenge?"
"No, it's a threat, dork."
"Can everyone PLEASE just SHUT UP??" Halden said loudly, above the noise.
"NO!" they yelled back at him. He glared at them disgustedly and stormed to the door, and yanked it open.
Faith stood there, poised to knock, looking rather startled. "Doctor Halden?" she looked startled at the scene behind him... not something that she would expect to see in a psychologist's home. Jessica and Cheshire were about four feet apart, looking ready to kill. Jean and Rabbit were standing two feet apart, yelling in each other's faces. Rabbit and Cheshire stopped when they heard her, though, and Cheshire immediately started over, leaving Jessica standing there, confused.